Daily Reading: 3 Nephi 9:13
Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?
Here Christ is speaking to the Nephites who have just survived massive destruction at His hands. These people stand amidst rubble from their own cities. They have lost loved ones and are in need of comfort, support and care. The Master Healer calls them to return to Him, to be healed. He knows that in just a few chapters, they will personally get to see Him, to feel Him, and to let His spirit penetrate their hearts and bind them up with care.
Fortunately for us, this ability to turn to the Savior, this process of repentance, is replete throughout the scriptures and modern day revelation. We truly can be acquainted with the One who can heal us.
Jeffrey R Holland has taught us:
If you are lonely, please know you can find comfort. If you are discouraged, please know you can find hope. If you are poor in spirit, please know you can be strengthened. If you feel you are broken, please know you can be mended.
Sister Carole M Stephens just recently taught us:
Sisters, I testify that—
You don’t have to continue to carry the burden of sorrow caused by sin—alone.
You don’t have to carry the pain caused by the unrighteous actions of others—alone.
You don’t have to experience the painful realities of mortality—alone.
And from Neil A. Anderson:
The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement but rather a loving appeal to turn around and to “re-turn” toward God.14 It is the beckoning of a loving Father and His Only Begotten Son to be more than we are, to reach up to a higher way of life, to change, and to feel the happiness of keeping the commandments.
I shared my recent personal experience of “re-turning” to the Lord in this recent post. It was definitely a process for me that took effort and deliberateness. However, as often as I tried, I was met with tenderness and peace. I learned – again – that I never have to stand in the rubble of my own life alone. Like with the Nephites in this chapter, the Master Healer is always calling after me, asking me to choose to return, to repent and ultimately choose be healed.
A lover of words, walking barefoot in the grass and kitchen dance parties, Patti is always ready for the next adventure. She lives in UT with her ninja husband and three small children who remind her that Jesus wants us to be kind and that storytime is the most important time of the day.