Used to be... Not Anymore!

Perhaps it was timely that the message at church this morning was about repentance. Of course this topic is applicable at any point in time, but the scriptures quoted were classic and beautiful—of which I want to write about today. First I would like to share 3 stories:

1. Paul used to be a persecutor of Christians. He hated the followers of Jesus. He wanted to see them all locked up in prison. On his way to Damascus, the Lord appeared to him. His life from then onwards was never the same again. He used to be a persecutor, but not anymore!

2. A woman was brought before Jesus in the temple. The Pharisees caught her in the act of adultery. They were condemning her for what she did. The Law of Moses says to stone her. They ask what Jesus would say. He stood up and said, “All right, stone her. But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones!” When the woman’s accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

“No Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

If the woman went and sinned no more, then she could say to the world, “I used to be an adulterer, but not anymore!”

3. A young son obtained his portion of the family estate as an early inheritance. Once received, the son immediately took off. He went away to a distant land and began to waste his fortune on wild living. When the money ran out, a sever famine hit the country and the son finds himself in terrible circumstances. He took a job feeding pigs. He was so destitute that he even longed to eat the food assigned to the pigs.

The young man finally came to his senses, remembering his father. In humility, he recognized his foolishness, and decided to return to his father and ask for forgiveness and mercy. The Prodigal Son was repentant. His father, who had been watching and waiting, received his son back with open arms of compassion. Perhaps the son cried to his father, “I used to be bad, but not anymore!”
Some of us may find ourselves in either of the circumstance described in the stories above. Or, we may even relate to all, although not in the same degree. The essence of the stories is the amazing power of repentance and forgiveness—that it is true and real that a person can change.

Our life is but made up of a variety of actions. These actions may either make or break us. Even a guided life may turn out to be prodigal in one way or the other.

I turn to the story of an old violin. It was battered and scarred, yet found itself in an auction. The auctioneer thought it a waste of time, but still asked those who would want to bid on the old violin. "Who'll start bidding for me? A dollar, a dollar - now who’ll make it two -Two dollars, and who’ll make it three? Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three.”

No one made a bid. Who would want to bid on a seemingly worthless, useless musical instrument?
Then from the back of the room, a gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow. He wiped the dust from the old violin & tightened the strings. Then, he began to play a pure and sweet melody.

When the music ceased, the auctioneer began to start the bidding from a thousand dollars. Still, no one made their bid. Some people cheered, but some of them cried. They didn’t understand what changed its worth. It was because of the touch of the Master’s hand. I now quote from the poem:

And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and torn with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd.Much like the old violin.

A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on,
He's going once, and going twice -He's going - and almost gone!
But the MASTER comes, and the foolish crowd,
Never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul, and the change that's wrought
By the touch of the MASTER'S hand.

But changing to become a better person or a man of God, may not last until another persuasion comes. What then, can make one firmly say, “Used to be, not anymore!”

Once our lives and hearts are touched by the Savior’s love, we become humbled and begin to not “look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.” We feel to love the Savior back which drives us to avoid sin. We cannot say “not anymore!” and stay firm at that, until we let the Lord touch our hearts and fix our lives.

I end with these words of Nephi—an ancient American prophet. I love this part of the book of Nephi. Truly this is probably the most beautiful psalm I ever read. [2 Nephi 4:16-35]

Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard. Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities. I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.

My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh. He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me. Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time. And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me. And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.

O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions? And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?

Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions. Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation. O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin? May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!

O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy. O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

Even if we think we are walking in the path of right, at some point we get tempted to go astray, relax, and get curious about things—or even go back to who and what we used to be. Sometimes I tend to believe that to be typical—that the happenings in life can be repeated and will just turn into a cycle. But the words of God are supposed to bring permanence in one’s resolve to change.

When King Benjamin preached the word of God to the people, “they all cried with once voice, saying : Yeah, we believe all the words of which thou hast spoken unto us; and also we know of their surety and truth, because the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which was wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil , but to do good continually.”

“To do good continually”, to say “not anymore” requires more than human effort. Once we hear the Word, and live accordingly, and once the Spirit touches our heart, we are then converted into a being incapable of becoming a prodigal—a being whose choices are in tuned with the will of God. To reach this ultimately, the Lord gives us reminders in almost every place we go, and in every action we do. Disobedience or wrongdoing blurs our vision and sensitivity to the influence of God. We need to be vigilant as the adversary doubles or even triples his effort to lead us away from righteousness and bring us to misery.

I’m working to grasp that point where I can say that a “mighty change” had been shaped in my heart, so that the Lord can work in making me “shake at the appearance of sin”. I want to be able to say that “I used to be, but not anymore!”

Repentance--Is it too late?

Abinadi was a prophet sent by God to cry/preach repentance to wicked King Noah and his court. Noah was appointed king of the Nephites at that time by his father, Zeniff, who, in contrast, led the people in righteousness.

We can read in Mosiah, in the Book of Mormon, chapter 11, that King Noah “did not walk in the ways of his father”. He did not keep the commandments of God, but walked “after the desires of his own heart”.

Continuing from verse 2 we read:

2 ….And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness.
3 And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ziff, and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth part of their fatlings; and also a fifth part of all their grain.
4 And all this did he take to support himself, and his wives and his concubines; and also his priests, and their wives and their concubines; thus he had changed the affairs of the kingdom.
5 For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their stead, such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts.
6 Yea, and thus they were supported in their laziness, and in their idolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes which king Noah had put upon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity.
7 Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them.
8 And it came to pass that king Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper;
9 And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.
10 And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.
11 And the seats which were set apart for the high priests, which were above all the other seats, he did ornament with pure gold; and he caused a breastwork to be built before them, that they might rest their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people.
12 And it came to pass that he built a tower near the temple; yea, a very high tower, even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof and overlook the land of Shilom, and also the land of Shemlon, which was possessed by the Lamanites; and he could even look over all the land round about.
13 And it came to pass that he caused many buildings to be built in the land Shilom; and he caused a great tower to be built on the hill north of the land Shilom, which had been a resort for the children of Nephi at the time they fled out of the land; and thus he did do with the riches which he obtained by the taxation of his people.
14 And it came to pass that he placed his heart upon his riches, and he spent his time in riotous living with his wives and his concubines; and so did also his priests spend their time with harlots.
15 And it came to pass that he planted vineyards round about in the land; and he built wine-presses, and made wine in abundance; and therefore he became a wine-bibber, and also his people.

It must have been very difficult for Abinadi to face Noah’s people, let alone, preach to them. On the first occasion, he came with a warning. It took 2 years and Abinadi had to return with another warning because the people ignored the first.

In chapter 12 we read about the 2nd warning which was somewhat similar to the first (Mosiah 11:20-25).

1 And it came to pass that *after the space of two years that Abinadi came among them in disguise, that they knew him not, and began to prophesy among them, saying: Thus has the Lord commanded me, saying—Abinadi, go and prophesy unto this my people, for they have hardened their hearts against my words; they have repented not of their evil doings; therefore, I will visit them in my anger, yea, in my fierce anger will I visit them in their iniquities and abominations.
2 Yea, wo be unto this generation! And the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thy hand and prophesy, saying: Thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that this generation, because of their iniquities, shall be brought into bondage, and shall be smitten on the cheek; yea, and shall be driven by men, and shall be slain; and the vultures of the air, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts, shall devour their flesh.
3 And it shall come to pass that the life of king Noah shall be valued even as a garment in a hot furnace; for he shall know that I am the Lord.
4 And it shall come to pass that I will smite this my people with sore afflictions, yea, with famine and with pestilence; and I will cause that they shall howl all the day long.
5 Yea, and I will cause that they shall have burdens lashed upon their backs; and they shall be driven before like a dumb ass.
6 And it shall come to pass that I will send forth hail among them, and it shall smite them; and they shall also be smitten with the east wind; and insects shall pester their land also, and devour their grain.
7 And they shall be smitten with a great pestilence—and all this will I do because of their iniquities and abominations.
8 And it shall come to pass that except they repent I will utterly a destroy them from off the face of the earth; yet they shall leave a record behind them, and I will preserve them for other nations which shall possess the land; yea, even this will I do that I may discover the abominations of this people to other nations. And many things did Abinadi prophesy against this people.

It’s amazing that the Lord afforded time for King Noah and his people to repent. It wasn’t until after 2 years did Abinadi return to give another reminder.

Come to think of it, we see similar conditions in our day and time as that was in Noah’s period. We’ve been warned so many times in the scriptures about wickedness and disobedience and consequences, even penalty for indulging in such. Our country, among many other nations in the world, had suffered countless calamities and had lost thousands of lives. We tend to look at these disasters as natural and have nothing to do with the way we live our lives. Just as Noah and his people in the Book of Mormon, and we even remember Sodom & Gomorrah, and the people before the flood in the Bible, God had to send destruction because of the iniquity & disobedience of the people. The calamities prophesied to happen because of disobedience and wickedness are as sure as the promises of God to the righteous.

If we assess the world today and ask if it’s ripe for destruction, what could be the answer? Perhaps John the Revelator has one. In Revelations chapter 7, we read about 4 angels set upon each corner of the earth holding the winds so as not to blow. The winds symbolize destruction. Just as the Lord provided 2 years for King Noah and his people to repent, we are now living in that probation when we are supposed to look at our lives and repent of our mistakes and sins. We are now at the final stage when God is marking those who are worthy to be saved when the winds (destruction) are released by the angels.

Alma was the first among the people of Noah to believe in the words of Abinadi. When he was contending with Zeezrom (a man who was expert in the devices of the devil), he spoke about that probationary state: And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.(Alma 12:24)

How are we preparing ourselves to meet God?

For the time being, we’ve been granted this probation in which we can repent or not, according to the knowledge we have and the desires of our hearts. However, a time will come when it will be too late to choose.

...the time shall come when all shall see the salvation of the Lord; when every nation, kindred, tongue, and people shall see eye to eye and shall confess before God that his judgments are just. And then shall the wicked be cast out, and they shall have cause to howl, and weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth; and this because they would not hearken unto the voice of the Lord; therefore the Lord redeemeth them not. (Mosiah 16:1,2)

When that time arrives, it will be too late to repent. We can learn now to kneel before God from love and gratitude, rather than find ourselves in that day in fear and condemnation.

The issue that will determine our final state is not what we were or what we intend one day to be, but what we are. Thus, if we are repentant and obedient, no matter what may have transpired previously in our lives, the Lord promises to turn scarlet sins to white and crimson colored sins to wool (Isaiah 1:18); to never mention our sins to us again (Ezek. 18:21,22); to subdue our sins and throw them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19); to blot out like a thick cloud our transgressions (Isaiah 44:22); and to not remember our sins (Isaiah 43:25). This, he has promised, he will do as often as we truly repent (Mosiah 26:30). But if we are encompassed in sin, and if we do not repent, we have no promises at all.

But remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him. Therefore, he is as though there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God; and also is the devil an enemy to God. (Mosiah 16:5)