When I think about being reprimanded or corrected, I’m not sure the word “comfort” comes to mind. So I was intrigued by the following passage from the Savior’s words to His disciples at the Last Supper:
It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
John 16:7-8
Some other translations of the Bible use the word “convict” or “correct” in place of “reprove.” The New International Version says, “He will prove the world to be in the wrong,” and the Contemporary English Version puts it a little more gently: “The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God’s justice and the judgment.” (See parallel translations of John 16:8 on biblehub.com.)
Regardless of how it’s phrased, it’s clear that the Holy Ghost will correct us. We may think of the Holy Ghost as a Teacher, a Reminder, and a Comforter, but He’s also a Reprover. Part of teaching us “all things” is teaching us things that are hard to hear, things that we need to do better or differently.
Earlier in this sermon, Jesus had compared Himself to a vine, His Father to the husbandman, and His disciples to branches. “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away,” He said. That sounds reasonable. Fruitless branches need not be connected to the vine. But then He adds, “Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (John 15:2). No respite for the conscientious disciple either! We all need to be taught and corrected. We all have so much to learn, and learning is not always comfortable.
Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would “reprove with equity for the meek of the earth,” and then he added, “He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked” (Isaiah 11:4, 2 Nephi 21:4; see also Doctrine and Covenants 113:1-2). Nephi quoted this prophecy in the context of the latter-day gathering of Israel. (See 2 Nephi 30:8-9.) Surely that reproof is directed at the wicked, at those who are oppressing the meek. But the fruitful branches are also purged, and perhaps the meek who are being gathered are also being reproved so that they can improve. Perhaps that is part of what it means to be gathered.
President Russell M. Nelson said, “The Lord is gathering those who are willing to let God prevail in their lives. The Lord is gathering those who will choose to let God be the most important influence in their lives” (“Let God Prevail,” General Conference, October 2020). Surely that includes allowing God to reprove us, accepting and acting on corrective feedback from Him!
Today, I will seek to understand God’s will for me, including how He wants me to change. I will remember that the Holy Ghost can teach me all things, including things that will help me to do better and to be better.