The Prodigal Son

Luke 15:11-32

 11 ¶And he said, A certain man had two sons:

 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of ^agoods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them hisliving.

 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there^awasted his ^bsubstance with ^criotous living.

 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

 16 And he ^awould fain have filled his belly with the ^bhusks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

 17 And when he ^acame to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

 18 I will ^aarise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have ^bsinned against heaven, and before thee,

 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had ^acompassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more ^aworthy to be called thy^bson.

 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

 25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

 28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him.

 29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

 31 And he said unto him, ^aSon, thou art ever with me, and ^ball that I have is thine.

 32 It was ^ameet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

Classification: Forgiveness and the Love of God

Interpretation: Same as the parable of the lost sheep and lost coin; God is represented as the one who has lost something. The lost something being one of His precious souls. When they are found and brought back into the fold all of heaven rejoices.

Application: Here's the rest of the David O. McKay quote he gave April 1945: "The Lost Son: He Was Lost Through his Own Willful Disobedience and Self Concern: The third parable is the prodigal son, the 'younger son', we are told, so he was immature in his judgment. He was irking under the restraint, and he rather resented the father's careful guiding eye. He evidently longed for so-called freedom, wanted, so to speak, to try his wings. So he said, 'Father, give me my portion, and I will go.' The father gave him his portion, and out the lad went.

   Here is a case of volition; here is choice, deliberate choice, Here is, in a way, rebellion against authority. And what did he do? He spent his means in riotous living, he wasted his portion with harlots. That is the way they are lost.  Youth who start out to indulge their appetites and passions are on a downward road to apostasy as sure as the sun rises in the east. I do not confine it to youth; any man or woman who starts out on that road of intemperance, of dissolute living will separate himself or herself from the fold as inevitably as darkness follows the day.  'My spirit shall not always strive with man' (Gen. 6:3), Says the Lord. 'My spirit will not dwell in an unclean tabernacle.' He who tries to live a double life, who does live a double life in violation of his covenants, to quote one author, 'is either a knave or a fool.' Often he is both, because he himself is using his free agency to gratify his passions, to waste his substance in riotous living, to violate the covenants that he has made in the house of God.  In such cases there is little we can do but warn and plead until the recreant, as the prodigal son, at last 'comes to himself."

   The best thing we can do, I think, when we are dealing with people we believe to be "lost" is not to determine how they got lost. Whether they were lost through wandering, neglect or willful disobedience. This is one of those moments where it really isn't our job to decide what happened but to love them and treat them as you would anyone else. 

The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1773, Pompeo Batoni

"Parables of the Lost and Found" Feb 2011 Ensign

"Search and Rescue" by Thomas S. Monson