Helaman 14
To me, agency was the theme of this chapter. Samuel the Lamanite prophet told them the signs of the Saviors birth and death, reminded them that they could find no joy in iniquity, and taught them about the need of a Savior. Then he spoke a few times about agency.
He basically said, "Look, you've been taught what's right and what's wrong. You have also been given the power of agency to choose for yourself which path to take. BUT- it is up to and you cannot escape the consequences."
God has given us the knowledge, know we must choose. Verse 19 he says that by knowing these thing and not doing them they will suffer themselves to come under condemnation. We are accountable for what we know. Recognize there aren't any addenda or loop-holes, no exceptions. If we know it and don't do it, we are condemned. We can't claim laziness, pride or even preference. It is plain and simple truth.
This is what I love about the Book of Mormon- the simplicity of it's doctrine.
What did you get out of this chapter today?
TOMORROW: Free For All Friday
21 ...rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be broken up;
ReplyDelete22... both above the earth and beneath.
Verses like this seems to catch my eye.... like in the Old Testament when the continents were separated or in the time of Noah when they had never seen rain fall from the sky.
It made me stop and wonder at the earth. The earth is this living breathing creation of our Heavenly Father. Not like a human, but in it's own way. Recently with the huge earthquakes in Japan, Alaska and South America, I was once again reading about the earth's surface. How the plates are broken and cause tension on each other. When the tension gets to a certain point... blam.
When I read these few verses, the picture of a cracked and broken earth just flooded my mind. How under the weight of the Savior's crucifixion, the earth could not hold the strain of that amount of pain and was broken on the surface and underneath. The scars remain today. Her behavior (reactions), i.e. earthquakes, are a result of that experience.
How that compares to people. Under the strain of pain and suffering, heartache, and sin, we develop cracks in our emotional self and our physical self. Those cracks will always be there, but through faith, repentance and the Atonement, the wounds can heal....even though the scars still remain. Our behaviors and reaction are forever influenced by the experiences in our life.
But we do have a choice.....
31 He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you.
Karma.