Another recurring theme in history is the uprooting of the Lord's people and the requirement to move away from the wicked who would harm them. It doesn't seem fair that the righteous must suffer the consequences of the behavior of the wicked. But the refiner's fire of having to abandon homes, property and loved ones to avoid conflict and contamination seems to be a regular requirement of the Lord. It takes a great deal of humility to accept such a requirement. It would be so easy to say, "Hey! Make them move! We didn't do anything wrong!"
As I wandered around Southern Utah this week I saw so many of the little settlements the Saints scratched out of the desert. Each had a sweet, quiet charm that warmed my heart. Amid the difficulties, places like Orderville, Kanab, Boulder, Henrieville and Torrey created a hearty, faithful, stalwart stock of faithful refugees who have carried the Kingdom into a new century in which their isolation has turned into a blessing for all the world.
In a more modern setting I see kids at the Detention Center, who courageously do the same thing. They uproot themselves from friends and lifestyles that are harmful and through tribulation move away into peaceful places and associations that, in the end, spare them from their enemies. The humility it required so long ago, is the same humility that blesses modern lives of those willing to do the Lord's bidding, even when its hard and doesn't seem fair.
2 comments:
20. … Inasmuch as they will anot hearken unto thy words they shall be bcut off from the presence of the Lord.
I think this is a natural consequence of not hearkening. When I don’t hearken unto the prophet, the scriptures, the commandments, or the spirit, I am naturally ‘cut off’. When I even try to hearken, my ears are open, my eyes are open, and my heart is open and the spirit speaks unto me.
I think one of the most important verses in this chapter is chapter 27, the one that states "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness."
The reason they were able to do that as a people was because they kept the commandments. That should be an easy equation to remember (keeping the commandments equals happiness.) It it sad that it seems to be so much harder to do in practice than it is in theory!
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