Mosiah 3 was the chapter for today. Sometimes I feel bad only reading 1 chapter at a time in the Book of Mormon each day or sometimes 2, but if I don't write about each individual or couple of chapters, I feel like I am missing so much that could be passed on. For example there is SO much in Mosiah 3 that I almost feel I am doing a disservice only having one entry about it.
Most people tend to focus on verse 19 in chapter 3 of Mosiah, about the nature of man and the natural man. However, I was struck this time by the completeness of the explanation of the Atonement in this chapter. This entire chapter is about the Atonement of the Savior and about teaching his people to whom they may look for Salvation.
I was particularly struck by verse 7, "And lo, he shall suffer temptation, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people." This reminds me a lot of Alma 7:11 which also talks about what the Savior suffered for our sakes.
I taught a lesson on the Atonement in Priesthood a month ago, on Father's day. I used the scripture as an example because I think it's interesting that the verse in Alma says nothing about our sins. This verse in Mosiah 3 barely even mentions the wickedness. Because he would become our comfort, he had to suffer every conceivable emotion and torment that man may face so that he would know EXACTLY how we would feel eventually. Yes, you can comfort people without knowing what they are feeling, quite well actually. But most people hate it when someone tells them they know how they are feeling. They get offended and scream out that they couldn't possibly know how they are feeling. Because of this I am typically very careful and tend to say things like "I can only imagine what you must be feeling right now." or "I think I know how you might be feeling".
The Savior however, can say with 100% certainty that he knows exactly how we feel. He's felt it. He knows what will comfort us. Every time I contemplate the Atonement I'm left in awe at what He suffered for us, for me. It gives me great hope to try better and to not add to His suffering.
Verse 25 - 27 was also insightful. As a missionary, several people accused my religion of believing in a hell of fire and brimstone. Verse 25 - 27 of Mosiah 3 clears that little misconception right up. It is not that we believe hell is an actual lake filled with fire and brimstone, rather, the anguish when we come face to face with our own sins and imperfections will cause us to suffer similarly as if we had been tossed into a lake filled with fire. Yea, we will wish even as Alma the Younger did that we could cease to exist rather than to come face to face with such a righteous and supreme being as our Father in Heaven.
So many people cannot reconcile God with everlasting punishment. They cannot understand why God will not save all of His children and bring them home. They do not understand that the nature of man is such that not everyone WANTS to return to live with Him. It is a tender mercy on His part that as painful as it must be, He allows them to choose another life than the one He knows will bring them the most happiness. I am striving each and everyday to align my life with His will so that my nature desires nothing more than what He has chosen for me. May we all find the happiness we are seeking for in this life, and the next. Until tomorrow.
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