"During a perilous period of war, an exchange of letters occurred between Moroni, the captain of the Nephite armies, and Pahoran, the chief judge and governor of the land. Moroni, whose army was suffering because of inadequate support from the government, wrote to Pahoran 'by the way of condemnation' (Alma 60:2) and harshly accused him of thoughtlessness, slothfulness, and neglect. Pahoran might easily have resented Moroni and his message, but he chose not to take offense. Pahoran responded compassionately and described a rebellion against the government about which Moroni was not aware. And then he responded, 'Behold, I say unto you, Moroni, that I do not joy in your great afflictions, yea, it grieves my soul. . . . And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart' (Alma 61:2, 9).
"One of the greatest indicators of our
own spiritual maturity is revealed in how we respond to the weaknesses, the inexperience, and the potentially offensive actions of others. A thing, an event, or an expression may be offensive, but you and I can choose not to be offended--and to say with Pahoran, 'it mattereth not.'
"
(David A. Bednar, "And Nothing Shall Offend Them," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 91)
I can't tell you how impressive this is to me. I am going to find the rest of the talk Brother Bednar gave in November 2006. This is so true. None of us are perfect. We will always be offending one another, but how different would the world be.....if more of us chose to not be offended. :)
2 comments:
that really is a GREAT story. glad you shared it!
i remember that in the book of mormon. see - that is why we read it over and over. there is always something there just for us personally. "it mattereth not" - yes, i like that. it can be something i can run over in my mind whenever i am offended (which is hardly ever) - i'm too much of an airhead.
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