O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.
While I don’t think it’s helpful to remember our specific transgressions or the details thereof, it appears to me to be essential that we remember the awfulness we’ve felt in transgressing. Everyone sins, so everyone has felt and experienced the awfulness that accompanies it. Writing about those feelings is a way to be accountable to ourselves, a way to recognize and remember how often we are transgressing. Hopefully this will help us minimize the transgressions.
President Kimball said, “What could you do better for your children and your children’s children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved?” It seems, then, that not only should we remember and write about the awfulness of transgressing against the Lord, but we should also remember and write about how it feels to overcome transgression.
It is awful to yield to temptation.
I've waited until too late tonight, and I'm too tired to think straight anymore. It's ok because the next few verses in this same chapter encourage us to remember, so I'll be writing more on this in the next few days.
Friday, April 4, 2008
2 Nephi 9:39--The Awfulness of Transgression
Thursday, April 3, 2008
2 Nephi 5:25--The Lord
After Lehi dies (in chapter 4), Nephi continues teaching Laman and Lemuel. However, they are angry with him, and now that Lehi is gone, they try to kill him. Even when Nephi prays specifically for his brothers because of their anger, they only get more angry, so that Nephi and those who will join him are forced to sneak away and travel for days through the wilderness to form a new settlement. The Lamanites (those who stayed with Laman and Lemuel) are cursed with a skin of blackness, and part of that curse is that they become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety.
This mischief and subtlety causes the Lamanites to be a scourge to the Nephits. A scourge is a whip or some other means of inflicting pain and suffering as a form of punishment, with the intent of correcting or reforming. The Lord uses the Lamanites to punish the Nephites with pain and suffering so that they will remember him. If the scourging doesn't make them remember him, they will keep getting scourged until they are destroyed.
At first it seems really unfair that the Nephites, who were the righteous of the two groups, would be punished like this. They are the ones who loved God and followed Nephi. Why do they get punished? Why are the Lamanites, who are wicked, used by God as instruments to punish the righteous? I think the answer lies in the purpose of the punishment. The Nephites are allowed to suffer at the hands of the Lamanites as a way to remember God. The Lamanites are given no such memory tool. It is far better to remember God than to forget him, even if we have to have our memories jogged by a little pain and suffering.
The times in my life when I've remembered the Lord the most, or when he's been at the forefront of my conscious mind, are usually the times either during or right after some painful experience. Pain has the tendency to turn our thoughts heavenward. I learn from this verse that one of the purposes of pain and suffering is to help us remember the Lord when we start to get a little forgetful. This realization makes the pain more bearable. I also learn from this verse, though, that if we fail to remember the Lord while we're being scourged, we might end up being scourged to death.
As I study the lives of my ancestors, I'll look for times they were scourged and remembered the Lord because of it. And as I write in my own journals, I'll try to explain how scourging has helped me remember the Lord.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
2 Nephi 3:25--The Words of Thy Dying Father
This is the same chapter as yesterday's post, just a few verses further along. Lehi is finishing up his instructions to his son Joseph. Lehi is soon to die. His last recorded words to Joseph are to remember the words of his dying father. This could just be a generic statement to remember everything Lehi has ever taught Joseph, but I think there's more to it.
First I would ask what’s different about the words of a dying person as opposed to the words of a healthy person with long life ahead of him? The answer can be found in a principle from the law of evidence. In general, statements made by someone outside the courtroom and not under oath cannot be admitted as evidence in a trial because they are what's called hearsay. However, there are exceptions to the hearsay rule, and one of those exceptions has to do with the words of a dying person. The law recognizes that a person about to die will likely have no ulterior motive and will most likely tell the truth. Therefore, a person's last words, or dying declaration, is typically admitted into evidence in a trial and assumed to be true.
So, we remember the words of the dying because they are likely the truth. Lehi could have just said "remember the words of thy father," but he purposefully included the word "dying." For me it adds an element of truth and urgency to the request.
My Grandma Cook is getting old and has been sick for a while. Not long ago she left her testimony written. I should remember those words. When I get close to death, I should bear my testimony to my children and grandchildren, and hopefully my words will be powerful.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
2 Nephi 3:18-21--The Abrahamic Covenant
18. And the Lord said unto me also: I will raise up unto the fruit of thy loins; and I will make for him a spokesman. And I, behold, I will give unto him that he shall write the writing of the fruit of thy loins, unto the fruit of thy loins; and the spokesman of thy loins shall declare it.
19. And the words which he shall write shall be the words which are expedient in my wisdom should go forth unto the fruit of thy loins. And it shall be as if the fruit of thy loins had cried unto them from the dust; for I know their faith.
20. And they shall cry from the dust; yea, even repentance unto their brethren, even after many generations have gone by them. And it shall come to pass that their cry shall go, even according to the simpleness of their words.
21. Because of their faith their words shall proceed forth out of my mouth unto their brethren who are the fruit of thy loins; and the weakness of their words will I make strong in their faith, unto the remembering of my covenant which I made unto thy fathers.
This is Lehi speaking to his son Joseph. Lehi is quoting the words of his ancestor, Joseph who was sold into Egypt. I know the traditional reading of these verses (and a correct one I might add) is that it is referring to Joseph Smith and the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon. However, I like to also read an earlier fulfillment of the prophecies here, though I'm not exactly sure I've got it all right, especially where I’ve got Moses and Aaron listed. I've listed in brackets after each pronoun who I think the pronoun is referring to. I would like it if one of my imaginary readers would leave a comment clarifying my interpretation of these verses.
18. And the Lord said unto me [Joseph of Egypt]: I will raise up unto the fruit of thy loins [descendants of Joseph of Egypt]; and I will make for him [Moses] a spokesman [Aaron]. And I [the Lord], behold I will give unto him [Moses] that he [Moses] shall write the writing [brass plates] of the fruit of thy loins [early descendants of Joseph of Egypt, like those living in Moses’ day]; and the spokesman of thy loins [Aaron] shall declare it.
19. And the words which he [Moses] shall write shall be the words which are expedient in my [the Lord’s] wisdom should go forth unto the fruit of thy loins [later descendants of Joseph of Egypt, like Lehi and his people]. And it shall be as if the fruit of thy loins [early descendants of Joseph of Egypt] had cried unto them [later descendants of Joseph of Egypt] from the dust; for I [the Lord] know their [early descendants of Joseph of Egypt] faith.
20. And they [early descendants of Joseph of Egypt] shall cry from the dust; yea, even repentance unto their brethren [later descendants of Joseph of Egypt] even after many generations have gone by them [early descendants of Joseph of Egypt]. And it shall come to pass that their [early descendants of Joseph of Egypt] cry shall go, even according to the simpleness of their [early descendants] words.
21. Because of their [early descendants] faith their [early descendants] words shall proceed forth out of my [the Lord’s] mouth unto their [early descendants] brethren who are the fruit of thy loins [later descendants]; and the weakness of their [early descendants] words [brass plates] will I make strong in their [early descendants] faith, unto the remembering of my [the Lord’s] covenant which I made unto thy [Joseph of old] fathers [Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob].
The important thing about these verses, under both readings, is that they explain an extremely important principle which applies to remembering, and that is that the faith of those who write can make weak words strong and bring to the remembrance of those who read, even generations later, the covenants of the Lord. Moses wrote in his day, and his words were made strong for Lehi and Nephi and other righteous people in the Book of Mormon. Likewise, Nephi and others in the Book of Mormon wrote, and their faith made their words strong for those of us in this day and age who read those words.
It must follow, then, that if I write in faith, and if I write the words the Lord would have me write, then my written words will be a tool to help those who read to remember the covenants of the Lord. So one of the things we are supposed to remember is the covenants of the Lord. He has promised us that if we follow him and walk in his ways, all that he has will be given us. I need to write things to my children and in my own journal that will help them remember the covenants of the Lord, and I need to do it with the faith that my words will be made strong in the day my children read them.
