The parable of the manning of the good ship Zion

[Vort]

In a faraway land lay a country in turmoil. Beset by troubles, famine, and internal strife, it seemed to many to be on a path to destruction, carrying with it its people. Fortunately, a vastly wealthy benefactor, not of that country, commissioned the good ship Zion as a refuge for those who sought escape from the turmoil, promising to bring its passengers to a far better land. Passage was free; the only price was a willingness to serve as the benefactor (and those he appointed to lead) requested. Among many, it was required that they agree to give all they had for the benefit of the ship, though few were actually required to hand their stuff over. In any case, it was understood that their reward in the new land would vastly exceed anything they offered.

 

Many gladly signed up. Who wouldn't? They were a merry bunch, and many were surprised and even delighted to learn that the ship's crew was staffed entirely by the passengers. This made for an interesting and sometimes uncomfortable dynamic, as the passengers themselves served the other passengers.

 

Yet some felt to criticize the appointed officers, even supposing that they themselves would be better suited for command. Even the captain himself was not spared such berating. And so the ship sailed on, but not has happy or as productive as it might have been. Some of the passengers took a very long time to figure out -- and some never did figure out -- that being an officer on board was utterly irrelevant. They were going to a new land, a promised land of plenty, where the strifes and turmoil of their home country didn't exist. Having been brought up in and infected by the evils of their home country, they foolishly thought that position among the crew or status as an officer was somehow meaningful in the long term.

 

But the humble, those that didn't worry about how they thought their neighbor might perceive them, kept in mind their goal and the reason for their journey. They kept quiet about the bilge water, the sometimes less-than-restaurant-quality mess, the inevitable slip-ups by the hands or deck officers, and even the occasional rat darting about. They kept their own berth shipshape and tried to do well at their duty onboard, whether it was manning the brow or cleaning the head. Because they remembered that, however fun or frustrating the voyage was, the destination was their goal, and that those who learned to live with joy aboard the good ship Zion would also know how to live with joy in the promised land.

[Just_A_Guy]

In a somewhat parallel vein, from Sister Eliza R. Snow:

 

Think not when you gather to Zion

Your troubles and trials are through,

That nothing but comfort and pleasure

Are waiting in Zion for you.

No, no, ’tis designed as a furnace,

All substance, all textures to try.

To burn with “wood, hay, and stubble,”

The gold from the dross purify.

 

Think not when you gather to Zion,

That all will be holy and pure;

That fraud and deception are banished,

And confidence wholly secure.

No, no, for the Lord our Redeemer

Has said that the tares with the wheat

Must grow ‘til the great day of burning

Shall render the harvest complete.

 

Think not when you gather to Zion

The Saints here have nothing to do

But look to your personal welfare,

And always be comforting you.

No; those who are faithful are doing

What they find to do with their might;

To gather the scattered of Israel

They labor by day and by night.

 

Think not when you gather to Zion,

The prize and the victory won.

Think not that the warfare is ended,

The work of salvation is done.

No, no; for the great prince of darkness

A tenfold exertion will make,

When he sees you go to the fountain,

Where freely the truth you may take.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Just_A_Guy

[Guest]

I really like this, Vort.

[mordorbund]

In a somewhat parallel vein, from Sister Eliza R. Snow:

 

Think not when you gather to Zion

Your troubles and trials are through,

That nothing but comfort and pleasure

Are waiting in Zion for you.

No, no, ’tis designed as a furnace,

All substance, all textures to try.

To burn with “wood, hay, and stubble,”

The gold from the dross purify.

 

Think not when you gather to Zion,

That all will be holy and pure;

That fraud and deception are banished,

And confidence wholly secure.

No, no, for the Lord our Redeemer

Has said that the tares with the wheat

Must grow ‘til the great day of burning

Shall render the harvest complete.

 

Think not when you gather to Zion

The Saints here have nothing to do

But look to your personal welfare,

And always be comforting you.

No; those who are faithful are doing

What they find to do with their might;

To gather the scattered of Israel

They labor by day and by night.

 

Think not when you gather to Zion,

The prize and the victory won.

Think not that the warfare is ended,

The work of salvation is done.

No, no; for the great prince of darkness

A tenfold exertion will make,

When he sees you go to the fountain,

Where freely the truth you may take.

 

For those so inclined, you can sing this to the same tune as We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet.

[Vort]

For those so inclined, you can sing this to the same tune as We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet.

 

Or House of the Rising Sun.