Lamentations 3 traces the author's journey through three emotional states, each of which elicits a different kind of exclamation and a different perspective on the author's relationship with God. Stage 1: Dejection For the first seventeen verses, the author describes God as his or her enemy: "He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light"... Continue Reading →
The Spirit of Heaviness
Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would replace negative things in our lives with positive ones: ashes with beauty, mourning with joy, and "the spirit of heaviness" with "the garment of praise" (Isaiah 61:3). The word "heaviness" is a translation of the Hebrew word kehah (כֵּהָ֣ה), which means literally dim or faint. Other English translations render... Continue Reading →
What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Sadness?
Yesterday, I wrote about what the Book of Mormon teaches us about happiness. Today, I would like to consider what the Book of Mormon teaches us about sadness. 1. Sadness is a fact of life. Alma referred to mortal life as "this vale of sorrow" (Alma 37:45). Jacob said that he and his people "did... Continue Reading →
Be of Good Cheer – 3 Nephi 1:13-14
13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the... Continue Reading →
He Was Exceedingly Sorrowful, and Began to Doubt – Alma 59:11-12
11 And now, when Moroni saw that the city of Nephihah was lost he was exceedingly sorrowful, and began to doubt, because of the wickedness of the people, whether they should not fall into the hands of their brethren. 12 Now this was the case with all his chief captains. They doubted and marveled also... Continue Reading →
A Time of Solemnity – Alma 28:4-6
4 And now this was a time that there was a great mourning and lamentation heard throughout all the land, among all the people of Nephi— 5 Yea, the cry of widows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and the daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the... Continue Reading →
Weighed Down with Sorrow – Alma 8:14-16
14 And it came to pass that while he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow, behold an angel of... Continue Reading →
It Was the Cause of Great Sorrow to Alma – Alma 31:2
2 For it was the cause of great sorrow to Alma to know of iniquity among his people; therefore his heart was exceedingly sorrowful because of the separation of the Zoramites from the Nephites. (Alma 31:2) I can think of a number of possible reactions when we see others doing something wrong. Depending on the... Continue Reading →
The Sorrowing of the Damned – Mormon 2:12-14
12 And it came to pass that when I, Mormon, saw their lamentation and their mourning and their sorrow before the Lord, my heart did begin to rejoice within me, knowing the mercies and the long-suffering of the Lord, therefore supposing that he would be merciful unto them that they would again become a righteous... Continue Reading →
Their Mourning Was Turned to Joy – 3 Nephi 10:10
10 And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer.(3 Nephi 10:10)After the massive... Continue Reading →
Book of Mormon Study Notes 