More about anger in this chapter. The Lamenites couldn’t
handle killing the people not fighting back, so they turned their anger to the
Nephites instead. Why does anger work that way? It’s like a fire that keeps
looking for fuel. So often who I lash out isn’t even who I am angry at
originally. And it is so hard to stop being worked up once you let yourself get
there. You feel like you have to find an outlet, someone to take it out on.
When I think about it, I am so aware of the inherent evil in anger.
The wicked Nephite dissenters then start killing Lamenites
who are converting. It seems like a good test for the righteousness of a
cause—or at least for the righteousness of your feelings about something. When
you can’t handle people not agreeing with you, when you want to take away
people’s right to choose, and when you are making decision that are angry and
violent, it is a good sign you are not in the right place. I think so many
times Satan can trick us into believing we are doing good by doing bad, but
those feelings never come from God. It is a good litmus test.
It was a long time from the time Abinidi made his prophecies
until they were fulfilled. Long enough that if you were not looking for it, you
wouldn’t remember that was what was happening. It’s another reason it is
important to have continuing revelation, both personal, and through prophets.
Life is tricky and to discern the truth, especially over a long period of time,
which often seems to be God’s timetable, you have to have a longer, eternal,
God-like view.
It strikes me as an important point of true conversion that
as soon as the people who were trying to kill them repented and stopped, they
were welcomed into the land of Ishmael, and among the people of the church they
were just trying to kill. It takes a lot of faith and love to so readily
forgive so completely.
Part of the strength of their faith was remembering the
meaning and symbolism of the ordinances, using them to point to Christ and
always remember Him. It is the same now. If we just keep the commandments and
do the “church stuff, ” even including obedience, without remembering it all
points to him, we lose that strength that comes from the church. It isn’t the Law
of Moses for us anymore, but the concept is the same. It is also the same that the
ordinances and the obedience and all the details don’t save us, only Christ does.
It is important to remember the difference. What can I do to better remember, instead
of just getting into habits and doing things without really thinking about what
I am doing, or how they are pointing to Him? I am so grateful for this little bit
of understanding. I’ve always smugly though the Law of Moses parts of these chapters
don’t apply to us today, but I can see so clearly now how much they really do. These
verses suddenly feel so important, and I am so grateful!
When I think about the joy of those missionaries to the Lamenites
must have had in changing the course of an entire nation, and really the history
of the world, I feel so happy for them, in a heart swelling choked up kind of way.
No comments:
Post a Comment