"A Picture on His Dresser"

She lay in her hospital bed, emaciated and broken, her skin tinged a sickly yellow, heartache and regret bleeding from her oppressed soul.

Her body, saturated with heroin and plagued by AIDS, was decaying quickly; there was no time left to make up for all the wasted years.

She mourned the bitter depths she was condemned to after all the cheap and destructive highs.

She stared at the picture on her dresser and broke down and sobbed, aching for what could have been.

For days she sat listlessly, too dejected to even turn on the TV, completely disinterested in eating; it was only a matter of time, so why prolong the agony?

One day a priest was making his rounds and came into his room. He sat down next to her on the bed and, smiling warmly, asked how she was doing.

“I’m lost,” she said. “I’ve ruined my life and every life around me. There is no hope for me. I’m going to hell.”

The priest sat in silence for several moments, absorbing her bitterness and grief, searching for words. He looked up and noticed the picture on her dresser.

“Who’s that?” he asked.

She brightened a little and responded, “That’s my daughter. She’s the one beautiful thing in my life and the only person I’ve ever loved.”

“Would you help her if she was in trouble or made a mistake?” the priest asked. “Would you forgive her? Would you still love her?”

“Of course I would!” she cried. “I would do anything for her! She will always be precious and beautiful to me. Why would you ask such a question?”

“Because I want you to know,” said the priest,” that God has a picture of you on his dresser.”

Prayer and Friends

Soup Can Phone

One summer morning ... , while Elizabeth was playing croquet by herself in the front yard, she saw a car drive up next door. A man and woman got out of the car. And then a girl with bright red hair got out. She looked just the right age! Elizabeth ran over to meet her.

The new girl’s name was Becky. Elizabeth smiled at her. Becky smiled back.

“I’m playing croquet,” Elizabeth said. “Do you want to play?”

“I’ve never played it before …” Becky said shyly.

Elizabeth smiled and held out a croquet ball. “Want to learn?”

Becky nodded and ran over to play.

From then on Elizabeth and Becky were always together. During the day they played and ate snacks in their clubhouse. At night they sat by their bedroom windows and yelled to each other so they could keep talking.

One night as the girls were yelling back and forth, Elizabeth’s older brother stopped by her room. “You know what you two need?” he said. “Soup-can phones.”

“What are those?” Elizabeth asked.

“All you do is connect two cans with some string. You run the string between your windows. And then you won’t have to yell.” He promised to help set it all up tomorrow.

The next night Elizabeth and Becky had their first soup–can phone conversation.

.... All too soon summer turned to fall. With homework and dancing lessons (for Elizabeth) and swimming lessons (for Becky), they didn’t see each other as much as they had during the summer. But almost every night, they sat by their windows and talked using their soup-can phones....One day Becky left for her grandma’s funeral. She didn’t know how long she’d be gone.

“I’ll miss you,” Elizabeth said.

Becky nodded and hugged her goodbye.

That night, after saying her prayer and getting in bed, Elizabeth couldn’t sleep. She missed talking with her friend.

A thought came to her: Why not pray? But she prayed every night before going to bed. And besides, she had already said her prayer tonight.

But the thought came again: Pray. Pray as if you’re really talking with Heavenly Father.

And so she got on her knees again and prayed. Only this time she didn’t just repeat what she usually said. This time she really talked about how she felt about things—small things and big things.

Prayer isn’t just a bunch of words you say, Elizabeth thought as she climbed back in bed. Prayer could be like a real conversation—like her soup-can conversations with Becky.

In her prayers Elizabeth started talking about things that had happened to her earlier in the day. She talked about her problems and her feelings. She felt like she’d found another friend.

Elizabeth was glad when Becky finally came home. That night they had their usual soup–can phone conversation. And later, just before she went to bed, Elizabeth had another special conversation—with her Heavenly Father.

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“Our Heavenly Father is always near. You can reach out and receive His aid through prayer.”

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994), “Prayer,” Ensign, May 1977, 32.

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Dear Friend,
I just had to send you a note to tell you how much I love you and care for you. I saw you yesterday as you were talking to your friend. I waited all day hoping you would want to talk with me. As evening came, I gave you a sunset to close your day and a breeze to rest you and I waited. You never came. Sure, it hurts me, but I still love you because I am your friend.
I saw you fall asleep last night and I longed to touch your face. Again I waited wanting to rush down so we could talk. I have so many gifts for you. You got up late and rushed off to work/school. My tears were in the rain.
Today you looked so sad - so all alone. It makes my heart ache because I understand. My friends let me down many times too, but I love you.
If you would only listen to me! I love you! I try to tell you in the blue sky and in the quiet green grass. I whisper it in the leaves, in the trees, and breathe it in the colors of the flowers. I shout it to you in the mountain steams and give the birds' love songs to sing. I clothe you with warm sunshine and sweeten the air with nature scents.
My LOVE for you is deeper than the ocean and bigger than the biggest want or need in your heart. If you would only knew how much I want to walk and talk with you. I know how hard it is on Earth. I really know! And I want to help you.
I want you to meet my Father. He wants to help you too. My Father is that way you know. Just call me - ask me - talk with me! Please don't forget me! I have so much to share with you! Alright, okay, I won't bother you any more. You are free to choose me. It's your decision. I have chosen you, and because of this I will wait, and wait, and wait, because I love you.
Your Friend, Jesus

"And I... I am a Son of God"

... I came to the conclusion at that time that I should seek additional education and apply for a scholarship from an American university. If I were selected, I would have to leave my job, sell everything we had, and come to live in the United States as a scholarship student for two years.

Tests such as the TOEFL and GMAT became the first challenges to be overcome. It took three long years of preparation, many “nos,” and some “maybes” before I was accepted at a university. I still remember the telephone call I received at the end of the third year from the person responsible for scholarships.

He said, “Carlos, I have some good news and some bad news for you. The good news is that you are among the three finalists this year.” There was only one opening at that time. “The bad news is that one of the other candidates is the son of someone important, the other is the son of someone else important, and then there is you.”

I quickly responded, “And I … I am a son of God.”

~Carlos Godoy, of the LDS 70

The Parable of the Cracked Pot

 

A waterbearer in India had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole, which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it. While the other pot was perfect, and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the mistress's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to her master's house.
The perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream: "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"
"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your mistress's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in her compassion she said, "As we return to the mistress's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.

But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?

“That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them.

“For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my mistress's table. Without you being just the way you are, she would not have this beauty to grace her house."

"the Reflection" by Pres Uchdorf

What a wonderful sight you are! In my mind’s eye I can imagine many other beautiful faces like yours—youthful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the nations throughout the world. You may not all look exactly alike, but you have so much in common. I consider this a choice assignment, and I’m grateful to President Monson for providing me this opportunity to spend a few minutes with you.

The Ugly Duckling

One of the most beloved storytellers of all time was the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. In one of his stories, “The Ugly Duckling,” a mother duck discovers that one of her newly hatched chicks is unusually large and very ugly. At first the mother wonders if she has hatched a turkey egg, but the ugly child can swim as well as her other children. And so she comes to the conclusion that the poor thing is simply abnormal and disfigured.
The other ducklings, however, cannot leave the ugly child alone. They punish him mercilessly, pecking at him and teasing him and making him miserable. Finally, the ugly duckling decides it would be better for everyone if he left his family, and he runs away. During the bitter cold of his first winter on his own, the poor duckling nearly freezes to death, but somehow he survives. In spite of his privations, he feels himself getting stronger, and he loves spreading his wings and taking flight even though he’s alone.
Then one day he sees flying overhead a flock of majestic birds, white as snow, graceful in their movements, with beautiful long necks and wide, elegant wings. Oh, what glorious and happy creatures! The ugly duckling longs to fly with them. He is afraid that they might kill him because he is so ugly. But then he decides that would be better than being pecked at by the other animals forever or freezing to death in the winter. And so he takes flight and follows them to a beautiful lake where they settle onto the water.
As he lands, the ugly duckling looks into the water and sees the reflection of a magnificent swan. Gradually, unable to believe it at first, the ugly duckling realizes that the reflection is his own! To his surprise the other swans welcome him, and they even agree that he is the most beautiful, most majestic of all the swans. At last he has discovered who he really is.

The Great Questions

Like this young swan, most of us have felt at one time or another that we don’t quite fit in. Much of the confusion we experience in this life comes from simply not understanding who we are. Too many go about their lives thinking they are of little worth when, in reality, they are elegant and eternal creatures of infinite value with potential beyond imagination.
Discovering who we really are is part of this great adventure called life. Mankind’s greatest minds have wrestled endlessly with these questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? What happens after we die? And how does all this fit together—how does it make sense?
Once we begin to understand the answers to these questions—not with the mind only, but with the heart and the soul—we will begin to understand who we are, and we will feel like the wanderer who is finally finding home. We will feel like the young swan who has discovered at last who he really is. Everything finally makes sense.
The challenge is that the answers to these questions are simply beyond man’s earthly capacity to logically determine. Questions that reach into spiritual things require spiritual answers. Those who reject revelation and insist on tangible evidence can only speculate or deny that there is life before or after this mortal sphere. Consequently, they may never understand who they really are or what true purpose life has.
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, however, we have been blessed with the answers to these questions, and we freely share them with all who will listen. We know them not because of someone’s educated guess or because we found a scientific explanation. We have the answers because heavenly messengers revealed these mysteries to man. That same knowledge is available to anyone on this planet Earth who is honest in heart, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is no small thing. Throughout history, emperors and philosophers would have offered a king’s ransom for what God has given freely in our time. Because He is merciful and loves His children, God has given again in these latter-days the truth about where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going.
My dear young friends, this knowledge allows you to see your own reflection in the water. It assures you that you are not ordinary, rejected, or ugly. You are something divine—more beautiful and glorious than you can possibly imagine. This knowledge changes everything. It changes your present. It can change your future. And it can change the world.