Day 269 Finding Motivation in Accusation

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from. Thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. In the accusation, we find the motivation.

Welcome to day 269 on our 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon together. I hope I can convey the message that I feel so strongly to convey today. Here we go.

Today we're going to be reading Helaman chapter 9, verses 1-21. And really these verses would actually be quite comical if it wasn't for the nature of the murder surrounding the environment here. We have accusations, misinterpretations.

We have a group of people trying to test the word of a prophet, and then they get in trouble, and then the word of the prophet gets in trouble, and then Nephi's brought on trial. Well, this chaos would be comical if not for the nature of the heaviness of the story that it surrounds, and it's not too far off from what we're experiencing today. So, I want to dive into our verse for today and see this idea of in the accusation we find the motivation.

Our verse for today is Helaman chapter 9, verse 16, and it says this: "And now it came to pass, that the judges did expound the matter unto the people, and did cry out against Nephi, saying, Behold, we know that this Nephi must have agreed with someone to slay the judge. And then he might declare it unto us that he might convert us unto his faith that he might raise himself to be a great man chosen of God, and a prophet.'" Now, did you catch the motivation of the judges inside of their accusation here? Before we get there, I want to share a quote from Stephen Covey from his book.

He says inside of his book, "The 7 Habits," for those of you that don't know who Stephen Covey is, "The 7 Habits." He says, "We don't see the world as it is, but as we are, or as we are conditioned to see it." Now, this is a highly complex issue. I could probably take a couple of hours to dive into this one, but I want to try and keep this short and simple. In the very accusation of the judges, we see their desire as judges.

We know at this stage in the Book of Helaman that the very government positions were seated by Gadianton robbers. And what was their desire? Murder and gain and plunder and robbing to their own personal gain.

And here we see them take Nephi, stand him before the people and accuse him of the very thing that they were motivated by. They accused him of murder, that he would then convince the people. My friends, in our world today where accusations fly repeatedly day after day, hour after hour, literally minute after minute inside of our climate, please pay attention to the promptings of the Spirit.

Listen to the accusations and seek to find the motivations behind the accusations. These judges had no knowledge of Nephi's involvement, and yet at the very beginning they say, "Behold, we know that this Nephi must have agreed." They say it as if it was true, and yet it was simply an accusation, and behind it was driven by their own personal motivation. Please be aware of the accusations you hear and the ones you buy into.

Test them against the promptings of the Spirit. Seek to have the Spirit confirm those things in your mind and in your heart. And then also take perhaps a personal moment to see the way that you accuse others of their...

That's all for today, my friends. Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow and I hope you are too.