The Parable of the Forgotten Gift

There was a young man who was fast approaching his birthday. He was very excited for the party he would be having, the family and friends that would be visiting, and the presents he would receive. The young man had an older brother who loved him dearly. The brother thought long and hard about what to give his younger sibling. The elder brother knew that a hard winter would be coming, and that his brother didn't have a sufficient coat for the bitter cold that would be coming. The elder brother had been saving to buy himself such a coat, but knew that his brother would need it more, so he took all that he had saved and bought the coat for his brother. The day of the young man's birthday came, and the gift that his elder brother had sacrificed for sat with the rest of the gifts. The party was enjoyed by everyone. The time to open presents came. The young man first reached for the gifts from his closest friends, then to those of his extended family, and the gift from his brother went unnoticed. He was excited for each new gift and thanked each of those who gave him one, but the gift from his brother remained unnoticed. The party ended, everything was cleaned up, and the gift of the elder brother was forgotten. Winter came, and the young man went without the warmth and protection that the warm coat would provide. If only the young man had seen the gift.

We in our lives can experience the joy and warmth of the gift that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has given us. He made it possible for all of us to be happy in our lives, but the gift of His atonement is one that we must "open" in order to feel the blessings of it. We must all go through the hard winter of our mortal lives, but if we have the warmth and protection of that winter coat, if we use the power of the atonement in our lives, and "endure it well" we will be forever happy. That gift does us no good if we leave it forgotten.

Always Received With Open Arms

I was recently reading the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15: 11-32. Christ is telling the story to the pharisees of a young man who demands his inheritance from his father. The young man goes out into the world and wastes away his inheritance. At that time in the land there was a famine and the only work the young man could find was to feed the pigs of a "citizin of that country", and all he had to eat was pig feed. The young man knew that even his father's servants were fed and clothed better than him. He resolved to go home, and be a servant to his father, but when his father saw him from afar off he "ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." His father called for a feast and had his son dressed in the finest robes. The older son was confused, and angry as to why his younger brother was being treated so well, when he had done so much to hurt the family. The father responded to the bittered questions of his son and said: "It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found."

Our Heavenly Father likewise is waiting to receive us with open arms. We all make mistakes, and are all lost at some point, but we can always come home. It has always been a comfort to me that I have a Heavenly father that loves me enough to always welcome me home when I am lost. His love is extended toward all of us who are willing to travel the road back to him.