True Humility

Today I read Alma 61, another one of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon. This chapter is Pahoran's reply to Moroni's letter from the previous chapter. The reason it is one of my favorite chapters is because I am in awe of Pahoran and his character. This is the only real insight into who he is as a person that we get, other than he was a righteous man.

It is truly amazing to me how humble he is. Moroni said some really harsh things to him and his only response was that Moroni had censured him, but he is not angry. That is powerful and amazing. Most people I know, including myself, would have been indignant at receiving such a letter. The natural man would have kicked in and before we could be rational about it, we would have gotten angry and protested our innocence.

But Pahoran doesn't do that. He skips right over that phase and goes straight to happiness at the greatness of Moroni and his strength in Christ. That is the part that I find impressive. Even if most people could look past the fact that they were not doing what Moroni was accusing them of doing, they would still be upset. This is humility nigh unto the Savior.

It is also obvious that Pahoran is not a man that delights in bloodshed. I don't know about you, but I would be furious if I were the chief judge and someone took over my judgment seat, and I knew that my fellow men were suffering for it. Yet if he is angry at them, we can't really tell and he does not know if he is correct in wanting to go to battle against them to save the lives of others.

To me that would be a no brainer, but Pahoran is such a good man that he is unsure if it is the right choice. I do not think that is indecision on his part, I think that is charity, the true love of Christ. Fortunately, Moroni was a man who will stamp out evil no matter what and Pahoran trusts his understanding of the Spirit.

I think that is what made this time period so different than any other in the Nephites history. They had such a mix of strong, righteous, Christlike individuals that it was unlike any other time period. It honestly reminds me of the founding of America and the founding fathers. No other period of history for the United States has seen such a mixture of men as that time. So it was with the Nephites. At least as much as we know about anyway.

It is hard, but very worthwhile to develop Christlike attributes like true humility. But they are very worth it. As we pray for help, God will help us. Remember, He wants us to grow to be like He is. And we should want it too. Until tomorrow.