The River at the Bottom of the Gorge

An ordinary piece of paper arrived in my mailbox last week. I would have thought it a piece of junk mail except for a couple of apparent tell-tale signs indicating its value.

Rather than a paper envelope, it was encased in a cardboard one - surely to protect the contents from all potential in-transit damage. Printed across the back in all-caps were the words "DO NOT FOLD", indicating the intent of the sender to get it to its destination in pristine condition. If that wasn't enough to convince me of its worth, there was a very familiar logo peeking through the address window that gave me a little thrill, and it was addressed not to me, but to my oldest son.

Convinced of its value, and having a guess as to what was inside, I opened it up to find the single sheet of paper, so carefully protected, seemingly no more remarkable than any other. What set it apart from all other pieces of ordinary paper were the words printed on it….

“Brigham Young University… has conferred on James Tanner Hiatt the degree of Bachelor of Science in Economics….”

17 words to sum up an incalculable number of days, months, years, even decades of preparation and effort. Preparation and effort executed by Tanner, of course, but also offered up by countless others whose shoulders Tanner stood on, and whose teachings Tanner grew from.  

Parents, family, friends, teachers, mentors, and God, who all loved him and gave him life, example, experience, inspiration, confidence, encouragement, desire, and ultimate hope

But these don’t include all that had a hand in Tanner’s success…..Coming before Tanner are generations

of examples of hard work

of goal setting

of persevering through tremendous difficulties

of making good choices

of following God’s path

Because of these generations, Tanner stood where he was and began already ahead of the game.

It made me think of our visit to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison just before Tanner left on his mission. It’s a canyon/gorge that was formed (among other things) by a river that flowed constantly ever onward through much of Colorado before emptying into the Colorado River.  Thousands (maybe millions) of years ago, it was 

a regular river flowing in a regular riverbed along land that was level with its banks. With time and consistency, that river carved out a path that, barring some major force of nature, will never diverge. As that river carved out rock and sediment, it gradually fell below the level of the ground. At some point, it was so far below the surface, its pathway became certain. The story of this river symbolizes so beautifully a principle at work, not just in Tanner’s life, but in all our lives.

Patterns emerge from seemingly commonplace things. Over time, consistent patterns create pathways. The deeper the pathway, the less likely it is to diverge

 It speaks convincingly to the idea of choosing wisely the good path. The same principle that applies to virtuous outcomes (like a college graduation) also applies to ruinous ones. Heber J. Grant often quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson’s keen observation...

In the case of ruinous habits, it becomes easier and easier to do the harmful thing, while simultaneously becoming harder and harder to do the good. It is a wise man who considers carefully his commonplace patterns. Alma calls these commonplace things “small and simple” and is a quote worthy of its own space as well….

The Book of Mormon illustrates this principle over and over in small ways, but in a grand way, it is one of the principal messages of the book. In the very beginning Nephi tells us that he had “great desires to know the mysteries of God” (1 Nephi 2:16), 

so he simply asked

What came from that desire and question was the beginning of a pattern that eventually produced the entire faith-filled Nephite nation. Conversely, the simple act of not asking also produced a nation – a nation steeped in disbelief and rebellion.

It matters…… our choices, even small ones, matter

I feel immeasurable gratitude for the seemingly commonplace choices made by grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles; that have carved out the ground 

my family and I all stand on now. I also feel a keen sense of responsibility to maintain the good path, while working to discover and correct the parts of the path that 

could be better.

This graduation marks both a conclusion and a beginning for Tanner; however, the symbols of his journey show

up everywhere. They are found in the small and simple choices we make each day. I find myself deeply hoping - for myself and for all those I love - that our small and simple choices become a river that carves out for us and for the generations that follow us, a gorge of beauty, love, faith, humility, strength, goodness and discipleship.