Author: Ben Minson

The Former Friend

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Angela, a mid-level manager in a government office, attended a professional management conference on the other side of the country to sharpen her skills. While waiting for the opening session to begin, she struck up a friendship with a woman ten years her senior by the name of Catharina.

The two women spent most of the conference together. Catharina expressed interest in most of the same topics and sessions as Angela did. They met up for lunch and dinner and came to know a lot about each other—what cities they lived in, their careers up to that point, their personal and family circumstances. It had been a long time since Angela felt like she had a close friend, and it seemed Catharina was someone she could trust.

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The Will

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Following the passing of an extremely wealthy woman, her heirs gathered to learn what portion of the estate each would receive. From the executor they learned that on a certain date in the future, each would receive enough money to pay off all their debts, and more, if they met a set of requirements before that day. The requirements included such actions as joining and contributing a number of hours to a charitable organization; selecting a stranger and paying for his or her college tuition; entirely forsaking a bad habit; and seeking out everyone they had wronged in their lives, asking forgiveness, and making amends. “The allotted time,” said the executor, “is expected to be enough to meet these stipulations. If you fail to meet them, you relinquish any and all claim upon your inheritance.”

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A Closer Look at “The Race Cars”

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For those who can see, a significant proportion of the information we process comes into the brain through our eyes. It follows that much of the time, the conclusions we come to are based on what we see. Unfortunately, similar to the way many may show favor to one race car over another just because of its color and racing stripe, many of us make value judgments about others because of their appearance.

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The Footrace

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A certain man who enjoyed running decided to enter a race in his area to see if he could give a decent accounting of himself. He registered for the race and drove into the hills just after daybreak on the appointed day. When he arrived, he frowned and checked the location in the ad again. No one else appeared to be there. But this was the right spot supposedly.

No, there was one other person. She walked up to him.

“Here for the race?” she asked.

“Yes, can you direct me—”

“This way.” She motioned and walked away. The runner followed. In seconds they stopped at a white line across a path. The woman drew a pistol, pointed it in the air, and fired.

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Considering “A Warning at Night”

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Often, when we’re sleeping comfortably, we don’t like to be disturbed. And we especially don’t like the lights turned on because it’s too much for our dilated pupils. When I was in elementary school, just about every morning my mother would switch on the bedroom light and call cheerfully, “Up and at ’em!” I probably grumbled about that routine more than once.

Light of a different sort—divine light—can be shed on us in varying amounts over time. A little bit of correction from a caring family member, friend, or leader can decrease the darkness in our lives a shade. The Lord may send a message through the Holy Ghost or the scriptures that increases the clarity of our sight. His prophet, apostles, or missionaries may preach in ways that significantly increase our understanding. Sometimes that light comes a as a blatant and even urgent warning. But how do we receive that light? Do we embrace it, take it in, let it illuminate our steps—or do we fight against it and tell its Source to cut it out and leave us alone?

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