This week I studied Ether 11-15 for my Come, Follow Me lessons. Ether 11, 13-15 are all about the final wars and destruction of the Jaredites, but Ether 12 contains great doctrines and principles. The principle that I will discuss tonight is humility.
It seems that Moroni took a break while
summarizing the chapters about the wars and destructions and wrote about faith,
hope, and charity. While writing about those three principles, he dropped some
information about humility. Moroni shared his concerns about his writing
ability with the Lord in Ether 12:23-25.
23 Lord, the Gentiles will mock at
these things, because of our weakness in writing; for Lord thou hast made us
mighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing; for thou
hast made all this people that they could speak much, because of the Holy Ghost
which thou hast given them.
24 And thou hast made us that we could
write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast
not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest
him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the
overpowering of man to read them.
25 Thou hast also made our words
powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we
behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I
fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words.
Moroni had great strengths and
attributes, but he felt inadequate when he compared his writing to that of the
brother of Jared. I believe that Moroni recognized his weakness and worried
that people in the latter days would condemn his record because of his writing
ability. I have read Moroni’s writing, and I find his words to be beautifully
written. Was he worried about his penmanship or his writing ability? We do not
know, but we know what the Lord answered in Ether 12:26-29.
26 And when I had said this, the Lord
spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is
sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;
27 And if men come unto me I will show
unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and
my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if
they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak
things become strong unto them.
28 Behold, I will show unto the
Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope, and
charity bringeth unto me – the fountain of all righteousness.
29 And I, Moroni, having heard these
words, was comforted….
The
Lord packed a lot of information in His answer. He seemed to acknowledge
Moroni’s
weakness before assuring that the Gentiles would not use it against him. The
Lord then explained that He gives us our weaknesses to keep us humble. It may
be difficult for any of us to stay humble if we had no weaknesses. The opposite
of humility is pride, and we know that pride is not a good thing.
In addition to keeping us humble by
giving us weaknesses, the Lord promised that He would turn our weaknesses into
strengths if we stay humble and exercise faith in Him. Elder Neal A. Maxwell
had some additional insight into these verses. “When we read I the scriptures
of man’s ‘weakness,’ this term includes the … weakness inherent in the general
human condition in which the flesh has an incessant impact upon the spirit (see
Ether 12:28-29). Weakness likewise includes, however, our specific, individual
weaknesses, which we are expected to overcome (see Doctrine and Covenants 66:3;
Jacob 4:7)” (Lord, Increase Our Faith [1994], 84).
We can conclude from Elder Maxwell’s
words that some of our weaknesses are just part of being human, while others
are personal weaknesses. President Henry B. Eyring gave additional insights
into these verses. “Moroni said that when he ‘heard these words,’ he ‘was
comforted’ (Ether 12:29). They can be a comfort to all of us. Those who do not
see their weaknesses do not progress. Your awareness of your weakness is a blessing
as it helps you remain humble and keeps you turning to the Savior. The Spirit
not only comforts you, but He is also the agent by which the Atonement works a
change in your very nature. Then weak things become strong” (“My Peace I Leave
with You,” Ensign, May 2017, 16).
We know that other prophets had
weaknesses also. Enoch wondered why the Lord would call him as a prophet
because he felt that he was too young – at age 65. Moses had a weakness with
speaking, so the Lord made Aaron his spokesman. If we knew particulars about
all the prophets, we would probably learn that all of them had a weakness or
two. Even though they are prophets, they are also human.
When we look at ourselves and see
our weaknesses, we should remember that God gave them to us to keep us humble. However,
He expects us to exercise faith in Jesus Christ and humbly ask for help in
overcoming our weaknesses.
Moroni had not quite learned the
lesson because he asked the Lord to give grace to the Gentiles “that they might
have charity” (Ether 12:36). The Lord assured Moroni that he did not have to
worry about the Gentiles in verse 37.
37 And it came to pass that the Lord
said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast
been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou
hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in
the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.
These
verses clearly tell us that we have weaknesses to keep us humble, but we are
supposed to work at overcoming our weaknesses. However, we do not need to
concern ourselves with how other people see our weaknesses. If we are faithful,
we can be assured that the Lord will give us what we deserve.
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