Wednesday, August 2, 2023

3 Nephi 3:7-8 -- On Surviving Disagreements

"Or in other words, yield yourselves up unto us, and unite with us and become acquainted with our secret works, and become our brethren that ye may be like unto us—not our slaves, but our brethren and partners of all our substance.
And behold, I swear unto you, if ye will do this, with an oath, ye shall not be destroyed; but if ye will not do this, I swear unto you with an oath, that on the morrow month I will command that my armies shall come down against you, and they shall not stay their hand and shall spare not, but shall slay you, and shall let fall the sword upon you even until ye shall become extinct."
3 Nephi 3:7-8


This is kind of a creepy letter that the leader of the Gadianton Robbers sent to the leader of the Nephites. I think the creepiest thing about it is that the leader of the Gadianton Robbers seems sincere... that he actually believes that "join us or die" is a nice/merciful thing to offer, or that any kind of true brotherhood could come out of such threats. ... Unfortunately, it also reminds me of modern society some. "Agree with me or die" seems to be at least tha attitude, even though thankfully that wish is rarely realized.

Today, let's remember that our fellow beings are not our enemies, even if they don't agree with us about everything. Let us look to God for help as we work to resolve differences and build a better world.

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