On Monday, October 10th I went with Elders Williams and Madrid to Casa de Mateus. We went there previously in May.
SCRIPTURE POWER
Moroni’s promise instructs us to: “remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.” (Moroni 10:3) Pondering the Lord’s mercy, here are some verses that describe it.
“the Son of God..shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind…and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh” (Alma 7:12)
“And the world, because of their iniquity, shall.. scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.” (1 Ne. 19:9)
Because of His “loving kindness” Jesus suffered all the pains, afflictions, temptations, infirmities, and sins of all mankind. The result is He is filled with mercy.
“his bowels of mercy are over all the earth” (Alma 26:37)
“the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice” (Alma 34:15)
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said: Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it.” (“The Laborers in the Vineyard”, Ensign, May, 2012).
“Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.” (Mosiah 15:9)
“Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy.” (3 Ne. 17:7)
Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines “bowels” as: “The seat of pity or kindness; hence, tenderness, compassion, a scriptural sense.”
“Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men” (Moroni 7:27) Of all the things Jesus is entitled to He claims “his rights of mercy”!
“Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified; Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.” (D & C 45: 3-5)
“Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extendedtowards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.” (3 Ne. 9:14)
“…because of their sincere repentance, they must unavoidably remain in bondage until now. But behold, he did deliver them because they did humble themselves before him; and because they cried mightily unto him he did deliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the Lord work with his power in all cases among the children of men, extending the arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him.” (Mosiah 29:19-20) In “all cases” the Lord will extend His arm of mercy to those that trust Him.
What a blessing that the Lord is: “suiting his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men.” (D & C 46:15)
Alma’s prayer that ended the three days and three nights of being “tormented with the pains of hell” (Alma 36:13) was “O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me” (Alma 36:18)
“notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.” (2 Ne. 28:32)
“Mercy is for those that repent—All others are subject to God’s justice” (Alma 42-chapter heading)
“O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mosiah 4:2)
“Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name.” (Hel. 3:27)
In Lehi’s vision he states: “And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.” (1 Ne. 8:8)
“the multitude of his tender mercies over them.” (Ether 6:12)
“thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety” (Alma 34:16)
“while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts” (Jac. 6:5)
“the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen” (1 Ne. 1:20)
“having never called upon the Lord while the arms of mercy were extended towards them; for the arms of mercy were extended towards them, and they would not” (Mosiah 16:12)
“except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy upon them.” (Alma 3:14)
“whosoever repenteth…shall have claim on mercy” (Alma 12:34)
In describing those that don’t repent: “mercy hath no claim on that man” (Mosiah 2:39)
“whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved.” (Alma 32:13)
“have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them?” (Alma 5:6)
Baptizing little children is “denying the mercies of Christ” (Moroni 8:23)
“through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Ne. 2:8)
King Lamoni’s prayer: “O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant mercy which thou hast had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me, and my people.” (Alma 18:41)
Alma’s soliloquy: “when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me.” (Alma 29:10)
Hymn #195 “How Great the Wisdom and the Love”
How great the wisdom and the love
That filled the courts on high
And sent the Savior from above
To suffer, bleed, and die!
2. His precious blood he freely spilt;
His life he freely gave,
A sinless sacrifice for guilt,
A dying world to save.
3. By strict obedience Jesus won
The prize with glory rife:
“Thy will, O God, not mine be done,”
Adorned his mortal life.
4. He marked the path and led the way,
And ev’ry point defines
To light and life and endless day
Where God’s full presence shines.
5. In mem’ry of the broken flesh
We eat the broken bread
And witness with the cup, afresh,
Our faith in Christ, our Head.
6. How great, how glorious, how complete
Redemption’s grand design,
Where justice, love, and mercy meet
In harmony divine!
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