"Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness."
2 Nephi 9:14
This chapter is talking about the resurrection, and in the verse before this it explains that "all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect." And perfect knowledge--wow. It sounds amazing, right? No more stumbling for words or trying to remember what that one story that we really liked was called. We don't usually stop and consider the down side to perfect knowledge, and I think that is what Jacob (and God) are asking us to consider.
God's plan is to save us, but do we really think about what he is saving us from? The whole image that we've built up in our society of the fires of hell I think are all based on a symbolic representation of what it is like to be a resurrected, eternal being with a perfect knowledge of sin and guilt. Alma the younger illustrates this well in Alma 36:12-16, where it specifically says that he was experiencing the "pains of hell" and the "pains of a damned soul." Zeezrom also experienced the "pains of hell" in Alma 14:6, and which is explained a little bit more in Alma 15:3 where it describes it as being "scorched with a burning heat." These are two stories of people who were really staunchly against God and his church and who turned their lives around because of this realization and knowledge of their sins. With Zeezrom we read that "this great sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his mind until it did become exceedingly sore, having no deliverance" (Alma 15:3). When he realized that Alma and Amulek weren't dead, he regained some hope and asked to be healed... but imagine if they had been dead and he never had the chance to repent. Would that self-recrimination have ever ended? Maybe on earth, where our knowledge fades over time, but not in the resurrection where our knowledge is perfect. That is the kind of situation that God is working to save us from.
In our lives now, our often-faulty memories can be a blessing. It's annoying to have a brain cramp when we are trying to express ourselves, but it is super cool when we are trying to get through a day without beating ourselves up for some past sin or some current self-doubt. Regret and self-hatred are terrible things, and God doesn't want them to haunt us for eternity. He gives us a way to solve those problems through repentance, and he offers to take our guilt and our pain away through the atonement. It's still our life and our past, but it doesn't have to haunt us if we repent and turn around and change. We don't have to be the people in the verse that have a perfect knowledge of our uncleanness, which in front of God will feel *way* worse than walking filthy and naked in front of everyone we know. We can be the people in the verse that are clothed with purity and righteousness. We just have to start now and turn around. God can help us repent even of the worst things that we have ever done, as long as we are willing to change. Let's get on our knees and talk to him about it, and get counsel from our bishop if needed. Today, let's take a step toward God and toward being who we want to be and not someone that we are going to regret being for eternity. I like that "perfect knowledge of their enjoyment" line way better. Let's try for that. :)
2 Nephi 9:14
This chapter is talking about the resurrection, and in the verse before this it explains that "all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect." And perfect knowledge--wow. It sounds amazing, right? No more stumbling for words or trying to remember what that one story that we really liked was called. We don't usually stop and consider the down side to perfect knowledge, and I think that is what Jacob (and God) are asking us to consider.
God's plan is to save us, but do we really think about what he is saving us from? The whole image that we've built up in our society of the fires of hell I think are all based on a symbolic representation of what it is like to be a resurrected, eternal being with a perfect knowledge of sin and guilt. Alma the younger illustrates this well in Alma 36:12-16, where it specifically says that he was experiencing the "pains of hell" and the "pains of a damned soul." Zeezrom also experienced the "pains of hell" in Alma 14:6, and which is explained a little bit more in Alma 15:3 where it describes it as being "scorched with a burning heat." These are two stories of people who were really staunchly against God and his church and who turned their lives around because of this realization and knowledge of their sins. With Zeezrom we read that "this great sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his mind until it did become exceedingly sore, having no deliverance" (Alma 15:3). When he realized that Alma and Amulek weren't dead, he regained some hope and asked to be healed... but imagine if they had been dead and he never had the chance to repent. Would that self-recrimination have ever ended? Maybe on earth, where our knowledge fades over time, but not in the resurrection where our knowledge is perfect. That is the kind of situation that God is working to save us from.
In our lives now, our often-faulty memories can be a blessing. It's annoying to have a brain cramp when we are trying to express ourselves, but it is super cool when we are trying to get through a day without beating ourselves up for some past sin or some current self-doubt. Regret and self-hatred are terrible things, and God doesn't want them to haunt us for eternity. He gives us a way to solve those problems through repentance, and he offers to take our guilt and our pain away through the atonement. It's still our life and our past, but it doesn't have to haunt us if we repent and turn around and change. We don't have to be the people in the verse that have a perfect knowledge of our uncleanness, which in front of God will feel *way* worse than walking filthy and naked in front of everyone we know. We can be the people in the verse that are clothed with purity and righteousness. We just have to start now and turn around. God can help us repent even of the worst things that we have ever done, as long as we are willing to change. Let's get on our knees and talk to him about it, and get counsel from our bishop if needed. Today, let's take a step toward God and toward being who we want to be and not someone that we are going to regret being for eternity. I like that "perfect knowledge of their enjoyment" line way better. Let's try for that. :)
Bishop?* Is he better than us?😅
ReplyDeleteNot "better," but chosen to minister by God, so a good choice to go to for counsel.
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