A Lesson From the Swamp

Last week I was deep in the Louisiana bayou. I wasn’t alone, but with my EC, and our crazy Cajun driver named Gary. Zipping across the swamp in an airboat, (while feeling like Johnny Quest) was a fun adventure, and completely out of the realm of our day-to-day experience. A strange place for a gospel lesson – but you know me.

When the loud drone of the fan blade stopped, the swamp was remarkably serene and beautiful. We saw herons and sparrows, and ‘gators and turtles. One of the biggest surprises was that it smelled fresh, and good. I went in expecting the rotten smell of stagnant water (which it looked like), but was glad to be very wrong in my expectation.

One of the most familiar sites in the bayou were the classic cypress trees, covered with Spanish moss. You’ve probably all seen them, either in movies, in person, or at Pirates of the Caribbean, at Disneyland.  Here is a picture to remind you:

Let me put this in perspective: Most everywhere we went was covered in water. Gary told us that it is usually a few feet deep, with another several feed of mud and yuck underneath. Yet rising up from this water and muck were these huge cypress trees, (Bald Cypress to be exact, Taxodium Distichum, to be technical, and the State Tree of Louisiana to be trivial.)

Some of them were giant, rising hundreds of feet in the air.

I was curious about how such tall trees could exist in such a soggy environment.  We have palm trees where I live, and I know how they bend with the wind to weather the storms, but these huge hardwood trees deal with storms like Hurricane Katrina, and still stand for hundreds of years.  How is it that they don’t flop over with the slightest breeze, given that they are living in muck?

So I asked Gary.

He told me the cypress trees survive, and thrive in the swamp for two reasons: First, each cypress has tap root that goes down very deep, through the water, and mud and muck. Down to where the dirt and rock are solid, and it can establish a secure foundation.

Second, each cypress tree sends our roots laterally, through the water and muck. I figured that these roots would help give the tree stability, but when I researched more, I learned that it was more than that. The lateral roots from one cypress tree comingle with the lateral roots from other cypress trees, often forming a sort of root lattice, interlocking many trees together. When water levels surge, and the winds blow, the trees hang onto each other by their network of roots.

The tap root by itself was not enough to ensure stability, as each tree needed to reach its roots out to the other trees.

The lateral roots weren’t enough by themselves, either. Each tree needed to have its own deep tap root for stability in the worst of conditions.

And that is how the cypress trees can live is a mucky environment, and still stand strong in the storms.

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Now, I imagine that I could probably stop there, and the analogy would be adequate, but I feel like spelling it out and adding a few more thoughts.

Each one of us needs to establish a personal relationship with, and testimony of Jesus Christ. This is the tap root that will anchor us when the storms rage around us. We know the Savior is our “sure foundation.”

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said it this way, “The winds of false doctrine that are blowing today both outside and a few within the Church are far more dangerous to the ultimate salvation of mankind than are earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, and other natural disasters. These winds can uproot people if their roots are not firmly anchored to the Rock of our salvation, which is the teachings and the gospel of Jesus Christ.”  (Deep Roots.)

The idea of a lattice-work of support from other trees is easily interpreted as our fellow members in the Church. One of our responsibilities as members of the Church is to take care of each other. Alma taught it this way:

“…and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light.” (Mosiah 18:9)

As it is with the cypress tree, we need to have both the tap root and the lattice work of roots  – or more directly, each one of us needs our testimony firmly rooted in the Savior, and a support system with our fellow saints.

I think sometimes we forget that both are required for strength and stability. Sometimes testimonies can be built on our friends and family, and our support system can be very strong, but we lack the deeply rooted testimony and relationship with the Savior that is required of us.

On the other side, it is quite possible to feel so secure enough in our testimony of the Savior, that we feel that we can do without mere mortals, and the headaches that can accompany participating with them. We find ourselves hunkering down, isolating ourselves – especially through difficult times – because we feel secure in our personal testimonies. (I sometimes struggle with the “hermit” mentality.)

I think that might be dangerous. It has been made clear throughout all scripture and the teachings of modern prophets that we have an obligation to support, teach, serve, and rescue each other. Simple put, “When you art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” (Luke 22:3)

I would suggest that if we are unwilling, or not desirous to be a part of the latticework of saints, then our tap root, and foundation in Christ may not actually be as real as we would suppose. 

Serving our fellow men, strengthening them, bearing each other’s burdens, and being a part of the community of saints is a natural result of a testimony of the Savior. Shirking, or shrinking from that social responsibility is an indication that our tap root – our foundation – is not really what we pretend it to be.

As with the cypress tree, both our tap root and support roots are necessary – it is not an either/or scenario. The waters can run deep. The world is full of all sorts of vile muck. The winds will howl, and the rains will come. We can stand firm through it all, but it takes more than a testimony of the Savior, and it takes more than having supportive friends.

It takes both.