5 After
it was truly manifested unto this first elder that he had received a remission
of his sins, he was entangled again in the vanities of the world;
6 But after
repenting, and humbling himself sincerely, through faith, God ministered unto
him by an holy angel, whose countenance was as lightning, and whose garments
were pure and white above all other whiteness;
I love that this tells us Joseph Smith
had to repent again. Not that I
rejoice that he was entangled again in sins, but I am happy he was willing to
share that information. It shows
that there is hope for us if we mess up again (Not that we want to mess up, but just because we have
repented once does not mean we can’t be deceived into sin again, so we have to
keep on our guard.)
I think the word “entangled” is a very
descriptive word for how we get pulled back into sin. It makes me think of sin as tangled hair that has to be
combed out, or a piece of yarn that snarled up when it wasn’t supposed to when
we’re in the process of trying to knit a nice warm sweater.
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| http://www.phylliszimblermiller.com/self-publishing/tangled-web/ |
I love that we see in these verses that
when we humble ourselves and repent, God forgives and ministers to us again. It shows that He doesn’t hold grudges
and He can keep moving us forward, having expectation that we will live up to
what He asks.
That last bit about “commandments which
inspired him” makes me ask myself—“Do commandments inspire me?” Too often I see them as something added to my To Do
list when I could look at them as a vision of what I can become. I want to be inspired by the
commandments.
2 comments:
When ever I think of the word "entangled" as it relates to "sin", what comes to mind is hair. As a kid, I had long, thick hair,and I hated to have it washed. Once I pleaded with and cajoled a cousin to not to bother combing out the tangles, just let my hair dry as it was. Woe, woe unto me. My mom was not pleased, but since it was my own decision, I had to suffer the consequences of having my hair detangled in it's pitiful dry state. (Lots of pain and teeth gnashing)
So I wonder, when we be become re-entangled" into the sin that we turned our backs on, it is a concious decision. We know what we are getting into, and we convince ourselves that we can "visit" the sin, but it won't be kryptonite to our souls.
A sobering admonition by John the Beloved is if we say we have no sin, then we deceive ourselves. When we are admonished to keep God's commandments, and keep his covenants, that word keep means to guard, to hold dear. I picture myself following the rules of those commandments and sealing them with a testimony and then doing my best and trusting God with the rest.
Simplistic I know, but the difference between Heaven and Hell is whether we walk the strait line or not.
There's a "hurty" way and a "non-hurty" way to detangle hair. Sounds like your mom didn't know the "non-hurty" way. So sorry!!
"So I wonder, when we be become re-entangled" into the sin that we turned our backs on, it is a concious decision. We know what we are getting into, and we convince ourselves that we can "visit" the sin, but it won't be kryptonite to our souls."
I think you're absolutely right. That's exactly how it happens. And I love your thoughts about guarding and holding dear the commandments. That's what we have to do, isn't it?
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