Recently, after attending the Sunday session of a wonderful
Stake Conference, I came home to grill some ribs. Unfortunately, the grill I had been using was
out of propane and, because it was a Sunday, I chose not to go to the
store. Although I was out of fuel, I had
a backup plan.
My back up plan was to build and use a little metal grill I
had purchased on clearance the year before. Instead of using propane, this new grill
required charcoal.
After assembling the dozens of pieces to the new grill, I noticed
that the bag of charcoal I had purchased required lighter fluid. But since I had never owned a charcoal grill
before, I had foolishly failed to purchase this important ingredient.
I sent my children thru the neighborhood in search of
lighter fuel. Most of my neighbors use
gas grills and none of them had any lighter fluid. One neighbor found some self-starting
briquettes and let me take the bag.
Even after all the work of building the grill, preparing the
ribs, searching for lighter fluid, and acquiring the charcoal, and dozens of
attempts to light the briquettes, I hopeless realized I was doing something
wrong because the fire wouldn’t start.
We eventually gave up and just used the broiler in the oven
to cook the meat, but I was determined to figure out the grill problem and why
I couldn’t get it to work.
The very next day I went to the store to buy lighter fluid
and a special cylinder to stack the briquettes in. I had watched my brother in law use a similar
device when starting and cooking on his grill.
After making my purchases I rushed home and began the task of preparing
the grill.
I filled the cylinder with a good supply of charcoal and I
poured the necessary lighter fluid on the coals. I was excited to see the flames torch the
well soaked briquettes and I was even happier to see the charcoal begin to
light.
Although I was successful in starting the fire, I made the
mistake of pouring out the briquettes too early and I didn’t keep the coals
close enough together when I spread them out.
Again, for the second time in two attempts, I failed in lighting the
grill. The fire just went out.
I learned something about charcoal over that two day period. I call it the Concept of
Closeness.
Clearly I didn’t understand the chemistry required to build
a charcoal fire. I had built many fires
in Ireland while serving a mission so I should have understood the similarities
of charcoal to coal or peat. In Ireland
we would use hot coals from the previous stove fire, gather coal from the coal
bin the night before, stack the new coals on the old hot coals, and patiently
wait until morning for a hot stove. By
morning all the new coals would be red hot and producing an intense heat. The heat would not only heat the flat, but
heat the bath water as well.
It is practically impossible, even with a large dousing of lighter
fluid, to light an individual piece of charcoal or coal. Charcoal fires require
multiple briquettes. The biggest reason that the charcoal in my little black
metal grill did not light the first time was because the briquettes were not
stacked close enough to each other. The
science of a charcoal fire is that combustion occurs because of the closeness
of the bricks to one another and the air that flows between them after the
match is lit. Stacking the briquettes in
a pyramid shape would have allowed the necessary reaction to occur.
However, the reason the fire went out the second time wasn’t
because the briquettes weren’t close enough together to light them or to stay
lit. The tool I had purchased to keep
the coals close was very effective in starting the charcoal. The problem was I rushed the process. I just
didn’t give them enough time together to really get hot. And, even when I thought they were hot
enough, I turned them too early and did not keep them close enough together
once I thought they had fully ignited.
Think of each briquette as a gospel principle. Individually they are real, and sound, and
valuable. But the collective power isn’t
effective unless they are co-mingled and interlaced. The collective understanding of all gospel
principles, together in their entirety, is powerful and creates the light and truth
necessary to grow brighter and brighter like the perfect day.
Like gathering wood for a fire, we gather gospel principles
one at a time, here a little there a little.
We learn line upon line and precept upon precept. Held closely together with enough time for
understanding to be developed, these principles expand and the eyes of our
understanding open with them. As we
exercise faith and patience waiting, if you will, for “the tree to bring forth
the fruit,” the knowledge and understanding grows “an hundred fold”
Like the body weight we might need to lose or the muscles we
are trying to gain, or the debt we are trying to eliminate, most things change
slowly and incrementally over a period of time.
Some things, like growing pumpkins, can’t be rushed. We must understand the science behind it and
patiently wait for the process.
Now think of the coals again with regards to wards, neighborhoods, and communities. The law of consecration
is based on the oneness of a people.
Each individual’s heart is like one charcoal briquette. The synergy of consecration creates a more
powerful community of combined force than ever could be achieved by the
individual.
But it starts in the
heart. Each individual briquette must change. This requires a mighty change
of heart. Think of the charcoals again and a statement made by the Savior himself. “If you are not one, you are not mine.”
Like the coals, when the
hearts of the fathers turn to the
children and the hearts of the children turn to the fathers, the whole earth
avoids a curse and the foundation of Zion is established. When we are “of one heart and one mind, and
dwell in righteousness,” we begin to reach an exalted level of closeness.
Closeness starts with gospel principles and ends with strong
families and communities. It is the path to “a more excellent way”
