I know people at large see Jehovah as a vengeful God of The Old Testament but I see Him as the God of mercy. This to me is most evident through His relationship with the House of Israel. I will cite just two examples:
1. Long before the House of Israel came into being, its progenitor Noah, preached and called the people to repentance for 120 years (Genesis 6:3, Moses 8:17). The people of his day were so wicked that they ‘transmitted their unrighteous natures and desires to their children, and brought them up to indulge in their own wicked practices’. Had they been allowed to live, the generations they were raising would eventually have had no ability to exercise their moral agency because they lived in evil continually and knew no good (see John Taylor, in “Journal of Discourses” 19:158-59). Therefore, The Flood became an act of mercy. You would think 120 years would have been a sufficient time of warning. It wasn’t so. But Jehovah’s mercy didn’t stop even after 120 years. The people of Noah were given a second chance in the world of spirits and had the gospel preached to them (D&C 138:28).
2. The book of Ezekiel is a testament of Jehovah’s mercy. Ezekiel was a prophet called to be ‘a watchman unto the House of Israel’ in the Babylonian exile (Ezekiel 3:17). Before the exile though, came a plethora of warning in Jerusalem but Israel still rejected Jehovah. Through Ezekiel, Jehovah called the exiles into repentance and offered forgiveness rather than leaving them in exile to rot, as they deserved. So serious did He consider Ezekiel’s calling that He told him if he didn’t do it, He would hold him responsible for their sins (Ezekiel 3:17,18). And this is something interesting….with every instruction the Lord gave him, He told him the people will not believe him because ‘the house of Israel is impudent and hardhearted’ (Ezekiel 2:7). Seven times He called the Israelites ‘a rebellious house’ (Ezekiel 2:5,6,7,9,26,27; 3:9). The Lord told Ezekiel the Israelites will only listen to him for entertainment value and mockery (Ezekiel 33:30-33). Despite all their wickedness and stubbornness, mercy……
Recognising the Saviour’s mercy in the Old Testament contributed to my testimony of the Book of Mormon. Some years ago, I resolved to read the Book of Mormon with intent to discover Christ's characteristics as per Joseph Smith's instruction in Lecture Third of the Lectures on Faith.
I wrote my discoveries in the margins of the book. When I had completed the task I was amazed that there were two things on just about every page. One was that Christ was merciful and the other was that He always fulfills his promises. This solidified my testimony that the Book of Mormon was indeed the second witness of Jesus Christ because it not only proved that He lived but that He was the same ‘yesterday, today, and forever’ (2 Nephi 29:9)
We have four standard works of scripture for a reason and we are commanded to study all of them because they connect all about Christ and His works through different periods of time until our dispensation that ‘He might gather together all things in one’ (Ephesians 1:10; see also “The Times of Restitution of All Things by Elder David A. Bednar, April 2025 GC)
This is our God and this is our time…..
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: God of Wonders by Yongsung Kim)
