Monday, December 31, 2018

Moroni 9:25 -- On Darkness and Hope

"My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever."
Moroni 9:25


This struck me today for a couple of reasons.  First because there was a lot of stuff in this chapter that *was* really, really depressing.  And second because of the time of year.  This letter from Mormon to his son Moroni is kind of like the end of one year and the beginning of another, symbolically.  These men were watching their society and their people self-destruct.  There were very bad things happening, a lot of them by their own people, not even by the enemy, and yet, as Mormon counsels his son, there are always positive things to focus on and hope in our lives as long as we have Christ.

Our lives are likely not as dark as the things that Mormon and Moroni were facing, but the things that we face are hard for us to deal with as well.  But here is God saying, don't dwell on those things and get weighted down, but allow Christ to lift thee up--let him show up the hope around us, and the possibilities and potential that is there because of him.  Like this father and son team, we can be lights in a sometimes-dark world.  We know that God has a happy ending in store for us, and all we have to do is not give up on the story.  Trust in God as the author and making the effort to keep turning the pages to get there. :)

Today, let's be the light in the darkness, and as we move forward to the new year, let's make a better world.  Let's be the difference in other people's lives.  Let's repent as needed, and cast off the darkness for ourselves and for others, letting God's hope shine in us and through us.

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