General Conference Review #2

Last week for family home evening our lesson was about a talk in General Conference by Jeffery R. Holland entitled The Laborers in the Vineyard.  I remember that during conference as Adam was listening he, like the laborers, thought that it was unfair that the workers at the end of the day received the same payment as those at the beginning of the day.  Our lesson was a good review of this parable and what it meant.  By the end Adam, and all of us, felt that it was indeed "fair" that they were all paid the same.  Here are two quotes that I liked from the talk...

First of all it is important to note that no one has been treated unfairly here. The first workers agreed to the full wage of the day, and they received it. Furthermore, they were, I can only imagine, very grateful to get the work. In the time of the Savior, an average man and his family could not do much more than live on what they made that day. If you didn’t work or farm or fish or sell, you likely didn’t eat. With more prospective workers than jobs, these first men chosen were the most fortunate in the entire labor pool that morning.

Indeed, if there is any sympathy to be generated, it should at least initially be for the men not chosen who also had mouths to feed and backs to clothe. Luck never seemed to be with some of them. With each visit of the steward throughout the day, they always saw someone else chosen. 

But just at day’s close, the householder returns a surprising fifth time with a remarkable eleventh-hour offer! These last and most discouraged of laborers, hearing only that they will be treated fairly, accept work without even knowing the wage, knowing that anything will be better than nothing, which is what they have had so far. Then as they gather for their payment, they are stunned to receive the same as all the others! How awestruck they must have been and how very, very grateful! Surely never had such compassion been seen in all their working days. 

The explanation about working conditions during the time of Savior was helpful in understanding how fortunate the first laborers were.  It also brought to light the immense gratitude that the last laborers must have felt when they were paid so well.

The second quote that I liked was...

Brothers and sisters, there are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be hurt—and certainly not to feel envious—when good fortune comes to another person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. We are not in a race against each other to see who is the wealthiest or the most talented or the most beautiful or even the most blessed. The race we are really in is the race against sin, and surely envy is one of the most universal of those.

I appreciated this reminder not to be envious and instead be happy when others receive blessings.  I don't feel like a particularly envious person, but I do find myself comparing my life, car, house, etc, to those around me more often than I'd like to admit.  I know my family has been very richly blessed and I am working on trying not to compare earthly possessions even if I would like a newer car.