I want to focus my weekly reflection for my Book of Mormon
class on a scripture in Helaman 6:38. It
reads: “And it came to pass on the other hand, that the Nephites did build them
[the Gadianton robbers] up and support them, beginning at the more wicked part
of them, until they had overspread all the land of the Nephites, and had
seduced the more part of the righteous until they had come down to believe in
their works and partake of their spoils, and to join with them in their secret
murders and combinations.” This passage
is a little sad, as the Nephites are embracing the works of the devil. However, I found many parts very
interesting. It says that it began with
the most wicked part of the people – the part that had already succumbed to
Satan. These wicked began to spread and
take over the entire land until they were dominant. Finally, they ‘seduced’ most of the righteous
to join them in their sinful ways. I
found this process applicable to sin.
Sin begins with something that lets Satan into your mind or your heart,
and that becomes the most wicked part of your life. If not dealt with, that sin can spread into
other areas of your life, corrupting as it goes. This could be guilt or more sins. Finally, sin will attack your testimony – the
most righteous part of you. If you do
not repent, eventually the sin will destroy your testimony. I like this passage because it increases my
testimony of the repentance process – this process keeps me clean and pure and
can wipe away the errors I make before they spread.
That's a great insight. This passage is a powerful warning to repent of the sins we have been unwilling to give up, and also to be careful not to justify anything just because it's generally accepted by others. Otherwise, we can find ourselves in the same situation. Thank you!
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