S2 E41 (Oct. 26- Nov. 1) “I Would That I Could Persuade All to Repent”
As I've read the assigned reading this week, I keep thinking "Poor Mormon!" What did he see? What did his son see? The wickedness of the people he lived among had to be mindboggling. Yet through it all he loved them and loved the Lord. In this episode I try to find ways we can do that in our own lives.
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October 26–November 1
Mormon 1–6
“I Would That I Could Persuade All … to Repent”
Mormon spared us the “full account” of the “awful scene” of wickedness and bloodshed that he saw among the Nephites (Mormon 2:18; 5:8). But what he did record in Mormon 1–6 is enough to remind us how far righteous people can fall. Amid such pervasive wickedness, no one could blame Mormon for becoming weary and even discouraged. Yet through all that he saw and experienced, he never lost his sense of God’s great mercy and his conviction that repentance is the way to receive it. And although Mormon’s own people rejected his pleading invitations to repent, he knew that he had a larger audience to persuade. “Behold,” he declared, “I write unto all the ends of the earth.” In other words, he wrote to you (see Mormon 3:17–20). And his message to you, today, is the same message that could have saved the Nephites in their day: “Believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. … Repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ” (Mormon 3:21–22).
Ideas for Personal Scripture Study
I can live righteously despite the wickedness around me.
Beginning in the first chapter of Mormon, you will notice major differences between Mormon and the people around him. As you read Mormon 1, consider contrasting the qualities and desires of Mormon with those of his people. Note the consequences that came to him and them (you’ll find one example in verses 14–15). What do you learn that inspires you to live righteously in a wicked world?
As you read Mormon 2–6, continue to look for how Mormon demonstrated his faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ despite the evil influences around him.
MORMON DIDN’T GET MAD:
Love Your Enemies, Dallin H. Oaks
But how do we do this—especially how do we learn to love our adversaries and our enemies?
The Savior’s teaching not to “contend with anger” is a good first step. The devil is the father of contention, and it is he who tempts men to contend with anger. He promotes enmity and hateful relationships among individuals and within groups. President Thomas S. Monson taught that anger is “Satan’s tool,” for “to be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan. No one can make us angry. It is our choice.”5 Anger is the way to division and enmity. We move toward loving our adversaries when we avoid anger and hostility toward those with whom we disagree. It also helps if we are even willing to learn from them.
Among other ways to develop the power to love others is the simple method described in a long-ago musical. When we are trying to understand and relate to people of a different culture, we should try getting to know them. In countless circumstances, strangers’ suspicion or even hostility give way to friendship or even love when personal contacts produce understanding and mutual respect.6
An even greater help in learning to love our adversaries and our enemies is to seek to understand the power of love. Here are three of many prophetic teachings about this.
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “it is a time-honored adage that love begets love. Let us pour forth love—show forth our kindness unto all mankind.”7
President Howard W. Hunter taught: “The world in which we live would benefit greatly if men and women everywhere would exercise the pure love of Christ, which is kind, meek, and lowly. It is without envy or pride. … It seeks nothing in return. … It has no place for bigotry, hatred, or violence. … It encourages diverse people to live together in Christian love regardless of religious belief, race, nationality, financial standing, education, or culture.”8
And President Russell M. Nelson has urged us to “expand our circle of love to embrace the whole human family.”9
Battle, by Jorge Cocco
Godly sorrow leads to true and lasting change.
When Mormon saw his people’s sorrow, he hoped they would repent. But “their sorrowing was not unto repentance” (Mormon 2:13)—it was not the kind of godly sorrow that leads to real change (see 2 Corinthians 7:8–11). Instead, the Nephites felt worldly sorrow (see Mormon 2:10–11). To understand the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow, consider making a chart where you can record what you learn from Mormon 2:10–15 about these two types of sorrow. Your chart might look something like this:
As you reflect on what you learn, consider how it can influence your efforts to overcome sin and become more like Heavenly Father and the Savior.
See also Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “You Can Do It Now!” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 55–57.
Brethren, our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward.
When we stray—when we fall or depart from the way of our Heavenly Father—the words of the prophets tell us how to rise up and get back on track.
Of all the principles taught by prophets over the centuries, one that has been emphasized over and over again is the hopeful and heartwarming message that mankind can repent, change course, and get back on the true path of discipleship.
That does not mean that we should be comfortable with our weaknesses, mistakes, or sins. But there is an important difference between the sorrow for sin that leads to repentance and the sorrow that leads to despair.
The Apostle Paul taught that “godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation … but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”3 Godly sorrow inspires change and hope through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Worldly sorrow pulls us down, extinguishes hope, and persuades us to give in to further temptation.
Godly sorrow leads to conversion4 and a change of heart.5 It causes us to hate sin and love goodness.6 It encourages us to stand up and walk in the light of Christ’s love. True repentance is about transformation, not torture or torment. Yes, heartfelt regret and true remorse for disobedience are often painful and very important steps in the sacred process of repentance. But when guilt leads to self-loathing or prevents us from rising up again, it is impeding rather than promoting our repentance.
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IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE:
One of the adversary’s methods to prevent us from progressing is to confuse us about who we really are and what we really desire.
We want to spend time with our children, but we also want to engage in our favorite manly hobbies. We want to lose weight, but we also want to enjoy the foods we crave. We want to become Christlike, but we also want to give the guy who cuts us off in traffic a piece of our mind.
Satan’s purpose is to tempt us to exchange the priceless pearls of true happiness and eternal values for a fake plastic trinket that is merely an illusion and counterfeit of happiness and joy.
I should always acknowledge God’s hand in my life.
Mormon recorded a weakness he saw in the Nephites: they failed to acknowledge the ways the Lord had blessed them. President Henry B. Eyring urged us “to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. … Pray and ponder, asking the questions: Did God send a message that was just for me? Did I see His hand in my life or the lives of my children? … I testify that He loves us and blesses us, more than most of us have yet recognized” (“O Remember, Remember,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 67, 69).
As you read Mormon 3:3, 9,
Book of Mormon
3 And I did cry unto this people, but it was in vain; and they did not realize that it was the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto them a chance for repentance. And behold they did harden their hearts against the Lord their God.
9 And now, because of this great thing which my people, the Nephites, had done, they began to boast in their own strength, and began to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren who had been slain by their enemies.
you might ponder how you are acknowledging God’s influence in your life. What blessings come when you acknowledge His influence?
Humility, more blessings, a closer relationship with Him
What are the consequences of not acknowledging Him? (see Mormon 2:26).
Straying further away from Him
Jesus Christ stands with open arms to receive me.
The Nephites rejected Mormon’s teachings, but he had hope that his record would influence you. As you read Mormon 5:8–24 and 6:16–22, what do you learn about the consequences of sin? What do you learn from these passages about Heavenly Father’s and Jesus’s feelings toward you, even when you sin? How have you felt Jesus Christ reaching out to you with open arms? What do you feel inspired to do as a result?
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The Exquisite Gift of the Son, by Matthew S. Holland
We must never forget that the very purpose of repentance is to take certain misery and transform it into pure bliss. Thanks to His “immediate goodness,”8 the instant we come unto Christ—demonstrating faith in Him and a true change of heart—the crushing weight of our sins starts to shift from our backs to His. This is possible only because He who is without sin suffered “the infinite and unspeakable agony”9 of every single sin in the universe of His creations, for all of His creations—a suffering so severe, blood oozed out of His every pore. From direct, personal experience the Savior thus warns us, in modern scripture, that we have no idea how “exquisite” our “sufferings” will be if we do not repent. But with unfathomable generosity He also clarifies that “I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent”10—a repentance which allows us to “taste” the “exceeding joy” Alma tasted.11 For this doctrine alone, “I stand all amazed.”12 Yet, astonishingly, Christ offers even more.
Regardless of the causes of our worst hurts and heartaches, the ultimate source of relief is the same: Jesus Christ. He alone holds the full power and healing balm to correct every mistake, right every wrong, adjust every imperfection, mend every wound, and deliver every delayed blessing. Like witnesses of old, I testify that “we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities”15 but rather a loving Redeemer who descended from His throne above and went forth “suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind … , that he may know … how to succor his people.”16
For anyone today with pains so intense or so unique that you feel no one else could fully appreciate them, you may have a point. There may be no family member, friend, or priesthood leader—however sensitive and well-meaning each may be—who knows exactly what you are feeling or has the precise words to help you heal. But know this: there is One who understands perfectly what you are experiencing, who is “mightier than all the earth,”17 and who is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that [you] ask or think.”18 The process will unfold in His way and on His schedule, but Christ stands ready always to heal every ounce and aspect of your agony.
Ideas for Family Scripture Study and Family Home Evening
As you read the scriptures with your family, the Spirit can help you know what principles to emphasize and discuss in order to meet the needs of your family. Here are some ideas.
Mormon 1:2
What does it mean to be “quick to observe”? You can find insights in Elder David A. Bednar’s article “Quick to Observe” (Ensign, Dec. 2006, 30–36). How was the gift of being quick to observe a blessing to Mormon? How can it be a blessing to us?
In my study of the Book of Mormon I have been especially impressed with a particular description of Mormon, the principal compiler of the Nephite record. The specific depiction of this noble prophet to which I would direct our attention is contained in the first five verses of the first chapter of Mormon:
“And now I, Mormon, make a record of the things which I have both seen and heard, and call it the Book of Mormon.
“And about the time that Ammaron hid up the records unto the Lord, he came unto me, (I being about ten years of age … ) and Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe;
“Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people; …
“And behold, … ye shall engrave on the plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed concerning this people.
“And I, Mormon, … remembered the things which Ammaron commanded me” (Mormon 1:1–5; emphasis added).
Please note that the root word observe is used three times in these verses. And Mormon, even in his youth, is described as being “quick to observe.” As you study and learn and grow, I hope you also are learning about and becoming quick to observe. Your future success and happiness will in large measure be determined by this spiritual capacity.
Please consider the significance of this important spiritual gift. As used in the scriptures, the word observe has two primary uses. One use denotes “to look” or “to see” or “to notice”—as we learn in Isaiah 42:20: “Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not” (emphasis added).
The second use of the word observe suggests “to obey” or “to keep”—as is evident in the Doctrine and Covenants: “But blessed are they who have kept the covenant and observed the commandment, for they shall obtain mercy” (D&C 54:6; emphasis added).
Thus when we are quick to observe, we promptly look or notice and obey. Both of these fundamental elements—looking and obeying—are essential to being quick to observe. And the prophet Mormon is an impressive example of this gift in action.
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