Section 11
There is value in preparation time
Verse 16- wait
All of us are in need to prepare now- fill the tank now why you can
This is the most basic of all teachings- work on the basics why you have the time
The book Philemon in the New Testament has many similarities to D&C 11
We read this letter where Paul tells Onesimus to return and be a slave to Philemon. Why would Paul tell him to do this? Why would an apostle tell an individual to go back to slavery?
Which is more valuable? Freedom or the discipline of obedience?
Teenagers would take freedom every time!
Learn discipline, self mastery and the ability to obey. Rome was not meant to be the home of Onesimus. He needed to return to Philemon and learn what it takes to be submissive and obedient.
The challenge to become
From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts–what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts–what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.
A parable illustrates this understanding. A wealthy father knew that if he were to bestow his wealth upon a child who had not yet developed the needed wisdom and stature, the inheritance would probably be wasted. The father said to his child:
“All that I have I desire to give you–not only my wealth, but also my position and standing among men. That which I have I can easily give you, but that which I am you must obtain for yourself. You will qualify for your inheritance by learning what I have learned and by living as I have lived. I will give you the laws and principles by which I have acquired my wisdom and stature. Follow my example, mastering as I have mastered, and you will become as I am, and all that I have will be yours.” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, October 2000 CR)
This parable parallels the pattern of heaven. The gospel of Jesus Christ promises the incomparable inheritance of eternal life, the fulness of the Father, and reveals the laws and principles by which it can be obtained.
Take advantage of the preparatory state that you are afforded in your youth. Learn the discipline of youth.
Oaks- I can’t give you what I am, but I can give you what I have. But of what use will my possessions be to you if you are unprepared? What is the difference between the 21 year old with the inheritance and the 40 year old who has learned discipline and self mastery?
It depends on what it is made of
Mr. Hilton told about a plain bar of iron being worth about five dollars. But that same iron, if made into horseshoes, would be worth $10.50. If it were made into needles, it would be worth $3,285. And if turned into balance springs for watches, its worth would be over $250,000.
Apparently the value of the raw iron is only what it costs to process it from the hill. Its greater value is determined by what is made of it. People are much the same as iron. You or I can remain nothing more than raw material, or we can be polished to a high degree. Our value is determined by what we make of ourselves.
Millet, the French painter, paid 25¢ for a yard of canvas. He paid 50¢ more for a brush and some paints. Then, on the canvas that cost only 25¢, he threw in all the glory of his genius as a painter and gave us a work of art called The Angelus, which eventually sold for $105,000. In other words, 75¢ worth of raw materials combined with inspiration, ability, and enthusiasm can be sold for $104,999.25 more.
In the next decade, millions of young people will drop out of school and shortly thereafter will be seeking jobs—millions of unprepared young people competing for new jobs. Their pay will be less, their working conditions poorer, and their competition more overwhelming than for those youth who persist in making themselves ready for responsible employment. A good education is said to be an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity. To secure neither the ornament nor the refuge is a shortsighted approach to life.
Unprepared youth represent millions of pieces of canvas without an Angelus painting on them. They are like tons and tons of iron still in the bar, or at best made into horseshoes instead of watch springs. Over a lifetime, the difference in income between the high school graduate and the college graduate often runs into many hundreds of thousands of dollars. How foolish it is for a person to fail to develop potential talents and thus content himself with mundane things when he could soar into the exciting realms of significant accomplishment. As Whittier wrote: “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: ‘It might have been!’ ” (Spencer W. Kimball, On Cheating Yourself, New Era, April 1972, p. 32)