. .
. the Master’s reward in the Final Judgment will not be based on how long we
have labored in the vineyard. We do not obtain our heavenly reward by punching
a time clock. What is essential is that our labors in the workplace of the Lord
have caused us to become something. For some of us, this requires a longer time
than for others. What is important in the end is what we have become by our
labors. Many who come in the eleventh hour have been refined and prepared by
the Lord in ways other than formal employment in the vineyard. These workers
are like the prepared dry mix to which it is only necessary to “add water”—the
perfecting ordinance of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. With that
addition—even in the eleventh hour—these workers are in the same state of
development and qualified to receive the same reward as those who have labored
long in the vineyard. (Dallin H. Oaks, "The
Challenge to Become," October 2000 General Conference)
