KJV vs. JST: The Second and Third Comings of Christ, Luke 12:37-38

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KJV:

37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching:

verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself,

and make them to sit down to meat,

and will come forth and serve them.

38 And if he shall come in the second watch,

or come in the third watch,

and find them so,

blessed are those servants.

(Luke 12:37-38)

JST:

41 For, behold, he cometh in the first watch of the night,

and he shall also come in the second watch,

and again he shall come in the third watch.

42 And verily I say unto you, He hath already come, as it is written of him;

and again when he shall come in the second watch,

or come in the third watch,

blessed are those servants when he cometh,

that he shall find so doing;

(JST Luke 12:41-42)

In the KJV, the second and third watches are spoken of as a range of possible times that Christ could appear in the sense that if He comes in one, He won’t come in the other.  If you notice, it is the “or” that makes us think this.

However, the JST shows us pretty plainly that the second and third watches are both times when the Savior will return.  We are shown that Jesus’ mortal ministry is the first watch.  The second watch must then be the second coming of Christ.. and then what is the third watch?  It is a third coming of Christ.  When?  It is the post-Millennial visit of Christ to cleanse the earth once again of the evil that springs up at the end of the Millennium, which evil is written of in Revelation 20:1-4, 7-10.

One might argue that the second watch is the visit the Lord made to the earth when the gospel was restored, but I don’t think that can be it because Christ speaks of certain blessed servants who will be watching for that visit, implying that there must be full priesthood authority on the earth at the time of those second and third watches.

If we read as it is to be understood, we can extrapolate that when Christ comes again, He will teach and set all in order and reign, but at some point He will ascend again and depart.  Oh, He will still continue to reign, for if He is obeyed by everyone even when He is absent, He is definitely King.  And for a long time Satan will be bound, as all resist temptation.  But when the time comes again that people begin to yield to temptation, Satan will be loosed and then we will see the tragedy of 4 Nephi played out again until Christ comes again to make everything right.  Then will all the dead be resurrected and judged, the earth will be celestialized, and Heavenly Father will live with us!

Knowing there is a third coming of Christ means that we must read the scriptures carefully to try to discern which promises of Christ’s coming refer to His second coming and which apply to His third.  The Jews were confused by Christ’s mortal coming because they were panting for His second and overlooked the scriptures about His first coming.  This leads me to wonder if maybe we might get into trouble if we think the scriptures about Christ’s third coming are about his second.  For instance, Revelation 20 says Gog and Magog are dangers before the third coming, so we shouldn’t look for them before the second.  But there may also be elements that are similar across both second and third comings, so we have to notice these too.

Jesus Raises the Bar on Loving, John 13:34-35

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http://wallpoper.com/wallpaper/hands-making-a-heart-in-the-sunset-450550

I recently realized that Jesus raised the bar on love just like everything else during his ministry when He taught the higher law. 

First, here’s the commandment that the Israelites had from Moses:

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people,

but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord. (Lev. 19:18)

The commandment is to not bear any grudge (to forgive), and it is also that one should show the same affection and care for others as one has for one’s self.  The assumption is that one cares for one’s self pretty well, right?  But there’s a weakness to it in that it doesn’t take into account that there are some people who, for whatever reason, do NOT love themselves and have a hard time doing so.  They may treat others as badly as they treat themselves, or they may treat others far better, while shortchanging themselves.

The cool thing is, Jesus gave a better commandment:

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:34-35, emphasis added)

Instead of loving others as we love ourselves, we are to love others the same way that Jesus loves us.  That means a new challenge presents itself—somehow we must discover for ourselves just how Jesus loves us.  I don’t think that is an all-at-once discovery, nor is it solely an intellectual concept; I think it comes line upon line through experiences with repentance, answered prayers offered in His name, finding answers we seek, even serving others.  We learn it through miracles, we learn it through the peace of the Spirit.  It’s also a gift that we can ask God for directly, as Mormon told the Nephites:

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God… (Moroni 7:48)

I love that.  We can go straight to the source for that love we need for ourselves and for others.

One big way recently that I’ve felt the love Jesus has for me has been as I’ve received encouragement from people just as I was becoming discouraged in my writing and one of my callings.  They had no idea that I needed encouragement, but somehow the Lord moved them to say the things I needed to hear.  It came right when I desperately needed it, and it reminded me that Jesus knew what my struggles were, knew how to help, and did it. 

I’ve learned over time to feel the love of the Lord encouraging me towards repentance.. though it can be a bit uncomfortable.  I’ve learned that the love of the Lord is in the special peace that comes as I’ve repented.  I’ve had to learn that the Lord doesn’t give up on me because of my weaknesses and that He loves me anyway.  That encourages me to turn to Him in my weaknesses, and it also helps me see how to give that love to people around me in their weaknesses.  Of course, I still have so much learn and practice.

Tell me a few ways you’ve discovered Jesus’s love for you.  How have you then passed that love on to others?

The First Presidency’s Business, D&C 70:3-8

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3 I, the Lord, have appointed them, and ordained them to be stewards over the revelations and commandments which I have given unto them, and which I shall hereafter give unto them;
4 And an account of this stewardship will I require of them in the day of judgment.
5 Wherefore, I have appointed unto them, and this is their business in the church of God, to manage them and the concerns thereof, yea, the benefits thereof.

6 Wherefore, a commandment I give unto them, that they shall not give these things unto the church, neither unto the world;
7 Nevertheless, inasmuch as they receive more than is needful for their necessities and their wants, it shall be given into my storehouse;
8 And the benefits shall be consecrated unto the inhabitants of Zion, and unto their generations, inasmuch as they become heirs according to the laws of the kingdom. (D&C 70:3-8)

In this block of verses, the Lord appointed Joseph Smith Jr., Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, John Whitmer, Sidney Rigdon, and William W. Phelps to be stewards over the revelations and commandments already given and for those yet to be given.  Their business was to:

·      Manage them (compilation, editing, and arrangement)

·      Manage the concerns thereof  (publication and distribution)

·      Manage the benefits thereof  (managing any moneys from sales)

They were not to give the revelations to the church or the world, which I suppose means that they were not to relinquish responsibility for perpetuating publication, and they were to be aware that this responsibility was their stewardship and the Lord would require an accounting of it in the day of judgment.  Any temporal benefits received from managing the publishing and distribution of those sacred texts were to be used for their “necessities and wants”—“wants” is an old word meaning “needs”—and any surplus above that was to be given into the Lord’s storehouse.

For me this was a fascinating chapter because it revealed to me how the Lord designed to support his prophet and apostles in their callings as they gave their whole lives to serving and ministering to the church.  They weren’t to live off the members; they were to have a business to support them, and it so happened that business was to be managing the publications and distribution of the revelations and commandments and other sacred texts.  They weren’t supposed to be in it for personal gain because the surplus was to go to the Lord’s storehouse.

Now, as far as I know, there were some obstacles to making this work. One I know of was that Phelp’s printing press in Missouri got destroyed by the mob in the middle of printing copies of the Book of Commandments, and that would represent a major loss of capital.  But I suppose it is fully implemented today.

So far, I think the First Presidency and apostles have done a great job, considering all the scripture helps that have been added—the footnotes, the Topical Guide, the maps, the Bible Dictionary, the scripture apps, the online access, and so on.  They try to make access for all of us as easy as possible.   And too, they are careful as they add enhancements not to make them so often as to make it a financial burden to the members to keep scriptures updated; I notice that with the latest adjustments that were made, they told us that we are not required to buy a new set of scriptures even when the new sets come out in August.  They made the adjustments available for free online.  In this world of forced fee-upgrades (cough.. Apple.. cough), our leaders’ generosity is wonderful.  (Even so, I still plan on buying a new set!)

What does this mean for us today?  Well, it so happens that the next verses make that clear:

9 Behold, this is what the Lord requires of every man in his stewardship, even as I, the Lord, have appointed or shall hereafter appoint unto any man.

10 And behold, none are exempt from this law who belong to the church of the living God; (D&C 70:9-10)

It means that just like the First Presidency has their business, we each have ours, which the Lord calls our stewardship and for which we will be held accountable.  It also seems that we are asked to consecrate the benefits of our stewardships to the church that are more than we need.  That implies that we need to learn budgeting skills so we can become better at learning what we need for the different concerns of our stewardships, and we need to learn unselfishness through sacrifice.

Abraham Exposes the Egyptian Counterfeit, Abraham 1:21-27

21 Now this king of Egypt was a descendant from the loins of Ham, and was a partaker of the blood of the Canaanites by birth.

22 From this descent sprang all the Egyptians, and thus the blood of the Canaanites was preserved in the land.

23 The land of Egypt being first discovered by a woman, who was the daughter of Ham, and the daughter of Egyptus, which in the Chaldean signifies Egypt, which signifies that which is forbidden;

24 When this woman discovered the land it was under water, who afterward settled her sons in it; and thus, from Ham, sprang that race which preserved the curse in the land.

25 Now the first government of Egypt was established by Pharaoh, the eldest son of Egyptus, the daughter of Ham, and it was after the manner of the government of Ham, which was patriarchal.

26 Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah, his father, who blessed him with the blessings of the earth, and with the blessings of wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to the Priesthood.

27 Now, Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood, notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain claim it from Noah, through Ham, therefore my father was led away by their idolatry; (Abraham 1:21-27)

When I was reading this, I began to wonder why Abraham took so much trouble to describe how Egypt was found and by whom and the efforts of Pharaoh to imitate the priesthood.  I realized that this information would be valuable in the face of the false religion of Egypt that must have claimed all priesthood authority right along as they insisted their rites of human sacrifice were the right way and their gods were THE gods.  Abraham tells the background to expose the counterfeits to show that it was all an attempt to imitate the real thing, though with twists of evil.  In the face of Egypt’s grandeur and power, Abraham’s voice is brave; he dares to reveal the truth, which he is sure of even as he is about to be sacrificed.  Abraham’s father has been led away by the counterfeit and Abraham probably wanted to prevent others from being led away too.

What does this have to do with us?  It shows us how important it is to record the truth about things when counterfeits are gaining ascendency and to explain why the counterfeits have appeal.   Though we may see through the counterfeit, others may not and they may be benefited by the principles that we share. 

There are so many counterfeits out there.  One biggie that I hope is obvious is the difference between love and lust.  Lust is predominately what passes for love in the media these days.    Several factors contribute to this that I can see:

--Movies are only so long, so they can’t show the whole scope of a healthy relationship forming.

--Media lives and dies by sales and eyeballs, so it will go to extremes to draw interest, which leads to extreme depictions of attraction and sexual intimacy.

So I ask you readers, what characteristics can you share that would help someone differentiate between love and lust?  And what other major counterfeits have you seen pop up these days?

Letting Down the Nets One More Time, Luke 5:6-11

 3 And he [Jesus] entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.  (Luke 5:3-5)

I wonder if Peter would have obeyed Jesus if he hadn’t heard Him teach first.  Perhaps the teaching softened his heart and built up great respect.  So when Jesus asked Peter to go launch out and let down his nets, Peter was willing to try, for the sake of this great teacher who was in his ship, long fruitless night notwithstanding.   I think it also says something about Peter’s humility and faith; even though he had already done his best with nothing to show for it, he was willing to try one more time. 

6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. (Luke 5:6-11)

This miracle of a large catch after previously catching nothing has a great lesson in it about the Lord’s ability to instruct toward success.   As the Lord promises Peter that from now on he will be catching men for God, Peter gets a sense of the success that the Lord can make of Peter’s missionary efforts as well, if Peter will be open to instruction. 

I think this story also has a lesson for us as we struggle to share the gospel in an increasingly secular world.  Some of us may have shared our convictions with others for a long time and yet have nothing to show for it.  We may have given up.   Yet do we not hear an echo from those days telling us to push out into the deep (out of our comfort zone), and let down our gospel nets.. one more time? 

Mosiah’s Principles of Government, Mosiah 29

Mosiah 29 is an interesting chapter in that most of it is a letter King Mosiah wrote to his people to persuade them of the desirability of changing their form of government to a judge system from monarchy.  It is interesting because it is not all directly quoted, so Mormon took parts that he considered most valuable and summarized other parts he felt were less precious.  The quotes range from v5-32 and then v33-36 is a summary of more that was in the letter.  Therefore, to be alert readers, we must look to see what is in v5-32 that seemed to warrant direct quotation; these parts must be particularly good.

Here are the main principles that I picked out:

• Monarchy would not be a bad form of government if it was possible to ensure that only righteous men became king. (v13)
• It is best to judge the people according to the commandments of God (v11)
• Wicked kings hate righteous laws, do away with them, and put wicked laws in their place. (v23)
• One wicked king can cause great iniquity and destruction among the people. (v17)
• Wicked kings have wicked friends that support them and guards that protect them. (v22)
• Wicked kings can’t be removed without war. (v21)
• Rulers need to be held accountable by other rulers and by the voice of the people. (v28-29)
• The importance of the people answering for their own sins instead of the responsibility falling on the ruler. (v30-32)
• Iniquity among the people brings them into bondage. (v18)
• When the majority of the people choose what is not right, then God’s judgments come and destruction comes. (v27)
• Repentance brings the interposition of God and deliverance from bondage. (v19)

While some have thought that Mosiah’s thinking was laying out principles of democracy, I actually think Mosiah was most worried about corruption at top levels of government.   He realized that it wasn’t enough to have good laws because a bad ruler would change the laws to provide for his/her own vice. I think Mosiah was interested in creating a system that would prevent wicked rulers from getting or retaining power by which they would corrupt the rest of society and bring destruction on the people.  He seems to have seen that a self-correcting system would need to have built into it ways for the people to have a voice so that a righteous majority could bring positive change when it was needed. He also seems to have seen that other rulers in the hierarchy would need to be empowered legitimately in order to hold a higher ruler accountable for corruption. 

While our form of government is different than the Nephite government system that Mosiah set up, our government also has built into it ways that we can agitate for change.  It is up to us to notice when corruption in government becomes obvious and to make our voices heard to try to change it because saying nothing is the equivalent of saying it is okay. 

As one example, the US Attorney General Eric Holder has refused to initiate any new obscenity prosecutions under current laws against pornography ever since President Obama took office.  You can send a petition to President Obama to ask him to demand his Attorney General enforce current laws.

Better for being born or not?: 3 Nephi 28:34-35

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 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;

 35 And it would be better for them if they had not been born… (3 Nephi 28:34-35)

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.

Kings Their Nursing Fathers and Queens Their Nursing Mothers, 2 Nephi 6:6-7

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6 And now, these are the words: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

7 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. (2 Nephi 6:6-7)

Here Jacob quotes Isaiah to his people in the promised land to help them rejoice for their descendants. 

Now, if you are like me, you may find yourself asking, “In what way are the Gentile kings and queens nursing fathers and mothers to the remnant of the house of Israel?”

We know of at least one way that this has been fulfilled--through the church’s program of Latter-day Saint families fostering Native American children in their homes to help them get an education.  My mother remembers a Navaho boy staying with her family as part of this.  I learned more about this program as I was reading Spencer W. Kimball’s biography, since he was deeply involved in helping Native American members of the church.  If you are curious about it, I highly recommend reading that.

Are there other ways this scripture from Isaiah has been fulfilled?  I thought there might be, so I decided to do a little research on the history of the United States government’s policies with the Native Americans and what the status of the tribes has been, surrounded as they are by the United States.   I looked at a paper called “The History of Federal Indian Policies” by Robert J. Miller, professor of Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, to get an overview.

We all know the Native Americans were pushed off their land time and again by American settlers because of Americans’ desire to explore and exploit natural resources.   Some important points I discovered were the following:

·      There was always a problem with settlers encroaching on Indian lands and interfering with Indian affairs.  Even England tried to outlaw going onto Indian land during the colonial era because it recognized that the problems lay on the side of the colonists.  When America gained independence and formed the Constitutional government, an important part of the decisions they made was how it would handle Indian affairs.  It was written in that all treaties and agreements and land transactions were to be handled only at the federal level, rather than at federal, state, and individual levels because meddling at all different levels caused misunderstandings and disagreements leading to wars and conflicts, which they wanted to end.   In my view, this is a kind of fulfillment of Isaiah’s words that kings and queens would be the nursing fathers and mothers; it captures that sense that decisions concerning the remnant are made at the highest level of government, rather than lower levels.

·      The status of the Native American tribes is a very peculiar one, legally.  There were two court cases, one in 1831 and the other in 1832 that still are applied today, which established two parts about the tribes’ status that are almost paradoxical.  Firstly, the tribes are the wards of the United States, and the United States is their guardian and owes a trust and responsibility to protect them as “domestic, dependent nations” because the Native Americans rely on the United States for protection and supplies.  Second, according to the United States’ historical treatment of tribes as “distinct, independent, political communities,” the tribes had exclusive authority in their territory to govern their land, citizens, and non-Indians who visit.  (Not that this has always been honored, but it is an established precedent.)

Wild, huh? 

So, the tribes are domestic dependent nations, but they are also distinct, independent political communities with their own governments!  The responsibility the United States owes to protect and foster the tribes is captured by Isaiah’s words about how kings and queens would be nursing fathers and mothers to the American remnant of the Israel.  The legal status of the tribes as dependent coincides with that of a child to a parent or guardian.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/photo-of-the-day/?c=y&date=01/28/2013

The nursing aspect of Isaiah’s words has begun to be fulfilled at least since the 60’s when President Kennedy’s administration began to invest millions of dollars into tribal programs and infrastructure.  In 1970, President Nixon named the new Indian policy “self-determination.”  The Indian Self-Determination & Education Assistance Act of 1975 allows Indian tribes to plan, operate, and manage federally-funded tribal programs, something they were not allowed to do before.  Tribal self-government is being fostered and federal authority over the tribes is being delegated more to the tribes themselves.  Tribes are being given economic incentives to increase economic development.

Who would have thought that such a peculiar legal status could be captured by Isaiah’s words so simply? 

Now, do I think this is the final and complete meaning of Isaiah’s words?  No.  I strongly suspect that there is more to uncover, such as the treatment of native tribes in other countries in the Americas.  I am also curious about how the nation of Israel was formed in the 20^th century and what the Gentiles had to do with that. 

We need to find out how prophecy is being fulfilled.  It is being fulfilled around us, and it strengthens our faith in Heavenly Father to see how His hand is working today to fulfill the promises He made through prophets so many centuries ago.  The fulfillments did not end with Joseph Smith’s lifetime.  It might be tempting to think they did, since we focus on those prophecies pertaining to him in the Book of Mormon.  But prophecy is being fulfilled today, and we must look for it and testify of it. 

If we don’t, who will?

Seeing God’s Hand in All, D&C 59:21

And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments. (D&C 59:21)

I personally think making a positive equivalent of the above scripture is nicer:

“And in nothing doth man please God, or toward none is his approval and blessing given, save to those who confess his hand in all things and obey his commandments.”

There are people who only focus on direct causes and who will say, “Well, how can I confess God’s hand in all things?  Did God make my bread?  No, a factory did that.  Did God make water come out of the faucet in my house?  No, water pressure did that.  How am I supposed to confess God’s hand when He’s not the one directly involved?”

It is up to us to look deeper and see that everything good ultimately came from God.  Maybe God didn’t directly make the water come out of the faucet, but He inspired others to experiment and work to harness scientific principles to bring running water inside.  He inspired the people to make faucets and sinks and all of that.  And so it is with all good things.  We can look around the world at all the beautiful and useful things that man has created and see behind it all the boundless wisdom and kind inspiration of our Father in heaven. 

In the creation of plant and animal life we can see the processes that shaped progression from one species to another and the environmental conditions and changes that made adaptations desirable, and we can know that somehow behind all of that was a command of God that was obeyed by the elements.

Some scientists may refer to a God of the gaps, but we can point to divine principles that are still at work and which we have yet to understand how they were first begun—the drive to reproduce, parents training their young by example, cooperative effort by community, ability to perceive stimuli and react accordingly, and the ability to some spark of intelligence and life to enter complex arrangements of tissue, the ability to learn and plan.. 

One of the things I learn about God when I consider the natural world is how well-programmed nature is to perpetuate itself and recover from imbalances.

While I feel inadequate to post about this because of my ignorance, I suppose if we couldn’t say anything until we had learned it all, we would have a very silent world… so maybe I will point you to some articles that have been helpful to me in seeing the Lord’s hand in the natural world.

“Evolution and the Gospel: Seeking Grandeur in This View ofLife” by Michael F. Whiting

“Time in Scriptures and Science: A Conciliatory Key?”  by J. Ward Moody

(This one is sure to make your mind bend and stretch in interesting ways..)

Reconciling with others: KVJ versus Book of Mormon, Matt 5:23-24

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KJV

23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar,

and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;

first be reconciled to thy brother,

and then come and offer thy gift.

(Matt 5:23-24)

Book of Mormon

23 Therefore, if ye shall come unto me,

or shall desire to come unto me,

and rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee—

 24 Go thy way unto thy brother,

and first be reconciled to thy brother,

and then come unto me with full purpose of heart,

and I will receive you.

(3 Nephi 12:23-24)

In these verses, Jesus describes how we should reconcile with men before offering a gift to God or coming to Christ.  The Book of Mormon offers extra insight as to why.

The first difference we notice between the KJV and BoM is that the KJV is spoken in the context of offering sacrifices before the Law of Moses was fulfilled in Christ.  The gift brought to the altar was the sacrificial animal.  The BoM context is different because it was after the law was fulfilled, so the command is “come unto me,” with a broken heart and contrite spirit, since sacrifices were done away.

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I notice that both mention remembering “that thy brother hath aught against thee.”  I suppose this is referring to how things may be brought to our memory that we have done to hurt others, things they may hold against us.  It may be the Spirit reminding us to encourage us to repent, or it may even be Satan reminding us of them in an attempt to make us think we are a hopeless case.  Hopefully we know the difference and persevere in spite of Satan’s demoralizations.  (Some of the lies he tries to use are the they’re-not-going-to-forgive-you argument, the it-was-so-long-ago-it’s-not-important argument, and the you’ll-have-to-admit-you’re-wrong-and-that’s-so-embarrassing argument.)

We also notice that the BoM adds the promised blessing if we reconcile with others before coming to Christ—“I will receive you.”  (Ah, what hope rises in my heart when I read that!)  It seems that not only does the Lord want us to be at peace with Him, He wants us to be at peace with our fellowmen as well, so much so that He requires reconciliation with everyone else first.  And perhaps we can’t come with full purpose of heart to Christ if we have unresolved hard feelings toward others.  I know I have a hard time concentrating on my scriptures if I’m angry.  I have to pray to forgive and pray for peace before I can open my heart to what the Lord wants me to learn.

Have you had an experience like this that you can share?