"Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people."
"...I did liken the scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning." (1 Nephi 19:23)
In our study of this subject of intercession we discussed the things in the two previous posts and likened them to ourselves in order to understand what type of persons we must become in order to be able to seek to intercede like Lehi was doing and why it is that we must become such persons and how it is that we can become such persons.
"In one sense, it is not possible for us to satisfy justice by providing mercy for ourselves. But in another sense, we certainly can do so for others. We cannot atone for other's offenses. But, we can forgive other's trespasses against us. Christ provided the way for us all to be forgiven. But He also taught we should forgive others. He said, "...forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." (JST Matt. 6:13; taken from Joseph Smith's New Translation of the Bible, Original Manuscripts. Edited by Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson and Robert J. Matthews. Prove: Religious Studies Center Brigham Young University, 2004; p. 247.)
Forgiving others is our duty. Our own forgiveness is dependent upon it. Within our limited capacities, we must also provide mercy to others just as Christ provided mercy to us all. We, in our sphere, must act just as Christ did in His much greater sphere.
Remember that we must become "types" of Him whom we follow. To do so we must mimic Him to acquire His attributes. When we have acquired His attributes, He has claim upon us as one of His own." (Second Comforter, Conversing with the Lord Through the Veil, Denver Snuffer, pgs. 272 - 273)
Forgiving others is our duty. Our own forgiveness is dependent upon it. Within our limited capacities, we must also provide mercy to others just as Christ provided mercy to us all. We, in our sphere, must act just as Christ did in His much greater sphere.
Remember that we must become "types" of Him whom we follow. To do so we must mimic Him to acquire His attributes. When we have acquired His attributes, He has claim upon us as one of His own." (Second Comforter, Conversing with the Lord Through the Veil, Denver Snuffer, pgs. 272 - 273)
We, as a group, believe that Christ addressed these very things when He delivered the Sermon on the Mount in Palestine and then delivered the same sermon to the Nephites in the land of Bountiful.
He addressed what we must become like in order to be a "type" of Him.
"And blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." (3 Nephi 12: 7)
We discussed in the previous post how Christ became "mercy".
"...this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, ...And thus mercy (Christ) can satisfy the demands of justice,"(Alma 34: 15 - 16)
If we are willing to forgo our rightful claims upon justice against others who have either intentionally or unintentionally offended or hurt us we are imitating Christ by extending mercy to others. As those who profess to follow Christ, this action is necessary in order to typify Him."...this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, ...And thus mercy (Christ) can satisfy the demands of justice,"(Alma 34: 15 - 16)
"And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." (3 Nephi 12:9)
We have discussed this attribute of making peace. We agree that those who make peace will for the most part in this world be abused and receive harsh treatment,desiring only to return a soft word. There is an example of this in the book of 3 Nephi.
"...and others were exceedingly humble; some did return railing for railing, while others would receive railing and persecution and all manner of afflictions, and would not turn and revile again, but were humble and penitent before God." (3 Nephi 6:13)
This attribute of peacemaking from the above example seems to enable the possessor to qualify to receive the next two blessings the Lord mentions; "...blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name's sake...blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." (3 Nephi 12: 10 - 11)
"Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, and it is written before you, that thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement of God; But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of his judgement." (3 Nephi 12: 21-22)
We have determined that one who would be able to pray with all their heart in behalf of their people would be an individual who would not harbor anger against others. Christ, during his mortal life, exemplified this.
"...I say unto you, that ye shall not resist evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also; And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also; And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn thou not away. And behold it is written also, that thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy; But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you;" (3 Nephi 12:39 - 44)
All of these instructions from the Lord to His followers about how to live a correct life of mercy are exemplified in the life of Christ.
If an individual lives a life following these principles they will be typifying their Master Jesus Christ in regards to mercy.
Christ taught many more principles in the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon at Bountiful concerning what type of person one must be or in other words how one must live in order to truly be His follower. We are focusing right now on the parts of the Sermons that teach mercy.
It struck us that all of these instructions for living a life of mercy are so very impractical in this world.
"These are extraordinary standards for us to follow. Not resisting those who are determined to do evil to us presents such a formidable barrier to living that all of us recoil at its implications. Giving the unjust litigant all that he demands, and more, seems impossibly hard. Loving our enemies, blessing those who curse you, and doing good to those who hate you are astonishing hurdles to contemplate. Yet, there it is! Christ asking us to overcome and leave behind our pride, our tendency to defend ourselves and our need for approval.
Christ meant these things. Not only that, He led the way in actually doing them. As proof of His commitment to these standards of self-conduct Christ forgave the men who crucified Him. He said, as the were in the act of killing Him; "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots." (Luke 23:34.) He did not resist those who were not only despitefully using Him, but who were determined to kill Him. He did not resist the one who would sue Him for His cloak. He permitted them to part His entire wardrobe among them without complaint. These teachings may have been rejected by most of the audience He taught, but they were not rejected by HimHe did what He asks us to do. If you accept Him as the guide and example to follow then you must accept this part of His example as well.
Remember Nephi's assurance: "I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:7.) That promise has no limit on it. If we are asked to do these things, and we are determined to follow God in doing them, then the Lord will provide a way for you to be able to accomplish it. However difficult this proposition may seem to be, it is something within your reach. Trust in that, and have the faith to reach out trying to follow HIm. His yoke, you will find, is easy after all."(The Second Comforter, Conversing with the Lord Through the Veil, Denver Snuffer, pg. 274)
All of the cited examples in the first part of this discussion about intercession are examples of individuals who were genuinely filled with these feelings of mercy towards their fellowman.
The Lord stated in the Sermon at Bountiful that it was necessary for those who would follow Him to love their enemies and pray for those who would despitefully use them and persecute them so that they "...may be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good."(3 Nephi 12:45)
God making His sun to rise on both the evil and the good is the same way that we must be with regards to ourselves showing forth mercy to our fellowmen. We decided that if we are to become the children of God that we must show mercy to all our fellowmen regardless of whether they deserve it or not.
We covered other things as well in our discussions together concerning what type of individuals we must become in order to possess this attribute of mercy but the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon at Bountiful are a great summation of these things.
The next part will talk about the why we must each become this type of person.
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