Allegory of the Brick

by Betsy Love

Before I came to earth Heavenly Father gave me many blessings. I had been taught all the things I would need to know before I came here. One of the last gifts He gave me was a brick. Perfect, undamaged, useful to build my life. Heavenly Father told me to take good care of it and bring it back to him in the same condition as I received it. I clutched my brick to me and promised that I would take care of it. I would return with it exactly as he gave it to me.

I’m now a little more than halfway through my life, and look at the mess my brick has become. I didn't mean for it to get so chipped and damaged and discolored.

Let me tell you how got this way. It stayed beautiful and perfect until I turned eight. Before that time my parents held onto it for me and made sure that it stayed safe and protected. When I was baptized they gave it back to me and said, “It’s now time for you to take care of your brick.” Of course, I had forgotten everything Heavenly Father had told me about my brick. My parents tried to tell me what they knew about the brick, be even they couldn’t quite remember the significance of the brick, but they told me I had to be very careful with it.

I did really well with my brick and I only dropped it once or twice, so the nicks didn’t show very much, and I thought maybe Heavenly Father wouldn’t notice if I kept the imperfections turned toward me when I had to give it back to him. I loved my brick. I took it with me everywhere I went, and sometimes I didn’t keep it as safe as I should have. Especially when I hit my teens, I forgot that the brick was even in my backpack. Sometimes it felt heavy and I pulled it out and carelessly left it in unsafe places. When I met my husband I knew he might not want someone with a brick like mine. I fixed it up as good as I could and we started our life together. You know it’s amazing the damage that happened to my brick when I had children. It really got banged and scarred and broken with them around. More chips and scratches and discoloring showed up on my brick.

What will it look like in a few more years? How horrible will be by the time I have to face my Heavenly Father again?

Now as I look at my brick, I know that Heavenly Father will never let me come back with such a brick, especially when he gave me a perfect one.

One night I fell asleep and dreamed that I was standing before my Heavenly Father. He asked to see my brick. Ashamed I held it behind my back and said, “You don’t want to see it. I ruined my brick.” As I started to walk away I heard another voice call to me, “Wait!” I turned back and saw my older brother holding out his hand. “I’ll fix your brick,” he said. I handed my badly worn brick to Him and he gently smoothed the rough places, and wiped the dirt from the surface. When He handed me back my brick his hands were bleeding, but my brick was perfect. My sorrow at the injury my brick had caused my Savior caused me such overwhelming grief.

When I awoke, gratitude rushed over me to know that through the Savior’s atonement, my heart could become clean and pure. If I put my trust in Him and turn my life to him I will be able to live with my Heavenly Father and bring him back a clean and perfect brick.