Ether 2:15 - Part 2

And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done, and did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren who were with him. And the Lord said unto him: I will forgive thee and thy brethren of their sins; but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember that my Spirit will not always strive with man; wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And these are my thoughts upon the land which I shall give you for your inheritance; for it shall be a land choice above all other lands.

God is merciful and forgives sins. Jesus commanded his disciples to forgive seventy times seven, and surely the Father keeps his own commandments, so he is pretty patient with sinners. Nevertheless, he apparently has a limit to his patience. Though he is infinite, he is not infinitely patient. We can reach a point in our willful, rebellious, intentional sinning that the Lord stops inviting us and enticing us to turn to him. He does not close the door on our possible repentance, but it will be much more difficult for us to recognize and turn from our sins when his Spirit is withdrawn from us. Far better is it for us to repent daily, even though we remain weak, than to think we can postpone our repentance to the last minute. If we wait for the last minute, we will likely miss that minute and slip past the grasp of mercy completely.

4 Nephi 1:16

And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.

A Christ-centered life is a happy life. A life without sin is a happy life. These verses tell us that evil did not exist among these happy people. They do not say, however, that they had no challenges, sickness or trials. They still lived in a mortal world where things go wrong, bad things happen to good people, the sun does not always shine, children get sick, accidents happen, and loved ones die. Missing, however, were the unnecessary trials of sin. Life is hard enough without weighing ourselves down with foolish sins. Trials do not destroy happiness, but sin does. It is not the circumstances around us but the attitude within us that determines happiness.

3 Nephi 12:30

For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell.

To take up our cross is to sacrifice the things of the world that take us away from Christ. We have to give up the sins for which he went to the cross to pay on our behalf. We take up our cross when we accept his cross.

Helaman 4:12-13

And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making a mock of that which was sacred, denying the spirit of prophecy and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery, rising up in great contentions, and deserting away into the land of Nephi, among the Lamanites—And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their lands.

While at least some of our afflictions come upon us because of our pride and disobedience, it is not always a one-to-one relationship. On an individual basis the consequences of sin seem to be more random. Wicked, greedy, selfish people may prosper financially and in other measurable ways, while righteous people seem to suffer in many ways. It must be this way or we could not exercise faith. But on a societal level and over long periods of time, the axiom proves true over and over: if ye (plural) keep God's commandments, ye (plural) shall prosper in the land, but if ye (plural) keep not the commandments, ye (plural) shall be cut off.

Alma 42:12

And now, there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state, which man had brought upon himself because of his own disobedience.

We are fallen not just because of Adam's transgression, but because we each individually fall from grace through our disobedience. We may blame Adam for introducing physical death into the world, but we have only our own selves to blame for our personal sins and mistakes. We do not inherit sin and its consequences, we make it ourselves, a fresh steaming batch every day. Our goal is to retake our lost perch on the right hand of God by gaining a little more ground each day than we lose. The power of the atonement boosts us forward even as the natural man drags us back down. If our faith and trust in Christ is just a little stronger than the gravitational pull of sin, we are headed in the right direction. Once we are following the right vector, it simply becomes a matter of acceleration and velocity.

Alma 34:9

For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.

The atonement is the centerpiece of God's plan of salvation. This verse presents the case for the atonement so plainly that no one can misunderstand. We are all fallen - every single human being. As such, we are doomed to forever be shut out of God's presence. But God's plan is for us to learn from our mistakes and then return to him. The atonement lifts the curse of sin from us and makes it possible for us to escape our sins and be presented to God clean and worthy to live with him. It is truly the greatest miracle.

Alma 24:10

And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

The great gift of the atonement is to remove our guilt. This is the quest of philosophers and self-help psychologists around the world and throughout time. How can we be happy in a fallen, mortal world filled with mistakes and regrets? Their answers are generally to delude ourselves into believing there is no sin and "whatsoever a man does is right." But Christ's answer is to confess our sins, give them to him, and let him take them from us. It is far less stressful, more realistic, and more honest to deal with guilt Christ's way than the world's way.

Alma 22:18

O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead.

Giving away all our sins is harder than it sounds. Many of our sins are habits. That makes them iniquities. They are designed by the natural man to make us comfortable and temporally secure. Life can seem a little scary without our regular sins. We wear them like an old sweater that just makes us feel good. Without God's grace, it is impossible for us to just give them up. The first step is, like the king realized, to want to give them up. With the natural man it us impossible, but with God all things are possible to him that believes.

Alma 19:33

And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered unto them, and also did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all declare unto the people the selfsame thing—that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil.

This changing of the hearts and no more desire to do evil are signs of genuine conversion. They do not mean, however, that these people will never sin again. Nor do they mean that their conversion is complete. They still have a long ways to go. Repentance for them will be a lifelong pursuit, as it should be for all of us. They will be tempted by their carnal natures as are we all every day. The difference--what the Holy Ghost has done for them--is to remove the desire to sin. They don't want their sins any longer. They want something better. Though I make mistakes all the time and lose the battle with temptation daily, I do not want to sin. I want my life to be better. I fall short, but not for lack of desire. Truly the Spirit is willing but my

flesh is weak.

Alma 15:3

And also Zeezrom lay sick at Sidom, with a burning fever, which was caused by the great tribulations of his mind on account of his wickedness, for he supposed that Alma and Amulek were no more; and he supposed that they had been slain because of his iniquity. And this great sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his mind until it did become exceedingly sore, having no deliverance; therefore he began to be scorched with a burning heat.

Guilt creates stress, and stress produces a host of physical ailments. The philosophy of the world tells us to reduce our stress by denying our guilt. The "experts" would have us simply sear our consciences with a hot iron. We eventually learn to sin without feeling guilt. But the gospel tells us to reduce our stress by giving our guilt to Christ through repentance. We stop feeling guilty because we stop sinning and let the Savior heal our consciences. Instead of becoming duller, our spirits become sharper, more sensitive, more ready to change and grow.

Alma 11:37

And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins.

Christ saves us from our sins, not in our sins. He will take our sins from us but only if we are willing to give them up. The reason most of us are not fully redeemed, reborn and sanctified in this life is that we refuse to give up every sin. We have a few we just cannot bear to part with. It may take a long time for us to give up every pleasant little sin. But we start where we are, and Christ will help us along the way.

Mosiah 7:33

But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.

Repentance results in deliverance from bondage. That is the entire theme of this episode with Limhi's people. The wickedness of a group of people made them vulnerable to their enemies, who enslaved them. They could not muster the strength on their own to free themselves. God, however, had the power to release them from their mortal bondage if they would stop relying on their own strength and start relying on his. The same is true of our individual spiritual bondage. We do not have the capability to rescue ourselves, but Christ has the strength to release us if we rely on him.

Mosiah 4:29

And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.

Ultimately we must be guided by personal revelation through the Holy Ghost in our lives and in our repentance. This is why it is important that we feast on the words of Christ, not just in the scriptures, but the living words of the living Christ. For the Holy Ghost will tell us all things which we should do.

Enos 1:2

And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.

Note that Enos did not say he wrestled with the Lord but before the Lord. His wrestle was with himself, his sins and the natural man. We do not have to wrestle with Christ to get him to forgive our sins. He is ready and willing at any moment to forgive us, redeem us, and reconcile us with God. The work is already done. We just have to wrestle ourselves away from sin.

Jacob 2:11

Wherefore, I must tell you the truth according to the plainness of the word of God. For behold, as I inquired of the Lord, thus came the word unto me, saying: Jacob, get thou up into the temple on the morrow, and declare the word which I shall give thee unto this people.

Not every message from God is pleasant to the ear and easy to hear. God and his servants must speak the unpopular truth from time to time. Jesus left no doubt about what he thought of money changers in the temple and hypocritical Pharisees and scribes. Sometimes the truth is hard to those who do not want to hear it. But it is nevertheless the truth. Sin is sin no matter how white washed the sepulcher may be and no matter how the politically correct pundits may spin it. Sin, however, is not the sinner. Messages to repent, though they may be stern, are really messages of love and invitations to return. God always welcomes the sinner who stops sinning and turns to Christ. He never chastises but what he also offers hope.

Jacob 2:5

But behold, hearken ye unto me, and know that by the help of the all-powerful Creator of heaven and earth I can tell you concerning your thoughts, how that ye are beginning to labor in sin, which sin appeareth very abominable unto me, yea, and abominable unto God.

To labor in sin means to put some real effort into it. This is not haphazard, accidental sinning. This is purposeful, intentional sinning. It is planned and organized sinning. It is not just giving into temptation, it is seeking out temptation and creating it if it cannot be found. The good news is that Christ's Atonement works even on these kinds of sins once we repent. Christ will not save us in our sins, but he will save us from them if we will give them up.

Second Nephi 28:16

Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth! For the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish.

God allows iniquity to run its course. He does not rob men and women of their agency. He allows us to sin to our heart's content. But the day of reckoning comes with absolute certainty. If we repent or at least leaned towards repentance, mercy will enfold us. If, however, we hold stubbornly to our sins, justice will surely fall upon us in the end.

Second Nephi 26:22

And there are also secret combinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the devil, for he is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness; yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever.

Satan's ploy is to bind us ever so gently with soft, comfortable cords. In the beginning, they are weak and easy to break. But over time, if we yield ourselves willingly and repeatedly to sin, those pleasant cords become iron chains, which can be impossible to break.Yet with God, nothing is impossible.

Second Nephi 9:49

Behold, my soul abhorreth sin, and my heart delighteth in righteousness; and I will praise the holy name of my God.

To abhor sin is to hate it and to be disgusted by it. We may abhor sin and still commit sin. The natural man sometimes wins out despite our best intentions. We cannot get discouraged by our weakness. God gives all people weakness that we may be humble. Our spirit may be willing, but the flesh is often weak. It is not an excuse, just a fact, and one that God accounted for in his great plan when he appointed a Savior for us in the beginning. God judges the intent of the heart as well as the acts we perform.

Second Nephi 9:40

O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.

The guilty take the truth to be hard. Unless the light of Christ is extinguished, they know they are wrong, and when their transgressions are pointed out to them, they become doubly uncomfortable.

Guilt is like pain to our spirits. It warns us of danger. It motivates us to stop doing the thing that causes the pain. If we put our hand on a hot stove, we do not debate the philosophy of heat; we move our hand. Yet how many times do we debate the morality of our sins, which are hurting us, instead of  stopping the harmful behavior. Would we justify burning our hand because it is such a small part of our total body mass? Or because we can take a painkiller and forget about it? Or because we figure it will heal eventually, so there is no permanent damage? Or because everyone else is doing it? Do we ignore the warning indicator that says the cook top is hot, with the attitude that no silly red light is going to stop us from doing what we want? The natural man goes to great lengths to protect the physical body but cares not at all for the spirit within it.

When we hear someone say they have heard enough talks and lessons about the word of wisdom or chastity or tithing or Sabbath observance, it is likely that they are taking the truth to be hard because it is sharpening their guilt.

The righteous, on the other hand, or at least those who strive for righteousness, love to hear the truths of the gospel taught, discussed and reiterated. They are validated by the truth, rather than convicted by it. They grow in their desire for righteousness. They feast on the truth and drink it in like a thirsty person.