The Master once said, “…if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24) Now, may I share a story that I think illustrates what the Savior was saying?

“Brian,” Mom called. “Where is [Where’s] the calculator you were playing with? I’m ready to use it now.”

Oh, Brian didn’t answer, and Mom needed that calculator. Report cards were due out tomorrow and she still had the scores of three classes to tally.

“Brian,” Mom called again, her voice rising in pitch. “I need that calculator, now!”

Well, that brought Brian running. He knew that tone in his mother’s voice. He stood before his mother, and timidly he said, “I’ve lost it, Mom.”

Well, Mom and Brian began a search of the house that took them all over the house, but they found no calculator. Finally in exasperation, Mom sent Brian off to bed. For twenty more minutes she searched, but still [she found] no calculator. Now on the verge of panic, Mom began to cry. The stores were all closed, and if she didn’t find that calculator, she would be up all night adding the scores on paper.

Desperate, she decided to pray. But when she tried, she couldn’t – because things were not right between her and her four-year-old son. Humbly, she went into Brian’s room, and sat down beside him on the bed.

“Brian,” she said awkwardly, “I know you didn’t mean to lose the calculator. I think we need Heavenly Father’s help to find it.”

Well, Brian began to cry and told his mom that he was sorry for losing it. Together they knelt, and with the implicit faith of a child, Brian told Heavenly Father that he was sorry for losing the calculator, and would He please help him remember where he had left it. As the little boy prayed aloud, Mom prayed in her heart for the faith to match that of her son.

Suddenly at the end of the prayer, Mom could see in her mind’s eye the calculator lying under the bathroom rug. At the same moment, Brian spoke up and said that he remembered playing in the bathroom. Together, they walked straight to the bathroom, and there it was – under the bathroom rug.

With eyes shining, Brian handed it to his mother.