So I wanted to make a real first post...but I don't know if this actually counts since I didn't write it for my blog but I promise that is coming soon! :) I had to write this paper for my Book of Mormon class, we were asked to choose a scripture and write about it. This is what I wrote:
“And the Lord of the vineyard said unto him: Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that is hath brought forth much fruit.”
Jacob 5:22
The first time I read this scripture I was given a different impression than what I had learned in class. So the servant doesn’t understand why the master would plant the tree in the poorest spot and the scripture above is the answer that the master gives to him. When I read it, I felt like the servant was saying, “Why put so much faith in someone who just doesn’t have a desire to follow the Lord, someone who is so rough around the edges?” The Lord replies and the message that rang for me was that everyone comes from a different background, or has different “roots” but it doesn’t define who they are or the amount of fruit they are capable of producing. The following scripture says that even a poorer spot did he plant a tree and after a long time nourishing, it brought forth much fruit.
Sometimes we get carried away in who we think people are and we don’t give them a chance. The gospel is for everyone and it’s not up to us who will accept or reject it, but rather up to them.
I know I have been guilty of making a judgment about someone before I have really learned whom they were. My mother has the gift of discerning of spirits. She sees things in people that many don’t see, and she knows their heart without spending as much as a day with them. Although I don’t have this gift, it has taught me to give people a chance. One time, I met this girl who I would never expect to be interested in learning about the gospel. After many friends’ examples, and the missionary discussions, she joined the church. Now I look up to her and I know that she could give me some of the best advice. She leaves me better than she found me, and that’s what true friends do. Her background is very rough and it is hard to imagine that such a change took place in her heart. But that is exactly what the Lord is saying; he wants us to see that everyone has the capacity to be followers of Christ. Despite their background or how rough they may seem, they may turn out to be some of the strongest of the saints.
It is upon our head when we don’t do all we can to help our Heavenly Father bring his children home to Him again. Sometimes I forget that the person sitting next to me on the bus, smoking a cigarette and cursing at the TV behind his seat, is someone I promised that if I saw them on earth, I would teach him the gospel. I wouldn’t judge him but I would love him and remember that he is my brother, like everyone else on this planet. I am grateful for this scripture as a reminder that we need not judge others too quickly. Notwithstanding their background, they have a chance to be more than we ever imagined, and produce more fruit than ever thought possible.
