Interpretations Vary

This last time I was in my New Testament class, we spoke of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. To be honest, I had never read or heard of this parable. In the moments when my professor told us that the father of the two sons ran to his youngest son who had fallen, but come back to his father, I was just astounded. And the big thing is that Jesus Christ did the same for us. Like the father, Christ ran to the earth from His throne, He ran to the cross. I never really thought of it in that way. For awhile, before I knew much about the Church and knew nothing of Jesus Christ, I thought He was sent here, just like we were. But, no, He was far from sent here. He chose to come here. That makes me so proud, so appreciative, and makes me feel so loved. I don't know how I could ever not love and thank Jesus Christ again. 

Yet, in this story some people have interpreted the father accepting his son though he had sinned as unfair. Some people, like the eldest son, think that because they have been righteous their whole lives and others have not been until one day when they reform, that those who have been righteous their whole lives are more worthy and those who have not been righteous their whole lives are not worthy. They do not understand why everyone receives the same blessings and same opportunities. People like this make no sense to me. Shouldn't those who have been righteous their whole lives be happy for those who have finally found the way? You'd think they would be. 

For me, this hits hard and close to home. Because I have not always been a member and not always living right I am so very grateful to have the opportunity to receive the blessings Heavenly Father has promised if I do right. Knowing that my family is not living certain standards right now is hard, but I know that they will have the opportunity to do so later in life and can receive the same blessings that I will. 

Making Decisions

I was in my Teachings of the Living Prophets class yesterday and while everyone in the class became antsy to leave I listened intently to our professor, oddly. He was reading a quote from President Boyd K. Packer. He said, when asked 'How do I know when I’ve received individual revelation:'

“I think I should mention one other thing, and I hope this won’t be misunderstood.  We often find young people who will pray with great exertion over matters that they are free to decide for themselves.  Suppose, if you will, that a couple had money available to build a house.  Suppose they had prayed endlessly over whether they should build an early American style, a ranch style or perhaps a Mediterranean style.   Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps the Lord just plain doesn’t care?.....It’s their choice. In many things we can do just what we want.”

“Now there are some things he cares about very much…..if you build it then be honest and pay for the material does into it.”

“The Lord is very generous with the freedom He gives us.”

“Listen to this sentence if you don’t hear anything else:  If we foolishly ask our bishop or branch president or the Lord to make a decision for us, there’s precious little self reliance in that.  Think what it costs every time you have somebody else make a decision for you.”

(“Self Reliance,” Ensign, Aug. 1975, p 89)

I had to stop to think about this and what exactly President Packer was saying. He wasn't saying that Heavenly Father doesn't care about us, he was saying that He doesn't care about the style of our home. There are more important things He cares about.

At first, this thought made me a little upset. Kind of. More like surprised. Sort of. I just didn't expect someone to say it, though I knew it was true. 

During my first lesson with the sister missionaries, the ward mission leader came over as well and shared with me 2 Nephi 32:9. As an unsure investigator, I took this literally and I tried to pray about the many decisions I faced in my life. But I think about it now and maybe I don't need to ask Heavenly Father about insignificant things that don't really mean much to me. 

I know Heavenly Father loves me and cares about me and there are no 'but's' in this statement. It is just that He cares about me, not the silly choices I make about clothing or wall colors.

 Emily

Our Own Ideas

We all have our own opinions, our own perspectives, and our own ideas. When I think of an ideal day, for example, I may say that the sun is shining and I'm outside on a swing (stereotypical, I know) yet another person may say that it's snowing and they're comfortably in their house on the couch reading. We have our own ideas of perfection.

So, when Jesus told His disciples that He would be rejected by the people, they didn't believe Him. Why? Because they had their own ideas of what the Messiah should be. They thought He was going to be accepted by the people, they thought He was going to obviously be the Messiah. Yet, He was rejected by the people, they had doubts, and until He preached they did not know who He was. He died for them. He died for us. Yet, in their eyes He was not supposed to die; He was supposed to live. 

We often look back and think that we would have automatically believed Him, as if there was this light that shone down on Him signifying the Messiah. Would we really have? Would we really have tossed our ideas of the Messiah out the window and believed Him? I, honeslty, can't say I would have. If His own disciples didn't, then who am I to say I would? 

We have our own ideas of what Jesus and God should be. But if we were faced with the Messiah today, would we be able to call Him by name? I wonder sometimes, because I went 18 years without the Church in my life and I didn't know any better.