Author: Ben Minson

The Hidden Journals

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History on Flynn’s ancestors seemed hard to come by. For example, his grandfather had passed away before his great-grandfather, and Flynn’s own father couldn’t remember much about either of them. All the family had about Great-Grandfather was an early journal he had written. They enjoyed reading it, and they wished he had written more. They longed to learn more about his life and personality.

One day, Flynn’s father found a key in some old things with a tag bearing the name of a bank and a number. He gave Flynn the key in case he could track down what it was for. Flynn conducted some research on the Internet and traced the key to a bank in a distant city. He called the bank and was told that a safe deposit box with that number still held some items belonging to Flynn’s great-grandfather.

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Obtaining Our Inheritance

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One of the words used in the scriptures to describe our relationship with God is heir. Paul wrote to the Romans, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs” (Romans 8:16–17).

The deceased mother in the Parable of the Will represents our Heavenly Father, the Progenitor of our spirits, and the executor of the estate is Jesus Christ. He executes the will—in other words, the plan and purposes—of Heavenly Father. That makes Heavenly Father’s children the heirs, gathered to hear His directions on how we can receive the riches that He wants to impart to us. He has stipulated the terms in the scriptures and revelation through modern prophets, specific steps that we need to take.

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The Sergeant

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On completing some reconnaissance, a certain army platoon was headed back to base when the lieutenant received word that enemy forces had attacked a village and taken civilian prisoners. This platoon’s current location was nearest the village. The orders came for this platoon to engage the enemy as quickly as possible, rescue the captives, and bring them to base.

The lieutenant gathered the platoon and gave them the news. Many eyes gazed back at him steadily. He laid out a plan for engaging with enemy forces and rescuing the prisoners. Then he asked, “Who believes we can accomplish this mission?”

Many of the steady gazes faltered. But one of the sergeants stood. “I do, sir.”

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Uncle Nathaniel’s Promise

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Most people Susanna knew had several uncles and aunts. But not Susanna herself. She had one uncle because Nathaniel was her mom’s only brother, and her dad was an only child.

Nathaniel had kids of his own, but he seemed to realize that with Susanna having no sisters or brothers, she felt lonely sometimes. He and Aunt Ellen brought the cousins over to play on a regular basis. He could have left it at that, but Uncle Nathaniel asked her how she was doing, how she was coping in Portuguese class with that cranky teacher, how her collection of plush unicorns was coming along. He even remembered the names of the unicorns.

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Running the Footrace

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After reviewing many biblical examples of faith, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1–2).

In the Parable of the Footrace, the runner represents each of us, and the track he ran is our personal path, and even the plan that God has for each of His children. The race organizer represents God Himself. In a sense, we might say we’re thrown into the race before we really realize what has happened—the starting pistol has fired, and here we are with our spirits housed in our bodies and living life while we try to figure out how we ended up here in the first place.

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