“Free Wheeling Mormons” are those who have wheels and freely share them to help others. No, it’s not just Mormons who are free wheeling in this sense–many good free wheelers of all faiths are out there putting their wheels to work. I’ll look at some LDS aspects of this issue, though.

Consider, for example, two friends of mine, one a Mormon Bishop and faculty member at a major university, and another a generous Mormon in Zion 2.0 (a.k.a. Wisconsin). Both have trucks and don’t hide that fact from the world. That means they are always getting calls to help people move furniture, mattresses, and all manner of junk. The bishop told me he puts his truck to use two or three times a week in helping out ward members. That’s quite an example. The natural man in me says that if I had a truck and were called to be bishop, I’d trade it in for a motorcycle in a hurry.

Mormons with vans are often given many service opportunities as well. Here’s an anonymous comment from a recent post on Mormanity illustrating this point, and illustrating the kind attitude that some faithful Christians have in using their material goods to bless others:

When my wife and I purchased our minivan, we felt particularly led to consider it a consecrated vehicle. In the almost seven years we’ve owned it, we have used it to contribute greatly to LDS Emergency services as the church sent help after the seven hurricanes that hit the US in two years. We loaned it to a family whose only vehicle has blown an engine so the father could get to work, which allowed him to save enough to fix the truck eventually and return our van. We loaned it again to a friend whose van lost its engine during flooding in our area when his wife was literally pulled off the road by a powerful surge in a storm that came so suddenly the whole town was caught unawares. Finally we let another family borrow it while their much older van received repairs that allowed them to continue to use it. I am leaving my name off of this post because I am not concerned about credit: I want to say how blessed our family has been every single time we have so willingly responded to these needs without worrying about government assistance or church welfare. Each of the families we were able to help had already blessed our lives and continue to do so by their love and friendship, but even beyond their direct help, we have seen so many ways we have been supported in our own struggles.

Wow, that is really going the extra mile, or allowing others to go the extra mile on your dime. I’m touched by that example. Those free wheelers also learned that the art of generous sharing brings blessings far beyond what is sacrificed.

Kudos to you kind and courageous free wheeling Mormons and free wheeling friends of all faiths out there who lift others by giving lifts and putting your wheels to work in serving God. [Insert lame pun based on “Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel” here. Any suggestions?]