Sunday, May 9, 2021

Mosiah 15:8-9 -- On Justice, Mercy, Repentance, and Perfection

"And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men—
Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice."
Mosiah 15:8-9


I like the idea here of Christ standing between us and justice. Justice is definitely a good thing, and the second verse here notes that the demands of justice were satisfied... no cheating. :) The atonement is what made it possible for God to be "a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also" (Alma 42:15).

Repentance is what allows us to grasp God's mercy in our lives. Justice says that we need to be pure and perfect to qualify for heaven, and to live in that Zion-like society. Clearly, we are not Zion people yet... haven't quite reached that perfection threshold. :) God in his mercy allows us a way to mess up and then keep trying and working toward that "perfect day" (D&C 50:24) though, and that is repentance... God giving us nearly unlimited chances to keep going back, trying again, until we eventually, with his help, can qualify for everything good. :)

Today, let's work on repenting. Not saying we're sorry when we're not... that's not even part of what we're talking about. Instead, let's legitimately work on perfection, just a tiny bit at a time, and do better today than we did yesterday. With God's help, and as long as we don't even give up, our slow progression will get us back to him, and to a better existence than we've ever dreamed.

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