There are so many examples of gospel teachings that are
different from what the world teaches us. What truths can you find in these
chapters that are hard for some people to accept or live?
We must forgive others if we are to receive forgiveness from the
Lord.
·At one time or
another, we all need to forgive someone who has offended us. How can we use the
parable of the unmerciful servant to inspire us to be more forgiving? We were
asked to ponder these questions as we read the parable:
·Who does the king represent?
·Who does the unmerciful servant represent?
·What does his debt represent? Who does the fellow servant
represent?
·What does his debt represent?
The following information about talents and pence can give us an
idea of how vastly different the two debts in the parable are. We were asked to
ponder what messages the parable has for ourselves personally.
Talents
and pence.
It’s difficult to know the exact values of the amounts of money
mentioned in the parable of the unmerciful servant (see Matthew 18:23–35).
However, there are clues in the New Testament that can help us understand the vast
difference between the 100-pence debt and the 10,000-talent debt.
The fellowservant in the parable owed the smaller debt of
100 pence. In Matthew 20:2, a
penny (the singular form of the word pence) is the wage
paid for a day’s work in a vineyard. Therefore, the fellowservant would have to
work for 100 days to earn 100 pence to pay his debt. But this amount
is extremely small when compared to the 10,000-talent debt of the unmerciful
servant. In Matthew 25:14–15, a
man’s entire fortune—“his goods”—is valued at only eight talents. Therefore, it would take the
combined, accumulated wealth of over 1,000 men like this man to pay the
unmerciful servant’s debt.
Jesus spoke of money and debt to teach about forgiveness.
The immense debt Jesus Christ paid for each of
us.
Elder
Jeffrey R. Holland shared what he learned about the parable of the
unmerciful servant while attending an institute class:
“[The teacher] noted
that the 100-pence forgiveness, which we were all expected to give one another
and acknowledged as a pretty fair amount of money, was … preciously little to
ask in light of the 10,000-talent forgiveness Christ had extended to us.
“That latter debt,
our debt, was an astronomical number, [the teacher] reminded us, almost
incapable of comprehension. But that, he said, was exactly the Savior’s point
in this teaching, an essential part of the parable. Jesus had intended that his
hearers sense just a little of the eternal scope and profound gift of his
mercy, his forgiveness, his Atonement.
“… For the
first time in my life I remember feeling something of the magnitude of Christ’s
sacrifice for me—a gift bordering to this
day on incomprehensibility. But a gift that made me, for the first time,
seriously consider my need to forgive other people and to be unfailingly
generous regarding their feelings and their needs and their circumstances” (“Students
Need Teachers to Guide Them” [Church Educational System satellite broadcast,
June 20, 1992]).
I challenge you to create an adaptation of the parable of the
unmerciful servant that teaches the same lessons about forgiveness using modern
situations and details. We were asked to do this in our groups and then report
back to the group as a whole.
Then we discussed how the parable answered Peter’s question
about how many times he should forgive.
·7 Nevertheless, he has
sinned; but verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, forgive sins unto those who confesstheir sins before me and ask forgiveness, who
have not sinnedunto death.
·8 My disciples, in days of
old, sought occasion against one another and forgave not one
another in their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted and sorely chastened.
·9 Wherefore, I say unto
you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth
condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
·10 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is
required to forgive all men.
·11 And ye ought to say in
your hearts—let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee
according to thy deeds.
To obtain eternal life, we must love God and our neighbors.
Here’s an idea that comes from the lesson. I have adapted it
just a bit. It might give you a fresh view of the parable of the good
Samaritan: You could pretend that you are investigating a case of assault and
robbery on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem. Now, don’t forget to answer
these questions in your report -- why didn’t the priest and Levite stop to help
the injured man?
Why did the Samaritan stop?
What thoughts could the innkeeper add?
How did the injured man feel about each of the others?
Having a discussion with yourself. a friend, or with family members should
inspire you or your family members to be like the good Samaritan and the
innkeeper and avoid being like the priest and Levite.
When have you ever felt like the “certain man,” who needed help
desperately? How did help come?
How can we as children of God work together to help others, like
the good Samaritan and the innkeeper did?
·Besides teaching about what it means to love our neighbor, the
parable of the good Samaritan could also symbolize Jesus Christ’s power to save
us.
·Early
Christian interpretation of the parable of the good Samaritan.
·Over the centuries,
Christians have found symbols in the parable of the good Samaritan that teach
about Jesus Christ’s role as our Savior. For example, the man who fell among
thieves could represent all of us. The thieves could represent sin and death.
The Samaritan could represent the Savior. The inn could represent the Church,
and the Samaritan’s promise to return could represent the Savior’s Second Coming.
(See John W. Welch, “The Good Samaritan: Forgotten Symbols,”Ensign, Feb.
2007, 40–47.) https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/2007/02/the-good-samaritan-forgotten-symbols?lang=eng
·Now let’s read the parable, looking for Jesus Christ’s power to
save us, and other possible symbolic meanings. What do we learn about the
Savior and His Atonement when we read the parable this way? I think it’s pretty amazing all of the things
that you can find in thisparable, what do
you think? It
covers the fall of Adam and Eve; the plan of salvation; the second coming of
Christ; and so much more. A lot of things that I had not seen there before!
·42 But one thing is needful:
and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken
away from her.
·Sister Bonnie D. Parkin, former Relief
Society General President, taught: “Mary and Martha are you and me. … These two
loved the Lord and wanted to show that love. On this occasion, it seems to me
that Mary expressed her love by hearing His word, while Martha expressed hers
by serving Him. … Jesus did not dismiss Martha’s concern, but instead
redirected her focus by saying choose ‘that good part.’ And what is that? … The
one thing that is needful is to choose eternal life [see 2 Nephi
2:28]. We choose daily” (“Choosing
Charity: That Good Part,”Ensign or Liahona, Nov.
2003, 104). You can read it here:https://www.lds.org/study/general-conference/2003/10/choosing-charity-that-good-part?lang=eng How would you summarize the Lord’s counsel to Martha in your
own words? Examine your schedule—is there something “needful” that needs more of
your attention?
·After reading Luke 10:38–42, think
about how you might have reacted to the Savior’s counsel if you had been in
Martha’s place. How might this experience have affected your future choices?
How can we know what things in our own lives are “needful”? (Luke 10:42).
·38 ¶ Now it
came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a
certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
·39 And she had a sister
called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
·40 But Martha was cumbered
about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my
sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
·41 And Jesus answered and
said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
·42 But one thing is needful:
and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken
away from her.
As you read the Savior’s declarations about His own divinity
in John 7–10 for next week’s lesson, you can come to
know with greater surety that He is the Christ. Let’s all get to reading and
studying our assignment in the New Testament, so we will all be on the same
page for the next lesson I will share with you in a future post right here on
my blog😊 it has been so fun
learning about our Savior together. I hope I have not been the only one
learning new things along the way??
Well my dear Family and Friends here we are again at the end of
our lesson. I hope and pray that I have shared something from this lesson or
from something that I have said – something that has made you smile😊 it is very important for
each one of you to smile more!! I try to share lots of smiles in my writing just
in case your own is a bit heavy on the edges causing it to be turned down slightly.
Did you know that sharing your amazing smile with someone may be one of the
most important things that you do in a day!!
I had an experience years ago, in fact when I was in about the 7th
grade, when I shared a smile with my very grumpy neighbor. He was always
yelling or grumbling at someone whenever he was outside. If it wasn’t the paper
boy it was the mail man or the milk man – yes we had a milkman😊 oh and if a sales person
showed up on his property he went ballistic on them –namely the Avon or Tupperware lady or the Fuller brush man☹ he always had a sour face.
I went by his house to get to my bus stop and each day I would
smile at him and say good morning. In the beginning he would just ignore me,
but I kept smiling at him every day for a couple of months. He began making eye
contact after a few weeks and eventually he started smiling back at me. And by
the end of about three months he began to say good morning to me. By the end of
the fourth month he was asking me how my day was when I came back from school
each day – he seemed to be waiting for me to come by because he would go back
inside after i went up my driveway to my house.
I found out that he had some medical issues going on and he was
in a lot of pain and that is why he would lash out at people. It wasn’t right
but it was the way that he coped with his pain. We all deal with pain in our
own way don’t we. I was glad that I smiled at him and continued to do so. It seemed
to help him after awhile and he turned out to be a really nice man. I know that
my smile didn’t cure him of his pain, but maybe it gave him a little relief from
it when his focus was somewhere else, what do you think.
I
truly believe that a smile can radiate love to another person, because when you
smile you also light up your eyes and that light shines forth beautifully for
others who may need your light. And when you are living the gospel of Jesus
Christ you radiate the love of Christ to those you meet. Now that is the best
kind of light to share with all of those with whom you meet everyday😊
As
always -- keep studying your scriptures with me, keep praying,
remember who you
are, and until my next post – please make it a good week and do share your
smile with all those you come in contact with this week. It will make a
difference – even if that difference is only in you😊
You may never know when your smile will be the only bright spot in someone’s
day! Even if you can not do something big – you can always give a little smile😊
I
wanted to share some ideas directly from the lesson manual Come, Follow Me – for
Individuals and Families:
Ideas for Family Scripture Study and Family Home Evening
As you read the scriptures with your
family, the Spirit can help you know what principles to emphasize and discuss
in order to meet the needs of your family. Here are some suggestions:
What hymns can your family sing that relate
to the truths taught in these chapters? Two examples are “Lord, I Would Follow Thee” and “Have I Done Any Good?”Hymns,nos. 220, 223, but there are many
others. How do the words in these hymns help your family better understand the
Savior’s teachings?
Why would Jesus want us to become like a
little child? What are some characteristics of children that would make us more
Christlike if we incorporated them into our lives? (see Mosiah 3:19).
Jesus
wants His disciples to become like little children.
What
would make the parable of the good Samaritan come alive for your family? Would
they enjoy wearing costumes and acting it out? Be sure to help family members see
how they can be like the good Samaritan. Is there someone in need at school or
church whom we might be overlooking? What can we do for this person?
Is it ever difficult to fit spiritual
things into your family schedule? The story of Mary and Martha could inspire a
family council or family home evening about how to do this. As a family, you
could make a list of ways to choose “that good part” (see Luke 10:42).
I
hope these things are helpful to you and your families in your scripture study
and with your Family Home Evenings.
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