COUNSELS AND MERCY

 

It is amazing to me how much damage one person can create by discounting God’s counsel. You will gather from this that I am not a fan of Zeniff who led a colony of his followers to a down-right mess by taking them away from Zarahemla and into the clutches of Nephite arch enemy, the Lamanites. In his record, Zeniff recounts that he ‘had knowledge of the land of Nephi, or of the land of their father’s first inheritance’ (Mosiah 9:1) and that he desired to return there to live in peace with the Lamanites. One would have to presume that with this knowledge also came the awareness of the Lord’s counsel to Nephi to depart from that land because of his brothers who sought to kill him; that they and their posterity were cursed so that Nephi and his posterity would not mix with them; and this, the most important part, that the Lamanites would be a scourge unto Nephites to stir them up in remembrance of God and that they would even scourge them unto destruction ( 2 Nephi 5:2,5,14, 21-25)

A question begs to be asked why Zeniff would ignore the Lord’s counsel not to mix with the Lamanites when he himself was a man of God. Zeniff did discover the reason for the Lord’s warning whilst living with the Lamanites and this reason was ‘the traditions of the fathers’ (Mosiah 10:13-18). These traditions were encased in untruth and hatred and passed onto children and their children. The lesson?  Never underestimate the Lord’s foreknowledge and wisdom.

Zeniff’s decision to disregard the Lord’s counsel caused utter mayhem causing his people to live in constant fear which resulted in many wars with the Lamanites and slaughter of many men. One war alone cost the lives of 3,043 of Lamanites and 279 of Zeniff’s people (Mosiah 9:18,19). A record of another battle claims there was such a great slaughter that they did not even number them (Mosiah 10:20). If you think this is bad enough, there is something worse……before Zeniff died he conferred his kingdom upon his worst son, Noah. So he left his people in constant fear of the Lamanites, in the hands of the worst king in the history of The Book of Mormon (Mosiah 11:1).

There is something positive in this sad story. Zeniff points out three times in his short narrative, that he and his people fought the Lamanites ‘in the strength of the Lord’ (Mosiah 9:17,18; 10:10). I see the Saviour and His great mercy in the story of Zeniff for He did hear their cries and did answer their prayers (Mosiah 9:18). It never fails to amaze me how merciful He is to us mortal creatures who disregard His wisdom and counsel and bring upon ourselves misery and destruction. Such stark injustice for His merciful death!

When You stood in Heaven’s Council,

Did you know that we would not heed?

That we would fail to see

You would know our every need?

Yes, You knew, and still….

Long before creation claimed us

You climbed Your way to Calvary.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Whispers of Grace by Ivan Guaderrama)