Laborers in the Vineyard

The Savior gave many parables in his day to help those he taught understand certain principles of the gospel. We should still reference back on them and learn from them frequently. I believe they are written for us in our day too.

One of the parables that sticks out to me is the parable of the laborers in the vineyard recorded in Matthew 20:1-16. In this parable the householder hires a group of laborers to labor in his vineyard. As the day goes on he hires more and more. Once the day is over he pays all of them equally. The laborers who labored the whole day become envious of the others, saying they worked longer so they deserve more pay.

In the book Of Pigs, Pearls, and Prodigals, John Bytheway addresses every parable given by the Savior. He reviews it, gives commentary, and then he addresses how we can apply it in our lives. He really helped me understand the meaning of this parable. He says what Christ is trying to teach us is that we should not be envious like the laborers were. We should rejoice when our brethren are rewarded, regardless of our different circumstances.

He then tells a story that relates to our day to help us understand it more clearly. "I've met a few young people who have worked in the vineyard all day (were born in the Church) who have felt a tinge of envy toward those who joined the Church later in life because those friends were able to sample a lot of the world's sinful pleasures." OR my thoughts were that some might be jealous because they will be praised with just as much glory (compare to the parable of the prodigal son). Bytheway continues, "The first group needs to be reminded that 'wickedness never was happiness,' and that while they were laboring in the 'heat of the day,' they were also enjoying the gift of the Holy Ghost and the joy and peace of being in covenant with Jesus Christ." He then ends so beautifully, "So while the spiritually immature may speak of what they 'missed out on' by being in the Church all their lives, others often speak of all the goodness and spirit and understanding that they 'missed out on' during all those years without the gospel."

How true is this? We should not focus on what we have missed out on (whatever that may be) or be jealous when others come join the church later in their lives, but just rejoice when others come. Bytheway then ends the chapter saying, "So, although you might say we were hired as laborers in the vineyard at different times, we could rejoice together."

I have really loved this explanation because I remember being younger and not understanding this principle. I remember getting stuck on it and then never addressing it or understanding it. Moments like these make me even more grateful for the current calling I have as a miamaid adviser. I am able to record little lessons, like this one, that I didn't understand when I was younger and teach them to the 14-15 year old girls at church. This way they can learn from my ignorance and 'spiritual immaturity'.

With love,
jm

"In Jesus' parable, the focus is not how long or how well they worked, but the focus is that they come and participate." - Camille Fronk Olson

The King of Kings

In a previous post I discussed my New Years Resolution to finish the books I have never finished. One of the books I started a few years ago is called The King of Kings by Bruce D. Porter. I felt starting the new year off with reading a book on the Savior was appropriate.

In this very book is says, "Knowing Christ is not only a prerequisite to salvation, but also the very essence of eternal life, for to know him is to be like him, and becoming like him is the whole object of the plan of salvation."

This book was great! It took me on a journey through the Savior's life beginning with his birth and ending with his death. Then it explained what he has done for us in every setting and how it relates to us on an individual level. I really enjoyed it and it indeed brought me closer to my Savior!

I have already referenced to this book in previous posts. There were so many things that I loved to where I wish I could record all of them, but there were more specific times where I really felt the spirit open my mind and stretch my understanding. Here are just a few that I would like to share.

• In the beginning of the book, Porter explains how he came to know the Savior on a personal level and how it strengthened his testimony and commitment to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He says, "The witness of the Holy Ghost that Christ was a real, living being who knew me and cared about me, transformed my commitment - indeed, my whole life - to a higher plane. I no longer viewed the gospel simply as a set of principles and laws. My loyalty was to a living being. I came to understand that I must not trust in my own strength, but instead to rely 'wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save (2 Nephi 31:19)." I LOVED this! This definitely helped me see that I can raise to that 'higher plane' of understanding. The goal is now in sight.
• In explaining Christ and his sufferings: "He 'uncrowned himself to crown us, and put off his robes to put on our rags.' Or, as the Apostle Paul said of the Savior, 'though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich' (2 Corinthians 8:9)." Wow. I was humbled once again by his words. 
• When speaking on the courage of the Savior: "Through it all, he neither wavered nor flinched. We cannot detect the slightest trace of fear in his actions or words form the beginning of his ministry to his death on the cross. He met every accusation with silent serenity, faced every danger with equanimity. Even in the face of the most bitter invective, he never compromised his teachings, his mission, or his manhood." He then later goes on saying, "The Master did what was right in every circumstance and regardless of consequence. In him, righteousness and fearlessness met and became one." What a perfect example. Think of what we could accomplish with this kind of faith.
• On coming closer to him through bearing our own crosses: "Nevertheless, we have covenanted to always remember him, which covenant the prophets have plainly taught includes memory of his suffering. Such remembrance may also bring consolation as we bear our own crosses through life - for even as Christ suffered to more perfectly know us, we suffer sometimes to better know him."
• Regarding your losses Porter quotes Joseph Smith, "All your losses will be made up to you in the resurrection, provided you continue faithful." Think of all your losses. Now internalize the possibility that ALL could be made up to you. 
• And again, he quotes Joseph Smith, "Those who have lived without law, will be judged without law, and those who have a law, will be judged by that law." We are all held accountable for the things we know. If we are not living up to a law that we are fully aware of, then we will be held accountable! What an intense warning!
• At the end of the book Porter touches on the Light of Christ. He says, "Neither sun nor moon nor stars, nor even the light of temples, are needed to illuminate the celestial realm. God the Father and Jesus Christ are the light thereof: light everlasting, light divine." Their light is a real thing and it is in each of us! When we are told to 'let our light shine', we are literally being told we have the ability to let the light of Christ within us shine forth. Literally! How amazing is that?

With love,
jm

IN HIS STEPS - Leona B. Gates

The road is rough, I said,

Dear Lord, there are stones that hurt me so.

And he said, Dear child, I understand,

I walked it long ago.

But there is a cool green path, I said,

Let me walk there for a time.

No child, He gently answered me,

The green road does not climb.

My burden, I said, is far too great;

How can I bear it so?

My child, said he, I remember weight.

I carried my cross, you know.

But, I said, I wish there were friends with me

Who would make my way their own.

Ah, yes, he said, Gethsemane

Was hard to face alone.

And so I climbed the stony path,

Content at last to know

That where my Master had not gone

I would not need to go.

And strangely then I found new friends;

The burden grew less sore

As I remembered-long ago

He went that way before.

Feeling Alone

We are taught that the Savior experienced all sins, shortcomings, and sufferings that we have ever and will ever experience. Because of this we are able to go to him in all circumstances and he will truly empathize with us on a very specific and personal level.

When reading The King of Kings by Bruce D. Porter, something stood out to me about the Savior and his life... he was alone... a lot! Porter says, "Regardless of who he was, we know that (even the) ministering angel (in Gethsemane) did not accompany Christ through his entire ordeal. At least a portion of the Atonement in Gethsemane was borne in utter loneliness." In Isaiah 63:3 Christ states, "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me." And again in Isaiah 63:5 he says, "And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold."

Even at the end of his life he was alone. The spirit left him and he cried out, "My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me." Porter says referencing this moment in time, "Without the presence of (the) spirit, no mortal man could live in the flesh for even an instant, for it is the source of all life and light. Only Jesus Christ, the Great Jehovah, the Self-Existent one could endure its complete withdrawal and still live - through in such straits of agony as caused him to bleed form every pore. The withdrawal of the Father's spirit was the bitter cup of Gethsemane that Jesus shrank from, yet partook. It was the culminating crucible of the Atonement."

He was alone for a lot of his life, especially at the end when things were at their worst. If there is anything that Christ can truly and perfectly empathize with, it is the feeling of being alone. He knows exactly how it feels. He felt more alone than we will ever feel or ever have the capacity to feel.

With love,
jm

"The Lord was alone in a spiritual void, stripped of all sources of solace, cut off from the presence of the Father, bearing in soul and body by virtue of his own strength alone the collective guilt of all mankind. How long the weight of our sins crushed upon him we do not know; how unrelenting his anguish we cannot comprehend. But of that atoning trial, the Savior said, 'therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me' (Isaiah 63:5). In the wondrous balance of Heaven's plan, Christ's 'own arm' - his divine strength, his virtue, his unyielding love- redeemed us." - Bruce D. Porter in The King of Kings

Simplicity in Life

Nowadays we get so easily caught up in the thought that our lives may not be glamorous enough. We watch others over social media and by only seeing the highlights in their lives we tend to think they live a perfectly beautiful and exciting life. This then leads to us dangerously thinking that we have boring lives and we have a lot to live up to. That we need to start filling our lives with more lavish trips, date nights, clothes, etc to really feel like we are living and feel like we can then fit in with all of our other social media friends. This idea sucks us in so quickly that we are then quick to forget that simplicity in life is okay! The simple things in life are what matter. Family, friends, home, work, etc. These things make up true happiness! If we surround ourselves with lavish dinners, clothes, and vacations we may never be satisfied!

In the book The King of Kings, Bruce D. Porter reviews the beginning of the Savior's life. Before he was 'about his Father's business' we don't really know a lot about what he did. All we know is that he was a carpenter following in Joseph's footsteps. Joseph was not a wealth man and therefore, Jesus was not either. He did not grow up as a very privileged child. Goodness, think of our lives now and how we live. We live in amazing conditions even compared to someone's life back then. Christ grew up with not a lot and he lead a very simple life.

Porter explains in his book, "Those silent, preparatory years teach us that the lowly life of the laborer is good enough for God. As Saint Bonaventura observed, 'His doing nothing wonderful was in itself a kind of wonder.' For in living the life of a carpenter, he taught us that there is nothing to be ashamed of in manual labor, in obscurity, poverty, and the simple lot of ordinary people throughout the earth."

This is something I really want to take to heart and always remember: that simplicity in life is okay. If a truly simple life was good enough for Christ, the King of Kings, then it is good enough for me.

With love,
jm

"To work, to prepare, to wait - all these may seem mundane and ordinary, but the Son of Man devoted years to such labor as he took upon himself the common yoke of all mankind." -Bruce D. Porter in The King of Kings

"Finishers Wanted" in 2015

One of my New Years Resolutions for 2015 is to become a 'finisher'. The talk by Thomas S. Monson in 1972 titled "Finishers Wanted" is what inspired me. I want to be a finisher in all things.

He said, "Vision without effort is daydreaming, effort without vision is drudgery; but vision, coupled with effort, will obtain the prize."

I want to have the vision and gather my effort so I can obtain the ultimate prize of eternal life. In pondering this the thing that stuck out to me was that I needed to seek learning in order to obtain the vision. Today we have so much information available to us through the internet, good books, and even the people around us that we really have no excuse. If I expand my knowledge on all things, then I will be able to expand my vision and strengthen my efforts together. This will then lead me to eternal life and becoming the 'finisher' I seek to become. All will happen naturally.

I am promising you now (so you can hold me accountable) that I will reach for the understanding of all things starting today. If I don't understand something someone is talking about I will not be afraid to ask questions. I will begin to learn more from those around me. If I see a book that grabs my attention, I will commit to reading it. If I hear of a topic I know nothing about I will use my resources available to me to learn more about it until I understand it.

Upon pondering this idea it brought me to another weakness of mine. I will need to smooth it over before I can truly conquer the task of gaining knowledge and obtaining the vision and effort to become a finisher. I decided I needed to create a 'sub-resolution': to finish the books I never finished. I need to make sure to grab a book and commit to the end. I have a bad habit of taking a good book, starting it, then getting too excited about another book and starting the new one when I haven't even finished the first. Yes... very bad habit. So then I end up with tons of books I have only read half way through. This year is my year to be a finisher... and re-read all of the books I have never finished.

In President Monson's talk he shares a poem:

“Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;

Beginners are many, but enders are few.

Honor, power, place and praise

Will always come to the one who stays.

“Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;

Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it, too;

For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile

Will come life’s victories after a while.”

—Author Unknown

I, again, am promising you that I will sick to my task until it sticks to me. I will start a book and commit to the end without beginning another.

And so it begins... Here is my report so far.

The first book I have finished is 'King of Kings' by Bruce D. Porter. This book was all about the Savior and His life from beginning to end. Through reading this it has brought me closer to Him. I read it in a week and plan to post my notes using this blog as I have done in the past with other books. I have found that blogging on books I read is an easy way to remember what I have learned, AND it is a great way to reference back on material I want to share with others.

The second week I conquered 'Of Pigs, Pearls, and Prodigals' by John Bytheway. I will also be posting my notes and thoughts on this as well. This book was great! It goes through every parable told by the Savior and gives a commentary as well as a way we can apply it in our lives. I highly recommend it!

As part of my resolution to become a 'finisher', this also includes seeing my goal through until the end. I will need to take it and run with it. My husband and I will be welcoming a new baby in a week from today (if not earlier), so I know I will not be able to keep up reading a new book a week. But I will keep the effort strong and the vision in sight.

With love,
jm

“For of all sad words of tongue or pen,

The saddest are these: ‘It might have been!’”

—“Maude Muller”

Reason vs. Faith

How often do we struggle with the reason of the world verses our faith in Christ. Its in our inherit nature to need reason and logic to explain everything. But in reality, God is not bound by man's personal knowledge and understanding.

Think for a second about this struggle.

Moses struggled with it on his seemingly suicide mission. He lead the Israelites into the wilderness with the Egyptian armies on their heels. He was leading them right towards the Red Sea with no reasonable possibilities of escape. There is no doubt that him and his followers were struggling with the logic of their situation and having faith in God that he would deliver them.

Peter experienced it. He was fishing for days with no success when the Savior approached him and said to throw in his net into the water. He replied, "We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing." This response is not surprising, for I would have said the same. How ridiculous was this suggestion. Especially coming from a carpenter.

Think of Job who lost everything. He never lost his faith, even when it was easy to.

Nephi showed the same faith. What an obscure request he was given by his father. But still he followed the request in complete faith with no knowledge of where to go, what do to, or how things would turn out. 

Tad R. Callister in 'The Infinite Atonement' addresses this topic. "Each of us faces the time when the powers of reason come in direct conflict with faith. All the logic, all the understanding of men may swell on unison, and there alone, in opposition, stands faith - unalterable, unassailable, unmoveable - the anchor to our souls. The tides of trial can come, the ocean waves of worldly reason pound against our souls, the current and popular trends tug with all their mighty sway, but there unmoved, unfazed, unharmed is the soul that is anchored by faith."

Love, 

Jm

"O world, thou choosest not the better part!

It is not wisdom to be only wise,

And on the inward vision close the eyes,

But it is wisdom to believe the heart. 

Columbus found a world, and had no chart,

Save one that faith deciphered in the skies;

To trust the soul's invincible surmise

Was all his science and his only art. 

Our knowledge is a torch of smokey pine

That lights the pathway but one step ahead

Across a void of mystery and dread. 

Bid, then, the tender light of faith to shine

By which alone the mortal heart is led

Unto the thinking of the thought divine."

- Philosopher George Santayana

Be Brave and Give In

One of my favorite bible stories is of Peter and Christ when Peter was walking on the Sea of Galilee and started to sink and Christ grabbed his hand to lift him back up. Usually we look at this story as a lack of faith on Peter's part. But after reading the book When You Can't Do It Alone by Brent L. Top, it opened my eyes more to the story. Brent L. Top says, "The focus should not be on Peter's sinking but on Christ's lifting". He then continues on later stating, "What a great learning experience for Peter and each of us. When walking on water by yourself, you will always sink, but when you focus on Christ, take hold of His outstretched hand of grace, and walk with Him, you cannot fail."

How true is this? How many times do we try to walk on water, think we can do it all on our own, and then end up drowning? I know I try too many times. Or how many times do you think the Savior has stood there in hopes we would reach up, when we just end up drowning... probably more than we know. I believe even multiple times a day.

Every time, we need to do all we can and then leave it up to the Lord. Some see this as a weakness of 'giving in' when in reality it is not. It is a way of courage. Giving in and giving it all up to the Lord is a way to exercise and show your faith in him. It is the key that unlocks the door of divine help and intervention.

How many times a day can we look to him and let him lift us up, like really look and let him lift?

With love,
jm

"For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. It is in dying that we are born to eternal life." St. Francis of Assisi