メリディアン
日本語
編集室
2008年4月18日
HARVESTING THE GRAIN
Our family looked forward to the visits of Mr. Palmer from Arizona each summer. Mr. Palmer owned and operated a Massey-Ferguson grain combine. We always raised at least eight acres of barley on our small farm. Mr. Palmer would start his trek north from Arizona to Montana in May, harvesting grain for small farmers all along the way. He reached Spanish Fork about July 4th when the grain in our area was ready to harvest. Mr. Palmer was experienced. We trusted him. He could do about three to four acres an hour so our eight acres took about two to three hours to harvest. Then he was gone, on his way to another farm.
After the harvest was over, our work began again for the next year. We cut the straw left over after the harvest, baled it and hauled it home. If we had extra water, we might irrigate to allow the spilled grain to come up. Then often, we would plow the ground in fall so the growth of grain and weeds after harvest be plowed under and the soil richer for the next season. If we plowed in the fall, the freezing and thawing of the ground would make it soft and more ready for planting the next spring. In the spring, we would disc, harrow, and level the ground again before planting. Then we planted the seed grain. As the grain sprang up we would irrigate it three or four times depending on our water allotment for the year and how much it rained. Weeds, especially morning glory, also came up. We would have them sprayed. Then the hot summer sun ripened the grain and we were ready for harvest again.
Full-time missionaries are like Mr. Palmer. They are harvesters. But he would have nothing to harvest and we would not need him if we didn’t do all the other work necessary for the grain to grow. Despite our hard work, the harvest was not always as good as we hoped. If it was too wet in the spring, our planting was delayed. If insufficient snow fell in the mountains, our water allotment was less and we couldn’t irrigate as much as we wanted. We had good land, but sometimes we only got 50 to 60 bushels per acre. In a very good year, we could get 90 bushels to the acre.
If we didn’t do our work, there would be nothing for Mr. Palmer to harvest. Members of the Church are like farmers who do so much work before the harvester arrives. If the harvester comes too early, the grain would not be ready and if he ran the combine then, it would destroy the crop. If he came too late, the heavy grain might be laying on the ground and very difficult to harvest. The decision as to when the harvest should take place was always our decision because we knew when the grain was just right for the harvest.
To emphasize what is obvious, when members do the work preparing for the harvest, missionaries can reap a great harvest. They are often in one area for a short period of time. They are young and experienced. They don’t know the people as we know them. The time they spend searching for people ready to hear their message takes time away from harvesting.
When I told former Kobe Japan Mission President, Doug Matsumori, this allegory last night (April 7, 2008), he nodded his head. He said many think that because missionaries have been trained as harvesters, they are also qualified to prepare the investigators as the farmers who do all the work to get the grain ready for harvest and this is not true. They do have more time than members and guided by the Spirit, they can also find people, unknown to members or not considered by members, who are willing to the hear the gospel.
Both members and missionaries have responsibilities in missionary work. Here is a quote from April 2008 general conference by Elder David A. Bednar who spoke plainly about this long-time teaching of the brethren. “We properly pray for the safety and success of the full-time missionaries throughout the world. And a common element in many of our prayers is a request that the missionaries will be led to individuals and families who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration. But ultimately it is my responsibility and your responsibility to find people for the missionaries to teach. Missionaries are full-time teachers; you and I are full-time finders. And you and I as lifelong missionaries should not be praying for the full-time missionaries to do our work!”