34 And wo be unto him that will not hearken unto the words of Jesus,and also to them whom he hath chosen and sent among them;for whoso receiveth not the words of Jesus and the words of those whom he hath sent receiveth not him; and therefore he will not receive them at the last day;
These are pretty stiff
words, especially the declaration at the end that it would be better if they
had not been born. It is so
startling it is worth thinking about it.
My first reaction is to wonder if Mormon was making a final judgment
about those who reject Christ’s words and those of his servants. It sounds as if he is saying it
would be better if these people had never existed. But after some thought, I realized that wasn’t what he meant
at all. Mormon spoke as one who
understood there was a pre-mortal existence of the spirit before birth, and he
was saying that if a person was going to use their valuable probationary time
on earth making choices to reject the words of Jesus and His servants, then he
or she will be worse off spiritually than they were before they started
mortality. It would have
been better for them not to be born than to have made those choices. Not only will the person have partaken
of the fall of Adam and committed sins, but to reject Jesus and the salvation
that He worked out is like discarding the only hope of rescue. It is like a person in a deep pit
rejecting the ladder leading out.
Let’s not assume, though,
that this pronouncement only applies to those who reject Christianity from the
outside. The words of Christ and
His servants can be rejected even by those who are in the church, if Christ’s
Atonement is never considered as a solution.
I used to wish that I could
go back to my pre-mortality for the sake of the things that I probably knew
before my birth, but I don’t any more.
I have since recognized that having received Christ’s words and those of
His servants, I am much better off than I ever was. And if I endure with faith to the end, the state of my
soul can only get better from here.
2 comments:
Michaela, Thank you for your testimony. I found a related scripture in Matt 26:24-26 in relation to Judas, who betrays Jesus.
24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
I love how these verses and the verses in 3 Nephi tell the complete story. I have often wondered how Judas, in seemingly good conscience could conspire to turn against the Savior,who no doubt loved him. Was he an "anti-Christ"? Was he attempting to overthrow the gospel? Or in carelessness and selfishness, he only saw an opportunity to get gain?
But then this same question is posed to this generation. Are there any logical reasons to go against the Savior, other than a "reprobate mindset", as Paul the apostle said in Romans 1:28
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Good post, thank you
Ramona
I really don't know what Judas's thing was. He gets called "a thief" in the gospels, so it could be desire for gain had choked out his testimony.
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