"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!
Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!
Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!
Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!"
2 Nephi 28:24-27
Sometimes it is confusing when we hear all of this Wo-ing, because we're supposed to be positive and be building Zion, right? It's good to look on the bright side... to have hope, to be optimistic. We even have a hymn that says "all is well" a lot... which really is okay to sing. :) So if those things are good, then what is God trying to tell us here when he says that we shouldn't be at ease or think that all is well?
One thing I think he is saying is that we can't be complacent. It's good not to hate ourselves or be self-destructive of course, but neither should we be satisfied with our current progression and think that we're perfect as is. We all have problems, and areas to improve. It's a lifetime pursuit.
Another thing is that we need to remember other people who are struggling. Whatever the reason for their struggling, and whether or not part of it is self-imposed, God loves those other people just like he loves us. He wants us to help each other and lift each other up.
Too often we think that we have life figured out, and that logic and science are going to explain everything. And I'm not saying that the gospel doesn't make sense, or that science isn't real... but I think we forget the brother of Jared's stones, and Mount Zerin, Jonah, Daniel, the Liahona, so many more miracles in the scriptures, and even sometimes miracles that we have personally witnessed. We don't, and can't understand everything... at least not yet. We can't trust only in the precepts of men, because they clearly don't explain everything. The money in the mouth of the fish, practically everything Moses did, the walls of Jericho... these aren't things that just happen to anyone in the normal course of a day. Even if we come up with scientific explanations about how it could happen, how do we explain someone predicting it all so accurately, or actually causing such unlikely things to happen? God is the one that can do that, and not only then, but now, in our world and in our lives.
We need God. We need his help and his miracles, so that we can learn, and grow, and change, and become more than we are. Today, let's remember that there is still a long way to go, and that it is all possible because of God. :) Let's be open to whatever God grants us, and never think that we're done with his love and parenting. :)
Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!
Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!
Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!"
2 Nephi 28:24-27
Sometimes it is confusing when we hear all of this Wo-ing, because we're supposed to be positive and be building Zion, right? It's good to look on the bright side... to have hope, to be optimistic. We even have a hymn that says "all is well" a lot... which really is okay to sing. :) So if those things are good, then what is God trying to tell us here when he says that we shouldn't be at ease or think that all is well?
One thing I think he is saying is that we can't be complacent. It's good not to hate ourselves or be self-destructive of course, but neither should we be satisfied with our current progression and think that we're perfect as is. We all have problems, and areas to improve. It's a lifetime pursuit.
Another thing is that we need to remember other people who are struggling. Whatever the reason for their struggling, and whether or not part of it is self-imposed, God loves those other people just like he loves us. He wants us to help each other and lift each other up.
Too often we think that we have life figured out, and that logic and science are going to explain everything. And I'm not saying that the gospel doesn't make sense, or that science isn't real... but I think we forget the brother of Jared's stones, and Mount Zerin, Jonah, Daniel, the Liahona, so many more miracles in the scriptures, and even sometimes miracles that we have personally witnessed. We don't, and can't understand everything... at least not yet. We can't trust only in the precepts of men, because they clearly don't explain everything. The money in the mouth of the fish, practically everything Moses did, the walls of Jericho... these aren't things that just happen to anyone in the normal course of a day. Even if we come up with scientific explanations about how it could happen, how do we explain someone predicting it all so accurately, or actually causing such unlikely things to happen? God is the one that can do that, and not only then, but now, in our world and in our lives.
We need God. We need his help and his miracles, so that we can learn, and grow, and change, and become more than we are. Today, let's remember that there is still a long way to go, and that it is all possible because of God. :) Let's be open to whatever God grants us, and never think that we're done with his love and parenting. :)
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