Sunday, March 12, 2017

Second Nephi 5:3

Yea, they did murmur against me, saying: Our younger brother thinks to rule over us; and we have had much trial because of him; wherefore, now let us slay him, that we may not be afflicted more because of his words. For behold, we will not have him to be our ruler; for it belongs unto us, who are the elder brethren, to rule over this people.

The only trials the older brothers had were of their own making. They had trials of their faith because they were faithless. They suffered in the wilderness because they would not obey. Their pride was hurt because they would not be humble. Nephi suffered far more at the hands of his brothers than they suffered because of Nephi. If anyone should be thinking of murder, it should be Nephi. The brothers have become so hardened in their self-justification and so consumed by their unbridled anger and envy, that they cannot simply turn their backs on their pesky brother and ignore him. Murder is the only option that will satisfy them. The same was true of the mobs in Joseph Smith's day. The Gentiles outnumbered the saints by orders of magnitude. They had all the power on their side. Yet they could not be satisfied until Joseph was dead. Persecution will rise again, fueled by the same anger and jealousy that Satan plants in the hearts of all those who align with him and fight against the truth.

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