Ye hath heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt
love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless
them that curse you, do good to them that hate
you, and pray for them which despitefully use
you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which
is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the
evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just
and on the unjust.
I think this may be the most difficult thing asked of us in this life. If we could master the principle of loving all God's children, especially our enemy, I think the rest of our spiritual priorities would fall into place.
As I mentioned in an earlier post. I have those who have acted against me as an enemy, and I have in turn acted as an enemy against others. Some of these transgressions are such that it would take a real miracle to resolve them in this life. I am not confident that it will happen in every case, although I do hope that our enmity can be resolved, if not in this life, in the one to come.
In the meantime, I feel it is my duty to do whatever part I can. I have attempted to apologize for times where I have not acted well, though I know it is probably too little, too late in several instances. How I wish I had exercised an ounce of prevention in the first place.
In doing what I can for my abusers, I want to become the type of person that prays for them. I want to be like the sons of Mosiah, who could not stand the thought that any human soul should perish. (Mosiah 28:3)
These are my thoughts on abuse that I wrote down as I am attempting to write my personal history:
Life
is hard. Bad things happen. Many if not most of us are hurting inside
in one way or another. It affects us. We are changed from it. Maybe we
make choices we shouldn't and pass the pain down the line. Whatever the
cause, whatever the reason, we hurt and are hurt by each other, and I believe it's more common than anyone would let on.
I've spent some time working through my pain, sometimes productively, and sometimes in a less than healthy way. It's changed and affected me. I only hope when this is over I can say it's been for the better and that it's made me stronger, more compassionate, and wiser.
As wrong as some of the things we people do to each other are, I worry more about the damage the offenders are doing to their own souls than anything else. I would hope they have not damaged themselves beyond repair, because I know they are loved by a just, but also compassionate, God and that he weeps for their loss.
I hope that when this life is ended and we all sit down before the throne of God that we can understand each other in relation to our pain, our poor choices, and mistakes. I hope the anger and bitterness will melt away and that we can say, "We were just mortals," in the same way in this life we sometimes say "We were just children." I hope that we can chalk it up to experience and learning and move forward in our eternal progression-lifting each other up rather than tearing each other down.
I've spent some time working through my pain, sometimes productively, and sometimes in a less than healthy way. It's changed and affected me. I only hope when this is over I can say it's been for the better and that it's made me stronger, more compassionate, and wiser.
As wrong as some of the things we people do to each other are, I worry more about the damage the offenders are doing to their own souls than anything else. I would hope they have not damaged themselves beyond repair, because I know they are loved by a just, but also compassionate, God and that he weeps for their loss.
I hope that when this life is ended and we all sit down before the throne of God that we can understand each other in relation to our pain, our poor choices, and mistakes. I hope the anger and bitterness will melt away and that we can say, "We were just mortals," in the same way in this life we sometimes say "We were just children." I hope that we can chalk it up to experience and learning and move forward in our eternal progression-lifting each other up rather than tearing each other down.
And I do mean that. But even if my enemies never change, never wish to repent, I still would not want to have the sin of anger in my heart either. Anger is exhausting. Once it gets hold, it is so difficult to overcome, and even when I think I am making progress, I get knocked back down and have to try all over again.
It's a very humbling journey to try to overcome the natural man. I am glad that I have a perfect brother who was willing to pray, and then to atone, for my sinful soul.
