No more desire to do Evil

Today I read Mosiah 5 - 6. In Mosiah 5 verse 2 the people tell King Benjamin that they believed his words and that they have had a mighty change of heart and have no more desire to do evil but to do good continually.

I have thought on this many times over the past decade and a half since my seminary days. And there have been many times when I am praying and begging for forgiveness for my latest sin that I desire the very same thing that I may have a mighty change of heart so that I no longer even have the desire to do evil. Sadly, as of yet, it has not happened that way.

What I have found is that as I struggle and strive to do my best over the years, I find that certain things no longer phase me the way they once did. I liken this much to a butterfly leaving its cocoon. I have been told that it is a very difficult thing for a new butterfly to emerge from its cocoon. I've been told it can take a long, long time and that the butterfly has to struggle mightily to release its self from its self imposed prison. But, according to the facts, it is the struggle that gives it its strength to fly in later days and the rest of its life.

Without that struggle it will eventually die and be unable to fly. Its the struggle that strengthens it. What a comparison! Think back on your own childhood. How many times did you need help and someone was wise enough to help you but not do it for you? As an adult we realize that those were the people who were the most helpful and helped us to grow. If we didn't have to struggle to overcome our weaknesses here on the earth, we would not grow nearly as much.

I've heard many people ask why certain people must suffer so much when it seems others hardly suffer at all. It hardly seems fair. Which is silly in the first place because there is nothing fair about life. I'm not sure where kids get a sense of life should be fair from. However, Heavenly Father has each given us our own person set of trials that will help us grow the most. If we were to be given someone else's trials, we would not grow nearly as much as we will with our own trials.

God can help us overcome our trials with His help. We cannot do it alone. We can grow and face our trials on our own and even do admirably well I think. However, to truly grow and become the best we can become, we need His help to change us. And He will only do that when we have learned all we can from that particular trial. Just like the butterfly will not be freed until it has grown strong enough to survive, we will not be freed from our trials until we have grown strong enough to not repeat our mistakes. Until tomorrow.