"The Parable of the Cars"

This "parable" was read during Relief Society (June 1st). I know, I changed the date on this blog...I figure if you really wanted to read this you will find it. I want to have it on file for future reference. I really liked the thought, so I decided I would share. The lesson was so good. I have also included, below the parable, the quotes our teacher presented to us! Definitely, something I need to be reminded of!


A rich man had three sons whom he loved very much. The man had worked for a long time to build a business that he could share with the three boys. When the boys reached the age where they were ready for responsibility, and as the work demanded much traveling, the man bought a nice, reliable vehicle for each of his sons. He gave them suggestions for caring of the vehicles, then he sent them to work.

The first son was certain that everyone else's car was nicer than his. Because his car didn't go as fast or get as good of gas mileage as those of his brothers, he felt sorry for himself and he began to resent the car. He bought only the cheapest gasoline and never performed the recommended maintenance. He didn't drive it carefully and didn't fix the occasional dent that it acquired. After a while, his car looked and ran terribly. He missed a lot of work because his car wouldn't start or because he was too embarrassed to go to appointments in his junk heap. The son was unhappy and he blamed everything on the idea that he just got stuck with a clunker.

The second son became obsessed with caring for his automobile. He spent all of his free time and some of his not-so-free time washing, waxing, and tweaking the vehicle. He could never be quite satisfied with the way that the car was running and when he looked at it, all he could see were things he wanted to be better. Like the first son, he really wished that the car was a nicer, newer model, so he started spending more time and money to change the car. Pretty soon, his work responsibilities were being neglected as he was more and more involved with changing fenders, upgrading engine parts, instgalling a booming stereo system, adding neon lights, and creating a showy paint job. He hoped tha tby making the car more flashy, no one would really notice that it was jus an ordinary sedan. Needless to say, his work performance suffered as well.

The third son was extremely appreciative of his father. He was grateful for the car, as it enabled him to do more work in less time. He constantly thanked his father for the gift and sought his advice in caring for the car. His father was more than willing to help whenever he could. From him, the son learned much about properly caring for his vehicle. He put in the best fuel that he could afford and regularly performed the recommended maintenance. He kept the car neat and clean, always motivated by the thought that he and the car were representing his father. He loved the car because it enabled him to do the work that his father had so willingly entrusted to him.

After a while, the father took a look a the work that his sons were doing. The work of the third son had more than doubled the work of the other two sons put together! The father was ready to retire and he called his sons together. He explained to them how happy he had been to give each of them the gift of a car. He knew that hte cars were not perfect, but they were more than adequate for the sons to do the jobs they had been assigned. He asked the first son how his accounts were faring, and the first son was ashamed. Because he had neglected his vehicle, it had been a long time since he was able to work. The car was no longer functioning. Mercifully, and in part because the third son's efforts had left the father rich, he gave the son a new and better car.

When questioned about his work, the second son also had a disappointing answer. His accounts had been turned off by his flashy vehicle and had requested that someone else deal with them. He had spent all of his time and money on the car, only to get in a terrible crash where the car was totaled. he had neglected to pay his insurance and had used all of his savings on the vehicles "improvements" and now had not car. Mercifully, the father also provided a new car for this son as well.

The third son, however, had a glowing report for his father. While he had worn out the car in his father's service, he had increased his father's business ten-fold. The son explained that he had done everything possible to care for eht car while focusing on the tasks assigned to him. The father was very pleased. As this son now needed a new car as well, he presented him with the keys to the car of the young man's dreams. It was sleek and fast, but most importantly, it would enable him to triple his efforts on behalf of his father. The father knew that he could be trusted with such a gift and was happy to give it to him.

All three boys knew that their father had been merciful and fair in his gifts to them. Each resolved to do their best with the marvelous new cass their fathers had so lovingly provided them. The first two sons would always wish that they had done a better job with their first vehicles, but the third sone was eternally grateful that he had learned to work and car for his vehicle with the help of his loving father. And they all lived happily ever after, but one of htem was considerably happier than the others!

The end.




Quote:
Diane L. Spangler, "The Sacred Gift" Liahona, July 2005

"(The) scriptures beg us to consider how we regard our bodies. If you become preoccupied with manipulating or adorning your body, for what purpose are you using your gift? If you do not properly care for your body, to what extent are you limiting your gift? If you use your body in direct opposition to the commandments of God, what ends with you gift service? The scriptures ask a pointed question: "What doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift?" The sobering reply is "Behold, he rejoices not that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift."



Quote:

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland "To Young Women." Liahona, Nov. 2005.

"In this same vein may I address an even more sensitive subject. I plead with you young women to please be more accepting of yourselves, including your body shape and style, with a little less longing to look like someone else. We are all different. Some are tall, and some are short. Some are round, and some are thin. And almost everyone at some time or other wants to be something they are not! But as one adviser to teenage girls said, "You can't live your life worrying that the world is staring at you. When you let people's opinion make you feel self-conscious you give away your power....The key to feeling {confident} is to always listen to your inner self--{The real you.}" And in the kingdom of God, the real you is "more precious than rubies." Every young woman is a child of destiny and every adult woman a powerful force for good. I mention adult women becasue sisters, you are our greatest examples and resources for these young women. And if you are obsessing over being a size 2, you won't be very surprised when your daughter or the Mia Maid in your class does the same and makes herself physically ill trying to accomplish it. We should all be as fit as we can bee--that's good Word of Wisdom doctrine. The means eating right and exercising and helping our bodies function at their optimum strength. We could probably all do better in that regard. But I speak here of optimum health; there is no universal optimum size."



Quote:
Susan W. Tanner YW General President, "The Sanctity of the Body," Liahona, Nov. 2005

"I am troubled by the practice of extreme makeovers. Happiness comes from accepting the bodies we have been given as divine gifts and enhancing our natural attributes, not from remaking our bodies after the image of the world. The Lord wants us to be made over--but in His image, not in the image of the world, by receiving His image in our countenances."



Quote:
Diane L. Spangler, "The Sacred Gift" Liahona, July 2005

"The purpose of the body is to help us learn, progress, serve, and glorify the Giver of the gift: God. Too often, however, people mistakenly presume that hte body is intended to glorify the self. Disrespecting our body in any manner---flaunting it, disparaging in, participating in immoral behavior, or neglecting it--constitutes rejecting the gift. A wise and loving God counsels us instead to be grateful for our body and to becoem a wise steward of it.

To become a grateful and wise steward of the body often requries giving up something worldly to gain something heavenly. For some, such an offering may include giving up a quest to become model-thin, while for others, it may include giving up excessive grooming habits and the wearing of costly or immodest apparel. For still others, it may include giving up the short-term pleasures of overeating, the avoidance of proper exercise, or the viewing of others' bodies as objects for self-gratification. With such forsaking of worldly practices comes tremendous spiritual gains. Realizing and following the truth about the body brings freedom--freedom from the tyranny of vanity, fashion, envy, superficiality, self-criticism, backbiting, the ill effects fo overeating or under eating, lust, pornography, substance addiction tattooing, and a host of other forms of worldly weight and oppression. Developing an understanding of the true purpose of the body enhances our ability to use our agency to progress, and find joy."



Quote:
Diane L. Spangler, "The Body as a Sacred Gift." Liahona, July 2005

"As Satan would consprire to have you be discontent with and disrespectful of your own and others' bodies, God will inspire a different view. Through the Atonement, Jesus Christ can heal your mind and heart concerning your body, if you so choose. As you treat your own and others' bodies in a manner consistent with the scriptures, your vision of the body will be transformed. You will recognize the illusions of hte world, and you will experience a release from worldly views and practices. Faith in these principles about the body shall help make you whole."



Quote;
1 Samuel 16: 7

"But the Lord said unto Samuel. Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."


Quote:
Susan W. Tanner YW General President, "The Sanctity of the Body," Liahona, Nov. 2005

"What would happen if we truly treated our bodies as temples? The result would be a dramatic increase in chastity, modesty, observance of the Word of Wisdom, and a similar decrease in the problems of pornography and abuse, for we woudl regard the body, like the temple, as a sacred sanctuary of the Spirit. Just as no unclean thing may enter the temple, we would be vigilant to keep impurity of any sort from entering the temple of our bodies.

Likewise, we would keep the outside of our bodily temples looking clean and beautiful to reflect the sacfred and holy nature of what is inside, just as the Church does with its temples. We should dress and act in ways that reflect the sacred spirit inside us."


Quote:
Diane L. Spangler, "The Body as a Sacred Gift." Liahona, July 2005

If you find yourself preoccupied with the appearance of your own body or those of others or if you struggle to feel at peace with your body, you might ask God what you can do to remedy this. If you ask the question with real intent, the strength and assistance you need can be given to you through the scriptures, the Holy Ghost, and other means. Our Father in Heaven will help us with struggles we face with our mortal bodies. He created us and our bodies and pronounced all that He had made as very good."


Quote:

D&C 89
D&C 59: 16-20
Alma 5:14