Analogies – Ammon Shepherd

Staying in Bed

[From my journal on November 26, 2007]

Jan was having a hard time staying in bed tonight. When Jess went down to get water, she came in to ask me to put her blanket on her. I chose to ignore her because Jess had given Jan explicit instructions to stay in bed and consequences if she got out.

When Jess came up with the water, she found Jan in the hall. Jan started to cry and in a heart-broken voice told Jess how she came to talk to Daddy, but he wouldn’t talk to her, and didn’t turn his head to look at her. She was so sad. I almost ran out to hug her. She went to bed and stayed there for a while which allowed me to go tuck her in.

I thought I must know a little how God feels. How often do we try to ask God for things, but He can’t answer or look at us because we have chosen to be disobedient. He gives us commandments and consequences and He MUST abide by them. If He breaks them even once, even the smallest one, He would cease to be God. He can not be the law giver and enforcer and break His own laws. I think I felt a bit of the heart ache He feels when He is bound to His laws and can not help because we have not kept our part of the bargain.

Fortunately, He is a merciful God and we can rectify our standing with Him when we apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through repentance, continued obedience, and the cleansing power of the Atonement, we can have again a clean and pure relationship with our Father in Heaven.

Faith without works is dead

This is from an April 14, 2008 study journal entry.

An analogy while reading the Joseph Smith Manual (lesson 7).

Faith without works is like reading a cook book and expecting to be well fed afterwards. It is not the reading that fills you up and lets you taste of the succulent food. The food is the fruit of your labors of following the directions, cutting the vegetables, adding the ingredients, putting forth the effort, and patiently waiting the prescribed amount of time. With faith it is similar. It is fruitless and dead if
there is no action, no working towards the goal, no effort, time or patience given. One can not simply read and believe. One can not do one step and not the others.

Go Fly a kite

I always felt I was not doing enough as an Elders Quorum President. There were things undone, people I never met, etc. I had an experience that helped me realize that my way of measuring success might not always be the same way God measures success. It happened on March 29, 2008, and I wrote it in my study journal the next day.

“I learned a principle that applies to life, especially my calling as E.Q. Pres, through an experience yesterday. The family and I went kite flying at the National Mall for the Smithsonian’s Annual Kite day. I had helped Jonas and January make a kite from a garbage bag, some small dowels, and duct tape. This was my first home-made kite, and the first time to fly one since I was a kid.

“When we got to the Mall I was determined to get the kite in the air, so I tried first. I tried for half an hour but only got the kite to go 20 feet high or so, each time watching it crash to the ground. For it to “count” for me, it had to be high, 50, 100, 150 feet. At least as high as everybody elses kites seemed to be. It wasn’t working like I wanted it to. After so long of failure, and Jonas’ constant asking and pleading to have a turn at the controlls, I finally relented.

“He got the kite, and after a few tries, it went 10-15 feet in the air. He was exstatic! “Look Mom! I’m flying a kite! Look how high it is!” It was just about low enough that I could jump up and catch it. But for Jonas it had reached as high as the Washington Monument.

“I realized, then, that he had a totally different perspective about flying kites than I had. To him, success was getting the kite into the air above his head for any length of time. I learned that sometimes we set our expectations for ourselves too high. We think success in something means one thing only. Sometimes, though, what the Lord expects is much different. I expect a 100 foot high kite while being EQ Pres in order to be successful. But the Lord may only want me to get the kite above my head for any moment of time. (I surely hope this is how He sees it, for that’s how I felt the whole time.”

The lesson is: Trust in the Lord for the measure of success. Let Him be the to determine the height of success. Let His perspective by my perspective.

The need for a restored Church of God

Mark 2: 21-22 gives an analogy for why the church of God needed to be restored. Jesus has been asked why his disciples do not fast, but those of John and the Pharisees do. Jesus responds with an analogy that those with a bridegroom do not fast, but only when he is not present. He then expounds, in the aforementioned analogy, that the bridegroom, referring to himself, will not be with the people always. But that he, Jesus, will return again. And when he does, it will not be to the same organization that is a remnant of what he left. As he says, new cloth should not be sewn into an old garment because the new cloth is stronger and will make the hole worse. New wine is not stored in old wine bottles (usually made of leather), because the old leather will not stretch as the wine expands during fermentation and will break the bottle.

Jesus shows that there will be an Apostasy or a time of separation from him and the truth when he says in Mark 2: 20, that the bridegroom will be taken away, and in that time they shall have to fast.

When the gospel and Christ’s church is restored to earth, it will need to be done in a new vessel. The truths restored would break the old church. It would not be able to support the changes needed to be made. They would not be able to support the restored gospel, rules, structure, mentality, organization and way of life required by Christ’s true church. A completely new structure was needed. Built from the ground up, piece by piece with someone in charge who was completely dependant upon Christ for direction and understanding. Why not take a young, barely educated boy and make him the leader and builder of the restored and eternal organization of Christ’s gospel?

James 3: 4 teaches that it is a small helm that guides a large ship. It must be a small and simple person to bring about the great restoration.

In 1 Nephi 16: 29, Nephi teaches us with the story of the Liahona, that it is by small means that great things are brought to pass when done with faith and diligence.

Alma warns in Alma 37: 7 and 41 that we must not forget that the Lord works by small means to confound the wise, and to use our faith and diligence in remembering this fact.

The Lord provides encouragement in a revelation (D&C 64: 33) to Joseph Smith on September 11, 1831. He counsels us to not be weary in doing good things, for it is by our small and simple acts that he brings about his great work.

Joseph Smith was the small and simple person, chosen by God to restore his church on the earth. He built the church anew, reestablishing the doctrines, ordinances, covenants and organization that had existed before, but were lost due to the Apostasy.

[Personal Study Journal, June 17, 2008]

He will save the day

Today was Fast Sunday for us, since Stake Conference is next Sunday. Jonas was sitting next to me, and when there was a lull in people bearing testimony I asked Jonas if he wanted to go. He got quiet and solemn. I could tell he wanted to, but was a bit afraid. When the next lull came, I gave him a nudge. He jumped up and walked up to the podium (we sit on the third row back, so it wasn’t that far away). He stood there for a second or two, trying to think about what to say. He then looked out at the congregation and got real sacred. He looked at me with the beginning of tears in his eyes and motioned for me to come help. I went up there and told him to say he loves his family and Jesus. He did so in a quiet and somewhat shaky voice. Before he could run off, I told him to close in the name of Jesus Christ. He did so, and then came to get a big hug and comfort. Another boy bore his testimony, and then I bore mine as well.

As I did so I realized that the experience Jonas and I just had was an allegory of our relationship with God. I bore this as my testimony:

I had prompted Jonas to do something important. Then at the proper time, I gave him a little nudge in reminder. He immediately went to do it. While trying to do what he was supposed to, he found that he did not have the ability to do it himself. He asked his father for help. His father rushed to his aid and helped him complete his task.

God is always preparing us for important things to do, to help His kingdom roll forward. At the proper time He gives us a nudge. We can choose to be like Jonas and immediately go and do what we know we should. He showed me the scripture in real life, that we should all become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” [Mosiah 3: 19] Jonas was submissive and humble and willing to submit to the thing I wanted him to do (bear his testimony). We must be submissive and humbe and willing to submit to the Lord. When we do so, we may find ourselves in a situation that we can’t finish or complete by ourselves. We can give up, be discouraged or frustrated, or, like Jonas, we can look earnestly to our Father and plead for help. And He will come rushing in to save the day.

I love Jonas. He is a wonder boy, full of love and a great desire to do what is right. He teaches me often through such great examples.

As an epilogue, later in the meeting I commented to Jonas how great it was that he could get up there to bear his testimony, and how scary it can be. He replied almost in a huff and slightly under his breath, “they weren’t all supposed to be looking at me.” Well, my son, they always will be. You will be a strong and upright example for many many people. Point them to Christ and you need not fear.

Toothbrush Analogy

This was one of the previous posts…

These are thoughts I had once while thinking about members of my family who are inactive, and while brushing my teeth. I wondered if they will become more active as they get older, have kids, and realize the great things they missed out on.

Toothbrush Analogy

As a kid, you might not like brushing your teeth. For whatever reason, you’ve decided that it’s not for you. Your parents might have made you do it. You might not like the dentist visits: they make you feel uncomfortable, you might not believe the things they say, etc. Perhaps the thought of having to brush morning and night, day in and day out, no breaks, no holidays, just makes you upset. For whatever reason, you just don’t like to brush.

Well, one day you are going to realize the importance of teeth brushing. It might be as a kid, still, when you get 5 cavities that hurt like the dickens. You might realize that if you take care of your teeth you won’t get cavities and they won’t hurt. It might be as an adult when you have to pay for your own cavities, or when you have your own kids and have to pay for theirs. It might even be when you’re putting in your brand new set of dentures, that you finally realize that if you had taken care of your teeth, that you would still have some.

The Gospel is the same way. Whether you don’t believe, or don’t want to. Whether your parent’s made you go to Church and Seminary, or because you don’t like the bishop office visits, or because you have to live the commandments morning and night, day in and day out, no breaks, no holidays… Or for whatever reason you don’t.

There will come a day when you will have to acknowledge and finally realize that the Gospel is true. You will have to acknowledge that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true Church of God in these times. You will bow to your knees and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is your Savior, Creator, and Redeemer. The day may come when you feel the Spirit at a meeting you were forced to attend, or when you see a small miracle happen in your life. It may come when you are having hard times as an adult and finally humble yourself to God. It might come when you have kids of your own and you realize how much the Church and the Gospel and Christ can really do for you. It might even come after you die and are forced to acknoweldge the further existence of your spirit. It might be when you stand before Jesus Christ and take an account of all your thoughts, words, and deeds-good and bad-and are judged accordingly. Whatever the reason, one day you WILL realize the TRUTH.

Don’t wait for your teeth to fall out before you realize that brushing your teeth is a good thing. And don’t wait until you are standing before our Savior Jesus Christ to finally acknowledge that what you have been and are being taught is the truth. Gain a testimony now! Do the simple things to gain the greatest. Say your prayers, read the scriptures, live the commandments. Prepare yourself so that day may be a Great one and not a Terrible one.