Dieter F. Uchtdorf
As you walk along your own bright path of discipleship, I pray that faith will fortify every footstep along your way.
(Link to talk)
(remember I am using the "language of faith" meaning I am wording the counsel and teaching "as if" I already believe or am already doing it. All bold type is my insertion. NOTE: Pres. Uchtdorf said, "The Holy Ghost will help you to find the message for you in this parable" - which means that there are probably many interpretations and lessons. Below are a collection of possible interpretations, some gathered from other places on the internet. The overall interpretation has to do with the idea that the parable is preparing us for a coming invitation to gather to places of safety. My thought is that, it doesn't matter if that was Pres. Uchtdorf's intent, if that is what the Spirit chooses to teach me through the story. What did you learn?)
- My heart and mind embrace sublime truths in the simple stories and parables of the Savior and the Lord's servants.
- I connect eternal principles with my everyday life.
- Faith fortifies my every footstep along my own bright path of discipleship
- Hope opens my eyes to the glories Father has in store for me how many references can you find in the 2015 GC talks that reference "seeing"? I counted seven
- Love for God and all His children fills my heart it will take all we have and the grace of God to keep love in our hearts for ALL His children, when so there is so much evil being unleashed...
- Links to Pres. Monson's Parables/Stories in footnotes:First witness
- "Guided Safely Home - "We look heavenward for that unfailing sense of direction, that we might chart and follow a wise and proper course."
- "Love - the Essence of the Gospel" - "We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey."
- "We Never Walk Alone" -"You will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside you."
- "Obedience Brings Blessings" - "A knowledge of truth and the answers to our greatest questions come to us as we are obedient to the commandments of God."
- Links to Parables of Jesus referenced in the footnotes: Second witness
- Matthew 13:24–30; wheat and tares
- 18:23–35; man forgiven of debt who does not forgive others
- 20:1–16; laborers in the vineyard; last first and first last; many called but few chosen
- 22:1–14; marriage feast, guests not come; invite others, no wedding garment, cast out
- 25; ten virgins
- Luke 10:25–37; good Samaritan
- 15:11–32. prodigal son
- Elements in the parable: The first two witnesses establish the truth of this third witness.
- Title: A Summer with Great-Aunt Rose - footnote:“Often the prickly thorn produces tender roses” - our "prickly summer" of experience will transform us into "tender roses" - Zion people
- Girl name Eva: the Church; Eva means "life or living one" - if we go with the Church into the wilderness, we will live a new life and become a new people; Zion; The birth or eve before the night of trials just previous to the glory of the morning;
- TWO IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT EVA:
- 11 years old we are in the eleventh hour; we (the Church) are ready to leave our immature years and enter our teenage years (puberty) of learning (physical, social, emotional, and spiritual growth) who we really are, preparing for our grownup years with the Lord; 11 in Hebrew means "chaos"; could stay for 11 days, weeks, months, or years; November; 11/11/11- could be the day the markets close after three days of crashing; 11 years since Pres. Hinckley announced they had refurbished the Tabernacle to withstand an earthquake; 11 years since Pres. Uchtdorf was called as an apostle; 11 years since Julie Rowe had her NDE;
- DID NOT WANT TO GO LIVE WITH HER AUNT! Very hard times are coming. Nothing we ever expected, things we never wanted, and we can't change it.
- Have to be away from her Mother The church needs to go away to places of safety while the Lord performs "surgery" on Mother Earth
- Leave family and friends - many of our friends and family won't come with us
- Didn't know her aunt - there will be many we don't know; we aren't familiar with our pioneer ancestors or their wisdom or their ways;
- Quite comfortable where she was - we are comfortable in our lives as we know them now
- as grew older, often thought of the summer and lessons - we will look back on the summer of our learning as well
- married, raised children, lived a long and wonderful life- those who follow the prophet will live on into the millenium; get married, have children, and live long and wonderful lives
- felt grateful for her life, her family, for the restored gospel, and for that summer so long ago when her aunt taught her about faith, hope, and love - when we look back on this period of our lives, we too, will feel gratitude for these things. We will have learned about faith, hope and charity.
- Mother: the Earth; earthly things
- sickness - natural disasters for those who need to repent from sin and will accept healing from the Savior's Atonement
- required surgery - wars; those who will be removed because of their infectious evil
- lengthy recovery - it will take some time, so the church will need to go away for a little while.
- Summer: summer is when the fig leaves appear, telling us that Christ's coming is near; summer is when fruit grows best;
- Great-Aunt Rose: The fact that it is her GREAT Aunt suggests that we will feel like we took a a HUGE step back in time; maybe Grandma was not alive; other closer relatives did not go; could represent the prophets; could represent the Early Church who went through great trials and failed to usher in the Millenium as they had hoped, but taught us great lessons; could represent the spiritually mature saints who will mentor and teach the spiritually immature. They will seem odd to them at first, but will grow to learn from them and love them and become like them; we will be tutored by pioneer angels from the past;
- lived alone - did not live with others in "Babylon";
- not married - if she represents the early church, they did not live to receive the "bridegroom";
- no children of her own -accepted the responsibility for this child that she had not previously known; the church will bring in many new sons and daughters through baptism and charity
- Father trusted Eva to her care - The members can trust they will be kept safe in the care of this "old" church.;
- no one to keep her company except a creepy cat -sometimes we feel alone in our discipleship; others may think our companions are odd - scriptures, prophets, other like-minded saints;
- everything about her was large the camps are larger than we imagined; the change from our lives now will seem very large; love is large and noticeable;
- voice - we should be willing to be heard in the cause of truth
- smile - we should share our smiles openly with others
- personality - we do not need to hang back in the shadows
- not easy for her to get around or do simple things (tie shoes, walk upstairs)- prophets get old and feel the effects of age;
- always sang and laughed while she worked which filled the house - fill your life with song and joy
- read out loud from her worn scriptures every night and commented on - prophets have worn out the scriptures and teach and comment on them continually
- prayed the most beautiful prayers of gratitude ALWAYS gratitude!
- for blue jays, spruce trees, sunsets, stars we will learn to love the nature we are surrounded by
- wonders of being alive - life is truly a wonderful gift and blessing
- knew God as a friend - prophets know God; we can know God
- happiest person - let her light shine and her happiness show
- people crowded around her wanting to talk to her - joy is attractive and contagious
- wore embarrassingly big, bright hats - we CHOOSE to bring the bright, happy things into our lives.;
- had been a schoolteacher - loved children and to teach and learn
- former students with children stop and chat - we never forget those who teach us with love
- thank her for being a good influence in their lives - we are all teachers
- laughed and cried with her - our lives are filled with good and bad memories,but they all serve to bind us in love
- earlier in life was so discouraged, didn't want to go on
- so many things wished for that never happened - many of us, young and old, will grieve that our lives during the tribulations, are not going to go as we had planned;
- one heartbreak after another the tests will come, one after another
- knew it would never be the way she had hoped the youth, especially, will know their lives will never be what they thought
- depressed, (not clinically) ready to give up and miserable many will feel depressed and be ready to give up
- stayed angry for a time many will choose to stay angry for a time
- monster to be around they won't be nice to be around
- felt life was not fair - song repeated over and over in her head many will not get past the song of "it's not fair"
- brooding over dark days made things worse a bad attitude will only make things worse
- discovered Faith which led to hope which gave her confidence one day everything would make sense, that because of the Savior, all wrongs would be made right. we need to have this faith
- saw the path before her wasn't as dreary and dusty as she had thought see painting; look up; look past the moment
- began to notice the bright blues, the verdant greens, and the fiery reds we need to stay present and notice was is beautiful
- chose not to hang her head and drag her feet on the dusty road of self-pity give up self-pity; I am not the first to struggle
- chose to have a little faith, put on a bright dress, slip on her dancing shoes and skip down the path of life, singing as she went. "all is well" sing it!
- learned no matter what happened in the past, her story could have a happy ending. we know how this Story ends. It is happy for the righteous!
- exercised faith in God's promises by filling her life with meaningful things
- went to school learn new things
- had a career that she loved as a teacher - our time in the camps will be full of learning and teaching one another
- Nothing could change the decision to send her to her Aunt's for the summer:nothing can change what is in our future
- Packed suitcase be prepared to leave
- Father takes her - we only leave when our Heavenly Father tells us it's time to go. We leave under his watchful and protective care.
- Long drive to aunt's house we won't be able to run home if we forgot something
- Hated it from the start our places of refuge will be unfamiliar and uncomfortable
- everything was so old we will live a very simple and primitive lifestyle; no modern things
- place packed with old books, strange colored bottles, plastic bins filled with sewing goods we'll be amazed at what people bring!
- no one her age close by - lonely we may feel lonely
- Gray cat:
- creepy - there will be many unfamiliar creatures in our camps that we'll fear at first; could be the Spirits that surround the home that Eva is unfamiliar with at first, but Aunt Rose loves;
- sat in the highest point in the room - our fears that hover over us; the Spirits that are around us;
- stared like a hungry tiger at everything below - our natural man assumptions that everyone is out to get us;
- House:places of refuge
- seemed lonely simple
- in the countryside in the countryside
- houses far apart camps far apart
- filled with old things - the church has the original priesthood and ordinances; we'll be living an "old"way
- First part of summer:
- didn't pay much attention to her aunt and her aunt just let her be and gently pulled her into her happy world
- thought mostly of her mother we will grieve for and worry about all who have stayed behind
- stayed awake at night we will spend many sleepless nights worrying about all who are left behind and all they will have to suffer
- prayed with all her soul her mother would be well we will pray day and night for the earth to be restored and for peace to come with the Savior's return.
- Over time:
- began to feel God was watching over her mother our attitude will shift
- operation was a success the earth will be cleansed
- Endure the rest of the summer - hated enduring! it will feel long
- Eva's change: we will change
- began to notice aunt a little more and spend more time with her when we stop resisting, we'll learn and love much
- read the scriptures with aunt every night keep righteous traditions
- prayed with aunt every night never stop praying
- went on long walks take time to ponder
- learned about birds be present
- picked wild berries learn to live off the land
- made marmalade from oranges make lemonade out of lemons
- learned about great-great grandmother who came to America and walked across the plains to be with the Saints. learn from your ancestors; read "Daughters in my Kingdom";
- was happier when she was around her. light and joy is contagious
- End of summer:
- attitude had changed from looking forward to going home to missing the strange old house and the stalker cat and her beloved aunt. in the end, we will miss our summer of becoming Zion; or we'll miss the world we experienced in the camps; we go in as Eva and come out as Aunt Rose;
- thanked her aunt for everything she had done we will thank our Father for our trials;
- Father comes for her - Our Father comes and translates us before the final cleansing;"this too shall pass";
- returned home to her family and friends and her house and neighborhood - we will get to return to our homes after we have learned the lessons of Faith, Hope, and Charity;
- never quite the same - we will be a Zion people;
- Painting: history repeats itself;
- girl in pioneer dress seems to be a modern day child in pioneer dress;
- skipping happily along bright blue path forward and upward we are not to fear; the future ahead is bright;
- grass and trees vibrant green the Spirit makes everything brighter;
- though her life must have been harder than we can imagine, with many dark and dreary days, everything in the painting is bright and hopeful. - the past is usually represented by black and white pictures; The present or future would be in LIVING color;
- There is a line that crosses the path - could represent the separation of the wheat and the tares, a point we will cross to continue on up the path;
- path is wide at the bottom and narrower after the line - once we make the choice to continue on the path, our choices narrow or become more specific;
- Later Years:Eva is Aunt Rose's age - we will all become as Aunt Rose and learn all she learned
- grew old, married and had children - our young people will also get to grow up, marry and have children in the millenium; Aunt Rose didn't get to enter the marriage feast, but we will;
- Lessons:
- I will not work myself into a puddle of pessimism and mess of melancholy with all that doesn't go right in life
- when things don't work out, I focus on the wonders and miracles of life and I am happy!
- God didn't design me to be sad - He created me to have joy!
- I trust God. He helps me notice the good, bright, hopeful things of life
- the world will become brighter, not instantly, but nothing is instant.
- the best things take patience and work (homemade bread, orange marmalade)
- with such a glorious future, I don't get swallowed up in past or present things that don't go quite the way I planned.
- Now is part of eternity. It doesn't only begin after I die
- faith and hope will open my eyes to the happiness that is placed before me
- forever is composed of nows - from "Final Harvest:Emily Dickenson's Poems"
- My forever is not composed of dark and fearful Nows
- I don't live in the gloom of a bunker, gritting me teeth, closing my eyes, and resentfully enduring to the bitter end.
- faith gives me hope to live joyfully now
- busy doesn't make me happy
- the pure love of Christ is the heart of His gospel. everything else (shoulds, musts, thou shalts) leads to love.
- I love God, so I want to serve Him and be like Him.
- I love others so I stop thinking so much about my own problems and help others solve theirs - THAT is what makes me happy
- Scriptures: all scriptures of what the millennium will be like! This is our "bright future".
- "God will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there b any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Rev 21:3-4)
- "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2)
