Today’s Reading: Mormon 6
17 O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!
I cannot imagine exactly how Mormon was feeling at the time when he spoke these words. But I have felt like my “soul was rent with anguish” (verse 16) before. I know that it is not the same anguish he felt because I have not witnessed all of my people being slain. But I have felt anguish in my soul when I see people knowingly turn away from a God who loves them; a God who stands with open arms to receive them.
“The Lord’s desire that we come unto Him and be wrapped in His arms is often an invitation to repent…When we sin, we turn away from God. When we repent, we turn back toward God.” -Neil L. Andersen [i]
I can think of nothing greater. There is nothing in this world that will be able to compare with how we will feel when we stand at the feet of our Savior and He receives us into His loving embrace.
“To be ‘encircled about eternally in the arms of his love’ (2 Nephi 1:15) will be a real and not a virtual experience.” -David A. Bednar [ii]
My friends, let us not fall into the crowd that has to hear the words “O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord!” Let us stand strong in our convictions, firm in our faith, and valiant in our testimony of the living Savior, Jesus Christ. I testify that He does indeed stand before us with open arms. Let us come before him with a humble and repentant heart; let us turn back toward His loving embrace.
I grew up the oldest of 5 children in the blazing heat of Southern Utah. After high school and some college experience I met and married Mark Ogden and we are the parents of four children. I have owned and operated my own home-based preschool for more than a dozen years, and I consider myself an accidental author as well. When I am not in my minivan transporting children from one activity to the next, I enjoy playing the piano, blogging, speaking about my life’s experiences, and feeding my insatiable crafting disease.