Lessons in Spaghetti Sauce, Horseradish, and Peace: What Creators Can Do to Lift the World

By Tyler Nelson   

To a Worm in Horseradish, the World is Horseradish

A week after the general conference in April, I was reading through articles from my favorite author, Malcolm Gladwell. Malcolm has written on just about every subject, from dogs to Challenger, sneakers to police officers, and even David and Goliath. The article that struck me that day was about spaghetti sauce. Specifically, the connection between spaghetti sauce, choices, and happiness. It made me hopeful.

The gist of the article was that back in any decade before the 90s, a lot of people were eating one, maybe two, kinds of spaghetti sauce. Howard Moskowitz, a market researcher and psychophysicist who Gladwell interviewed, said that people only ate one kind of spaghetti sauce because they were only aware of one kind of spaghetti sauce. In those days, that kind of spaghetti sauce was the thin and runny kind. Maybe that is your thing, and maybe it’s not. That is what the sauce companies wanted to find out.

So, some of those spaghetti sauce companies whipped up new batches of spaghetti sauce: chunky, garlic, and extra tomato. These flavors existed, but they weren’t prevalent. The sauce companies loaded up the sauce in trucks and set out across the country on taste-testing missions. What they found was incredible. People were floored by the new flavors! They loved them! Most importantly, the people listed their satisfaction as being much higher than before. They were happier!

Moskowitz shared his take on a Yiddish proverb to explain the situation: “To a worm in horseradish, the world is horseradish.” To put it simply, what it means is that sometimes when we are put in a situation or circumstance in life, we have a hard time seeing beyond it. It can often become our world.

Coming out of COVID

Has anyone else felt like a worm in horseradish over the last year and a half? As we enter this summer, we do so with a lot of emotion. Sadness, anxiety, loneliness, even anger. Many people have lost loved ones. Some have lost jobs or face other financial difficulties. Grandparents have gone months and months without seeing their grandkids. 

If you have paid any attention to the news, you’ve watched as the political temperature has risen and continues to rise. One could not get on social media or watch the news without hearing or seeing some kind of hateful vitriol. There have been accusations, violence, and widening gaps among friends and family when we should be bonding together. It has truly been hard to find a haven.

Elder Jeffrey. R Holland addressed the situation of the world in his recent April 2021 general conference talk “Not as the World Giveth.” He said:

Two thousand years ago, the Savior warned that in the last days there would be ‘wars, and rumors of wars,” later saying that ‘peace [would] be taken from the earth.’… Brothers and sisters, we do see too much conflict, anger, and general incivility around us … with real deficits of faith and hope and charity all around us.

“NOT AS THE WORLD GIVETH,” ELDER JEFFREY R. HOLLAND

Elder Holland knows that these have been, and may continue to be, trying times. But he also knows that there is something that can lift us, guide us, and comfort us when we need it. And we can find comfort in knowing that if an Apostle of the Lord is aware of the situation, the Lord is aware of our situation and is more than ready and willing to give help, aid, and assistance in whatever form that we might need it. With the help of Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can be happy.

In his talk, Elder Holland shared how Christ shared His peace:

Prior to that first Easter, as Jesus concluded the new sacramental ordinance He had administered to the Twelve, He began His majestic farewell discourse and moved toward Gethsemane, betrayal, and crucifixion. However, sensing the concern and perhaps even outright fear some of those men must have exhibited, He said this to them (and to us):

‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. …

‘I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. …

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ …

…Such help and hope are dearly needed because in this worldwide congregation today are many who struggle with any number of challenges—physical or emotional, social or financial, or a dozen other kinds of trouble. But many of these we are not strong enough to address in and of ourselves, for the help and peace we need is not the kind ‘the world giveth.’

“Not as the World Giveth,” ELDER JEFFREY R. HOLLAND

Benjamin’s Runners

As members of Latter-day Saint Publishing, Media & Arts (LDSPMA) and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we find ourselves in a unique and powerful position. We are writers, readers, podcasters, artists, singers, publishers, and so much more. The theme for LDSPMA this year is “Voices of Light,” and we have the amazing capacity to help bolster and uplift those around us. In the negativity and the fear of the world today, we can break through. We have ways to spread light and joy, to give not as “the world giveth,” but as Christ would.

One of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon comes at the beginning of Mosiah. The venerated King Benjamin summons all his people to the temple so that he can speak to them. They arrived in masses, setting their tents up around the temple. King Benjamin finds that even speaking from his tall tower, not everyone can hear him. So, what did he do?

 He caused that the words which he spake should be written and sent forth among those that were not under the sound of his voice, that they might also receive his words.

Mosiah 2:8

I especially love the depiction of this in the Book of Mormon videos. A group of young messengers is tasked with taking the written words out to the people so that they can be read and that the people might understand. These messengers take their assignments seriously, and when they get the missives they sprint out to their assigned areas to deliver. We can be, and we need to be those runners. As the world continues to rage and more and more people find themselves lost in the dark and trapped in negative mindsets, we need to give them the tools and the help and the words that they need to be free. 

Most importantly, what was contained in the message that King Benjamin’s runners  delivered?

I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven.

Mosiah 2:41

Peace. Life. Love. An escape from the things of the world. And who does King Benjamin declare this message will go to?

The time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

Mosiah 3:20

The world has been a bit of a dark place for a long time now. But there is hope in the Savior. There is life. There is light. And we can share it. If a change in spaghetti sauce can make people happier, imagine what the gospel can do! There are people out there who need to see their options, and we are the creators who can deliver them. Whether it is in print, film, audio, or any other medium, we can spread the message of Christ. As you prepare your next piece, compose, or speak, remember we can help lift that darkness by delivering messages of light. By delivering the message of light:

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Tyler Nelson is an English major at Utah Valley University and will graduate with his bachelor’s degree in creative writing this fall. He is the author of five published short stories, including Letters From Bahati, which can be found through Owl Canyon Press. He hosts the Mission Report, a podcast all about interviewing returned missionaries and letting them share their experiences and advice for future missionaries. Tyler and his wife currently live up on a hill in Provo, UT.