I am the gardener here

 Elder Hugh B. Brown of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1883–1975) once shared such a lesson he learned while pruning a currant bush on a farm in Canada.

As he went about cleaning up and repairing his property, he came across a currant bush that had grown over six feet high and was yielding no berries. Therefore, he pruned it back drastically, leaving only small, teardrop-shaped stumps. The sight made it appear as if the currant bush were crying, and Elder Brown thought he heard the bush say:

“‘How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. … And now you have cut me down. … I thought you were the gardener here.’”

Elder Brown replied, “‘Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. If I let you go the way you want to go, you will never amount to anything. But someday, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to think back and say, “Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me enough to hurt me.”’”

Hugh B. Brown, “God is the Gardener” (Brigham Young University commencement, May 31, 1968), 6, speeches.byu.edu.

Blessings From Paying Tithing

 Elder Bednar provided some examples of unexpected blessings that can come from paying tithing: “Sometimes we may ask God for success, and He gives us physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience, or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace. He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence as we strive to achieve worthy goals. And when we plead for relief from physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties, He may increase our resolve and resilience.”³

Elder Bednar also suggested that sometimes “the blessing that comes to us through heavenly windows may be greater capacity to act and change our own circumstances rather than expecting our circumstances to be changed by someone or something else.”⁴ See, for example, how a husband and wife from Argentina felt this in their life in their story “Why Do You Still Pay Tithing?”

David A. Bednar, “The Windows of Heaven,” 18.

The Windows of Heaven

October 2013 general conference

"Why am I not getting better when I'm doing what's right?"

 "Why am I not getting better when I'm doing what's right?"

A - Don't assume you can fix everything, but fix what you can. If those are only small victories, be grateful for them and be patient. Dozens of times in the scriptures, the Lord commands someone to 'stand still' or 'be still'  - and wait. Patiently enduring some things is part of our mortal education.

Jeffrey R. Holland, "Like a Broken Vessel," Liahona Nov. 2013, 41. 

When we engage in God's work

 

“We will fall many times as we engage in God’s work. But in our effort, Jesus Christ catches us. He gradually lifts us to experience salvation from failure and fear and from feeling like we will never be enough. When we consecrate our meager but best effort, God magnifies it. When we sacrifice for Jesus Christ, He sanctifies us. This is the transformative power of God’s grace. As we serve, we grow in grace until we are prepared to “be lifted up by the Father, to stand before [Jesus Christ].”

Elder Steven D. Shumway “Participate to Prepare for Christ’s Return,” general conference, April 2025, Gospel Library