Oct 13, 2024

Jesus Christ Has Compassion and Heals the People

When Christ visited the Nephites, He made it clear that though the righteous among them had been preserved, they still had much to change. He showed His love to them by correcting their misunderstandings and helping them work through their shortcomings. 

He quoted from Isaiah, “In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. . . . For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee” (3 Nephi 22:8, 10).

When we make mistakes, the Lord will lovingly correct us and will always forgive us as we repent. His kindness is reliable and constant. We will never be perfect in this life—and God does not expect it—but He does want to lift us to a higher place as He leads us along the covenant path, our eyes raised to Him.

Wilford Woodruff counseled, “Let us, therefore, be one; be ready to forgive, let us never think we have so much dignity that we need no instruction or chastisement. Let us be humble and ponder what we are here for. Earth and hell are against us, the world hate us, and this is one of the principal proofs that God is our friend and will fight our battles, if we are faithful to Him and His commands.” 

While we battle against sin, temptation, and imperfection of all kinds, our Savior will fight with us. He will take us to where He needs us to be and where we will be happiest, even if it doesn’t always seem like it in the moment.

I have always loved this imagery by C. S. Lewis: “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably. . . . [You see,] He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of. . . . You thought you were [being] made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” 

I pray that I can trust in the Lord enough to make me into the mansion that He intends me to be, one who is worthy of His presence and His direction. I know that He loves us, and I know that He has a perfect plan for each of us and will lead us home.

Lyndie is working toward a degree in Public Relations at Brigham Young University. Originally from Idaho Falls, Idaho, she enjoys running, spending time with her husband and family, and reading. Lyndie served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hermosillo, Mexico, where she developed a love for the Spanish language and the people there. She was drawn to the Wilford Woodruff Papers out of a desire to learn more about Church history and enjoys being part of the organization’s efforts to touch lives with Wilford Woodruff’s words.

The Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation’s mission is to digitally preserve and publish Wilford Woodruff’s eyewitness account of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and make his records universally accessible in order to inspire all people, especially the rising generation, to study and to increase their faith in Jesus Christ. For more information, please explore wilfordwoodruffpapers.org.