wilfully rebelled

So I'm working on scriptural references about spiritual gifts from the topical guide today - it's been the subject for a while recently. Makes sense though - it's kinda what this blog is about. I have to admit I am passionate about this subject - it's fun to see the many varieties of gifts that the Lord provides, the degrees and shades they take, and how they are received - or not.

Which brings us to today's thoughts. I'm in Mormon chapter 1. This is a very sad life that Mormon lives - he is asked to lead his people, and he does his best, knowing that the end result will be that they are slaughtered. He knows that he has the answer that they need to avoid extermination, but they will not listen. He has the entire recipe, all the ingredients, the required pots, pans and cooking materials. All they have to do is eat it. They won't.

So in verse 15 he starts out talking about how he "tasted and knew of Jesus" at the ripe old age of 15. And then he talks about how he then began to speak of Jesus and preach to his people.

I mean, most of us are passionate about protecting our families. We often find it extremely difficult to bury a child, a parent, or a spouse. Anyone. It can shut down a person's life for a time, and leave them irreparably saddened - sometimes for a lifetime. Now imagine that it's all of them. Brother, sister, spouse, parents, children, extended family, and the neighbors. All of them. And you can't - because they won't listen. How lonely would that be before they all die, and how lonely would it be after.

So he tries to get them to change, and see the error of their ways, and look unto Christ, 16 "...but my mouth was shut, and I was forbidden that I should preach unto them; for behold they had willfully rebelled against their God".

Here to me is another amazing example of how God's mind works. He loves us. That I believe is first and paramount, and all decisions stem from that fact. So if he believes that we can be benefitted by being preached to, then preachers we will have. Leaders from His divinely organized church, and his servants there to guide and assist us.

But what when we personally will not have the truth? This goes back to a concept I discussed earlier. If as a loving grandparent I give a gift to my grandchild and he won't open it, or opens it and throws it away. Do I give him or her that gift again the next day? Probably not, and it's not out of spite, but because I know that my gift will not be appreciated. It sets both the giver and the givee back to give a gift that is not used or appreciated.

The Lord loves us. He knows that if we get a gift from him, such as his word, and we knowingly reject it, we'll have to answer for that. Why would he do something to/for us that he knows will set us back on judgment day?

This subject goes way deeper than I could ever pretend to understand. What about if the Lord needs us to use our agency? What if there's a 1 percent chance? What if he needs us to do whatever else?

But one thing we do know: in this moment, Mormon was actually told not to preach any more. Why? Because they had willfully rebelled. They knew what the truth was - Mormon wasn't going to tell them anything they didn't already know. And they had rejected it already. Might as well let them die without condemning them any more evidence than there already was.

How sad is that.

But does this apply to us? Of course. How often are we unwilling to look at the truth because it's inconvenient? Or if it ties up time we wanted to spend boating? Or if it messes with a lifestyle we like? Or we don't want to tithe?

We'll come up with excuses, and stop ourselves from progressing, because we like the sewage pit we have gotten comfortable in.

And nobody gonna pull us out - unless they come with a sewage pit of their own.

May we do better, and be open to truth, and accept all perceived consequences - and blessings that come with it.