He does not send us into this world unprepared, every person is born into this world with the Light of Christ that gives us knowledge of good and evil. In a very real sense, it is an apt metaphor for our journey through mortality, for we are sent here by a Heavenly Father so that we can learn to walk by faith, to gain experience, and to be proven worthy to stand again in His presence and thereby to receive the rich inheritance that he has prepared for us before the foundation of the world.
Human history is a tale of movement and migration, of facing dangers and overcoming obstacles. We are born with an insatiable curiosity and a desire to discover, to learn, and to know. The history of the human race is a history of explorers, and adventurers, individuals who were brave enough to leave familiar shores and to venture beyond known horizons in search of something better. Nothing can be held back in this transaction, and all that remains for us will be this one pearl of great price, with nothing else to distract us.
This story reveals a very important truth: the knowledge and blessings of the gospel cannot be had cheaply - they will require "all that we have," if we are to possess them. His well-trained eye recognized its inestimable worth and he willingly sacrificed all else to make it his.
But this one pearl stood out among all the other "goodly pearls" that he had examined. Surely he had been actively searching for a long time for a pearl that was so special, and in the intervening years he had become wise in the ways of commerce and in the value of the many gems that were offered in trade. 13: 45-46) The price of the pearl reveals its great worth in the eye of the beholder, for he was willing to sell everything else that he had in order to possess it. In Matthew we read: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." (Matt. The Savior clearly understood the world of commerce and travel because he referenced it in his parables. In this regard, I again feel a kinship with those of you from Asia-Pacific, a part of the world with a rich history of epic voyages, over land or over sea, in search of that which is precious. Many of my ancestors were seafarers who plied the world's oceans in search of fortune and glory, or perhaps just looking for a warmer place to live. But we have all been called here to the Gospel Family, and more specifically to La'ie by a message of peace.
Like many of you, I am descended from ancient warrior societies, albeit ones from much colder climates - with Russia, Mongolia, and China being notable exceptions. But what I just said to you is "good morning" in the language of my Dutch ancestors, and if you were adventurous enough, you said "good morning" back to me in the same languageĪlthough I have lived here in Hawaii for more than eight years, I am nevertheless the son of Celts, Vikings and Barbarians. Accustomed as you are to now familiar words of greeting like "aloha," "mabuhi," "talofa," "kiora," "iorana," "malo e lele," "bula vinaka," or others, I'm sure that when you first heard me speak, you may have thought that I was loudly clearing my throat. The same tradition, in one form or another, is present in many other cultures throughout of the world. I love the beautiful tradition that we practice here at BYU-Hawaii, of having a replied greeting from the group or congregation.
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