The True Source of Joy and Peace

I recently read these verses in Helaman chapter 3 in the Book of Mormon, and something different stood out to me as I read them this time:

Helaman 3:33-35 (Book of Mormon)

33 And in the fifty and first year of the reign of the judges there was peace also, save it were the pride which began to enter into the church--not into the church of God, but into the hearts of the people who professed to belong to the church of God--

34 And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction.

35 Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.

What struck me as the most interesting in these verses is how "the more humble part of the people" who were being persecuted chose to respond in the face of this completely unjustified persecution from other members of Christ's Church. Those being persecuted were completely innocent victims of those persecuting them; the "great evil" done by their persecutors was causing the persecuted to suffer and "to wade through much affliction," all at the hands of those who should have been the most ready to love and support them as fellow disciples of Christ. But the persecutors had succumbed to the weakness of pride and completely lost their way, and the more humble part of the people was suffering for it. 

So what did they do? Did they leave the church of God where they were being treated so poorly by those who professed to follow Christ? Did they lash out at their persecutors? Surprisingly, they resorted to neither of these seemingly justified courses of action. Instead, the scripture says that they turned to the Lord in fasting and prayer in the face of these persecutions, waxing "stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ," which led "to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts" as they "yield[ed] their hearts unto God" and to "the filling [of] their souls with joy and consolation." 

There are a couple of things about these people's response to persecution and its results that I find amazing. The first thing is that when faced with the completely unjust and evil actions of others, the more humble part of the people did not spend their time pointing out the sins of their oppressors, but instead used these difficult circumstances as an opportunity to look inwards, to purify and sanctify their own hearts, to become more Christlike themselves as they suffered these persecutions and to allow the Lord to teach them through their trials. 

The second thing I find amazing is that by purifying and sanctifying their own hearts through fasting and prayer and by yielding their hearts unto God and remaining faithful in the face of bitter persecution, the more humble part of the people found that their faith in Christ grew and that their souls were filled with joy and consolation. NOTHING in their circumstances had changed, but in the midst of their afflictions, they felt joy and consolation. What an amazing gift from the Savior to His long-suffering, faithful followers. 

I have experienced in my own life the joy and peace that comes from yielding my heart unto God. I have seen personally how purifying and sanctifying my own heart through fervent prayer and reliance on the Savior and His Spirit and Atonement can turn my sorrow and suffering into joy and peace, even when nothing in my circumstances has changed. I know the Lord can replace feelings of hurt and suffering with feelings of joy and peace and forgiveness when we turn to Him and seek to find and do His will. I can bear witness of the truth of Christ's words to His disciples in John 14:27:

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

When we choose to follow Christ and take His yoke upon us, we will find indeed that "[His] yoke is easy and [His] burden is light" (Matthew 11:30) and that our hearts need never be troubled or afraid. I bear my personal witness of these things and that Christ is the true source of the joy and peace we seek here and hereafter and that no other creature or circumstance can separate us from Him and the joy and peace He offers all those who faithfully follow Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love Your Enemies

Ted and I were reading in Matthew chapter 5 today for our family scripture study, and verses 38-48 hit me hard. These are the verses that talk about turning the other cheek, loving your enemies, blessing those that curse you, doing good to those who hate you, and praying for those who despitefully use you and persecute you. I feel like I need to put these verses up on my wall to read often. 

It is so easy to get caught up in the world's view that this person deserves this kind of treatment because he/she was rude to me. Or, I'm not speaking to this person because he/she did this. We are so quick to punish other people when they hurt or disappoint us in some way by treating them unkindly or disrespectfully or giving them the cold shoulder, and we feel justified in our right to do so. They were mean to me, so I have a right, even an obligation, to treat them like this in return. We do this over the smallest unintended slights, when, in reality, we never have any justification for treating any of Heavenly Father's children without love, respect and forgiveness, even when they are deliberately going out of their way to hate, belittle, and persecute us. 

Becoming like God, becoming perfect, requires us to see past all the mistakes, sins, and cruelties of others to the potential they have as children of God to repent and change and become like Him through the power of the atonement. We have an obligation to love our spirit brothers and sisters even in their darkest moments, when they are at their worst, and to have the desire to help them out of Satan's clutches and back to the light and truth of Christ. God never gives up on us, and we cannot give up on each other or punish each other for not being perfect yet. As God forgives us for our sins and weaknesses, so must we be quick to forgive each other and treat each other with love and kindness, no matter the provocation. This is true godliness. 

We have so many great examples in the scriptures of people who have applied the principles taught in these verses. There is Christ Himself, of course, who prayed to Heavenly Father on behalf of those who were in the process of crucifying Him (Luke 23:33-34, Bible). There is the prophet Alma who prayed so fervently for the people of Ammonihah and returned so willingly to teach them again, even after they reviled him, spit upon him, and cast him out of their city (Alma 8:8-18, Book of Mormon). His great love for them and his willingness to continue to reach out to them even in the face of extreme persecution led many of them to have a change of heart, repent, and turn to God (Alma 14:1). Both the sons of Mosiah and Nephi and Lehi, the sons of Helaman, were cast into prison, beaten, starved, and threatened with death by those they were trying to help and teach, but they refused to give up, and their continued love and service brought many people to a knowledge of the truth that allowed them to change and reach their potential as children of God. 

These are just a few examples, but they show the miracles that are possible when we truly have charity towards others and love them the way Christ does, even when they hurt or disappoint us through ignorance or maliciousness. We must all strive to develop the kind of eternal perspective that allows us to see others the way God sees them, as children learning and growing and making so many mistakes as they work through their weaknesses and their misconceptions of the world and of those around them. May we all strive to be a little kinder, a little more patient, and a little quicker to forgive those around us is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.