Did you know that Mormon lived his entire lifetime while the Nephites were wicked and the Lamanites waged war against them?!
He never experienced righteousness and peace in the land.
He didn’t really have any super successful “missions” where he converted a bunch of people.
He didn’t get to perform miracles in front of a bunch of believers.
(This is all at least as far as we know, and I feel pretty fair assumptions based on his descriptions.)
His world was in extreme turmoil, war, and hatred from the moment he was born until he took his dying breath.
And yet he lived a righteous life, followed the Spirit, was visited by the Savior when he was 16 years old, tried to influence his world for good, and took on a writing project that influenced millions of people for years to come.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely had the attitude sometimes that the world needs to go back to “normal” before my real purpose can go back to normal.
But Mormon never had a “normal” world.
And he still found a way to be one of the most righteous individuals in history and change history for the better.
President Nelson taught us recently to: “Embrace your new normal by repenting daily.
“Seek to be increasingly pure in thought, word, and deed.
“Minister to others.
“Keep an eternal perspective.
“Magnify your callings.
“And whatever your challenges, my dear brothers and sisters, live each day so that you are more prepared to meet your Maker.”
We don’t need to wait for old “normal” to do any of that.
It’s all available to us right now.
And even if we never go back, even if we keep getting more chaos and hatred and even bloodshed around us-
We still have full access to God, to our Savior, to righteousness, and to fulfilling whatever our purpose might be.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
18 Responses
Very true. I totally agree that I have thought that way too with everything going on. The hymn Count Your Blessing comes to mind. We have to continue forth with an eternal mindset not just a temporal one.
Count Your Blessings is a great way to keep focused on what matters, for sure <3
Wow! Thank you Cali! What amazing insights! Thank you! Something to think about for sure!
Comparing Mormon’s life with our lives certainly should make us feel blessed. I can’t imagine never having a chance for a righteous or peaceful existence around me. How truly sad that must have been, but he made the best of it and maintained his beliefs and fulfilled his mission. Thank you for giving us something to really reflect upon.
Exactly! Even when it seems tempting to think our world is in shambles, he had it much worse than we ever have experienced. <3
Thank you!
Doris, I was just reading these comments and I saw that you had posted a comment. How are you doing anyway?
This is your cousin Janice Heap Mackey
<3 Thanks!
Beautiful reminder! I love reading and learning from your messages. Thank you!
<3 Thanks so much for following along!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and this message Cali!… What an inspiring message this is for me, this serves as a constant reminder to strive each day to stay on the steaight and narrow path, continuing to let God prevail.
Thank you! It helps me keep things in perspective, too <3
I love this! ❤
This is excellent and thought provoking. It reminds me of a 1939 C.S. Lewis quote from his “Learning in War-Time” address to his students at Oxford who were tempted to quit their studies during the war. He said:
“The war creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun. We are mistaken when we compare war with ‘normal life.’ Life has never been normal. Even those periods which we think most tranquil, like the nineteenth century, turn out, on closer inspection, to be full of cries, alarms, difficulties, emergencies.”
I would add: Mormon 3:12 “I had led them, notwithstanding their wickedness I had led them many times to battle, and had loved them, according to the love of God which was in me, with all my heart; and my soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them.” What an incredible man Mormon was to love them so completely in spite of their wickedness which he had witnessed all the days of his life.
Que gran mensaje. Me llena de energía para seguir adelante. Al saber lo que vivió Mormón, mi vida es “un jardín de rosas”. Gracias Padre Celestial por enviarme en estos hermosos tiempos.
Oh, how glad I was to read and be reminded about the life Mormon had. I have read his writings many times, but never thought about it that way. The Book of Mormon is the best read, it tells us about the past, present, and ponder, pray, and study can tell us the future. I am so thankful I am a member of Jesus Christ Church, and know He is in charge. No president, Vice President, or cabinet can take away our free agency. GOD gave that to us as a Gift. Even as his SON was a gift to the world.
Isn’t it amazing that the Book of Mormon can be applicable to all of us in all situations in life? There’s always something to learn.