When the Samaritans did not receive Jesus, James and John asked Jesus, “wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?” (Luke 9:54)
Not long before, James and John had seen Elias (Elijah) face to face at the mountain where Jesus had been Transfigured and glorified. Jesus responded, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” (Luke 9:56) During General Conference, I was impressed by the mercy of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Being preached repentance can be hard, but think of the alternative: What if we could not change? What if a poor choice, like the Samaritans made in not receiving Jesus, led to our destruction? Repentance is the way we accept the enabling power of Jesus Christ, sometimes called grace, in our lives. This power enables us to put off the natural man and become Saints (see Mosiah 3:19). Through grace, we can develop the same humility and "teachability" of little children. President Oaks taught that repentance is “a joy, not a burden” ("Cleansed by Repentance," April 2019 General Conference). President Nelson taught, “To repent of sin is not easy. But the prize is worth the price” ("Repentance and Conversion," April 2007 General Conference). President Oaks, who served as a justice of the Utah Supreme Court, said, “The contrast that I’ve experience between the laws of man and the laws of God has increased my appreciation for the reality and power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ" (April 2019 General Conference). What manner of Spirit are we? We are sons and daughters of God. We are created in His image. He loves us and wants nothing more than for us to return to live with Him, in a state of never-ending happiness. His work and glory is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). I bear testimony that through Jesus Christ, we can change. Our weaknesses can become strengths. If we have a sincere heart and a contrite spirit, God can teach us and transform us into the men and women that He knows we can become.
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During his vision of the tree of life, Nephi beheld that Jesus “went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them" (1 Nephi 11:28).
Sadly, the multitude’s reaction to beholding Christ's power and glory was to cast him out. Despite his power, Christ allowed Himself to be cast out so the people could be judged by their works. While Jesus is the only true judge, Jesus was later "taken by the people; yea, the son of the everlasting God was judged of the world." Contrast Jesus being cast out with the story of Jesus and the rich young man. The rich young man explained to Jesus that he had kept the commandments since his youth. "And Jesus beholding him loved him." (Mark 10:21) In contrast, the multitudes saw Jesus doing good since his youth, and rejected him. Christ judged the people; the people judged Christ, and cast him out. The rich young man kept the commandments since his youth; Jesus kept the commandments since his youth, and was rejected. In all cases, love makes the difference—love of God and love of God's children. Nephi records that as Jesus was cast out, "I also beheld twelve others following Him" (1 Nephi 11:29). After Jesus was slain, Nephi saw “the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the lamb” (1 Nephi 11:39). The multitude gathered into a great and spacious building, which represented the pride of the world. Because of pride, the multitude cast Jesus out and later crucified him. Because of love, Jesus ministered and gave his life. When we behold the power and glory of Jesus Christ in our lives, we have the same choice—pride or love. We can allow pride to loosen our grip of the iron rod and start wandering toward the great and spacious building. Or, with love in our hearts, we can continually hold to the iron rod and press forward toward the tree of life, “yea, ... the love of God, ... the most desirable above all things, ... and the most joyous to the soul” (1 Nephi 11:22-23). |
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For anyone interested, I have a professional blog titled The Instructional Designer's Toolkit where I share tools and inspiration for instructional designers and e-learning developers.
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