A story is told of a man going to see his minister about problems with his wife. After confessing all her sins, he told the pastor, "I want a divorce." The pastor quoted from Paul: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church. . . (Ephesians 5: 25) The man responded, "She no longer feels like a wife; she is more of a roommate or neighbor." His minister responded: Love thy neighbor as thyself . . . (Matthew 22: 39) Exasperated, the husband declared: "But she's not a good neighbor; she has become my enemy" to which the pastor responded: But, I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, go good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you . . . (Matthew 5: 44) The man was left without an argument.
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The Sons of Mosiah followed divine direction. They truly loved their enemies, the Lamanites. Their hearts were broken at the thought that these distant cousins might be eternally lost due to the false traditions of their fathers, all the way back to Laman and Lemuel, about 500 years before. After their experience with the angel, they remember how Jesus Christ had turned their bitter sorrow into joy and they wanted the same for their brethren in the Land of Nephi.
This could have been a dangerous idea because the Lamanites truly did hate the Nephites and had spent all those years persecuting them, warring with them, and enslaving them. Much Nephite blood had been shed at their hands. Their father, the king, went to the Lord in mighty prayer to know if they should go and if they could go and be safe. Mosiah was given that peace which passes all understanding and he know that they would be protected. After much fasting and prayer, they courageously set out for the land of Nephi. Were they afraid? I'm sure they did feel apprehensive, but they took great courage in the knowledge that they were on God's errand, not their own.
Contrast that to Jonah who was called to preach to the Assyrians in Nineveh, a terrifyingly cruel people. Jonah was afraid, but instead of fasting and praying, he tried to run away. He learned to his sorrow that you cannot run away from God and it took him 3 days in the belly of a great fish to fully recognize the importance of his mission. Lesson to learn: No one can run away from God or himself.
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How often are we called to serve the Lord by taking on a burden that seems overwhelming. I once received a calling through the Holy Ghost and a priesthood blessing that terrified me. But I took the calling and did my best to labor for four years. I ended up broken hearted, not because I failed, but because I was abandoned by the very person I was serving. I have struggled for over three years since then (four in October) to deal with my grief and sorrow. That mission's success (and it was successful) almost cost me my life. I won't go into details, other than to say it's been an uphill and very painful, sad, battle. The one thing that kept me spiritually safe through it all was the fact that I had been called of God and that I had done my very best. I knew it; the two brethren who pronounced the blessing upon my head knew it; and God new it. I could not deny it, neither dared I. I have suffered physically and emotionally to the edge of my endurance, and other people, including many in my own family, added their disbelief and lack of validation to my burden; but the Lord has never abandoned me. Because He has walked by my side (and, I suspect, many times carried me!) I have become a more humble person. I am still able to love without condition or pretense, when it would have been so easy to become hard and cynical. If I praised my Savior with every breath for the rest of my life, it could never express my love and appreciation for His peace which passes all understanding.
© May 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings
Buntin Danielson
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