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...and they were zealous for keeping the commandments of God. (Alma 21:23)
Zealous. The people that Ammon and his brethren and King Lamoni were finally able to convert to the knowledge of the truth were zealous in keeping the commandments.
There are three definitions for zealous - ardently active, devoted, and diligent - none of which imply passivity. My favorite of those definitions, though, is "ardently active". My dictionary got a lot of use this morning, since I wasn't completely sure what ardent meant. It means passionate. So, zealousness could be defined as passionately active. I love it! "...and they were passionately active in keeping the commandments of God."
Because we just got done with General Conference, and the things the leaders of the church told us are commandments from God, today's reading made me think about how I can be "passionately active" in keeping those commandments. For example, President Monson spoke to the women of the church about not being judgmental.
My dear sisters, each of you is unique. You are different from each other in many ways. There are those of you who are married. Some of you stay at home with your children, while others of you work outside your homes. Some of you are empty nesters. There are those of you who are married but do not have children. There are those who are divorced, those who are widowed. Many of you are single women. Some of you have college degrees; some of you do not. There are those who can afford the latest fashions and those who are lucky to have one appropriate Sunday outfit. Such differences are almost endless. Do these differences tempt us to judge one another?(Women's Conference, September 25, 2010)
He then went on to quote Mother Theresa, who said "If you judge people, you have no time to love them".
If I were to passively keep this commandment from God to not judge those around me, I would simply not judge them. But if I were to be passionately active or zealous about keeping this commandment, I might do such things as volunteer at a homeless shelter or women's center. I have talked some about my son who is involved with the Special Olympics organization. I would submit that those who have volunteered to coach or run this organization are being zealous in keeping this commandment. It is all too easy to judge someone based on their outward appearance or presumed handicap.
President Monson also quoted Horace Mann, who once said, "To pity distress is but human; to relieve it is Godlike." I would change that to say that passively keeping the commandments by loving our neighbor is but human; to be passionately active in showing that love by constant and immediate service when needed is Godlike.
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