Book of Mormon Reading: Mosiah 10-12

Two thoughts from today's readings.

The first is, how do I want to know God?

Abinadi prophecies:

The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Do I want to know God through famine, pestilence, burdens, hails, winds, insects, destructions, great abominations, and iniquities?

Or, do I want to know Him by the intimations of the Holy Ghost, by recognizing His hand in my life in small and simple ways,  and by exercising faith on His name?

* * *

My second thought is about repentance.

In reading these words Abinadi teaches to the wicked Nephites, he says:

I say unto you, wo be unto you for perverting the ways of the Lord! For if ye understand these things ye have not taught them; therefore, ye have perverted the ways of the Lord.

I noticed the word pervert.

Pervert means to "turn from truth" whereas repentance means to "turn back toward God." 

Thus, in a real sense, pervert and repentance are opposites because perverting the ways of the Lord takes me away from God and repenting turns me back towards Him.

This week, my missionary son serving in Bolivia sent this thought to me:

This week I read in Helaman about Samuel the Lamanite (Sam the Lam haha) and in his three or four chapters he mentions repentance 26 times. I'm learning that I need to do a better job at crying repentance. And that doesn't mean they have to be doing something bad or wrong, but to change.

Along these same lines Neil L. Andersen taught:

The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement but rather a loving appeal to turn around and to “re-turn” toward God. It is the beckoning of a loving Father and His Only Begotten Son to be more than we are, to reach up to a higher way of life, to change, and to feel the happiness of keeping the commandments. Being disciples of Christ, we rejoice in the blessing of repenting and the joy of being forgiven. They become part of us, shaping the way we think and feel.

I have had numerous occasions (more than I care to share) where the voice of His chastisement has been a loving appeal for me to turn around and return to Him. I'm grateful for the joyfilled news of repentance.