27 And they were among the people of Nephi, and also numbered among the people who were of the church of God. And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end.
What a wonderful description of a wonderful people!
They were among the people of Nephi, but also numbered among the people who were of the church of God. This indicates that not all of the people among the people of Nephi were members of the church of God. This is a somewhat interesting point to me, because their situation was not a whole lot different, if at all, to ours today with all of the missionary opportunities we have. I have sometimes erroneously presumed that all Nephites belonged to the Church of God when I read the Book of Mormon because I tend to look upon the Nephites as members of the church, and the Lamanites as those who were not. But these were a free people, and not all of them, obviously, embraced the gospel. Well, apparently not obvious to me! :-)
The verse also states that they were known for their zeal towards God and towards men. Why distinguish zeal to God and also to man? Would not zeal towards God imply zeal towards men? Would not a love for God also imply a love of man? I suppose it would, except for the fact that many profess a love of God, but are severely lacking in their zeal and love towards their fellow man. Which hypocrisy, I suppose, requires the need to distinguish zeal and love towards God and also towards men.
For one cannot have true love for God without having true love for their fellow men. The Savior said, if you love me feed my sheep. And he also said inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren you have done it on to me, and inasmuch is you have not done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have not done it on to me.
How careful we must be to not profess a love for God, but fail to love and serve our fellow man, lest we deservedly receive the shameful label of hypocrite.
These people were perfectly honest and upright in all things. They surely took their covenants and the commandments of God very seriously. Now, what does it say about us? What does it say about me, that these people who lived in such darkness and sin and depravity, and who surely must have developed many bad habits, and who surely must have struggled with disciplining themselves and bridling their passions (as the book of Mormon says we should do)— what does it say about me and my performance? What does it say about the people of Nephi? What does it say about us as members of the church today? That such a darkened and lost people such as these former Lamanites could be so faithful has to be an example to those who were members of this church, or rather of Christ’s Church, their entire lives?
Does it not say that we can do the same? Does it not say that we are left with very little excuse if we do not strive to act similarly?
With that said, I must admit that there seems that their might be additional challenges and struggles being raised in the faith that present unique challenges. The temptation and tendency to take for granted what we have always had, I suppose is one. As they say, you don’t miss the water ‘til the well runs dry. And then historically, after about 4 generations of being raised in the faith, people tend to fall away for whatever reason.
Everybody has their unique challenges, and the Lord, fortunately and mercifully, judges us by not only our works but the desires of our hearts.
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