One of the most talked-about technological advances in a certain developed country in a recent year centered around an artificial intelligence engine. It built a database of knowledge from material available on the Internet and could respond to spoken or typed questions much as your friend would do—if your friend had command of the world’s pooled, public knowledge. The inventors of this engine, which was dubbed the “Know-It-All Companion,” or KIAC, received acclaim, admiration, and awards for their work in their field. Of course, they also received some criticism, but that was to be expected.
Some kids like visiting the dentist. Other kids detest it. It depends on both the dentist and on how well the kids take care of their teeth. Ryan generally liked visiting his dentist, who was very friendly and had TVs mounted to the ceiling above the chairs so he could watch cartoons while the hygienist cleaned his teeth and the dentist poked around his mouth. But his most recent visit gave him reason to reconsider.
My favorite quote from a Disney animated film has to be “Who’s driving this flying umbrella?” If you can’t place it, this one is from Robin Hood, asked by Little John when he gets swept up by a bunch of rhinoceros guards who ran into a pavilion at the archery tournament and kept charging. I like to ask it when a work meeting’s start time has passed and the meeting organizer isn’t yet present.
In October, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke about the Savior’s parable of the prodigal son and what it means for you and me. I recommend giving it a read!
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Oisín lived in Ireland, while his sister, Siobhan, had moved to Australia a couple years ago. Oisín’s birthday was coming up. Siobhan told him that she had bought him a gift he would love and was shipping it to him.
The downside was that the shipping carrier didn’t yet have international tracking set up, so Oisín was unable to watch the package’s progress as it crossed oceans and continents during its journey of thousands of kilometers. It might be transferred to a local shipping partner when it reached Ireland. So Siobhan couldn’t even give him an idea of when the package would arrive at his home or who would deliver it.
He gave it a little over a week, and then he started checking his doorstep when the post was pushed through the flap in his front door. He glanced more and more frequently out the front window for delivery lorries in the afternoons after his shift at his job.
“Any day now,” he frequently told himself. Soon, it became more of a command, growled under his breath. “Any day now!” What was taking so long?
Oisín started to question whether the package would show up at all. Perhaps it had been misplaced. Perhaps it was even stuck in Australia. Perhaps Siobhan was mistaken and she had never actually sent it off—instead only thinking she had while the gift sat forgotten on a shelf somewhere.
Thoughts like this embittered his conversations with his sister. For Oisín, it hung over their interactions on social media like a gloomy cloud. She acted like everything was fine whenever he brought it up. “It will get there, don’t worry!” Siobhan said more than once. But Oisín no longer believed her and even started resenting her. Whenever he thought about the gift, his stomach churned and his mood soured—which was getting more and more often to the point that he felt angry more often than he felt anything else.
Over a month had passed since Siobhan told him she had shipped his present.
Finally, during a video chat, Oisín lost his temper and blew up at Siobhan about nothing that was important. Her jaw dropped, and tears came to her eyes. She left the call without a word.
Oisín stared at his smartphone’s screen for long moments. Shame filled him. How could I have done that?
He stared out the window. A lorry drove down his street, and he realized why he had been so upset. Oisín had obsessed over the promised gift to the point that he was letting the uncertainty and repeated disappointments dominate his mental and emotional state, and he was letting it affect his relationships. “Any day now” had become a hard way to live.
Oisín knew he had to change his mindset.
Instead of mentally demanding that the gift arrive when he wanted it to, he decided to instead appreciate the fact that Siobhan had been thinking of him in the first place. He focused on that and let that thought restore his love for his sister. The package would arrive whenever it arrived, and Oisín would enjoy it then. That didn’t reduce his desire to receive it. But the gift was now less important to him than his own well being and his relationship with Siobhan.
Oisín sent Siobhan a sincere apology and promised to do better. They had another call the next day, and he asked for her forgiveness. She gave it. Oisín immediately felt a weight lifted from his chest. He even felt like his vision had cleared, as if he had been trying to look at things through a pair of dingey, dirty glasses.
And only two days after that, the package appeared on Oisín’s doorstep. Standing in the doorway, he looked down at it. He wondered how excited he would have been to see that box while he was still so angry about it. But a peaceful feeling came over him now, and anticipation mounted. He bent, picked up the package, and went into his house to see what it contained.
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The Weekly Parable 