Mormon Reflections on the Word: Mormon’s Charity
Hey, everyone. So, I wanted to share a cool insight that I got from the Book of Mormon this week. Just a little background for anyone that’s interested: The Book of Mormon is a record of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas; it also testifies that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and contains the fulness of His gospel. There are two main groups of people it discusses: the Nephites, who are usually righteous, and the Lamanites, who are usually wicked. This week I was reading in Mormon chapters 1-6. At this particular time, the Nephites have become exceedingly wicked and have “willfully rebelled against … God.” Mormon, a righteous Nephite, is appointed to be the leader of the Nephite armies and gives an account of their wickedness and their wars against the Lamanites.
In Mormon 3:12, Mormon says, “Behold, I had led them, notwithstanding their wickedness I had led them many times to battle, and had loved them, according to the love of God which was in me, with all my heart; and my soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them.”
I think that Mormon is an amazing example of having charity, or the pure love of Christ. Despite all the wickedness of the Nephites, he tries to preach the gospel to them multiple times. Despite their rejection of the gospel, and their refusal to repent, he leads them to battle and “deliver[s] them out of the hands of their enemies.” Even when he knows that his people are past hope and “the day of grace was passed with them,” he continues to lead them. After the great, final battle, when all of the Nephites have been slain except for 24 people, Mormon says, “My soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people.” As he stands on a hill and views the destruction, he cries out, “O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen.” Mormon showed unconditional love for his fellow man. (more…)
Mormons use the King James translation of the Bible in English-speaking congregations and other translations for other languages. They use both the Old and New Testaments and in a four-year rotation of scripture study in formal classes, the Bible receives two of these years. Adults study the Bible for two years in Sunday School. Teens also study it for two years in Sunday School, but in addition, they study the Bible for two years in a class called Seminary. This is an academic and spiritual class taught five days a week during the school year and is an in-depth study. College students and some adults have a similar college-level study in a program called Institute of Religion. Older children ages eight and up study the Bible for two years and younger children study it every other year. Of course, families and individuals also conduct personal and family study of the Bible.