Relying only on the sight of our natural eyes, it’s easy to consider each other rather mundane. The world is home to billions of us, and humankind has had millennia to get so used to itself that most of us don’t see others as anything more than “run of the mill.” We often feel that way about ourselves too—nothing more than ordinary.
How can seven or eight billion of something ever be anything but ordinary?
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Heinrich had everything he wanted. Because of his lucrative job, he and his family had a high-rise condominium in the middle of downtown, a private yacht moored at the pier, and an abundance of spending money for shopping, concerts, movies, and sporting events. The kids had laptops, earbuds, and mobile devices to ensure they could never be bored.
The condo sported a balcony that provided a view of much of the city and its nightly, varicolored lights. Each of Heinrich’s kids, now teenagers, had a bedroom where they could keep their devices and entertain themselves. It may have worked a little too well because often they had their eyes on a screen or buds in their ears during family outings on the yacht or at shows and other events, or even just a walk down the busy streets of the city center.
Continue readingBy David Armstrong
President Russell M. Nelson has said to the youth of the Church, “My dear extraordinary youth, you were sent to earth at this precise time, the most crucial time in the history of the world, to help gather Israel. There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing. This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth” (“Hope of Israel”).
This message applies not just to the youth, but to every person who has found the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, has repented, and has accepted the ordinances of salvation. Sharing the gospel of Christ is not a hobby or a pastime we can pick up and put down whenever we feel like it. It is an imperative duty.
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As my wedding day neared, I went to the nearest shopping mall to find a gift for my fiancée. One of the stores I visited was essentially a novelty shop full of various sorts of statuettes and other collectible items from a number of cultures. I was drawn to the displays that held horse sculptures because horses were—and continue to be—one of my fiancée’s favorite things.
A sculpture of a bay horse’s head caught my eye—possibly a Thoroughbred. The eyes looked dark and depthless. Its black mane swept downward and formed the support connecting the rest of the sculpture with the base. The paint work was expertly done. I thought she would love it, so I bought it.
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Author’s note: This parable can stand on its own or be considered a second part to the Parable of the Gap Analysis, found here.
Tangible fear had fallen on the executives of the company when the business analyst and her manager explained that their strategy to overtake their competition wouldn’t work. To correct course, they had decided to focus on new features in one of their top products; however, losing market share and revenue as they were, their new roadmap would take long enough to be realized that they would be out of business before the company became profitable again. To win the race against time, they would need money—money that just wasn’t there.
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The Weekly Parable 