05/17/2021
Since the end of Pres Fowers talk was cut off due to Technical Difficulties, here is the story that he was sharing:
I’ve shared this story before, but I think it is very applicable given our current circumstances.
Life’s challenges are real. We face trauma, we simply need to keep our perspective in mind.
A simple story but it’s a story about all of us. A story about a wise Chinese man
He had one horse, one son, and one acre of ground on which he made his living. That was all
One day his son went out to feed the horse and left the gate open and the horse ran away into the desert.
All of his friends and neighbors came over and said “now isn’t that too bad, that is your only horse.” “What are you going to do to make a living?”
The wise Chinese man said I’m not sure if it’s bad or good.
All of his friends insisted it’s terrible what do you mean, he said I’m not sure.
A few days later his horse got hungry and thirsty in the desert and came back to the corral for food and water and brought back with it nine other horses.
Now everybody came over and said isn’t that good, you have ten horses.
The wise Chinese man said I’m not sure if it’s bad or good. They insisted it was good.
His son went out one day to try and tame one of the wild horses, it reared up and came down, and severely broke his son’s leg.
Here they came again, all of his friends and neighbors, and said isn’t that too bad, he’s your only son. What will you ever do?
Being wise, he said I’m not sure if it’s bad or good.
War broke out in the country. The government came by and gathered up all of the young men who were able to join the military, they marched them all off to war and they all were killed.
This story could go on but it’s your story and it’s my story. It’s the story of life.
Don’t be so anxious when things happen to determine whether they are bad or good.
Isaiah taught us that the Lord’s ways are higher than our ways.
Are we using our time to grow closer to our family, serve others, learn a new language, be outside, participate in Come Follow Me? As my mission president would always say, “it’s never too early or it’s never too late to start these processes.”
