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Obedience: Man’s Gift to God A (probably biographical) story by James E. Talmage
The Parable of the Grateful Cat
A certain English student of Natural History, as I have heard, once upon a time had the experience described below.
Mr. Romanes, in the course of his daily walk, came to a mill-pond. At the edge of the water he saw two boys with a basket. They were obviously engaged in a diverting occupation. As he came up to them Mr. Romanes observed that the youths were well dressed and evidently somewhat refined and cultured. Inquiry elicited the fact that they were upper servants in a family of wealth and social quality. In the basket were three whining kittens; two others were drowning in the pond; and the mother cat was running about on the bank, rampant in her distress.
To the naturalist’s inquiry the boys responded with a straight-forward statement, respectfully addressed. They said their mistress had instructed them to drown the kittens, as she wanted no other cat than the old one about the house. The mother cat, as the boys explained, was the lady’s particular pet. Mr. Romanes assured the boys that he was a personal friend of their employer, and that he would be responsible fro any apparent dereliction in their obedience o the orders of their mistress. He gave the boys a shilling apiece, and took the three living kittens in charge. The two in the pond had already sunk to their doom.
The mother cat evinced more than the measure of intelligence usually attributed to the animal world. She recognized the man as the deliverer of her three children, who but for him would have been drowned. As he carried the kittens she trotted along–sometimes following, sometimes alongside, occasionally rubbing against him with grateful yet mournful purrs. At his home Mr. Romanes proved the kittens with comfortable quarters and left the mother cat in joyful content. She seemed to have forgotten the death of the two in her joy over the rescue of the three.
Next day, the gentleman was seated in his parlor on the ground floor, in the midst of a notable company. Many people had gathered to do honor to the distinguished naturalist.
The cat came in. In her mouth she carried a large, fat mouse, not dead, but still feebly struggling under the pains of tortuous capture. She laid her panting and well-nigh expiring prey at the feet of the man who had saved her kittens.
What think you of the offering, and of the purpose that prompted the act? A live mouse, fleshy and fat! Within the cat’s power of possible estimation and judgment it was a superlative gift. To her limited understanding no rational creature could feel otherwise than pleased over the present of a meaty mouse. Every sensible cat would be ravenously joyful with such an offering. Beings unable to appreciate a mouse for a meal were unknown to the cat.Are not our offerings to the Lord–our tithes and our free-will gifts–as thoroughly unnecessary to His needs as was the mouse to the scientist? But remember that the grateful and sacrificing nature of the cat was enlarged, and in a measure sanctified, by her offering.
Thanks be to God that He gages the offerings and sacrifices of His children by the standard of their physical ability and honest intent rather than by the gradation of His exalted station.Verily He is God with us; and He both understands and accepts our motives and righteous desires. Our need to serve God is incalculably greater than His need for our service. Zobell, Albert L. ed. The Parables of James E. Talmage. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1973.
HiJolly wrote:Obedience: Man’s Gift to God
@HiJolly:
This is only half kidding:
As your recent convert, wouldn’t “Man’s gift to God” be “God’s gift to Man”?
In seriousness, I love the idea of service to God in the context that it truly is service to fellow-humans. Christ as intercessary seems symbolic.
Not sure what role obedience plays in this?
swimordie wrote:HiJolly wrote:Obedience: Man’s Gift to God
@HiJolly:
This is only half kidding:
As your recent convert, wouldn’t “Man’s gift to God” be “God’s gift to Man”?
Yes, you could say that.
😮 swimordie wrote:In seriousness, I love the idea of service to God in the context that it truly is service to fellow-humans. Christ as intercessary seems symbolic.
Not sure what role obedience plays in this?
swimordie,I’m working on a talk for Sacrament meeting on the 30th. The topic is “obedience to the commandments”. I’m sorely tempted to do nothing but give 10 minutes on the “big picture”, simply because so many LDS don’t see it. Last Sunday, I bore my testimony on the Jew who knew he was a sinner, and sought God’s mercy, after giving a personal example from my life about a month ago.
Quote:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off,
would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. That is 1/2 of the equation, in my mind. The other is trying to obey God. Both are important.
We start out as the clay in the potter’s hands. He is shaping us, molding us, helping us to be like He is. If we ignore the commandments, then we are not ‘shaped’. If we want to be like God, yet make no effort to be like him, then we will never obtain our desires. This is the ‘first half’ of the process, explaining the role of commandments and obedience. (Jeremiah 18, Isaiah 29, Isaiah 64)
Why would we want to be like God? My reasons are personal. In my interactions with Him (or Her), I have been filled with wisdom, love, truth, and joy. You bet I want to have that, for myself. Full time, 100%, never ending. The scriptures describe it somewhat, but cannot convey the truth of it. I wanna GO there!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ph3N4f7ysAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ph3N4f7ysA” class=”bbcode_url”> The second half is as I described before: We, the clay, are not able to be perfect material, of our own selves. Therefore there are flaws, which the Potter can deal with and still, if we trust Him, form us into that which we would be: a useful piece of pottery. This is grace, or mercy.
Another analogy: We are freshly heated jello, weak and formless. The mold is the commandments, the form is God’s attributes. If we are poured out on to the kitchen counter, missing the mold, then we spread all over and have no form nor use. If we go into the mold; if we limit our growth, then we take on a form and have a use. Why then would we avoid the mold?
Another analogy: Unrestrained growth is what a cancer is. It grows beyond the bounds set for it, destroying and spreading pain and dysfunction. Functioning within limitation is a boon and blessing. This limitation correlates to the rules and boundaries in life that we receive from God.
I fully realize all the pitfalls and misconceptions and so forth that afflict us in proper understanding and application of all this. I am not saying it is ‘simple’. This is why I’m considering just focusing on the ‘big picture’. We tend to get lost in minutia.
Now, to the cat: We are commanded to be thankful. But in my life, I don’t need that commandment — for I *am* thankful. My heart is filled with gratitude for God. I praise Him not because I am commanded, though I once did; I praise Him because He has touched my life. I no longer do it my compulsion or ‘external motivations’, but by my own nature. Still, my gratitude is like the cat’s mouse – a mere shadow of what God knows and feels. A poor gift, but nevertheless the best I can give. And it is accepted. What a marvelous thing!
One of the greatest blessings in my life has been to gradually see *why* the commandments exist. First, I obeyed them (or, tried to obey them
❗ ) because I believed I should. As I did this, the Holy Spirit taught we the why of it. Commandments are not for God’s benefit, but for my own! Kinda like Adam. “Adam, why do you make sacrifice?” “I know not, save the Lord commanded me.” —-Then Adam is told *why*, and is filled with the Holy Spirit, is baptized, and much good comes of it. This is why faith and trust in the Lord is the first principle, IMO.Man is that he might have joy.
HiJolly
Thank you for sharing that HiJolly. That is a great story that teaches us a perspective worth learning. @HiJolly: I appreciate your perspective and your “useful’ analogies.
I guess I get hung up on the “commandments” part of the equation. If you’re talking about the two “great” commandments, then I’m right there with you. If you’re talking about the 36 volume compendium of do’s and don’t’s from Moses down to the present (what’s the “most recent”, multiple piercings?), then you lost me at “hello”.
swimordie wrote:@HiJolly:
I appreciate your perspective and your “useful’ analogies.
I guess I get hung up on the “commandments” part of the equation. If you’re talking about the two “great” commandments, then I’m right there with you. If you’re talking about the 36 volume compendium of do’s and don’t’s from Moses down to the present (what’s the “most recent”, multiple piercings?), then you lost me at “hello”.
If you do the two perfectly, then you’re in.Most people find metrics to be not only helpful, but critical, even indispensible.
HiJolly
Quote:Swimordie said…In seriousness, I love the idea of service to God in the context that it truly is service to fellow-humans. Christ as intercessary seems symbolic.
Not sure what role obedience plays in this?
The life of Jesus was the perfect example of obedience to his Father. I for one have a tough time practicing obedience, and I mean the kind of obedience I believe would be the right path for me.
Gratitude is a dangerous area for a believer. We should be thankful yes, but if turn our gratitude into a payment for grace whether it be keeping commandments or paying tithes, it is no longer grace. The correct “payment” for grace, is faith in future grace. The last two lines are fantastic though, praise God.
What a neat parable! I love collecting stuff like that to use for lessons and talks. I loved that so much that I almost want to volunteer to give a lesson or talk on tithing! This is the first chance I’ve had to read this post. Excellent HiJolly! There is much here for me to digest. swimordie wrote:@HiJolly:
This is only half kidding:
As your recent convert, wouldn’t “Man’s gift to God” be “God’s gift to Man”?
Swim, I picture a coin; the tails side reads “Man’s gift to God”
The heads side reads “God’s gift to Man”
HiJolly wrote:
Most people find metrics to be not only helpful, but critical, even indispensible.
When I realize that everyone sees through their own lens, I can appreciate that many people do in fact like to have those detailed suggestions. Who am I to say that they should learn to get along without them?
I appreciate that we ARE told to discover our own truths, to seek our own personal understanding of God’s will for us – and not lean on anyone else’s understanding.
I value the discussions like this that help me to expand my own understanding.
Orson, thanks for pinging this and raising it back up again. I had not seen this posting before. HiJolly, great post.
I love the way the parable presents how the mouse is really a useless sacrifice. It is of no worth to anyone who doesn’t eat mice, and is actually kind of a gross thing.
I guess I can see how the sacrifice is a gesture by the cat, and the naturalist could appreciate that…but if the cat never brought a mouse…would the naturalist think anything less of the cat? In other words, does the naturalist
expectthe cat to now provide sacrifices (even if meaningless) because he saved the kittens? HiJolly wrote:Another analogy: We are freshly heated jello, weak and formless. The mold is the commandments, the form is God’s attributes. If we are poured out on to the kitchen counter, missing the mold, then we spread all over and have no form nor use. If we go into the mold; if we limit our growth, then we take on a form and have a use. Why then would we avoid the mold?
I either don’t understand this analogy or I don’t agree with it. The statement “if we limit our growth, then we take on a form and have a use”, just does not sit right with me.Heber13 wrote:I guess I can see how the sacrifice is a gesture by the cat, and the naturalist could appreciate that…but if the cat never brought a mouse…would the naturalist think anything less of the cat? In other words, does the naturalist expect the cat to now provide sacrifices (even if meaningless) because he saved the kittens?
Good point to ponder Heber13
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