Parable of the Weeds By Sister Beck

 I lied to you all. I remembered that I told you that I had a Parable of the Weeds in the oven and I never actually delivered. Alors, voilà. I reference Florida like I'm still there because I was when I wrote it hehe.

Profitez! 

🌱🪴🌾🌱🪴🌾

In my short time of being a missionary, I have weeded more weeds than in my entire life. Thankfully the weeds here are actually much easier to pull than in Utah. There's nothing for the roots to hold onto here since the ground is just sand. In Utah the ground is clay.

We go to people's houses almost weekly to weed for a few hours and it got me thinking and pondering on how similar weeds are to life and us. 

This one member has a beautiful garden with tons of plants. She took really good care of her garden until something big and unexpected happened to her. This event took all her attention and she spent 24/7 trying to deal with it and get through this rocky patch of her life. Fast forward a few months, and she finally felt somewhat okay and walked outside to her garden. Her once clean, flourishing garden was overrun with weeds and the plants were dying. It looked less like a garden and more like a jungle. It was so overwhelming that she felt discouraged and she went back inside.

Now the cool/bad thing about Florida's weeds are that they are beautiful. Actually prettier than some of the plants themselves. Some are pretty purple flowers and some are leafy vines going on and around the plant. So sometimes it's hard to tell what's a weed and what's an actual plant. 

This person kept up with their garden diligently until a big, and difficult event happened that took them away from the garden for a short time. But in that short time weeds were able to thrive and get into every single pot and corner of the garden. 

The same thing can happen to us in our lives if we are not constantly striving to attend church every week, read our scriptures but more specifically the Book of Mormon daily, and pray unceasingly throughout our days. 

Sometimes we let big (and lots of times, small) events stop the constant care of our spiritual gardens. 

Sometimes when things don't go as planned we shut God out and step away from our gardens for a time. 

When we finally return to them, there's a lot of work to be done. There's an overwhelming amount of weeds to be pulled and not-so-great habits to distinguish. It can feel too hard so we go back inside and ignore it for a month longer. 

Where if we had kept up with it the whole time or started a month ago when we first noticed how bad it was getting, it could've improved greatly.

Then there's the individual weeds that we pull. Some weeds are easier to get rid of. The baby weeds in the pots come out quickly.

Maybe this could be prayer for you. Maybe you could easily put it back into your routine.

Or sometimes they're bigger weeds that will take more time and effort to get out. 

Like a bad habit or fear of judgment in returning to church after a long time of not going. 

What are your weeds? 

Sister Chevrier, in the Lake Emma ward, says that when you live somewhere long enough you get to know your weeds. 

Do you know your weeds? 

It's like I said, some of these weeds are SO pretty. I wanted to leave some of them right where they were but no matter how pretty they are, they're bad for the garden. No matter how much you enjoy some of your weeds, they're bad for your garden. This could be skipping church to have a "me day" or because "You're just not feeling it". It could be watching a show or the reels on Instagram instead of your scripture study. 

It could be that you're seeking help from anything and anyone but God. 

All these things can be weeds in your spiritual garden. 

You may feel like your garden is in Florida ground, where yeah, there's a lot of them, but they come out easily and you can get rid of them quickly. Or, your garden could be in Utah ground where the ground is harder and even though there's not as many, the roots are thicker and stronger. Your weeds may take more effort and time to pull out. 

No matter what it is, I have good news for you, the Book of Mormon can help us identify our weeds and help us to pull them and grow our spiritual garden. 

Whatever your garden is looking like right now, whether its perfectly fine but there's just a few small ones in the corner, or if your garden is no longer a garden but a breeding ground for weeds and it looks like a jungle, and you don't know where to start...

You need to just START. And once you start, don't stop. Keep caring for your spiritual garden with the help of the Book of Mormon.

Personal, sincere involvement in the scriptures produces FAITH, HOPE, & SOLUTIONS to our daily challenges.

One of my favorite quotes is "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior" 

I feel like that's says something important. The Book of Mormon holds so much more power and guidance than I think any of us realize. 

The weeds will keep coming. And they come quick.

But if you're consistent in attending church, praying, and reading the Book of Mormon, the health of your spiritual garden will be constant. 

And If your spiritual garden is healthy and flourishing, the hard things about life will all of a sudden have context and you can have a better understanding of them because you know God's plan through the Book of Mormon. You'll be spiritually self reliant. You'll learn to trust God in all things and you'll be ready for the coming days, which I hear are only going to get harder. 

Elder Bruce R. McConkie listed some ways in which the power of the Book of Mormon is and will be demonstrated: “What then is the power of the Book of Mormon? It will proclaim the everlasting gospel; it will gather Israel; it will build the New Jerusalem; it will prepare a people for the Second Coming; it will usher in the Millennium—at least it will play such an important part in all of these that its value and power can scarcely be overstated”

So we get a little glimpse of what the Book of Mormon can do for us and why it's important to be consistently reading it. Now let's talk about the content of it. 

The number one thing I have noticed when teaching others about the Book of Mormon is that they usually think Joseph Smith wrote it and that it's our church's version of the Bible. 

But when they realize that the Book of Mormon is about a family who fled Jerusalem and kept their own records about how they lived and that its more scripture from ancient prophets. It becomes more real and realistic to them. 

Once we get them a correct understanding of what it is, we then help them on their feet in reading and understanding as much of it as they can. All of a sudden a Book they knew nothing about is speaking directly to them and their individual circumstances. 

A girl who's struggling with family issues is able to learn from Nephi and how he handles his relentlessly rebellious brothers and a visionary father who you're not quite sure if he's inspired or crazy. 

A man who has been feeling anxious and has been having a hard time feeling the spirit can read in 3 Nephi when Jesus Christ came to the America's and he can feel of God's love and how he provided a way out of the pain, through Jesus Christ. 

A missionary who is discouraged and just keeps getting rejected and denied can read in Alma and find that Ammon describes perfectly the way that that feels, and then can read how if we persevere things will get better. 

These stories plus so many more are true. The Book of Mormon speaks to everyone. It's our job to allow it. And do our part. 

The Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ. It shows us the patterns and lives of so many and teaches us which patterns we should follow and how to live our lives. 

Elder Tad R Callister presented this question:

"Would you like to have emblazoned on your soul an undeniable witness that the Savior descended beneath your sins and that there is no sin, no mortal plight outside the merciful reach of His Atonement—that for each of your struggles He has a remedy of superior healing power? Then read the Book of Mormon. It will teach you and testify to you that Christ’s Atonement is infinite because it circumscribes and encompasses and transcends every finite frailty known to man. That is why the prophet Mormon declared, “Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ” (Moroni 7:41)."

   President Russell M. Nelson reflected: “When I think of the Book of Mormon, I think of the word power. The truths of the Book of Mormon have the power to heal, comfort, restore, succor, strengthen, console, and cheer our souls.”

I encourage all of you to not fall into the belief that the Book of Mormon can't be everything that I've talked about, to you. I was in that category for most of my life. I thought the book of Mormon could only be powerful and meaningful to people who were smarter than me or more faithful than me or someone who was better at reading it consistently. 

I'll say it over and over again, I was wrong. 

It can heal, comfort, restore, succor, strengthen, and console any one if you let it. It can do all this and more. If you want to talk to God, pray. If you want God to talk to you, read your scriptures. 

I know this is true. Take care of your spiritual gardens. Pull your weeds. 

God loves you. You can hear more of my thoughts on that in a song I wrote ;) ➡️ https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2829487730682570&id=100008641127345

D'accord.... Passé une bonne semaine !

(I'm okay! I didn't mean to freak any one out by my last email! Missions are hard. I just vocalize it more haha)