Saturday, May 10, 2014

3 Nephi 17

Every time I prayerfully study this chapter and spend time pondering what it teaches, I end up in tears, full of love and gratitude for my Savior.
The Savior asks the Nephites to bring him all those who are sick or afflicted in any way. As I ponder what this means, I realize that could be everyone.
I imagine myself being there. If the Savior appeared to a group of 2500 people, and I was in that group, and he asked us to bring him the sick and afflicted so he could heal them, I would desperately want a blessing from him. However, I would feel like my afflictions weren't as serious or important as others'. I'm not blind, or deaf. I'm not missing any limbs.  I don't have any serious health issues. I'm not battling cancer, or depression. Because of this, I wouldn't go up to him. I'd hang back, probably in the deepest corner.
Eventually, my visualization changes, and it begins to look like the ending scene of the movie The Testaments, where Jesus makes his way through the crowd and comes to Helam, a blind man. Christ looks Helam in the eye, calls him by name, smiling, then heals his vision.
In my visualization, Christ comes to me. He knows I want a blessing from him, and he knows I feel like my problems don't matter to him, or aren't as important as others'. But my problems do matter to him. He loves me. He looks me in the eyes and calls me by name.
"Jennifer."
He puts his hands on my head and gives me the most beautiful blessing I've ever received, and afterwards, I just hug him. I tell him I love him. And he moves on.
The Savior loves each one of us more than we can comprehend. He cares about our weaknesses, struggles, afflictions, problems, and shortcomings, even if we think they are small and unimportant on the scale. He wants us all to be healed. He wants us all to be happy.
Try reading 3 Nephi 17 and imagining yourself there. If you're comfortable sharing, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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