Years ago I was discussing the church, and it hit me:
The church is more like a sailing regatta than anything else.
When you sail, it is extremely rare for a sailing vessel, or a collection of them, to sail directly for the goal. Instead, they adjust for the wind, the currents and for the prior direction the regatta has traveled.
If you are tacking into the wind, or running across it, in order to reach a goal you will need to go back and forth — you cannot go straight at it.
In addition, at the edges of the regatta the ships there will end up going far from the center, just to stay with the regatta.
There will be a halo or area far from the optimal course that most of the ships will have to follow for all the ships to avoid fouling each other and to go towards the goal.
The path that takes one group of ships away from reefs or shallows will take much of the regatta away from an optimal course because the path of the regatta is not only the path of the ship in the lead — it is the path the entire flotilla follows. Many ships will have to go slower than they could, while others will struggle to keep up.
In addition, it isn’t the ships arriving at the destination that matters so much as getting their crews and cargo safely there.
When it comes to the church and the gospel, the church is a container for the gospel, rather than the gospel.
In different ages and times, the church has had different forms.
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets …
(From Hebrews 1)
Yea, and the voice of the Lord, by the mouth of angels, doth declare it unto all nations; yea, doth declare it, that they may have glad tidings of great joy; yea, and he doth sound these glad tidings among all his people, yea, even to them that are scattered abroad upon the face of the earth …
(From Alma 13).
The shape of the container has often been much different than it is in our day. So Abraham, whose household included three hundred men trained only for war, herdsmen and others, probably did not have a home teaching assignment like you or I might have. Since home teaching started in 1964, most of the times the gospel has been taught it has not included home teaching. The Relief Society did not exist for most of the history of the human race. There have been a lot of other differences.
As for the gospel, it is the power of God unto salvation.
Questions:
- Do you think you would have recognized the gospel or the church in the time of Abraham? What about Nehemiah?
- What does that imply for the church as Nephi had it? Mormon?
- What image do you have for the church?
- What impact does the way the church deals with winds, tides, trends and other issues have on how the direction the church is headed compares with its ultimate goal?
- What do you think the ultimate goal is?
- What do you see as the relationship of the Church and the Gospel?
- How does the Church differ from the Gospel?
Wheat & Tares 
The Church misinterprets some of the gospel and misdefines sin. If that is on purpose then their goal is to simply collect numbers. If they correct their mistakes, the goal is to bring salvation to souls.
The Church is the body of Christ. It is through the Church that the Gospel is preached, the ordinances are made and recorded, and the Saints fellowship with each other. Individual souls are saved. I thank God for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Joseph Smith compared the woman in Revelation 12 to the church. The child she carried was the Kingdom of God. I think a pregnant woman can be a good metaphor for the church and the gospel. One (church) nourishes and protects the other, ensuring it’s survival. The needs and desires of the child (gospel) will influence the actions of the mother (church). The needs of one will not always match the needs of the other, though. Ultimately, the church acts as caretaker, but they are still two separate entities.
Each dispensation is essentially a different mother housing the same gospel. How the gospel is nourished will depend on the culture and habits of the mother. The child cannot act on it’s own – it must be fed by what the mother is capable of providing.
Sailing, nice analogy Stephen! Just make sure you sail the proper course and don’t get caught running while the leadership is still tacking or you could find yourself a foul the church wile being in harmony with the gospel.
Another metaphor is that the church is like a skeleton for the gospel to give it stability and form.
I think that instead of “regatta” you mean “convoy.” A regatta is a series of sailboat races. Convoy is a group of boats traveling together.
Great analogy. We sail individual courses towards the same goal. Or we all hop onto the Good Ship Zion and leave all that messy wind and tide calculation stuff to those in charge.
The Other Clark–you are right on the precise word.
Howard–good point about how even if we are headed the right way we can foul and harm others.
Mary Ann –I like that metaphor.
JL — not disagreeing. But I’m more looking for ways to understand that.
Ms Understood/- not sure I understand the context.
Thanks to everyone for your comments.
Another analogy: the gospel is the fruit of an orange, and the church is the skin. Too thick of skin ( too much church) and the fruit ( gospel ) will be pithy and not good to eat. Too thin of skin and the fruit will dry up. You need just the right amount of skin( church) to make the gospel work.
The LDS church goes back and forth trying to find the right amount of “skin”
In retrospect, here is the word I should have used:
flo·til·la
flōˈtilə/Submit
noun
a fleet of ships or boats.
“a flotilla of cargo boats”
Surf40 — the internet ate my reply to you. I really liked your metaphor. Thank you.