My missionary son recently wrote home and asked the following question:
"What is the difference between sin and weakness?"
It is a great queston that enabled me to ponder and search this week. I thought I would share my response to him with you.
It is an interesting concept to ponder. We all have weaknesses. Even the Lord Jesus Christ was born into a weak infant body. He had to grow and develop just like me and you. He had to learn to overcome those weaknesses and depend on his Father. Satan uses those weaknesses to tempt us to sin which will lead us away from God. As I have studied the scriptures these principles have emerged repeatedly but I was somewhat surprised to understand and see that the process of overcoming sin or weakness is essentially the same. We need the power of the atonement. For sin, it is the cleansing and healing power. For weakness we need its enabling and building power. The Book of Mormon is certainly instructive. Consider the psalm of Nephi:
17 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.
18 I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. (2 Nephi 4).
The juxtaposition of his weaknesses with temptations and sins is interesting. This is not a weak man. This is Nephi we are talking about, a prophet of God. His strength is rightfully in the Lord:
"20 My God hath been my support"
"30 O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation."
"34 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."
We are only weak when we rely on ourselves. When we yoke ourselves to the Savior, then we can become strong. God gives us weaknesses so that we will rely on Him.
Consider Moses:
10 ¶And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
11 And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?
12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
Moroni described similar feelings as he was worried about his perceived weakness in writing:
"23 And I said unto him: 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." (Ether 12).
He then goes on to give one of the greatest quotes in all of scriptures:
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.
Our choice to sin deliberately takes away from the Lord. Repentance is the process that turns us back and reconciles us to him. Weaknesses do not require repentance unless we give in to sin. Recognizing weakness and striving to overcome them is the process of sanctification. It is not always black and white. Both of these processes happen concurrently during repentance. Most sin is habitual in either thought or deed. As we turn to the Lord and struggle to overcome repeated mistakes we must seek after both the purifying and sanctifying effects of the Savior's atonement. The Lord can make us whole, can make us better, can make of us more than we could ever imagine we could be. We must turn and return to the Lord and put ourselves in his hands. As we do so, we will feel of His love in our life. The next step is to make his love, our love. In the words of Mormon:
"48 pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure." (Moroni 7).
At this point we will begin to turn our thoughts from being directed inward to outward.
`To Peter, the Lord said,
32 When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" (Luke 22).
Going back to Nephi, after his psalm he proceeds to use the writings of first Jacob and then Isaiah to witness of the Lord. He brings his own voice back in chapter 25, adding his own witness of the savior. At this point Nephi is clearly aware of the source of his strength and is now dedicated to helping others know and feel the same thing:
23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.
26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.
Salvation is an intensely personal one on one interaction with the Lord Jesus Christ and yet it will never be complete for ourselves until we reflect the light and love that we receive to others so that they may experience that same joy. In my estimation it is also the key to continue the enabling process of the atonement. As we share the gospel with others, the spirit that is inevitably shed forth on the receiver cannot help spill over to the one making the invitation. As we yoke ourselves to the Savior, we are inevitably yoked to each other through him. Through his sacred sealing power, this is true on both sides of the veil.
That was a rather long winded answer to your question. Thank you for asking it. It allowed me to study, ponder, search and grow this week.
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