In a parable, images are attached to a deeper meaning to help you see a gospel principle in a different way. Images have a way of sticking in our memories better than abstract concepts. They are easier to work with in your mind and heart. There are many beautiful parables in the scriptures; I have also found they are fun to create.

I've discovered some great benefits in the making of modern parables. My children would always rather listen to a story than a lecture, so creating a story for an important issue has been an effective teaching tool. I've also found through the process of creating a parable, I see gospel principles in ways that stretch my own mind and heart and increase my understanding.

I am often surprised at the insights that come when I seek to make connections between two seemingly unrelated things. It's one of the many ways I study the scriptures.

Here is an example of one of the parables I've created, followed by ideas on how you can make your own modern parable:

An Example of a Modern Parable

In a certain neighborhood there lived a boy who loved to ride his bike. In this neighborhood there was a hill. All the kids called it “the big one” or “the H.O.U.T” — the Hill of Utter Terror. In a moment of complete disregard for human life, this boy decided to ride his bike down the hill. Of course, all the kids in the neighborhood came out to watch (must be a “fear factor” thing).

After strapping on his helmet and announcing several warnings of “Do not try this at home,” the boy launched his bicycle onto the hill. It wasn't long before he reached the speed of light. The boy was only a blur to the children who were watching, so it was hard for them to describe what happened next.

While traveling at extreme speed, the boy encountered the slight beginnings of a pothole in the road. This became the catalyst to hurl the boy's 9-year-old body and his bicycle to “infinity and beyond.” When the boy finally made contact with the earth again, he had become the proud recipient of a road rash wound that was roughly the size and shape of Montana.

This is where the real problem began. The Montana-shaped road rash began to start the slow process of healing by developing a very large scab. It was an amazing sight to behold — an instant neighborhood legend. Whenever the boy was seen in public, exclamations of, “Dude!” and “Whoa, cool,” sprinkled the air behind him.

When the road rash was completely scabbed over, it was tight and uncomfortable. The boy couldn't completely bend or extend his leg, and that's when he began to pick at it. He just couldn't leave the scab alone. It's disgusting, I know — but admit it, at some point in your life, you've done it too.

The more the boy picked at it the more red and irritated the scab became. Then it got infected. Still the boy couldn't leave it alone. The scab tormented him through the rest of his elementary school years.

Eventually, the boy lost interest in the scab and left it alone. That's when the scab finally healed, completely.

Can you teach something with a story like that?

Okay, you probably got your child's attention with the playful humor and, let's be honest, the gruesome image of the scab, but can you really use a story like that to teach something valuable and important? I think so.

There are many ways you can present the meaning of the story. Children are smart (especially teenagers, in spite of what traditional wisdom would indicate), and if you ask them what the story means to them, in a way that respects their intelligence, they will come up with ideas. And the beauty of this is that all of their answers (though they may be quite different) can be right.

Another way you can present a parable like this is to follow it with the meaning you intended it to have.

The Meaning Behind the Scab

On one occasion I chose to follow up the scab story with these comments:

When we are negative and critical with each other, we are like the boy who kept picking at the scab. The more we dwell on the things we don't like about someone, or how they hurt us, or how they are so mean; the more we pick at, irritate, and infect the scab.

If we want ugly scabs to heal, then we must choose to change our focus. If we see through the negative lenses of judgment, hurt, criticism, fear or insecurity, our pain won't heal. The scriptures counsel us to see not as a man seeth, for a man looketh on the outward appearance (or behavior), but to see as the Lord seeth because the Lord looketh on the heart. Each soul is precious to him. Each and every soul — the good ones, the mean ones, the hurt ones, even the ones who are noticeably tainted with sin, are precious to him.

How can we learn to see like the Lord? How can we learn to feel the same as he does about ourselves and others? Charity.

Elder Marvin J. Ashton beautifully observed:

Would You Like To Try Making a Parable?

Here is an activity you can try to make your own parable.

Step 1: Create a list of gospel topics:

My list includes these and many other words: faith, individual worth, integrity, scripture study, hope, prayer, repentance, truth, testimony, meekness, obedience, determination, humility, parenthood, journal writing, charity and pondering. It also has negative words too like: pride, judgmental, sin, temptation, and so on.

Step 2: Create a random list of words:

I have things like volleyball, robot, guitar, a bridge, rope, skeleton, cycle, snowflake, valley, mountain, puzzle, dust, sand, a ruler, a weapon, pyramid, gears, and other things. If you have trouble with this, just open a dictionary to a few random pages and write five words from each page to create your list.

Step 3: Choose your words:

You can close your eyes and pick a word from each page (I love doing this; it's playful and challenging). Or you can purposefully pick a word from each list.

Step 4: Making connections:

You compare the two words and find as many connections as you can. For instance if you picked the word faith and the word robot (which I have done) you look for ways the two things are the same and the way they are different. Robots have several functions / faith has several functions (this was really fun to study the functions of each and comparing them). A robot follows commands without questioning / when you have faith you experiment (or follow) without knowing why sometimes. How is a robot put together? / How is faith put together? You get the idea.

Step 5: Create a story around the connection:

Once you've found a great connection like being negative and unforgiving / and picking at a scab, you create a story around that connection. The more you focus on images, the better the story turns out. Adding fun details and being playful in the telling of the story keeps it engaging.

When listeners are engaged in the story, it helps the story to stick in their minds as well — which in the end, can help the meaning to stick too.

I'd love to hear what you come up with. Send your parables in an email to me through the Meridian website — storytelling@meridianmagazine.com .