Straightway

I hear concepts and they are like puzzle pieces in my mind. Each concept fits together with another concept. Perhaps puzzle pieces are not the right analogy-as they are flat and lie on a flat surface-unless either your dog or Maytag dryer got hold of one. Think of a 3-D puzzle and then you get a better idea. Here are three puzzle pieces.

• I’m listening to Elder Dallin H Oaks and he just said something about how some people have erroneous thinking that LDS people follow in blind faith. Hmmm… blind faith. In the Urban Dictionary it says to see ‘stupidity’ or ‘foolish’. It also says: ‘Unquestioning of anything that is dictated by the religion of choice, no matter how foolish, or even if one "rule" (or "guideline") contradicts another.’ Okay, set that puzzle piece aside for a moment. Let’s look at another one.
  
  
• Blind faith touched on the edge of another puzzle piece that I’ve been mulling/pondering over-straightway. A talk given by Marvin J. Ashton in April 1983. “Straightway is a power word. Straightway is an action word. It means immediately, without delay or hesitation. It means at once. Also, it is associated with having no curve or turn—a straight course, track, or path. Procrastination would be the very opposite of straightway. To procrastinate is to put off intentionally and habitually something that should be done. Procrastination is unproductive delay. Someone has wisely said, “Procrastination is a silly thing, it only makes me sorrow; but I can change at any time—I think I will tomorrow!”
  
  “Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
  
  “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
  
  “And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
  
  “And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
  
  “And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.” (Matt. 4:18–22)”
  
  
• Okay, now set that puzzle piece aside for a moment and let’s look at another one.
  
  This was from a talk by Pres. Thomas S. Monson April 1981. “I have many memories of my boyhood days. Anticipating Sunday dinner was one of them. Just as we children hovered at our so-called starvation level and sat anxiously at the table with the aroma of roast beef filling the room, mother would say to me, “Tommy, before we eat, take this plate I’ve prepared down the street to Old Bob and hurry back.”
  
  I could never understand why we couldn’t first eat and later deliver his plate of food. I never questioned aloud but would run down to his house and then wait anxiously as Bob’s aged feet brought him eventually to the door. Then I would hand him the plate of food. He would present to me the clean plate from the previous Sunday and offer me a dime as pay for my services. My answer was always the same: “I can’t accept the money. My mother would tan my hide.” He would then run his wrinkled hand through my blond hair and say, “My boy, you have a wonderful mother. Tell her thank you.”
  
  You know, I think I never did tell her. I sort of felt mother didn’t need to be told. She seemed to sense his gratitude. I remember, too, that Sunday dinner always seemed to taste a bit better after I had returned from my errand.”

He never questioned aloud, he went straightway, was this in blind faith? When a parent asks a child or tells a child to do something does the parent always have to explain the ‘where’s ‘why’s and ‘how to’s before the child will just do as they were asked? Does a parent need to?

I believe a parent should explain things often and I believe children should be trusting, and should be able to trust their parents enough that they just accept and do without question.

When does that happen you ask? Good question. It seems to be so when children are infants but as they grow older they start questioning everything. I guess that's where moms start using the, "Because I said so" rule.

It seems, and I could easily be wrong, but it seems that the sooner you start explaining the more they question. I don’t remember asking my parents anything. I didn’t dare. I don’t remember them explaining the where’s ‘why’s and ‘how to’s until I was pre-teen. Even at that point I didn’t stray from what they had taught me. As in Pres. Monson's case, my parents "would tan my hide.”

Was it good or bad that I would obey my parents and not question? Well, I guess that depends on the concepts being taught. I was taught blind obedience. ‘Even if a person is one second older than you, they are your senior and have more experience than you and therefore you WILL do what you are told without question.’ Yeah-that was too open ended. As a parent I never taught that concept-I know where it got me; married and parenting at too young of an age.

I also know that I tried to teach the concepts of ‘stranger-danger’ and yet my two youngest were nearly kidnapped. The would-be kidnapper saw an adult watching them carefully and with the verbal uncooperative response of the children they finally decided they should just give up.

Okay-so there are the 3 puzzle pieces. It’s something for you to muse on, ponder on and re-think