"And now behold, my son, I fear lest the Lamanites shall destroy this people; for they do not repent, and Satan stirreth them up continually to anger one with another.
Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with sharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they harden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased striving with them.
For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they have no fear of death; and they have lost their love, one towards another; and they thirst after blood and revenge continually."
Moroni 9:3-5
These verses I think illustrate the idea of becoming "past feeling" (1 Nephi 17:45, Moroni 9:20). I like the illustration here... well, not sure I *like* it, but it does a good job of showing how anger can harden us until we basically blank out all other emotions... and although some people will talk about "righteous anger," and while God might be able to pull that off, I'm not convinced that any of us mortals is capable of such a thing. If we are, it is very rare. When we open ourselves to anger, we usually let our brains drop out, along with any connection that we had with the spirit. And if we let it continue, and revel in it, then it grows ever more ugly, losing not only our love, but stifling all of the more tender emotions until we are left with nothing but a burning hatred... and unlike books and movies glorifying revenge, in real life, burning hatred never, ever leads to anything good.
In the Joseph Smith translation we read a somewhat different version of Ephesians 4:26-27: "Can ye be angry, and not sin? let not the sun go down upon your wrath; neither give place to the devil." There are other places in the scriptures where we are warned about anger, but this is one of the clearest, and I think today's verse's give us some insight into why... because it blocks our ability to connect with God, and each other.
Today, let's take a step back and think about anything we might be angry about, and how that anger is affecting us, and inasmuch as we can, let's do our best to let it go so that it can no longer poison us. Let's stay far, far away from becoming like the Nephites (or the Lamanites) in this chapter, who were unspeakably evil and had completely lost the concept of repentance or redemption... just stumbling blindly in their anger towards utter destruction. Instead of hardening ourselves against the world, let's soften our hearts and look to God in every thought. The world doesn't need more anger or hardened hearts. It needs more compassion and more love... and so do we. In working to stay open and loving, we not only make the world a better place, but we give our own souls the opportunity to hear God's voice and find our way to him.
Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with sharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they harden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased striving with them.
For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they have no fear of death; and they have lost their love, one towards another; and they thirst after blood and revenge continually."
Moroni 9:3-5
These verses I think illustrate the idea of becoming "past feeling" (1 Nephi 17:45, Moroni 9:20). I like the illustration here... well, not sure I *like* it, but it does a good job of showing how anger can harden us until we basically blank out all other emotions... and although some people will talk about "righteous anger," and while God might be able to pull that off, I'm not convinced that any of us mortals is capable of such a thing. If we are, it is very rare. When we open ourselves to anger, we usually let our brains drop out, along with any connection that we had with the spirit. And if we let it continue, and revel in it, then it grows ever more ugly, losing not only our love, but stifling all of the more tender emotions until we are left with nothing but a burning hatred... and unlike books and movies glorifying revenge, in real life, burning hatred never, ever leads to anything good.
In the Joseph Smith translation we read a somewhat different version of Ephesians 4:26-27: "Can ye be angry, and not sin? let not the sun go down upon your wrath; neither give place to the devil." There are other places in the scriptures where we are warned about anger, but this is one of the clearest, and I think today's verse's give us some insight into why... because it blocks our ability to connect with God, and each other.
Today, let's take a step back and think about anything we might be angry about, and how that anger is affecting us, and inasmuch as we can, let's do our best to let it go so that it can no longer poison us. Let's stay far, far away from becoming like the Nephites (or the Lamanites) in this chapter, who were unspeakably evil and had completely lost the concept of repentance or redemption... just stumbling blindly in their anger towards utter destruction. Instead of hardening ourselves against the world, let's soften our hearts and look to God in every thought. The world doesn't need more anger or hardened hearts. It needs more compassion and more love... and so do we. In working to stay open and loving, we not only make the world a better place, but we give our own souls the opportunity to hear God's voice and find our way to him.
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