I remember teaching Primary lessons
about how Jesus said we should be the salt of the earth. It was suggested that we bake some cookies
for the class, but leave out the salt, so the children would see how important
salt was for good tasting food.
This morning it occurred to me that if
Christ said he wanted us to be the salt of the earth, perhaps salt is far more
important in our lives than just making things palatable. I googled salt and, surprise, surprise, it
turns out that salt is vital to life on earth—not necessarily the salt in our
shakers, but the salt in our bodies and in the ocean!
Salt water is literally the most common substance on
the surface of Earth, and it’s really important – for life and for the planet.
1. Salt water carries the electrical
signals that make life possible
Salt
water is made when a solid salt, such as table salt (sodium chloride), is added
to water and breaks apart into individual freely moving particles called ions…
These
ions act just like a balloon that’s been rubbed against your hair. They carry
an electrical charge, and allow salt
water to conduct electricity.
Your body uses salt
water to send the electrical signals that cause your heart to beat and your
brain to think.
2. Salt water acts as a conveyor belt
to carry heat around the planet
Europe
and North America are kept warm by the Gulf Stream, a massive current of warm
water flowing north from the tropics.
This
current is driven by changes in the saltiness of ocean water. As the polar ice
caps freeze in winter, the surrounding ocean water becomes saltier. Saltier
water is heavier and so it sinks to the sea floor, stirring the ocean and
driving these currents.
This [affects] the flow of heat and nutrients around the
world in complex ways.
3. Salt water…suck[s] carbon dioxide
out of the air
[The
ocean extracts carbon dioxide(CO₂) from the air and stores it on a huge scale],
removing more than a quarter of
all the CO₂ that humans put into the air.
https://theconversation.com/vital-for-life-heat-and-power-what-you-never-knew-about-salt-water-102764 (This site has an interesting short animated video
that explains the role of salt in the ocean currents)
Salt
is also a preserving agent: As a matter of fact the main use for salt in a long term
survival situation will be in preserving foods. If you are salting, smoking,
canning, pickling or making jerky you will need salt. http://www.preparingtosurvive.com/salt.html
Salt water performs life-giving functions, both
for the body and for the earth itself.
Without salt water, bodies could not function. Without salt water, the earth could not
sustain life.
How can
we be the salt of the earth? The Lord
told Abraham, …In thee (that is, in thy
Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood)…shall all the families of
the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the
blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. (Abraham 2:11)
He also promises Abraham, …[Thy seed] shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations.
We can be the salt of the earth when, with the
living water of Jesus Christ, we carry the pure restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
with the authority of the Priesthood of God to all the world, giving the world
spiritual life. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has the life
giving, purifying and preserving qualities of the Atonement to offer
immortality and eternal life to all souls.
Salt that has lost its savor would be religion
that contains impurities—false doctrines and unauthorized practices. This would be good for nothing, for it would
not be able to deliver salvation or exaltation, so must be cast out.
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