Sunday, March 25, 2018

Mosiah 28:2 -- On Curing Hatred and Embracing Idealism

"That perhaps they might bring them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and convince them of the iniquity of their fathers; and that perhaps they might cure them of their hatred towards the Nephites, that they might also be brought to rejoice in the Lord their God, that they might become friendly to one another, and that there should be no more contentions in all the land which the Lord their God had given them."
Mosiah 28:2


This is a verse talking about the Sons of Mosiah asking to go on a mission to the Lamanites.  The phrase I really like here is "cure them of their hatred."  The idea of hatred as a disease seems like a good one, perhaps because I like to believe that most of our hatred comes from misinformation and misunderstandings, as the hatred of the Lamanites did.  There may be a stronger hatred, of course, when we understand someone or something fully and hate it anyway, but hopefully most hatred is the curable kind. :)

The mission of the Sons of Mosiah seems so idealistic and unlikely, and yet, they truly cared about the people they intended to serve, and God was with them, and they were able to have much success.  I wonder how often we give up before beginning on things that seem unlikely, when, if we could have more faith, we could cure a lot of hatred, and work towards the "no more contentions" goal that these men believed in.

Today, let's be a little bit more idealistic and faithful, believing that, with God, we can make a difference in the world for good, and trusting in the Lord's help.  And then let's follow up on that faith and do something about it.  Let's work to internalize and to share God's message of love, curing hatred wherever we find it, especially in ourselves.

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