Sabbathought : The wrong bridge

President Henry B. Eyring told this story of his friend Jack Steel. In the United States the highest decoration for gallantry in battle is the Congressional Medal of Honor. The next highest is the Distinguished Service Cross. Jack Steel won the Distinguished Service Cross for this act of heroism and bravery in the Korean conflict. It is a true story, with large implications for us.

Jack's platoon had been assigned to take a particular bridge occupied by the enemy. As they went down the hill toward the bridge Jack noticed the enemy fire was trained on the top of the hill, felling his comrades. He quickly assessed the situation and charged down the hill with his automatic rifle blazing. He took the enemy by surprise and captured the bridge --- alone. . . . As it turned out, it was the wrong bridge. A mistake had been made in intelligence and the squad had been ordered to take a bridge that led nowhere and was of no strategic value. The bridge they should have taken was several miles down the road. Jack got the medal, but the action did not contribute to the bigger plan of the war.

Often in His teachings the Savior would correct wrong ideas with, "Yea, but rather . . ." or simply, "But I say unto you . . . ."

In the last twenty years or so we have unconsciously in our classrooms and chapels moved from speaking of the Spirit to advocating persistently love: the love of God, love for each other, love, love, love. There is nothing wrong with love. God is love. But, as Presidents David O. McKay, Harold B. Lee, and Thomas S. Monson have taught, "It is a greater thing to be trusted than it is to be loved."

We speak as if the love of God will somehow save us, as if it is all we need. It was a false prophet by the name of John Lennon who popularized in the 1960s the notion that "All you need is love."

When we take a slice out of the gospel pie, the concept after we have used it should be the same size as the space in the pie we took it from. The slice is not the whole pie. It is a matter of proportion. It is a serious error to blow it out of proportion.

Again, we stress, love is an integral part of the gospel. Elder Quentin L. Cook in April general conference in his address entitled "We Follow Jesus Christ" said, ". . . He instituted the sacrament. Second, His overwhelming emphasis was on doctrines, teaching love as a preeminent principle." When that was taught last month in our ward the teacher quoted Elder Cook as saying, "Love is the preeminent principle of the gospel." We have said it so often to each other that nobody noticed that this was more than Elder Cook had taught, and was in error.

A further illustration. We most often hear it said that the tree of life in Lehi's vision is the love of God. More accurately the tree of life is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is "a representation of the love of God" (1 Nephi 11:25). To explain : the most well known verse of scripture in Christendom proclaims, "For God so loved the world" (John 3:16). Most of us put a period, a full stop, or even an exclamation mark at this point and are satisfied that this is the gospel plan! But how much does God love the world? " . . . that he gave his only begotten Son . . ." and it is there that the gospel plan --- centered upon the Atonement --- begins. Jesus is the representation, the personal image, the evidence of God's love. He is the tree of life, and the fruit He gives is eternal life, God's life (1 Nephi 15:36 along with D&C 14:7).

It should be easy to see that this is one of "the very points of his doctrine", and to teach it otherwise is to miss the point, to err, and to be led into false doctrine. Any virtue taken to an extreme becomes a vice.

It is a greater thing to be trusted than to be loved. This is the point of mortality. This is the issue of earth life, "to prove them herewith, to see if they will do" according to the revealed plan, instead of making up their own doctrine and plan of action.

Does God love His children? Of course He does. The birth, life, and death of His Son are ample evidence of that love. The issue is : can God trust His children? Can He trust me to keep my promises to Him, to be true to my covenants? Can He trust me at all hazards?

It is a covenant matter, and it goes way beyond love.

We must wake up or we'll end up taking the wrong bridge. The implications of this for our lessons, for our testimonies, for the teaching of our young people are huge. Their salvation depends upon our getting it right. Do you think I exaggerate or overstate the case?

Henry B. Eyring's purpose in sharing this story with all the teachers in the worldwide Church Educational System was to make the point that, as good a job as we had been doing in teaching the youth, we have been taking the wrong bridge. The right bridge is centered in the scriptures, on the Savior and His restored gospel plan. We have not been doing that, said Brother Eyring.

More on this later.

God bless you all on this glorious Sabbath day --- His holy day (not a holiday).

Steve