THE SORROWING HEART

We live in a fallen world. A world of pain, suffering, grief, sorrow and many other negative emotions and maladies of the mind and heart. It is for this purpose we were sent here, to experience and master the world of opposites; that in our experience with sorrow we might know joy. This world was made for the perfection of our experience; to shape, mould and perfect us that we might have joy in this life and the fullness of joy throughout our eternal existence. Without knowing mortality, we would never have known this fullness but would have languished in innocence and imperfection for eternity. It was therefore imperative that we became agents of our own fate whereby we could choose the outcome of our eternal station. In the process of choosing between right and wrong that would lead us to this outcome, is a necessary teaching tool known as sorrow. This sorrow is born from our inclination to indulge the natural man and is meant to lead us back from wayward paths to the path of accountability, purpose and wisdom. 

The sorrow spoken of here falls into two categories: the sorrow of the world and 'godly sorrow'. It is important for us to understand the distinction between the two because one can keep us trapped in misery while the other can grant us emotional and spiritual freedom. When we choose to be in the world and have no regard for God's laws, we are prone to experience worldly sorrow. The world is trapped in this type of sorrow which offers no peace and no redemption. When the Nephite civilization began it's demise into total destruction, many of them lamented the state they were in which gave Mormon great hopes that their sorrow would lead them to repentance. In this, Mormon was greatly disappointed because he records: "But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin" (Mormon 2:13). In other words, the Nephites sorrowed because they could not have it both ways; they could not live in sin and at the same time be happy. And herein is found one of Satan's biggest lies; that we are free to do whatever we want. Freedom of the heart, however, does not come with 'whatever we want'. Very often 'whatever we want' comes with sorrow. Today, in our attempt to prove that we are free to choose, we have surrounded ourselves by the sorrow of the world: lives devastated by drugs, cruelty, abusive behaviour, greed, selfishness, corruption, immorality, deceit and much more. Those who are of the world experience sorrow for their reckless behaviour when they are shocked into it by the consequences of their actions or when they are found out. 

Unlike worldly sorrow, godly sorrow leads to repentance and freedom. A truly repentant person will experience sorrow not only because of the cost of sin to themselves but also because they offended God. They can see clearly they have put in jeopardy the salvation of their soul, they come to regret their actions and their sorrowing results in a broken heart. This is godly sorrow. This sorrow brings about grieving that teaches us accountability and grows in us a desire to abstain from further sinning. Desisting the sin is simply not enough to effect true repentance because it does not bring about a change of heart. Merely desisting without godly sorrow means it is just a matter of time before we go back to the sin which has had us in its grip. When we experience godly sorrow, we show sincerity in our intentions to forsake the sin. This painful 'payment' acts as a perfect deterrent in the repentance process.

God's love for us is always there but when we are living a sinful life we distance ourselves from that love. Catastrophically, we also distance ourselves from our chance of salvation and ultimate exaltation. Repentance is perhaps the greatest proof of God's mercy towards His children. Not wanting to leave us in the fallen world forever He has provided the way for us to be reconciled to Him and be once more worthy of His presence. Repentance is crucial for this reconciliation. No unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God (3 Nephi 27:19) because God Himself is clean, pure and perfect therefore He cannot receive us into His presence if we are unclean and tainted by sin. But uncleanliness can be eradicated for those 'who have washed their garments in [Christ's] blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end' (3 Nephi 27:19). 

The path to reconciliation with God is in Christ. He is the healing in our wings and the path back to freedom and spiritual security. Because of Him we need not suffer the sorrow of the world but the sorrow that will bring us back to God. This is the sorrow that is worth the pain because it is momentary as opposed to the sorrow of the world that is never ending. "The delightful promise of the Gospel to those who 'sorrow after a godly sort' (2 Cor. 7:11) is complete forgiveness and reconciliation to God. There is a power in the Atonement of Christ that makes the repentant soul new again: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 5:17-18). This dream of a new life, a new start, a new chance is made reality in the Atonement of Christ." (Breck England, NT Lesson 35, Be Ye Reconciled to God)

A bird 

Once broken

Can never fly,

They say,

Quite so high

Again.

Perhaps.

But as for me,

Now desperately

In need of mending,

I have a healer

Who would restore

These foolish wings

Without a scar.

I will lie quiet

Beneath His touch.

I will listen

As He whispers,

"Rise, and fall no more"

And then -

Then I shall

Soar.

- Carol Lynn Pearson

A LIFE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

"Yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold and very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men" (Alma 48:17)

Imagine if this was said of you.  What kind of a life would you have to live for this to be true?  Would it be possible for you to distinguish yourself among your peers as an upholder of righteousness?  Could you imagine being so righteous that the adversary cringes at the mention of your name?  Joseph Smith recorded something to this effect in his history, the magnitude of which I am sure he did not fully understand at the time:

"It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom......" (JSH 1:20)

We, of this the last dispensation of times, have been sent to earth to be just that, 'disturbers' and 'annoyers' of adversary's kingdom for we have been sent to counteract evil and wickedness in this world by living a life of righteousness.

This week's Sunday School lesson offers a very valuable insight regarding this subject through the story of Abraham and Lot, his nephew.  Following their sojourn in Egypt, Abraham and Lot were blessed so abundantly that the land could not contain them and it became apparent they would have to go their separate ways (Genesis 13:7).  Abraham, being the man that he was, offered Lot his choice of the land first.  Lot who was not as generous and mindful of others, chose the fertile plain along the Jordan River and left Abram the rocks of upper Canaan.  At first sight, it appears Abraham was very much disadvantaged but not so.  The rocks of upper Canaan offered Abraham and his household refuge and distance from the wickedness of Sodom. Lot, who it would seem had every advantage by settling on the green, fertile part of the valley, was so close to the city he should have avoided at all cost, that he unwisely pitched his tent toward it (Genesis 13:12). One would assume that looking at something day in and day out would eventually entice you to it. This truly must have been the case with Lot because when messengers came from the Lord to do a little inspection of Sodom, Lot was no longer living toward Sodom, he was living in it.

Abraham tried to make a deal with the Lord.  He asked him to spare Sodom if there could be found 10 righteous people in it.  He knew Lot's family numbered that much but when the time came for Lot to leave, the scriptures record he only had his wife and two unmarried daughters with him. That's 4 out of 10.  His wife must have been of two minds too because she turned to look back, perhaps even attempting to go back and was lost in the process and his daughters later committed moral transgressions with their own father. Where did they learn such behaviour?  In Sodom.  In reality Lot had lost his whole family to the wickedness of the world.  Where did Lot go wrong?  I think Lot's cracks first started to appear when he grabbed for himself what he thought was the better part of the land not considering his good hearted uncle.  The second bad move he made was setting his sights on the 'world' which was so visible from his tent.  Sooner or later the world sucks you in if you are looking at it longingly enough.

Consider the opposite example in Abraham who had a desire for righteousness at the center of his heart. Sometime after he and Lot first settled in Canaan, a confederation of kings attacked the cities of that valley. Lot didn't fare very well in that attack and was captured with his family and taken away together with all their possessions.  Abraham felt it his duty to rescue his brother's son and together with his servants pursued the invading kings and conquered them bringing Lot and his family back.  When he returned to his home, there were two kings there to meet him: one was the king of Sodom and the other was the king of Salem called Melchizedek: the king of wickedness and the king of righteousness.

Abraham's experience with these two kings teaches us about being righteous in a world of wickedness.  The king of Sodom, being one of Abraham's allies in the conquest that was just made, offered Abraham all the booty he had captured in the war but Abraham refused to take anything from this king of wickedness.  His reply to this king was:

"I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich" (Gen. 14:21-23)

Not only did Abraham know and acknowledge the true source of his prosperity, he was careful not to be a partaker of anything that was unrighteous and unclean, that had the potential to make him a part of the world. Alma spoke of this very thing when he said:

"And now I say unto you, all ye that are desirous to follow the voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things; and behold their names shall be blotted out that the names of the wicked shall not be numbered among the names of the righteous, that the word of God may be fulfilled, which saith: The names of the wicked shall not be mingled with the names of my people." (Alma 5:57)

Not only did Abraham abstain from taking the tiniest endowment from the king of wickedness, he willingly gave to the king of righteousness:

"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.  And he gave him tithes of all." (Gen. 14:18-29)

Abraham's allegiance was to God and no earthly possession, entitlement or situation could entice him to be a part of the world of wickedness.  For this reason, his life was a model of righteousness.  Beside the Saviour, could there be a more righteous person than Abraham?