Recently I have helped to start a small backyard garden. A friend of mine offered to give us some of his small jalapeno plants which started me thinking, "How do you get the hottest jalapenos?" After asking some people and looking around, I discovered something I didn't expect, the hottest jalapenos come from stressed plants. I learned that if you want hot peppers, you need to occasionally deny the plant water. By doing this the peppers take on a very hot flavor. Only by doing this can farmers produce the exceptionally hot varieties that are desired the world over.
After learning this, I realized that we are a lot like pepper plants. Our Heavenly Father is the farmer and he knows better than we do what will allow us to achieve our full potential and produce the best "peppers." At times we may not understand why we aren't getting everything we think we need (water) when in reality it is that denial that makes us exceptional. We could content ourselves with being an average plant, but with God's help we can become what he would have us be.
(If you enjoyed this story also read Elder Christofferson's talk from April General Conference)
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