"Now do ye remember, my brethren, that we said unto our brethren in the land of Zarahemla, we go up to the land of Nephi, to preach unto our brethren, the Lamanites, and they laughed us to scorn?
For they said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as stiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the shedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the beginning? Now my brethren, ye remember that this was their language.
And moreover they did say: Let us take up arms against them, that we destroy them and their iniquity out of the land, lest they overrun us and destroy us.
But behold, my beloved brethren, we came into the wilderness not with the intent to destroy our brethren, but with the intent that perhaps we might save some few of their souls."
Alma 26:23-26
This is an interesting insight into the mission that Ammon and his group went on, and the resistance to it. People were laughing at the idea that Lamanites could be saved, or that they would ever listen to the gospel. Instead, they wanted to just wipe them out. And yet, they went on the mission, not trying to find their weaknesses, but rather to help them. And God approved of what they were trying to do and helped them, although they went through a lot to accomplish what they did.
Towards the end of this chapter we read "Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth."
It's easy to see parallels in our lives today, and I think that God's mindfulness still applies. Too often we thing other people are beyond hope, for whatever reason, but that isn't our call. God makes the call where to prune his vineyard, but we have the amazing opportunity to reach out and work to help and save others. Not all of that needs to be through formal mission calls; it can be as simple as just caring about people, and lifting them up instead of tearing them down.
Today, let's be certain sure that we are not the people in this story that "mocked [others] to scorn." Let's be the ones that see the possibility and the potential and love them and work to help them instead--if for no other reason than that is the side that God asks us to be on, but hopefully also because we retain some hope in humanity ourselves, and remember that sometimes we are the ones that others have given up on, and we all need another chance. :)
For they said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as stiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the shedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the beginning? Now my brethren, ye remember that this was their language.
And moreover they did say: Let us take up arms against them, that we destroy them and their iniquity out of the land, lest they overrun us and destroy us.
But behold, my beloved brethren, we came into the wilderness not with the intent to destroy our brethren, but with the intent that perhaps we might save some few of their souls."
Alma 26:23-26
This is an interesting insight into the mission that Ammon and his group went on, and the resistance to it. People were laughing at the idea that Lamanites could be saved, or that they would ever listen to the gospel. Instead, they wanted to just wipe them out. And yet, they went on the mission, not trying to find their weaknesses, but rather to help them. And God approved of what they were trying to do and helped them, although they went through a lot to accomplish what they did.
Towards the end of this chapter we read "Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth."
It's easy to see parallels in our lives today, and I think that God's mindfulness still applies. Too often we thing other people are beyond hope, for whatever reason, but that isn't our call. God makes the call where to prune his vineyard, but we have the amazing opportunity to reach out and work to help and save others. Not all of that needs to be through formal mission calls; it can be as simple as just caring about people, and lifting them up instead of tearing them down.
Today, let's be certain sure that we are not the people in this story that "mocked [others] to scorn." Let's be the ones that see the possibility and the potential and love them and work to help them instead--if for no other reason than that is the side that God asks us to be on, but hopefully also because we retain some hope in humanity ourselves, and remember that sometimes we are the ones that others have given up on, and we all need another chance. :)
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