Chosen

These are my Chosen

Once upon a time, there lived in Arabia a man who was named Ben Yussef. He had a son, and he and his son were very rich people. Their wealth came from the fact that they bred and trained Arabian horses.

Now, everyone knows that Arabian horses are world famous for their speed, their beauty, and their sturdiness. Ben Yussef and his son trained these horses, and then sold them, however, each year they kept the very best for themselves. Ben Yussefs horses were in great demand, and he trained them very well because their livelihood depended upon it. He trained them so that each one would answer to his call. He would cry, “Kyama, Kyama!,” and there would be a thunder of hooves, and a swishing of manes and tails as the many horses galloped up to him, and stood pawing the ground around him as they tossed their beautiful, shiny heads.

One day, Ben Yussef called, “Kyama, Kyama!” and there was not a single horse that would answer his call. Ben turned to his son and said, “The time has come. The time has come for the sorting of the horses. The time has come for their testing.”

These horses, who had been given the very best that money could buy, were gradually cut off from their luxuries. Their bran and mash was cut down until it was barely enough to keep them alive. They were turned out of their stables into a dry, stubby field with hardly any pasture. Their gleaming coats were neglected and became dirty and ragged. They were not given enough water, and they became thin and wild looking. They no longer looked anything like the beautiful thorough breds they had once been.

After many months, Ben Yussef and several stable hands came and reigned up the horses. They were led into another field which had gates leading to yet another field. Beyond the gates, there was everything that the poor, starved horses had once been accustomed to every day. There were troughs filled with bran and hay. There was barrel after barrel filled with clear, sparkling water. There were lush green, thick pastures.

The horses whinnied and pulled against their reigns in their desire to get to this adjoining field. Finally, Ben Yussef called down to his son, who was guarding the gates, and said, “Open the gates!”

The way was clear. There was nothing to stop them now, and the horses began to gallop into the lush, green field which contained everything they had missed for so long. However, before they reached the coveted place, a great cry rang out, “Kyama, Kyama!” The horses pricked their ears. Some rushed straight on, and some stopped, looked back, and then continued galloping. Some stopped, turned, and ever so slowly, very slowly, walked back to where Ben Yussef was standing. He looked at them with pity in his eyes, but with pride in his voice he said, ‘These Are My Chosen.”

Let’s stop and think about this story. Ben Yussef was the trainer of fine Arabian horses. In fact, they were the finest in all the world. But, in order to find the very best, Ben Yussef required them to go through sacrifices and trials before the sorting. We can compare this to ourselves. We are the best and finest the Lord has, and because we are, there are some sacrifices we must make. Stop and think. When the sorting day comes, will your testimony and actions reflect as one the Lord will proudly be able to count as one of His chosen? Stop and evaluate. Find out where you stand, and then take action to refine yourself.

Potential

The Parable of the Eagle

A certain farmer was going through the forest when he ran across a small eagle which had fallen from its nest. He took the eagle home and placed it among a flock of chickens. In time it grew to full maturity.

One day, a naturalist came to see the farmer and saw the eagle among the chickens. “That bird is an eagle not a chicken,” he said.

“Yes,” said the farmer, “but I have trained it to be a chicken. For all intents and purposes, it is a chicken. Even though it has a wing spread of ten feet tip-to-tip, it will never fly.”

“No,” said the naturalist. “It is an eagle still; it has the soul of an eagle and its destiny is to soar in the heavens. Let me teach it to fly.”

“Please go ahead,” said the farmer.

The naturalist took the eagle to the top of the barn. “You are an eagle,” he said. “Your destiny is the heavens. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” The eagle turned this way and that. Then, looking down, saw the chickens eating their food and jumped down among them.

The naturalist was discouraged, but the farmer said to him, “You are a well-educated man. Certainly you must have discovered that most people behave the way the people around them behave. They accept their goals and their lifestyles. It is the same with this eagle. He has been reared with the chickens and has taken on their ways of behaving. That is why I say he will never fly.” The naturalist was sad, but he said to the owner, “Please let me try once more.”

The next morning, he rose early and took the eagle away from the chickens, away from the farm, away from the city. He took it to the foot of a mountain. Holding the eagle in his arms, he climbed the mountain. As he reached the top, the sun was just rising, bathing the tip of the mountain with gold, and every crag was glistening with the light. The naturalist felt the joy of the morning.

As he held the eagle, he let it look around. Then, it trembled as if new life were coming to it, but it did not fly. The naturalist took the eagle and faced it into the sun (let us now spell it SON and not SUN). He said to the eagle, “You are an eagle. Your destiny is in the heavens. Now, FLY!” And, with a mighty screech, he spread his wings, and the eagle flew!

As missionaries, we need to remember the progression we want to achieve with ourselves and those we teach. We have the potential to be an eagle if we have faith and look toward Jesus Christ, the Son of Our Heavenly Father, as our supreme exemplar. The Savior is the sure foundation upon which to build our lives, and He shows us the way to perfection.

Trials

~ Butterfly ~

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a wonderful

old man who loved everything - animals, spiders, insects…. One day, while walking through the woods, the nice old man found a cocoon. Feeling lonely, he decided to take the cocoon home to watch its beautiful transformation from a funny little cocoon to a beautiful butterfly.

The old man gently placed the cocoon on his kitchen table, and

watched over it for a few days. Suddenly, on the seventh day, the cocoon started to frantically move as the butterfly struggled to free itself. Feeling so sorry for the cocooned butterfly, he rushed to its aide and gently slit the cocoon so the butterfly could emerge. Just one slice was all it took, and the butterfly broke free from its cocoon only to wilt over in a completely motionless state.

The old man did not know what to think. Had he accidentally killed the little butterfly?

Feeling completely dumbfounded and quite perplexed, the man wondered what he should do. He felt so sorry for the little butterfly that he decided the best thing he could do was to place it gently back in its cocoon. Then he resealed it with a drop of honey, leaving the butterfly to nestle in its natural state.

The next day, the old man noticed that the cocoon was moving again, but this time he did not help the butterfly. Instead, he watched it struggle for quite some time until it finally broke free. Then the butterfly stretched out its colorful wings, looked around, and flew off!

The old man wondered what he had done wrong by helping the butterfly to escape from its cocoon, so he researched the matter. Soon, he learned that in order for the butterfly to be strong enough to survive when it was outside the cocoon, it was necessary for it to struggle while escaping its cocoon. That’s how it gained its strength.

Many people have trials in their lives, but these trials are meant to make us stronger. We may struggle and become exhausted at times, but usually we will emerge stronger.