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Coiling Up Inside Oneself
By Davis
Bitton
It was June 1847. The wagon trains
were moving west. Without experiencing it, the rest of us cannot
fully appreciate what the pioneers were going through. The daily
grind of arising, preparing some kind of breakfast, packing tents
and cookware into wagons, harnessing draft animals, jostling with
others for a place in the line, and getting on the trail.
On Sundays in 1847, most of the time,
a day of rest was declared and a worship service was held. On
this particular Sunday, standing on a wagon tongue or a wheel
where he could be seen, Heber C. Kimball was speaking. He had
a message he thought they needed to hear.
Before looking at his statement,
it is helpful to remind ourselves how universal selfishness is.
Every human being is born that way. Feed me, change me, comfort
me. Other human beings exist for me. Me, me, me.
As we grow up, in all societies,
we learn life is not quite that simple. The egocentric existence
gives way to broadened concern, kindly feeling toward others,
and service. "He that would be greatest," said the Master,
"is the servant of all."
Some of us, perhaps all of us, fight
that battle our whole life long. The me-me-me of the self-centered
personality is not hard to find. Sometimes we have only to look
in the mirror. Some have characterized an entire generation as
"the me generation." But the gospel holds out a more
excellent way. With baptism we accept an obligation of bearing
one another's burdens and loving one another.
Despite the lofty ideal, relations
between the Saints were not always perfectly placid and peaceful
— at any time, but especially in 1846-47. Imagine trying to sell
or dispose of property, getting together the essential wagons
and animals for the journey, making sure that you had enough bedding
and food for survival, and tools for later construction, seeds
for planting, a vase or musical instrument that represented non-utilitarian
beauty. Running here, running there, with never enough time. Finding
that the wagon-builder had a limited supply of materials for repairing
wheels. Bickering, shouting, scuffling — these did occur.
On the trail, how could you help
but look after yourself and your own family first? They were your
obligation. If you spent all your time helping others, you might
be left behind. You borrow an item from someone in the next camp
and through oversight or the pressure of getting on the trail
fail to return it promptly. Harsh words were sometimes uttered.
Even within the same family, as any parent who has been in a car
for long hours knows, tempers could wear thin. These were human
beings, not robots from another planet.
Fortunately, as we also know, there
were many examples of nursing the sick, grieving over deaths,
working together, assisting one another. Life on the trail was
never simple. But laboring exclusively for oneself or one's immediate
family was one of the temptations.
Anyway, listen to Brother Heber as
on 1 June 1847 he addressed the assembled travelers who sat on
the ground or stood around him: Br Heber [according to the trail
journal of a listener] was speaking of selfishness, that everyone
should feel as though they could take hold and assist one another
just as quick as they would themselves, that when we feel an interest
in all our brethren's welfare we would be filled with light and
life; while selfishness tends to death, it kills the soul. One
who acts for the good of the whole acts like a god, while he that
coils himself up in himself and only strives to advance his own
affairs will sink down to nothing.
That is a good statement of an important
gospel principle. Of the hundreds and thousands of talks given
in our meetings throughout the world, very few are preserved.
We can be grateful to Norton Jacob, who listened to Heber C. Kimball
and was sufficiently impressed to write a summary in his journal.
Selfishness was a human quality that
the early Church leaders repeatedly inveighed against. If the
members were obsessed with themselves, unwilling to sacrifice
for the cause, how would it move forward? The gathering, missionary
service, colonizing, even the functioning of wards and branches
— all these required the abandonment of a selfish disposition
that was always concerned about "Number One."
In 1863 Brigham Young said, "The
wicked and selfish portion of mankind are constantly engaged in
pandering to their own selfish and avaricious desires, regarding
not the wants and sufferings of their fellow-beings." He
went on to say that "the great and good of mankind ... lived
to do good to their fellow-beings, to benefit and bless their
families, neighbors, friends and the human family at large; such
men have proved themselves worthy of their existence."
He might have cited the example of
the greatest and best, the One who "went about doing good"
(Acts 10:38) and who taught, "Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto
me" (Matt. 25:40).
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