Worthless and Fallen... Really?

While studying Mosiah 4, this verse of scripture struck me:

“For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, and your worthless and fallen state—“ (Mosiah 4:5) This is Benjamin talking in one of the most profound “conference talks” ever given.

When I first read this, I thought, “this is rather harsh.” Yet, the passage goes on to talk about all that Heavenly Father has done for us. Why then call us worthless, fallen and nothing? So, I asked Him what it meant. How can we be so important yet worthless at the same time? This is what the Holy Ghost answered:

“Worthless and fallen” This isn’t about us being worthless, but the state we are in. Without God in our lives, without any acknowledgement or awareness of our relationship to and dependency upon Him, we are in a state of mind that from an eternal perspective is worthless and fallen: it’s pointless. Not because we are but because it is of no value to us. There’s nothing to be gained from it. In it we won’t progress, we won’t learn, and we won’t become better people, hence it is worthless to us.

Fallen just means we no longer share the close connection with God we once had. Our relationship used to be much better. So comparatively, we’ve fallen away from Him. It doesn’t mean we are any less important to ourselves or to Him.

Nothingness in this case is a measure of relative capability not of intrinsic value. God created the universe… worlds without number move according to His faith and will. By comparison, I can't even manage my own life. My capabilities are nothing compared to God’s. But I’m still important enough that His Son died for me.

In the end, this passage doesn’t condemn us, it prepares us to learn the truly valuable lesson of this passage: through the Atonement and by the grace of God, we can become like Him and return to be with Him again. There's a better way to live... live with God in your life.

Helaman - 7 - Faith, Grit and Grace

Nephi’s lament as he prays upon his tower is the heart of this entry. What Mormon chooses to include in the record shows remarkable insights on the fact he knew a lot about human nature. I think it also shows he had a witty sense of humor too.

Consider the lament. Nephi complains about living with such wicked people when he would rather have lived in THE Nephi’s day among people who were easy to entreat and quick to follow the Lord. I think had THE Nephi read those words about his older brothers he would have laughed. (I chuckled.)

Insights like this, which are many, in the Book of Mormon are priceless. It’s classic, “the good old days” or “the grass is greener” playing out before us. Nephi sincerely thought THE Nephi’s time was an easier time. Yet, unbeknown to him, but clearly known by us is how difficult those times were. That Nephi had murderous brothers to contend with, a barren wilderness and an ocean to cross. He had a family to provide for and protect with nothing but a brass ball, a broken bow, faith, grit, and sweat. Then there were the storms.

Suffice it to say, THE Nephi’s time in mortality was anything but a picnic: it was a demanding trial. He had his share of difficulty. He also had compensatory blessings. I suspect any trial 500 years in the past won’t look nearly so difficult as the ones you’re immersed in.

It’s no different for us. We can curse our fate and lament being immersed in trials or we can do as these men ultimately did. Get on our knees and plead for faith. Then armed with faith and hope, we can do what many say can’t be done: we can make miracles happen. Such is the power of God’s grace.

Mosiah 26-27 - The Conversion of Alma the Younger

Except for Nephi, son of Lehi, no one in the Book of Mormon gets more narrative written on him than Alma the Younger, hereafter “Alma.” Do you think maybe there’s a reason why? I think there is.

In Alma, we have the archetype of every person who’s ever sinned and striven to make themselves better. Mosiah II’s sons, Ammon, Aaron, Omner and Himni, also fit the same archetype. Mormon devotes 96 pages to the life history and teachings of Alma, while “just” 25 to the Sons of Mosiah and the Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s.

The subtext of all these teachings is: no matter who you are or what you’ve done, no matter how hostile you are to God, He’ll take you back and forgive you -- if you repent. In the stories of Alma, the Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s, and the Sons of Mosiah, murderers are forgiven not to mention people who seduced others away from the Gospel. The proud, philanderers, liars and cheats are small change compared to these groups. All forgiven. If ever there was a great message contained in the Book of Mormon, this is it.

Alma’s conversion is fairly well known, so there’ll be no recitation of events here. Instead, I would commend to anyone who’s wondered if God will forgive them or wondered if they can be for things they’ve done in their past, to read about Alma.

The Book of Mormon teaches that there are some things which can’t be forgiven, but the examples of Alma and the Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s show a spectacularly wicked person can be forgiven. And if they can, so can the rest of us. Like Alma, all we have to do is ask. How cool is that?

Moroni 8 - God's Universal Mercy

Moroni chapter eight is well known for its lesson on child baptism. What struck me is what it says about the universality of God’s mercy and its sober warning to those who have learned about the gospel but reject it.

The universality of the Atonement is far greater than we realize. Because of it, children and those who can not comprehend sin and consequences of their actions, are held blameless before God. Additionally, all those who don’t know about the commandments, such as Joseph Smith’s brother Alvin, plus a world full of other people, are blameless for their actions.

Those of us who do know must live a higher standard. If we reject it, we will suffer the consequences of our actions. The Lamanites destroyed the Nephites and they destroyed themselves because they all turned from the gospel.

It may seem unfair to learn about the gospel, but here’s a great differentiator… knowing and living the gospel does more for us than just being forgiven of our sins. It’s the grace and power to become like God which is the majesty and great blessing of the gospel.

Christ not only forgives us of our sins, He helps us become like Him and the Father. That's the great blessing. Only through living it can we become like God in this life. Without it, we can still be good, decent, and honorable, but with it we can become Christlike.

Moroni 7B - Faith, Hope and Charity

Understanding the principles defined by faith, hope and charity and then using them is the best way to happiness and true success in this life. They are principles by which even Heavenly Father lives by. Consequently, they are principles which we will benefit greatly by mastering in this life. They are simple to express, but they will take lifetimes of effort to learn.

In the simplest form, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ becomes the motivation for what we choose to do. It gives us confidence not in our abilities, but in God's grace to help us do whatever He asks of us... especially repenting and becoming like Him.

Hope is the vision we have of ourselves… what we can become.

Charity is THE motivating emotion of Heaven. It’s putting the needs of others before our own because their happiness means more to us than our own.

Moroni chapter seven is the summary chapter. Alma 32 is the great chapter on faith. 1 Nephi has powerful examples of hope, of vision of what we can become. The Saviors visit to the Nephites is all about charity. We see these lessons repeated throughout the Book of Mormon. They are in the temple endowment ceremony and ordinances. They define the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are why the Prophet Joseph Smith correctly said abiding by the teachings of this book will bring a man closer to God than any other.

Amen!

Ether 12 - Jesus Christ

In some respects, Ether 12 is THE reason why that book is included in Book of Mormon. (In reality it’s loaded with great doctrine and truths, but Chapter 12 is one of the best in all scripture, ranking up there with Mosiah 4, Isaiah 53, D&C 76, D&C 84, and John 17.)

While Ether 12:27 is well known for its great promise of Christ’s grace in helping us be strong, a lesser known jewel, but no less valuable scripture is v. 39. “And then shall ye know that I have seen Jesus, and that he talked with me face to face, and that he told me in plain humility, even as a man telleth another in mine own language, concerning these things.”

This casts the rest of the chapter into its correct perspective. It is the transcript of a conversation between Jesus and Moroni. It is our great privilege to have it for our perusal and spiritual blessing.

As an aside, like so often happens when God speaks to man to answer a question, the answer often goes far afield from the original topic. The Jaredites never had Ether 12. Not even the Nephites… we are the recipients. For I suspect by that time in Moroni’s life, there was no one for him to share it with.

Like the rest of this most amazing book, it was written for our day. For us.