"Stretched out Still" Erin Petersen

In English class my junior year, we did an exercise to see if we agreed with viewpoints of other religions. My teacher would read a statement, and we would stand on one side of the room or the other depending on if we agreed with it or not. One of the statements was, "God is forgiving." I headed to the 'agree' side of the room to find that there was only one other person standing next to me. I could not believe that the rest of my class believe that God did not forgive our mistakes and sins. What kind of God would He be if He did not have mercy? I couldn't even fathom such a thought, because God's mercy is key to our purpose on Earth.

The Lord's mercy is unending. When looking up the word 'mercy' in Hebrew, the word רַחֲמִים appears, which means Rachamim. Rachamim is the idea that though a person may seem unworthy, they are not judged on the superficial, but on the heart, which is why "God sits upon the throne of mercy"[1]. It also means to realized that Heavenly Father is a merciful God who will redeem us[1]. There is also a gate to Jerusalem which is called "Sha'ar Ha-rachamim," which means the Gate of Mercy. It is from this gate that the Savior is supposed to enter the city[2]. So literally, it is through "mercy" that the Lord will save Isreal, his people. Isaiah illustrates God's mercy towards his children. In chapter 9 of Isaiah, the atrocities of the people are being told. Yet three times it is repeated, "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand it stretched out still."[3] While the Lord cannot "look upon sin with the least degree of allowance"[4], he still hopes for his children, wants them to return to him. He leaves his hand outstretched, waiting for the wayward ones to grab hold of it and return.

Patience is a part of the Lord's mercy towards us. There are some sins that we may repeat many times, but the Lord still waits for us to turn every time, and leave those sins behind us. "Let us prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it a little longer..."[5] These words are spoken by the servant of the vineyard when the branches of the olive tree were to be cast into the fire in Jacob 5. Much painstaking time was put into the tree already, and the product was not rewarding. Yet, Christ was willing to give more time in the hopes that the tree would yield good fruit and would not need to be destroyed.

Because the Lord is merciful and patient, it is sometimes hard to understand why He would be 'angered,' or punish His children. Yet His chastisements are part of His great mercy. In Mosiah 23:21 it says, "Nevertheless, the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith."[6] Why would the Lord do such a thing? Why would he try our patience and faith. In Helaman 15:3, we find the answer: "...yea, in the days of their iniquities hath he chastened them because he loveth them"[7]. The Lord wants our happiness, and he knows that "wickedness never was happiness"[8] so he chastises his people, he lets them know when they've done something displeasing in his eyes because he wants his children to be happy. Before he was converted, Alma the Younger went about destroying the Church of God and leading people astray. He was confronted by an angel and told of his sins before God, which lead to a mighty change of heart. He said, "...after wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God"[9] Alma could not have been 'born of God' if he had not been chastised of the Lord. God is merciful enough to let us know when we've done something wrong and allow us to change our lives.

The plan that the Lord set forth in the pre-existence is known as many things, but one of the names for it is The Plan of Mercy. Part of this plan was to allow all sons and daughters of God to have agency, to have the power to chose for themselves what they want to do. King Benjamin taught that "...Under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free"[10]. In allowing us the freedom to choose for ourselves, the Lord knew that we would make mistakes, and he knew that because we were not perfect, there would be no way for us to return to him unless we had a mediator. Jesus Christ chose to be that mediator, and grant us the atonement, for, "If there should be no atonement, all mankind must be lost"[11]. Because of Chirst's compassion towards our fallen state and his desire for us to be exalted, he bore all grief and pain so that we could become one with the Father. The atonement requires mercy, it requires patience, and it requires the Lord to chasten us so that we will know of the need to repent and come unto him.

The first time I went to the Logan temple, I was early. I was waiting by myself in the chapel, and oddly enough, I was the only one waiting. The temple matron must have noticed, because she came over and started talking to me. She took me over to a picture of Christ and showed me that no matter where I moved in the room, it would always appear as if his foot was pointed toward me. "That's because the Lord never turns away from you," the matron told me. "When you don't feel the presents of the Lord, it's because you've strayed off the path, and the Lord cannot be with any unclean thing. But He's always turned toward you, waiting for you to come back to him." I firmly believe that this is the case. The Lord loves us and wants us to return to live with him. He knows our weaknesses, our faults, our grief, our trials, and he will succor us if we but ask him. It gives him no greater joy than when one of his children returns to him, so he has implemented the Plan of Happiness so that we may have a way back to him. The Savior made the way possible by granting the power of his atonement to all who come unto him. Through his compassion and love, it is possible for everyone to be the best that they can be, to receive exaltation, and all that he has. I know that we just have to turn to him, and that he will be waiting, hand outstretched, ready to lead us once again. Of this I testify, in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

[1] www.inner.org
[2] www.learn-hebrew-names.com
[3] Isaiah 9:12,17,21
[4] D&C 1:31
[5] Jacob 5:27
[6] Mosiah 23:21
[7] Helaman 15:3
[8] Alma 41:10
[9] Mosiah 27:28
[10] Mosiah 5:8
[11] Jacob 7:12