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As I read the passage about Paul bearing marks in his body related to Christ’s suffering, I thought of how he was first struck blind by his vision of the Savior, and then healed by President Ananias of the Damascus branch, who was sent by God to Paul. It was a kind of death and a resurrection. Immediately followed by Paul accepting baptism, thus following Jesus into and out of the grave. From that day forward, every time Paul saw through his renewed eyes, he was reminded of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and his vision of the resurrected Lord.
We are taught in the Sermon on the Mount, and the Sermon at the Temple in Bountiful, that those who mourn will be blessed. Alma taught thst baptism includes our promise to mourn with those who mourn. I think that there is more than a promise to those who suffer loss in life. In Moses 7:45, Enoch talks to God about the suffering of the Son of God, and that those who look to his suffering are “those who mourn.” I think that taking the sacrament is not about focusing on the triumph of Christ’s resurrection, but is about our having compassion for Jesus and his suffering, so we can feel his compassion for us in accepting our suffering. We are promising to mourn for him, so we can learn to love all those whom he loves. We are invited to bear his marks in our bodies, just as we learn in the temple.
Struck by Galatians 6:17 as I pursued my personal study in this week’s “Come Follow Me” course, I googled the quote about the marks of Jesus, adding “lds”, because I wanted insights on it from the perspective of the restored gospel. This is the first article – and I didn’t see an LDS resource immediately afterward – that surfaced. Thank God! I mean that reverently. I’ve studied it over twice now, and will yet more. My son-in-law, on our family whatsapp group on homecentered gospel learning, where I had shared this article, wrote that it has changed his life, in the sense that he has come to understand what has confused him for years about the “order” of God, as described in D&C 88:119. Thank you, Daniel Peterson, for enriching and deepening our understanding. Thank you for your scholarship and careful discourse of this profound and essential topic.
What would it cost me to get a printout of this? This touched me deeply. You publish some of these articles I know. I’m a great admirer of your work. Thank you for all that you do for all of us.
Paul, you can purchase a printout of any of our articles by clicking on the “Order Print” icon on the right-hand side of the article. This particular article currently costs $5.12.
What a great way of expanding the view on our relationship with Jesus and our journey here. Great article, thank you.
Great work! Thanks!
I loved reading this! My guess for the translation is that it is a slight tweaking on the NSRV.
Amen
A wonderful, thought provoking essay: thank you very much.
I have a grandson, age 13, afflicted with cerebral palsy. Unable to speak, walk–with twisted legs and feet–nor able to control his bladder and bowels, I mourn for him but more so for his remarkable mother who sacrifices her own interests needs, and health, to provide constant, daily care while still dealing with two younger children and a teenager.
Caregivers such as her, and they are legion in this world, are ones who truly deal with suffering and become co-suffers with Him.
What a beautiful and thought-provoking message on the subject of suffering. Thank you for your insights and for sharing those of Wolterstorff and Barfield.