Lessons for Our Day From the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ - 2024
Lesson No. Twenty-Eight

Compassion or Contention - It’s Our Choice

Contention is of the Devil – Jesus commanded: “And there shall be no disputations among you…For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away” (3 Nephi 11:29-30).

We live in a world full of contention – Recently, President Russell M. Nelson said it so well: “We live in an age when a surging tide of discord and disputation is spreading across the globe. Aided by technology and abetted by people whose hearts have waxed cold, these divisive forces threaten to fill our hearts with contempt and corrupt our communication with contention. Communal ties are breaking. Wars are raging” (Liahona, October 2024).

As can easily be seen in this world, anger, contention and disputation is often joined by the other “works of the flesh” Paul warned against. These include: “Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like” (Galatians 5:19-21).

Latter-day Saints know from going to the temple that if you want to have the Spirit of the Lord unrestrained in your life, you can’t have contention or unkind feelings. We know that Satan will work as hard as he can against anyone who opposes him. We also know that Satan has no power over those who keep their temple covenants.

Ministering with compassion, as Jesus did, is the way to overcome contention – “Ministering is Christlike caring for others. It is motivated by our desire to follow the commandment to love our neighbor and includes serving people out of concern for their spiritual and temporal well-being. The Savior set an example of ministering during His life. He “smiled at, talked with, walked with, listened to, made time for, encouraged, taught, fed, and forgave. The Savior asks us to follow His example to ‘love one another; as I have loved you’” (LDS Library, Topics and Questions, Ministering). The following three examples shows Jesus, being moved by compassion, ministering one by one to the Nephites:

Jesus ministered one by one to 2,500 Nephites – “And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come” (3 Nephi 11:15, emphasis added; see also 3 Nephi 17).

Jesus individually healed all who were afflicted – “And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you. Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy….And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him” (3 Nephi 17:6, 7, 9, emphasis add).

Jesus wept and blessed the little children one by one – “And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought. So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him….And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. And when he had done this he wept again” (3 Nephi 17:11-13, 21-22).

To minister with compassion, as Jesus did, requires a personal investment of time – We are not told how much time it took Jesus to minister one by one to 2,500 Nephites. Nor are we told how much time it took Jesus to heal, one by one, any Nephite who was afflicted in any manner. We have no way of knowing how much time it took Jesus to bless and pray for each little Nephite child. But in each of these cases Jesus committed a considerable amount of time. A text or a telephone call does not accomplish what a personal visit does. When ministering with compassion it is usually not our money but our time that is needed.

Testimony – All temple ordinances for both the living and the dead are administered one by one, and they are administered with compassion by both temple patrons and temple workers. I recently learned that over eighty million ordinances have been administered one by one in the Jordan River Temple. These ordinance have been performed with compassion, just as Jesus would do. Temple workers and temple patrons will testify that doing this works brings the “fruit of the Spirit” Paul mentioned. These include: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23). Let us each increase our efforts to minister with compassion to the one, especially the one in need among both the living and the dead. By doing this and choosing compassion we will enjoy the fruits of the Spirit.

Released on September 30th. 2024.