What do these New Testament passages have in common?
- “If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother” (Matthew 18:15).
- “They which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last” (John 8:9).
- “When [the Comforter] is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8).
- “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds” (Jude 1:15).
- “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (Revelation 3:19).
The verbs in bold are all translations of a single Greek word: elegchó (ἐλέγχω). Some modern translations render it as “expose” in some passages. (See, for example these translations of Ephesians 5:13.) The word has no exact English equivalent, which is why so many verbs are used to represent it in different contexts. The full meaning of the verb is something like this: Bringing a fault to light, awakening a desire to correct it.
When the Lord called John Murdock to preach the gospel in 1832, He described the events leading up to His Second Coming by quoting the passage from Jude above (which is in turn a quotation from the ancient non-canonical book of Enoch):
Behold, and lo, I come quickly to judgment, to convince all of their ungodly deeds which they have committed against me, as it is written of me in the volume of the book.
Doctrine and Covenants 99:5
Knowing the original meaning of the word “convince” helps us better understand it’s use in this revelation. God wants to help us see our weaknesses, so that we will have a desire to improve ourselves with His help. Elder Larry R. Lawrence taught:
As we travel along that strait and narrow path, the Spirit continually challenges us to be better and to climb higher. The Holy Ghost makes an ideal traveling companion. If we are humble and teachable, He will take us by the hand and lead us home.
“What Lack I Yet?” General Conference, October 2015
Within that paradigm, the word “convince” is a reasonable synonym for verbs like “rebuke” or “convict.” Our motivation to change must come from within, not be imposed by external forces, in order to effect permanent change.
The angel who appeared to Alma and the sons of Mosiah said, “[I have] come to convince thee of the power and authority of God” (Mosiah 27:14). Shortly after, the sons of Mosiah asked permission to preach the gospel to the Lamanites, “that perhaps they might bring them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and convince them of the iniquity of their fathers” (Mosiah 28:2). After many of the Lamanites accepted the gospel, the king declared:
I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the traditions of our wicked fathers.
Alma 24:7
Of course, to be convinced, we have to be willing to listen. Our stubbornness can prevent us from acknowledging our shortcomings and being willing to change. But if we are willing to approach the Savior in humility, we can participate in the process He described to Moroni:
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.
Ether 12:27
Today, I will open my heart to let God show me where I can improve. I will let that awareness awaken in me the desire make incremental improvements in my life.
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