But what if all of that turned out to be wrong? What if everything that I've learned over the course of my life is a lie? What if Christianity is just some elaborate scheme perpetrated by evil masterminds, designed to dupe us all? Then what?
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| ©Darrell Wyatt |
When Samuel the Lamanite prophesied that Jesus Christ would be born in five years' time, and signs and wonders began appearing just as he and ancient prophets had foretold, people began to be excited. They had waited so very long for this day. Some of them had grown up in the belief that Christ would come, and some were very newly converted. But there were still those who did not believe and continued to persecute the believers.
And they began to rejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been in vain. (3 Nephi 1:6)
I took particular interest in the choice of wording here: "your joy and your faith...hath been in vain". Was it in vain? This is what made me think of the questions I posed earlier - what if none of it were real? What if it turned out for these people that Jesus Christ never was born that night so long ago? Were they any worse off for the faith and joy that they felt? Were they a ruined people because they had spent all those years hoping for something that never happened? I don't think so.
I hear the term "false hope" quite often. I'm not convinced there is such a thing. To me, any hope in something good - whether it is feasible or not - is good hope. The believers in the time of Samuel the Lamanite were better people because of their faith and hope. They did not have contention amongst themselves. They served each other willingly. They were just good people.
Thankfully for me, their hope and faith was not unfounded. Christ was born that night, and the believers on this continent were given a witness of the event, fulfilling all the prophesies that they had grown up hearing. The believers were so filled with joy at his coming and the non-believers so filled with fear at the realization that they had been wrongly persecuting their brethren, that "all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south...fell to the earth (3 Nephi 1:17)". They saw the same sign of his birth that people across the world saw - a new star in the sky.
Just as the Nephites and Lamanites received signs of Christ's birth, we are receiving signs today of His coming. Prophesies are being fulfilled. Some people, just as they did back then, are becoming converted to His gospel because of the signs. Others talk about coincidences and say that it's reasonable that ancient prophets could have guessed that these things might happen. Some people persecute believers because of their beliefs.
I know, with every fiber of my being, that Christ will come again. I know that he will say again something similar to that which he said to Nephi:
Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand...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 mouth of my holy prophets. (3 Nephi 1:13)
I am a better person because of my faith in and love for Jesus Christ. I will continue to serve others and to love my neighbor and do all the things that will bring me closer to Him. I "look forward with steadfastness" to that day when I will see Him again. Until then, I will lift up my head and be of good cheer, for I know that my faith is strong and my hope real.
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