Wednesday, November 24, 2010

3 Nephi 29-30

Mormon concludes third Nephi with these last eleven verses. He must have written chapter 29 and then at later date, chapter 30. These words are for us directly and what they say to me is that it doesn't matter what the world thinks about the restored gospel or about the gathering of Israel. The world will do what it's going to do, but the Lord will continue his work. Mormon has seen our day and pleads with us to clean up our act, get rid of immorality, the murders and wars, the love of money and possessions. The gifts of God, the miracles are all there for us if we'll turn our hearts to him. Mormon warns us that there will be consequences for sin and unbelief, both as individuals and nations. As he writes this, he has seen his own nation be destroyed because they did not change their headlong rush into wickedness. To me, it is a condition of the heart. It is the forgetting of our pride and acknowledging the things we should, of letting our hearts be soft and teachable. The natural man in us, that comes with the mortal experience, fights so hard against our spirits and spiritual things. We will see with the first part of fourth Nephi what happens when people stop fighting this war within themselves and enjoy the freedom of that comes with righteous living.

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