I’ve been thinking today about one of Nephi’s prophecies. After lamenting that people often ignore or even reject things of great worth, Nephi explained that the Savior would be persecuted during his mortal life but would willingly suffer rejection and abuse because of His love for us:
And the world, because of their iniquity,
shall judge him to be a thing of naught;wherefore they scourge him,
and he suffereth it;
and they smite him,
and he suffereth it.
Yea, they spit upon him,
and he suffereth it,because of his loving kindness
and his long-suffering towards the children of men.
(1 Nephi 19:9)
We know the Savior loves us in part because of what He was willing to suffer on our behalf. And as His disciples, we must strive to emulate that characteristic, loving others enough to suffer on their behalf:
And now I would that ye should be humble,
and be submissive and gentle;
easy to be entreated;
full of patience and long-suffering.
(Alma 7:23)
Today, I will be strive to be long-suffering. I will remember that an essential part of loving another person is being willing to suffer for them.