3rd Nephi 1: 10, 11, 12, 23

Verse 10- When Nephi "saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful."

Verse 11- He "cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people."

Verse 12 - "The voice of the Lord came unto him."

Verse 23 - Nephi "went forth among the people . . . Baptizing unto repentance, in the which there was a great remission of sins. And thus the people began again to have peace in the land."

In his 3rd lecture on faith, Joseph Smith taught that "Three things are necessary, in order that any rational and intelligent being may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation."

1. First, the idea that he actually exists.
2. Secondly, a correct idea of his character, perfections and attributes.
3. Thirdly, that the course of life which he is pursuing is according to his will.

I feel like this is what I am doing all the time now-trying to understand what I should be doing with my life and studying the gospel for direction. I feel like Nephi. My heart is so sorrowful for what is happening in today's world. I have been praying harder than ever for God to intercede and help our land. Unlike Nephi, the voice of the Lord has not come unto me and so I must search the scriptures diligently to see if I can find the answers I need.

I see a direct correlation between verse 23 and this quote from chapter 1 of the book "Do Justly and Love Mercy" by Lowell Bennion.

"The Book of Mormon is princi­pally a cry of repentance with a repeated call to "think of your brethren like unto yourselves" (Jacob 2:17). Baptism and the sacrament are ordinances which bear witness of a believer's determination to always remember the Christ, to be a witness of him "at all times and in all things, and in all places," to be will­ing "to bear one another's burdens..., to mourn with those who mourn, and comfort those who stand in need of comfort" (Mosiah 18:8, 9). In fact, every ordinance of the restored gospel is inseparably linked with the ethical life and is not efficacious unless it is associated with Judeo-Christian morality."

That passage says to me that my commitment to Jesus Christ is also a commitment to my neighbor, to my community.

Father James Keenan, in an article I read this morning, reminds us of the importance of the story of the Good Samaritan. With that story the Savior expanded the definition of neighbor and taught about giving mercy. Father Keenan says:

"Mercy prompts us to see that we are all neighbors bound to the common good. Mercy helps us to recognize our neighbor who is excluded; the common good gives us the pathway to respond. Mercy is where we start; the common good is what we aim for.

The common good means that our own welfare is constitutively (essentially) connected to everyone else's. The world and all it's goods are to be developed and sustained so that all can access them. The goods for nourishment, housing, health, work, safety and security, and education need to be adequately shared protected and developed. To promote the common good, then, is to promote the well-being of all people. . . "

Isn't that what D&C 104:14-18 is talking about?

14 I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine.

15 And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.

16 But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.

17 For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves.

18 Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.

Do we believe that that Zion, where there "was no poor among them", was the ultimate capitalist society where all became billionaires or were they the United Order where they had all things in common and, as we are asked in D&C 52:10, they "remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things is not my disciple"?

D&C 56:16 Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls . . ."

Surely the ultimate expression of the Lord's desire for his children regarding temporal blessings is in D&C 82:16-19

Behold, here is wisdom also in me for your good.

And you are to be equal, or in other words, you are to have equal claims on the properties, for the benefit of managing the concerns of your stewardship, every man according to his wants and his needs, in as much as his wants are just---

And all this for the benefit of the Church of the living god, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundredfold, to be cast into the Lord's storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church ---

Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.

Wow, so much to think about!  I like these further thoughts by Father Keenan.

"Unfortunately, today our understanding of mercy is impoverished: It either looks like private, discretely pious actions or else it seems so shallow we ridicule its legacy with bumper stickers demanding justice instead of mercy.

Throughout history, however, the works of mercy were mostly collective, innovative and institutional. Those caring for the sick eventually created hospitals; those visiting prisoners formed societies to support them, their families and prison reform itself; clothing the naked led to the Vincent de Paul Society and an array of social services."

"Similarly, mercy promotes and does not mitigate justice. The option of the poor, clearly embedded in the tradition of mercy, summons us to recognize and promote the rights of those on the margins because they have too long been overlooked. In mercy we accompany those whose rights are ignored, whether they are the unborn, the immigrant, the homeless, the prisoner or the millions upon millions of people whose own equity is socially compromised because of gender, race, tribe, caste, religion or sexual status. Mercy does not tire in its search for justice, and for that reason mercy always is inextricably linked to promoting the common good."

"The common good provides direction for the political context of mercy.  On the common good, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1910) instructs us that "it is in the political community that its most complete realization is found. It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society, its citizens, and intermediate bodies." "

This is where I am:

• Trying to clarify what responsibility that I, with my unique LDS perspective, has to my community (because I am sorrowful for the state of my nation)
• Searching to understand how the scriptures can guide me in understanding those responsibilities (trying to hear the voice of the Lord)
• Looking at how and where I might have an impact.  (at all times and in all things, and in all places)

 It's been quite overwhelming.  I understand why Nephi "cried mightly to the Lord"!