Brief Introduction

As a pre-mission teenager studying at Brigham Young University, I took a number of religion classes. It has been satisfying to look over some of the papers I wrote for those classes and to see how my understanding and writing style have progressed. While this text certainly doesn’t represent my best work, I thought I’d include it here just for fun.


Book of Mormon Application Paper

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” — Jesus Christ

Introduction

These words from the Savior strike at the very core of what it means to be a Christian. The Redeemer, He who stood of the right had of the Father, He who atoned in Gethsemane and again on the cross, loved us so completely that He willingly sacrificed Himself for our sakes. All He asks of us is emulation. “As I have loved you, love one another.” For us to be true disciples of Jesus Christ, we must take that principle and apply it. We must be strengthened by His love and then share that love with His children. The Book of Mormon, another testament of He who, despite His strength, was lifted up on the cross for our sakes, teaches of how to strengthen and uplift our fellow saints.

The Little Things

This gospel is such a glorious enterprise! Think of all the incredible things we are accomplishing! We have a missionary program that is spreading the Word to the multitudes; we have temple programs that offer vital ordinances to millions of our dead; we have a prophet who speaks to the whole earth on television broadcasts! In order to fulfill the will of the Lord we have done a lot of big things, but I would suggest that the little things are every bit as important. Smiling at a stranger in the street is just as critical as performing vicarious ordinances in the temple. Speaking to someone who needs our companionship is every bit as noble as President Hinckley’s speech on Larry King Live.

In 1 Nephi chapter 16 Nephi breaks his bow. As any Sunbeam in the church could guess, Laman and Lemuel immediately begin to whine, but, surprisingly, Lehi, the great prophet-patriarch, also begins to murmur. Nephi makes a new bow, but that isn’t what’s significant about this passage. The real importance lies in how Nephi helps his father. In verse 23 Nephi asks Lehi, “Whither shall I go to obtain food?” Nephi was a great prophet and a mighty man of God; he didn’t need to consult Lehi. The Lord would have told him where to go to find food, but Nephi instead asked his father to inquire of God. By asking his father, Nephi showed Lehi that he still had confidence in him despite his prior murmuring. Think what that must have meant to a father who had been so spiritually weak but a few moments before! It was a simple thing for Nephi to ask his father to inquire, but it must have meant a lot to Lehi.

My seminary teacher used to say that the spirit often speaks from the pulpit of memory, and my memory brings to mind images of a modern day Nephi. When I was in the ninth grade, I was a pretty awkward kid. Though my introversion often forced me into myself, there was a young lady who truly understood what it means to be a Christian. See would walk and talk with me despite my social handicaps. We were in a club together, and when we went on a field trip to a ropes course she picked me to be her partner. I couldn’t have been happier! The remarkable thing about this young lady is that she didn’t show kindness because I was her “project.” She was a genuinely Christian person who sincerely wanted to uplift and strengthen me. We went to different high schools and she probably doesn’t even remember her thoughtfulness. After all, she didn’t convert a thousand people in South America. She didn’t address the entire world on behalf of the church. But I can’t help but feel that her kindness was every bit as important as if she had.

Her Christ-like compassion didn’t end with the ninth grade. Remarkably, she is here at BYU, and we even have a class together. The other day she waited while I collected my things. Just as she had years earlier, she walked and talked with me. Our classes are in the same general direction, so it wasn’t really out of her way. It was a little thing, really, but her kindness will forever be an example to me of the pure love of Jesus Christ.

Righteous Gossip

As Christians, we have a responsibility to overlook people’s weaknesses and see them for who they really are. Along these lines, I’d like to suggest that we “Mormons” give Laman and Lemuel a “bad rap.” Sure, they wanted to kill their brother, and, granted, they had a tendency to murmur, but who of us hasn’t been guilty of both those sins in times past? On occasion Laman and Lemuel even had some insights that their younger and supposedly more “spiritual” brother lacked. In 1 Nephi 17:22 Laman and Lemuel politely express their opinion: “And we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people; for they kept the statutes and judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments, according to the law of Moses; wherefore, we know that they are a righteous people; and our father hath judged them, and hath led us away because we would hearken unto his words . . .” Granted, Laman and Lemuel weren’t speaking under the influence of the Holy Ghost on this occasion, and, yes, they were murmuring, but at least they understood this important principle: it’s good to talk about a person behind their back. Gossip has its virtues.

All flippancy aside, the Book of Mormon does teach us a powerful principle here. Laman and Lemuel spoke evil of their father, and the Lord never sanctions such damaging gossip. We ought not to behave as they did by trying to harm others though our idle talk, but, as unorthodox as it may seem, that doesn’t mean that all gossip is contrary to the will of the Lord.

Talking behind someone’s back is like music, which Satan has twisted in his incessant efforts to harm us. The hymns uplift our souls in tremendous ways, but gangsta’ rap encourages rape and fornication. In similar ways Satan has perverted love, the family, and, yes, even gossip. In its purest form, gossip is not about speaking evil about someone behind their back, it is about speaking good. Let’s not be naive; gossip, good or bad, always gets around to the “victim.” People know what we say about them when their backs are turned. Imagine how different Laman and Lemuel’s relationship with their father could have been if Lehi had heard that his eldest sons had been praising his divinely-inspired leadership instead of deriding his efforts to save them from the destruction of Jerusalem. Imagine how different our relationships can be with others if we will build them up instead of tear them down!

As I have experimented with this principle, I have found that it can almost be a game. It’s easy to gossip about someone when they are nowhere nearby, but the real challenge comes from trying to time your gossiping just right so that they will “accidentally” over hear you. Opportunities like the latter only come along once every great while. For example, I was recently talking with a young woman named Kirsten whom I had known from high school. As luck would have it, another person from my high school approached me just as I was finishing my conversation with her. He was a bit younger than Kirsten, so, noting that she had walked off some distance, I asked in a voice just loud enough so she could hear me, “Did you know Kirsten? She’s about the neatest person you’ll ever meet.” Mission accomplished!

Conclusion

The Book of Mormon illustrates how we ought to treat each other, and its principles are not limited to “the little things” and “righteous gossip.” By reading the Book of Mormon we can gain insights into the mind of the Savior, He who loved us enough to pay an infinite ransom. The Greek word for “grace” and the English word “charity” both come from the same root: charis. Through His grace — His charity — we are saved. May we all emulate that charity, which is the pure love of Christ, as we treat each other with love and respect, is my prayer,

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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