Thoughts on 3 Nephi 18:25 - 23 April 2022

 

When Jesus visited the people in America, He healed people that were afflicted in various ways. The next day, He instituted the sacrament to help them remember His sacrifice and all that he offered them. He then spoke the powerful words of this verse.
In the past, I have always read these words as Jesus saying, "I didn't ask any of you to go away." However, that is NOT what Jesus is saying here, and the difference is important. What He is actually saying is, "I've asked that none of you go away." In other words, he asked them all to STAY.
That difference means a lot to me personally. Jesus isn't just willing to have us around, or to tolerate our weaknesses and imperfections, or to heal and console us if we are really persistent in pleading. He WANTS us to be around, He WANTS to make our weak things become strong, and He WANTS to heal us--no matter who we are or what we have done. In fact, it would cause Jesus to weep if we left Him--thereby suffering ourselves to be led into temptation.
Jesus also told the people, "So shall ye do unto the world." If we are trying to follow Christ and His teachings, we have a responsibility to do more than tolerate others and merely not ask them to go away. We need to plead with them to stay and belong--and show that we mean it by our words, attitudes and actions. As we demonstrate such inclusion ourselves, Christ's invitation becomes easier for all to believe.

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