Friday, February 24, 2012

Nephi Teaches Forgiveness

In 1 Nephi 7 the brothers Laman and Lemuel become so angry with Nephi that they laid their hands on him, bound his legs and arms and were going to leave him for dead in the wilderness to be eaten by the wild beasts. What really hit me was even though Nephi's brothers wanted to kill him and that was their intent, when they asked to be forgiven of him, Nephi forgave them!

Would any person today forgive a close friend or family member for trying to kill them?? Not only did they try to kill him but Nephi had to speak with the power of the Holy Ghost to rebuke them and call them to repentance. And even after that, the family members of Ishmael had to convince them to not harm Nephi.
And yet, Nephi still forgave them for wanting to kill him even after all that. Talk about some Christ like love!

If Nephi would be so willing and quick to forgive his brother for killing him, how much more should we forgive others for even lesser trespasses?