Dear Sisters,
This week's message was written by Emma Hoskisson, counselor in the YSA 1st ward Relief Society Presidency. Thank you Emma for your beautiful insights!
Book of Mormon Reflection
I have just a small thought this week about the word corruption. These last few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about the confusion of life. Many of our experiences are hard to wrap up into nice stories and sometimes we see moments of pure suffering and it’s hard to know how to make sense of it. This is mortality.
This week’s section of reading, Mosiah 9-25, tells the story of Zeniff who leaves Zarahemla and makes a deal with the Lamanites so he and his people can live in the land of Lehi-Nephi. Time passes and we have wicked King Noah, Abinadi, Alma, and battles with the Lamanites.
It’s the battles, I think, that get me, because I don’t want to read about them anymore. So much death and destruction then and now and I’m not currently gleaning anything from these except for a heavy sense of carnage. Was it really wrong for Zeniff to leave Zarahemla? He says he saw goodness. Was it shortsighted and stupid? Now everybody is killing each other… I became overwhelmed several years ago with the “war chapters” of Alma and haven’t really been able to appreciate them or other battle stories yet.
Except that recently I’ve been thinking about how for so many people in the world, war is their daily existence and there is little end to it in sight. And the Book of Mormon is for all, not just for me. And maybe the Book of Mormon does contain some stories of the horrific side of humanity because that is what mortal life was then and is now.
I was reeling in this vein of thought through the first few chapters, feeling a little stressed, when Abinadi comes on the scene. I wonder what it was like at the time, what their cities looked like and how a prophet would appear––where would he go and who would be around to listen. Were there others, besides Alma, that had been searching and questioning before Abinadi showed up, that when he came to share his message had hearts that were touched because he brought them light in their darkness?
Because Abinadi comes on the scene and speaks of Christ and immediately there is a change. Immediately I find words to hang onto and study.
Mosiah 16:9-10 says, “He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.
“Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption…”
I used to think of corruption here in the common use of the term to refer to corruption in human beings, in government. “Guilty of dishonest practice; lacking integrity; debased in character, depraved, perverted.” But possibly, it refers to something more subtle that eventually builds into the larger issues that fill the news and our prayers of repentance.
When Adam and Eve left the garden, they entered a world that was not perfect, that was based on something perfect but was now subject to forces of entropy, chaos, and evil. This is another meaning of the word corrupt, “adulterated or debased by change from an original or correct condition.” So this corruption which has us entrenched in a world with chaos and senseless acts will put on incorruption. There is hope for order. It reminds me of President Uchtdorf’s April 2014 General Conference talk, “Grateful in Any Circumstances.” He speaks of the confusion and sorrow we feel and speaks of being grateful not for what we have but having an attitude of gratefulness. “This type of gratitude,” he says, “transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses disappointment, discouragement, and despair. It blooms just as beautifully in the icy landscape of winter as it does in the pleasant warmth of summer.”
I think of this because I don’t need to feel that any experience is just to be slogged through in order to get to the time of incorruption. Of course I see and hurt and sorrow over what is not perfect. In his talk, President Uchtdorf refers to the sorrow of endings, the endings of relationships, hope, life, etc., and he says, “In light of what we know about our eternal destiny, is it any wonder that whenever we face the bitter endings in life, they seem unacceptable to us? There seems to be something inside of us that resists endings…Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are eternal beings, children of the Almighty God…Endings are not our destiny.”
So it may be no small wonder that I’m filled with confusion at what can be a senseless, corrupt world. Because I am a daughter of incorrupt, Heavenly Parents and sense there is an incorrupt form we are patterned after that we are destined for. Christ is the light in all of this that will comfort and guide us through this mortal life that I do love and treasure.
Readings for the Coming Week:
Day 36 – Catch Up or Extra Study (10.31.15)
Use your reading chart to find the chapters you still need to read to be caught up through: Mosiah 25
or
If you’re up to date with your reading, take time to study: Mosiah 14-15
Abinadi quoted Isaiah to testify of the Savior. What did Isaiah teach about Christ? What can you learn about the Savior from Abinadi’s testimony?
Day 37 (11.1.15)
Read: Mosiah 26-28
Mark: 26:29-30
“You always need to confess your sins to the Lord. If they are serious transgressions, such as immorality, they need to be confessed to a bishop or stake president. Please understand that confession is not repentance. It is an essential step, but is not of itself adequate. Partial confession by mentioning lesser mistakes will not help you resolve a more serious, undisclosed transgression. Essential to forgiveness is a willingness to fully disclose to the Lord and, where necessary, His priesthood judge all that you have done.” ~ Elder Richard G. Scott
Why is confession an essential part of repentance?
Day 38 (11.2.15)
Read: Mosiah 29 – Alma 1
Mark: Alma 1:6, 16
“The Nephite prophets repeatedly identified the wearing of costly clothing with apostasy and failure to live by gospel standards.”
~ Elder Bruce R. McConkie
What might your way of dressing say about you?
Day 39 (11.3.15)
Read: Alma 2-4
Mark: Alma 2:18, 28
“Safety can’t be won by tanks and guns and airplanes and atomic bombs. There is only one place of safety and that is in the realm of the Almighty God that he gives to those who keep his commandments and listen to his voice.” ~ President Harold B. Lee
Why were the Nephites strengthened by the Lord? How can we receive the Lord’s help in the challenges we face?
Day 40 (11.4.15)
Read: Alma 5-6
Mark: Alma 5:14, 26
“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.” ~ President Ezra Taft Benson
What would someone see in your countenance?
Day 41 (11.5.15)
Read: Alma 7-9
Mark: Alma 7:11-12
“To succor means to ‘run to.’ I testify that in my fears and in my infirmities the Savior has surely run to me. I will never be able to thank Him enough for such personal kindness and such loving care.” ~ Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Why is it helpful to remember that the Savior knows what it’s like to have your problems?
Day 42 (11.6.15)
Read: Alma 10-11
Mark: Alma 11:42-44
“What a comfort to know that all who have been disadvantaged in life from birth defects, from mortal injuries, from disease, or from the natural deterioration of old age will be resurrected in ‘proper and perfect frame.’” ~ Elder Dallin H. Oaks
How does it bring you hope knowing that because of Christ we will all live again?
Day 43 – Catch Up or Extra Study (11.7.15)
Use your reading chart to find the chapters you still need to read to be caught up through: Alma 11
or
If you’re up to date with your reading, take time to study: Alma 5
What are some of the questions Alma asks in order to ponder the process of becoming converted or reborn?
No comments:
Post a Comment