The Rabbi and the Soap Maker

There is an old Jewish tale about a soap maker who did not believe in God. One day as he was walking with a rabbi, he said, “There is something I cannot understand. We have had religion for thousands of years. But everywhere you look there is evil, corruption, dishonesty, injustice, pain, hunger, and violence. It appears that religion has not improved the world at all. So I ask you, what good is it?”

The rabbi did not answer for a time but continued walking with the soap maker. Eventually they approached a playground where children, covered in dust, were playing in the dirt.

“There is something I don’t understand,” the rabbi said. “Look at those children. We have had soap for thousands of years, and yet those children are filthy. What good is soap?”

The soap maker replied, “But rabbi, it isn’t fair to blame soap for these dirty children. Soap has to be used before it can accomplish its purpose.”

The rabbi smiled and said, “Exactly.”

Our faith must be used in order to be of benefit to us and others. The atonement of Jesus Christ must be used for us to be forgiven and to turn our weaknesses into strengths (Ether 12:27).

Source: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The Power of Literature

"For does a crop grow in any field to equal this [papyrus], on which the thoughts of the wise are preserved? ... It is the snowy pith of a green plant, a writing surface which takes black ink for its ornament; on it, with letters exalted, the flourishing corn-field of words yields the sweetest of harvests to the mind, as often as it meets the reader's wish."
Cassiodorus, Variae (XI.383-6)

Cassiodorus was a Roman statesman who lived around 485 - 585 AD. After his retirement from public life he founded a monastery with the goal to preserve classical literature and to educate others. He viewed reading as a transformative act for the reader.

Source: The Great Courses - History of Science: Antiquity to 1700