The old wise man

In a remote village in the mountains, far from here, there was a time when the inhabitants discussed a lot among themselves. They never agreed on the best solution to their problems. Not that it was a village of idiots. They just sometimes didn't know how to choose between all the possibilities. It was as if they couldn't see what was a good choice and what was not.

That's why one day they gathered in the village square to discuss this big problem – once again. But this time they came to a decision. The village council would draw up a test among all the men to see who had the most knowledge and life experience. This man would then be given the task of fulfilling the role of  old wise man. The  old wise man would then withdraw to the high mountain next to the village. Anyone who still had a problem could then present it to this  old wise man after a strenuous climb.

The tests were not simple but eventually one was  old wise man designated. He was indeed somewhat older, had considerable life experience, and had gained much knowledge from books and during some trips outside the village. With great enthusiasm, the  old wise man waved goodbye as he, packed and ready, began the climb to his new home on the high mountain.

The rest of the villagers were happy with their choice. Whenever a problem threatened to lead to another endless discussion, one of the people who had presented the problem was appointed to climb to the top of the mountain and get an answer from the  old wise man. This worked amazingly well and everyone was satisfied. People found a certain happiness because they knew they could always turn to the  old wise man on the mountain.

But one day, the one who was sent to the  old wise man on the top of the mountain, came down in a panic. Nobody had really paid attention, but the  old wise man had indeed grown very old over the years and had apparently died peacefully on his mountain in all calm and peace.

What should they do now? Suddenly they didn't know what to do with all their questions anymore. Nobody seemed able to  old wise man replace. Again, the inhabitants gathered in a village council, and after long discussions, it was decided that from now on, all men should prepare themselves to the best of their ability during their lives to one day  old wise man to become. Every time the  old wise man would die, a new test would be held to see who the new  old wise man should become.

This new system came into effect, and apart from the difficult initial period, it was noticed that this was a good solution. After a while, someone was indeed wise enough to be designated as the new  old wise man. He packed his belongings and went up the mountain.

However, the other men in the village had not forgotten the previous experience and therefore continued to study and increase their knowledge. As a result, they had to go up the mountain less and less often to consult the  old wise man to consult because they found the solution themselves. Only occasionally were they not in agreement, and the advice of the  old wise man help choose the right direction.

After a while, however, people started dreading the climb for the few times they still needed the advice of the  old wise man. People started to  old wise man forget completely and again, one day they suddenly found that despite all the knowledge they had acquired themselves, they could not find a solution. And so the village ended up where it began: in endless discussions about what was best.

Moral of the story

From this story, you can learn that it is not bad to have a  old wise man who gives advice on important matters. But one must  old wise man do not place on a mountaintop, but keep close to you so that you never forget him and can often call upon his good advice.

The second lesson is that it may someday become your task to be the new  old wise man to be. Therefore it is important to always gain new knowledge. This way you can make decisions more often yourself, but you can also help others. And who knows, one day it might be your turn to  old wise man to be.

Our prophet and the apostles

I am glad that in our church we have our prophet as  old wise man, together with his counselors and the twelve apostles. They live among us, together with us and know our problems and give us good advice when we need it. That is something most Mormons realize.

But perhaps we should also think about the second lesson. We must all prepare as if it could be our task tomorrow to advise others. In doing so, we primarily help ourselves and our family grow in self-reliance, but we are also able to be our brothers' keeper or, as a leader, offer help to our brothers and sisters.

Let us therefore never forget the story of the village and the  old wise man forget.