Nightly, your children peer into the depths of your television, enraptured with the magic pictures bombarding your household. ÒI want that!Ó you may hear, or you may not hear anything as your children absorb the lessons of the world, and the philosophies of man. How often do we find our children subscribing to the values found in the media. How often do we fall victim to the judgement of man as we strive to be fashionable or trendy. Even worse how many of our teenagerÕs cry out ÒEveryone else is wearing it. IÕll pay for part of it. Those jeans are only 15 dollars more. But baggy is cool.Ó Who decided these trends? Is it somebody we all wish to emulate? Probably not. This generation has been blessed with strength, great strength. They wish to be independent, and all too often they find this independence in the mind of a conceptual design artist in southern California, whose job is to decide what's cool. No matter how independent or free a teenager may think he/she is, they need a teacher, an example, to help them make decisions in their lives. Even our parents need a teacher. In fact, without a foundation to build ourselves upon and a teacher to learn from, we cannot grow. Who better than our Savior to look to for that example. John 11:25-26: reads:: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." Elder Richard G Scott stated in his April 1997 General Conference talk: "Jesus Christ possessed merits that no other child of Heavenly Father could possibly have. He was a God, Jehovah, before His birth in Bethlehem. His Father not only gave Him His spirit body but Jesus was His Only Begotten Son in the flesh. Our Master lived a perfect, sinless life and therefore was free from the demands of justice. He was and is perfect in every attribute, including love, compassion, patience, obedience, forgiveness, and humility. His mercy pays our debt to justice when we repent and obey Him. Even with our best efforts to obey His teachings we will still fall short, yet because of His grace we will be saved 'after all we can do.'" Let me repeat those attributes as stated by Elder Scott. Love, Compassion, Patience, Obedience, Forgiveness, Humility....... As I examine my own life I may see a twinge of pride here or a dissenting thought there. I find myself wondering for extended periods of time: why has that fella has decided to stop at the end of the onramp. These thoughts are usually accompanied by an annoyed grimace We must look deep within ourselves. Many of us myself included just go through the motions of the day without any goals for improvement. Our minds are hassled with questions about our finance, fashion, music, favorite television show, car, boat or any other innumerable temporal pleasure, yet later we find these things to only last a short season. Brothers and sisters life is a grand thing, but too much of our time is taken up by trying to please ourselves and our fellow man, and too little time trying to please our Father in Heaven. I've prepared a parable. It may not stack up to those found within the scriptures, but I'll read it to you anyway. There was a school at the top of the hill. It was a small art school, built by hand. In this school was said to be the greatest teacher that has ever existed. His art was beyond comparison. I was overwhelmed with the realization that I might someday be able to attend this school. It warmed my soul to think of the exquisite beauty and knowledge found within those walls. I couldnÕt wait. All but a third of my brothers and sisters finally decided to attend. The rest of us were sad, but we would not be kept from our dream. We finally arrived and sat at our desks, it was quite a comfortable fit for most of us. After a brief silence the teacher stepped out from the back of the room and slowly bagan walking to the front. The room was on fire with His presence. His eyes sparkled with the joy only a teacher can know. He turned to the class and began to give us our instructions. ÒAll of you were told to place your books, calculators, and bookbags behind the curtain as you walked in correct?Ó ÒYes,Ó we replied. ÒGood then we can get started.Ó ÒThis is unlike any school you have ever heard of," He said, "You may talk to each other all you want. In fact you may do anything you want. You have complete freedom.Ó All of us looked at each other and smiled. A few mischeivous grins could be seen about the classroom. ÒThe main difference between this and other schools is that there is only one project," He said, "That project is to sculpt a dove.Ó One lone boy in the back raised his hand and asked ÒWhatÕs a dove?Ó The teacher grinned, his eyes sparkled and he answered ÒThat is part of the test. IÕll be in the back of the class if you have any questions. You have a limited amount of time to complete this.Ó ÒHow much time?Ó a little girl asked. ÒIt will vary from person to person,Ó He answered ÒDonÕt worry just do your best. Begin." We all frantically began forming our clay, but into what? A few kids in the back began lobbing small mortars of clay at one another. I then noticed the little boy next to me. His little face was contorted in thought. There was a look of great concern on his face. The little boy leaned over to me and said ÒIÕm gonna go ask the teacher if he has any pictures.Ó He walked to the back of the classroom and after a little while came back with his hands full of pictures. He walked to the front of the classroom and shouted. ÒHey everybody I have pictures you can copy from, and some instructions.Ó The people in the back didnÕt seem to care too much. I walked up and took a picture. ÒSo thatÕs a dove.Ó I thought to myself. My heart lept as I realized I could complete the project now. About an hour passed and everything was going great. I then realized the beak I had created was too long, and the clay was beginning to harden. I frantically looked at the instruction sheet. At the bottom was this phrase, "I understand you may make a mistake. Don't worry, I have water and extra clay at the back of the room." I hopped up and began walking to the back. I was pleased to find the teacher was expecting me. He was happy I had come for his help. ÒThank youÓ I said. I found I made alot of mistakes and had to get water and clay from the teacher often. On one occasion I messed up so much I had to have one of the big kids help me carry it back to my desk. After many mistakes, people were starting to finish. There were even some people passing out those pictures and helping people with their doves. ÒTimes almost up,Ó I heard. The people in the back were getting more and more restless, in fact, some of my friends were back there. Up front I noticed a group of people studiously sculpting. ThatÕs when I saw it. The most beautiful sculpture I had ever seen, it was perfect in every detail. I looked at my instruction book and at the bottom plain as day it read. ÒThereÕs a perfect dove sculpture at the front of the room you can copy it as closely as you want.Ó Some friends in the back called out to me but I ignored them. I went up front to copy the dove. After a while I had it about right. I went out and helped some other people with theirs. After helping for a while I felt the need to finish my own. I went back and made a few finishing touches on my dove and then heard ÒTimeÕs up.Ó I brought my little dove to the back of the room and set it at my teacher's feet. He patted me on the back and said ÒWell done, you can go home now, your father will be overjoyed to see you.Ó Our lives may not be a simple as a sculpture. And our problems deeper than some meddling kids in the back of the room throwing clay around, but we have an example. There was a man who lived a perfect life. It is told in the scriptures. There is no greater role model, counselor, or teacher than is Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.