A Parable....
Once upon a time there was a condemned man who had committed a crime. While some of the facts of his case are noteworthy for our purposes, his name is not important nor his crime, as are most of the people involved with this story. It sufficeth to say though that when the condemned man was confronted with his crime, he knew that what he had done was wrong and had properly realized that he had chosen poorly and did not try to deny it or the consequences thereof. He only explained that it was borne out of misplaced passion, desperation, deprivation, and/or foolishness, perhaps all of the aforementioned and more. But, he knew that he had to account for his error and make amends according to the laws of justice which govern us all.
After being arrested and arraigned before the local judge who normally handled these cases, (by whom he also learned from his fellow accused, had a reputation as a being a noble, fair and equitable judge) he felt encouraged at his eventual prospects. He was however remanded into official custody and incarcerated, awaiting trial for the time being on account of his crime, being unable to make the required bail bond to stay out of jail. As such, he was housed at the local jail facility, where all common criminals are held awaiting trial and eventual judgment by those who are in authority to do so.
After being initially processed into the jail, which included a humiliating nude strip-search and body-cavity examination that he thought inappropriate, unnecessary and personally violating, (he wouldn’t be the first to think such), he settled in the best he could under the circumstances. Soon he was introduced to his cell-mate and as such began the longest, loneliest and most grueling periods of his life.
As common boredom goes in jail, after an initial, awkward period of forced companionship, he soon began making slow and careful verbal contact with his cell-mate to pass the time, and for no other reason, just to make conversation, as they both had a lot of time on their hands. He learned from his compatriot that he was himself awaiting trial for a similar crime; apparently they had more in common than he thought.
In the process of criminal justice in the particular country where he lived, criminals awaiting trial are to be represented by an attorney, a lawyer, a counselor, an advocate, however you may term it. The condemned man eventually learned that he was assigned a public defender to represent him and make his case before the bar of justice, since he could not afford to hire his own. He also learned through the grapevine that his appointed attorney was not just any common, Joe-Blow lawyer (which is usually the case), but a prominent, wealthy man named Jesse H. Crites, Esquire, who came from a well-known, respected family, who had a first-class legal education from the finest law school in the country, who had himself in his youth been unfairly accused, convicted and punished for a time for a crime he had not committed and therefore felt compassionately compelled to offer his services to his fellow-man.
Upon learning the meager facts about his legal representation, the condemned man could not help but feel that, on the surface anyway his chances for a quick examination and light punishment were hopeful, in spite of his guilt.
His hopes however were soon dashed to pieces. Even with all the hyperbole he had heard about his acclaimed lawyer from the common gossip in the jail, he never (ever) got to meet him personally, which the condemned man thought odd initially. All information conveyed to the condemned man about his upcoming trial or case came via a letter or two, or three (and an occasional phone call) from his lawyer’s legal assistants or paralegals, who seemed anxious and overly eager to do more of the work of their boss than the lawyer himself, and also via his jailers and hearsay from his fellow prisoners, many of whom he eventually found out (interestingly), were also assigned the same public defender.
After a prolonged period of waiting for his case to be adjudicated, the condemned man began to agitate in jail, both physically and mentally. He wouldn't eat or sleep very well because he was so worked up about it. His trial was continually postponed for a myriad of reasons, most of them technical in nature and beyond his control. The condemned man knew from common knowledge that in his country he was entitled to a speedy trial according to his so called Constitutional rights, but in reality he found that it was the opposite. Nobody seemed in a hurry to help the accused, as there were so many more deserving in normal society that didn't break the law purposefully, that had to wait for this or for that for the sake of bureaucracy or circumstance, and they took priority over some wretched, refuse of an accused prisoner. Eventually the condemned man, after much thought, decided to write a letter to the Judge himself, as he was the Supreme Authority over his case and what was about to happen, all in order to hurry his case. The condemned man was disappointed however, when he received a letter from the Judge’s office that stated that for the condemned man to address the Judge himself (even though he had absolute power in his case) without the accused using his appointed Advocate, was inappropriate in nature, and could possibly be interpreted as an unlawful attempt to circumvent justice. Notably, the judge also refused the man’s attempts to dismiss his attorney and be assigned another. I guess beggars cannot be choosers.
Eventually the condemned man turned to his fellow prisoners for comfort and explanation, who had more experience in these bureaucratic matters, as most of they had been there longer than he. He couldn't help but build on their experiences, as that was his common surroundings. Surprisingly, he heard first-hand accounts from some of them that seemed to defy his own experience with his lawyer. Some of his fellow prisoners could not say enough about their positive experience with their grand Attorney (although under frank questioning, none of them claimed they had actually met him, ever). Some even produced personal letters (with signatures even!), claiming to be from the Attorney himself, that was enough for them to serve as a substitute and sustained their faith in eventual justice. Others prisoners however were not so jaded, and openly proclaimed that their common Advocate’s absence, by itself, spoke volumes about their supposed self-worth and mentioned him in a light as disrespectful as they could about him. Sometimes the condemned man himself, out of desperation alone, spoke to the jailers themselves about his case, even though they didn't have access to the full knowledge of all the details, even though they prided themselves as the visible administrators of justice as legally authorized by the law. They, without fail, in almost in every case reminded him that he himself was responsible for his own misery, as he had of his own volition chosen to break the law and therefore could not complain too much, a view that the condemned man himself could not logically digress from too much.
As a last resort, the man confided his feelings to his immediate family about his hopeless case. His physical absence from them was sorely felt by himself and his family; he knew that they were suffering from his actions and misdeeds, perhaps even more than himself. Surprisingly though, they were not empathetic at all, or even sympathetic for that matter. The man was shocked to experience that his own flesh and blood seemed to side with the jailers, his absent attorney, and the even more absent Judge about the merits (or lack thereof) of his case. After this encounter and after carefully considering his situation, the man (as so often happens in jail) became hopelessly despondent and formed a noose from his bed-sheets and in the middle of the night (when no-one was looking) hung himself from the bars of his cell. His family and relatives (the same who weren't there when he really needed their vital encouragement), once they received word; mourned, eulogized and buried him.
“And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables” – Mark 4:11 (KJV)
“Most teachers, especially those in the Middle East, have used some form of parable in their instruction, but none so exclusively as Jesus at one period of His ministry. During part of the Galilean ministry, the record states that “without a parable he spake not unto them” (Mark 4:34). From our Lord’s words (Matt. 13:13–15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10) we learn the reason for this method; It was to veil the meaning. The parable conveys to the hearer religious truth exactly in proportion to his faith, knowledge and intelligence; to the dull and uninspired it is a mere story, “seeing they see not,” while to the instructed and spiritual it reveals the mysteries or secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Thus it is that the parable exhibits the condition of all true knowledge; Only he who seeks finds.” - L.D.S. Bible Dictionary – parables
“It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him. And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.” – Alma 12:9-11 - The Book of Mormon
“I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles in it that it will keep the Professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant, and that's the only way of insuring one's immortality.” - James Joyce, author of the literary classic, Ulysses.
Once upon a time there was a condemned man who had committed a crime. While some of the facts of his case are noteworthy for our purposes, his name is not important nor his crime, as are most of the people involved with this story. It sufficeth to say though that when the condemned man was confronted with his crime, he knew that what he had done was wrong and had properly realized that he had chosen poorly and did not try to deny it or the consequences thereof. He only explained that it was borne out of misplaced passion, desperation, deprivation, and/or foolishness, perhaps all of the aforementioned and more. But, he knew that he had to account for his error and make amends according to the laws of justice which govern us all.
After being arrested and arraigned before the local judge who normally handled these cases, (by whom he also learned from his fellow accused, had a reputation as a being a noble, fair and equitable judge) he felt encouraged at his eventual prospects. He was however remanded into official custody and incarcerated, awaiting trial for the time being on account of his crime, being unable to make the required bail bond to stay out of jail. As such, he was housed at the local jail facility, where all common criminals are held awaiting trial and eventual judgment by those who are in authority to do so.
After being initially processed into the jail, which included a humiliating nude strip-search and body-cavity examination that he thought inappropriate, unnecessary and personally violating, (he wouldn’t be the first to think such), he settled in the best he could under the circumstances. Soon he was introduced to his cell-mate and as such began the longest, loneliest and most grueling periods of his life.
As common boredom goes in jail, after an initial, awkward period of forced companionship, he soon began making slow and careful verbal contact with his cell-mate to pass the time, and for no other reason, just to make conversation, as they both had a lot of time on their hands. He learned from his compatriot that he was himself awaiting trial for a similar crime; apparently they had more in common than he thought.
In the process of criminal justice in the particular country where he lived, criminals awaiting trial are to be represented by an attorney, a lawyer, a counselor, an advocate, however you may term it. The condemned man eventually learned that he was assigned a public defender to represent him and make his case before the bar of justice, since he could not afford to hire his own. He also learned through the grapevine that his appointed attorney was not just any common, Joe-Blow lawyer (which is usually the case), but a prominent, wealthy man named Jesse H. Crites, Esquire, who came from a well-known, respected family, who had a first-class legal education from the finest law school in the country, who had himself in his youth been unfairly accused, convicted and punished for a time for a crime he had not committed and therefore felt compassionately compelled to offer his services to his fellow-man.
Upon learning the meager facts about his legal representation, the condemned man could not help but feel that, on the surface anyway his chances for a quick examination and light punishment were hopeful, in spite of his guilt.
His hopes however were soon dashed to pieces. Even with all the hyperbole he had heard about his acclaimed lawyer from the common gossip in the jail, he never (ever) got to meet him personally, which the condemned man thought odd initially. All information conveyed to the condemned man about his upcoming trial or case came via a letter or two, or three (and an occasional phone call) from his lawyer’s legal assistants or paralegals, who seemed anxious and overly eager to do more of the work of their boss than the lawyer himself, and also via his jailers and hearsay from his fellow prisoners, many of whom he eventually found out (interestingly), were also assigned the same public defender.
After a prolonged period of waiting for his case to be adjudicated, the condemned man began to agitate in jail, both physically and mentally. He wouldn't eat or sleep very well because he was so worked up about it. His trial was continually postponed for a myriad of reasons, most of them technical in nature and beyond his control. The condemned man knew from common knowledge that in his country he was entitled to a speedy trial according to his so called Constitutional rights, but in reality he found that it was the opposite. Nobody seemed in a hurry to help the accused, as there were so many more deserving in normal society that didn't break the law purposefully, that had to wait for this or for that for the sake of bureaucracy or circumstance, and they took priority over some wretched, refuse of an accused prisoner. Eventually the condemned man, after much thought, decided to write a letter to the Judge himself, as he was the Supreme Authority over his case and what was about to happen, all in order to hurry his case. The condemned man was disappointed however, when he received a letter from the Judge’s office that stated that for the condemned man to address the Judge himself (even though he had absolute power in his case) without the accused using his appointed Advocate, was inappropriate in nature, and could possibly be interpreted as an unlawful attempt to circumvent justice. Notably, the judge also refused the man’s attempts to dismiss his attorney and be assigned another. I guess beggars cannot be choosers.
Eventually the condemned man turned to his fellow prisoners for comfort and explanation, who had more experience in these bureaucratic matters, as most of they had been there longer than he. He couldn't help but build on their experiences, as that was his common surroundings. Surprisingly, he heard first-hand accounts from some of them that seemed to defy his own experience with his lawyer. Some of his fellow prisoners could not say enough about their positive experience with their grand Attorney (although under frank questioning, none of them claimed they had actually met him, ever). Some even produced personal letters (with signatures even!), claiming to be from the Attorney himself, that was enough for them to serve as a substitute and sustained their faith in eventual justice. Others prisoners however were not so jaded, and openly proclaimed that their common Advocate’s absence, by itself, spoke volumes about their supposed self-worth and mentioned him in a light as disrespectful as they could about him. Sometimes the condemned man himself, out of desperation alone, spoke to the jailers themselves about his case, even though they didn't have access to the full knowledge of all the details, even though they prided themselves as the visible administrators of justice as legally authorized by the law. They, without fail, in almost in every case reminded him that he himself was responsible for his own misery, as he had of his own volition chosen to break the law and therefore could not complain too much, a view that the condemned man himself could not logically digress from too much.
As a last resort, the man confided his feelings to his immediate family about his hopeless case. His physical absence from them was sorely felt by himself and his family; he knew that they were suffering from his actions and misdeeds, perhaps even more than himself. Surprisingly though, they were not empathetic at all, or even sympathetic for that matter. The man was shocked to experience that his own flesh and blood seemed to side with the jailers, his absent attorney, and the even more absent Judge about the merits (or lack thereof) of his case. After this encounter and after carefully considering his situation, the man (as so often happens in jail) became hopelessly despondent and formed a noose from his bed-sheets and in the middle of the night (when no-one was looking) hung himself from the bars of his cell. His family and relatives (the same who weren't there when he really needed their vital encouragement), once they received word; mourned, eulogized and buried him.
