Speed Bumps, Potholes, and Sinkholes

When I was just learning to drive, my Dad was my teacher. He taught me to drive a stick shift, gave me lots of hints about driving (that I passed on to my children), and by the time I got to take driver’s education in school, I could drive fairly competently – at least I thought so, but I’m not so sure that Dad and Mom did. I still remember Dad moving his hands back and forth to indicate the relationship between the gas and the clutch. I used the same technique when I taught my kids how to drive.

One thing my Dad taught me was how to deal with those pesky speed bumps that were just being installed in all the parking lots. When I drove, I eased up to the speed bump at about one mile an hour and had to let out the clutch and give it the gas to get over the darn things. My dad told me that speed bumps should be hit straight on at about 5 to 10 miles an hour, straight on so as not to mess up the front end alignment, and faster so that the car could go over them more easily. Sure enough, when I did this, the jolt was considerably less and much easier than if I rolled over them very slowly. When we encounter speed bumps in a parking lot, we pass over them quickly, and almost immediately forget about them. They are of no great consequence to us.

If we are progressing, if we are moving along the straight and narrow but well-defined path, we can handle the speed bumps. If our commitment to the gospel is not so strong, if the path is not so clear to us, if we are moving more slowly along the path than we might be, then those speed bumps can become bigger obstacles that require more effort to get past them. Elder Richard G. Scott, in his book, Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy,  says:

A damaged road presents the same obstacles to every traveler until others repair it. The highway of life is different. Each of us encounters unique challenges meant for growth. … Yet we have the capacity to smooth out the way, to fill in the depressions, and to beautify our course.

“We have the capacity to smooth out the way.” So it is up to us to note the slight impediment, pass over the speed bump at the proper speed, and keep going.

Sometimes life does have potholes. The path to salvation is hard-packed by the feet of the many that have passed before us, but we often create the speed bumps, potholes, and even sink holes. Sometimes (not always, but sometimes), it is we – you and I – who create the obstacles in our way that impede our progress.

Randy L. Bott , in his book, Home with Honor: Helps for Returning Missionaries, tells the following story:

As a young boy I lived with some dear friends at Mapusaga, American Samoa. The only road that led to Pago Pago (the main city) was really a series of connected potholes. The buses that traveled the road were constantly broken down. Riding to town was a grueling experience, physically torturous. One day my friend and I climbed the Mapusaga Rainmaker, which towers fifteen hundred feet above the road. From atop the mountain, the road seemed to have direction and purpose. The potholes were unnoticeable. The jostling and lurching of the buses were not evident from our vantage point. I gained a new appreciation for the trials of life from that road. When viewed from a distance, things that seem difficult take on a whole new meaning.

Perhaps then, we can conclude that perspective is important when dealing with the obstacles and trials we encounter in our lives. The only viewpoint that will enable us to see the path ahead in a way that moves us past the inevitable difficulties we encounter is an eternal one. From the mountain, from an eternal vantage point, brother Bott could see the beginning and the end of the journey, and the way was smooth. The Savior said to Thomas the Apostle in John 14:4-6:

And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

A phrase from Eliza R. Snow’s hymn, How Great the Wisdom and the Love, summarizes the heart of this great message of the Savior’s leadership and willingness to help us over the difficulties we encounter in this life:

He marked the path and led the way, And ev'ry point defines, To light and life and endless day Where God's full presence shines.

Eliza R. Snow (in my humble opinion) switches from past “marked, led” to present tense “defines” because the Savior is continually defining and redefining the waypoints for each of us as we either miss them or turn small obstacles into large ones. Could there be a better guide than the Savior himself to lead us back to Him and our Father?

We can, and sometimes do, turn speed bumps into potholes, and potholes into sinkholes. We lose eternal perspective and magnify the problem beyond all reason. Simple problems or trials can become sinkholes that seem insurmountable and can completely stop our progress. Again, the Savior says in Matthew 11:28-30:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

When teams of oxen are yoked, usually there are always at least two oxen in the team. The right ox is the stronger and more experienced of the two, knows his responsibility, and responds correctly to the commands of the drover. The off (or left) ox may be younger and a little smaller and is yoked to the more experienced ox so that he can learn to understand commands and obey without question.

The Savior is the lead ox, and we are the off ox. The Savior is willing to team with us and help us learn to view obstacles with eternal perspective. We do labor and are heavy laden sometimes when we only need to yoke ourselves with the Savior – he will lighten our burdens and smooth the way for us. He will not erase the speed bumps, potholes, and sinkholes of life, but He will make them easier to cross. The Father’s plan is personalized for each of us. The Savior knows the plan for each of us, has our eternal perspective in hand, and knows where the speed bumps, potholes, and sinkholes are.  Elder Neal A. Maxwell, in his book, One More Strain of Praise, page 10, teaches this concept:

Therefore, matching life's strategic purposes to our local discipleship and its daily tasks by using gospel perspectives becomes vital. In this process, adversity can both clean the lens and sharpen life's focus while blending the doctrinal and the personal.

Father's plan comprehends and is inlaid with His personal plans for each of us, including our individual trajectories of trial.

The Savior teaches that the purpose of adversity is to focus our lives on the eternal, and as we are able to overcome them (with His help), thereby to contribute to our eternal progress.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie calls the Savior a “…holy and perfect being, who is the prototype of all saved beings.” (Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie, page357) He is our example and guide.

So we are on the path. We are working through the problems and trials we face. We are using the Savior as our example. We are holding to the iron rod – the word of God. Nevertheless, in 2 Nephi 31:19, Nephi points out that without the Lord, we do not and cannot have adequate resources to save ourselves.

And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

Let us shed our pride, humble ourselves, avoid growing speed bumps into potholes and sinkholes, and accept the Savior’s help and guidance as we pass through this mortal probation. It’s the only way we can be successful.