"Now there was a strict law among the people of the church, that there should not any man, belonging to the church, arise and persecute those that did not belong to the church, and that there should be no persecution among themselves.
Nevertheless, there were many among them who began to be proud, and began to contend warmly with their adversaries, even unto blows; yea, they would smite one another with their fists."
Alma 1:21-22
This seems like a really good idea for a law, and I find it interesting that pride is what got in the way of it. At first I think we think about persecution as being about the other group... the one being picked on, and being about some aspect of who they are, but really it isn't. It is about us, and our pride and need to see ourselves as better-than. We don't persecute people if we accept that they are our equals. Only if we think that they are less than we are in some way.
Today, let's work on letting go of our pride, and our need to be better than other people. Let's also avoid fistfights, both actual and symbolic, and learn to let go of whatever it is within us that get us that angry with others. Instead, let's take a step back, pray, and see if we can get past that feeling with God's help.
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