Category: Mercy

A Man in a White Robe

“And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me. And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him. And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste. 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. And it came to pass after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious field.” (1 Nephi 8:5-9)

For a long time, I thought that this man dressed in a white robe was an angel sent from God to guide Lehi in this vision. I’m not sure where I got that idea, because if I go back and read it, I realize that’s not what it says. This is what is does say:

  •   A man, dressed in a white robe.
  •   Bade me follow him.
  •   As I followed him I beheld myself in a dark and dreary waste.
  •   Traveled for the space of many hours in darkness.

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Hold up. Does it really say that this man led him into darkness where he remained for many hours? That doesn’t sound like an angel. But all this time, I thought that an angel led him to the tree of life. If that’s not the case, then who did lead him there?

“I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me…after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious field.”

Ok. So God did that himself. Immediately after Lehi decided to pray and ask the Lord, he was delivered from the darkness. This shouldn’t surprise me, since the Lord is always the one who delivers us with his mercy and grace. I’m not sure why I made the assumption that it was an angel, but I love that it was the Lord himself that delivered Lehi from the darkness, as if He was just waiting to be asked.

It’s also interesting to note that Lehi (who had the vision), and Nephi (who recorded the vision), were both familiar with the glory of God and what it looked like. When they describe heavenly interactions, they don’t talk about just plain whiteness or just plain brightness. They are always described as exceedingly bright/white/fair. Or above the brightness of the sun/stars. That’s a stark difference from his description of “a man…dressed in a white robe.”

“And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day. And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.” (1 Nephi 1:9-10)

“And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.” (1 Nephi 11:13)

“And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.” (1 Nephi 13:15)

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Theses descriptions of exceeding whiteness tie back to the pillar of fire that I wrote about last time. When mortals come in contact with—or have visions of—beings or symbols of glory, they know they are encountering the glory of God. It’s manifest in the bright whiteness that they see. It’s unmistakable.

“Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me. And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee? For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should come upon me, and I were transfigured before him. But I can look upon thee in the natural man.” (Moses 1:12-14)

Moses wasn’t fooled by Satan’s attempt to gain his worship. It was obvious that Satan did not have the same glory as the Father has because Moses had no trouble looking on him with his natural eyes. Once someone has encountered the glory of God, anything else looks dim in comparison.

When Lehi encountered the pillar of fire that dwelt on the rock, he saw and heard much. He was taught by the spirit, and the encounter was so intense that it left him exhausted (much like Joseph Smith after being taught by the angel Moroni throughout the night). However, when Lehi encounters this man in the white robe, there is no knowledge taught, and nothing miraculous is shown. He simply wanders in darkness for many hours. So it’s no wonder that Lehi describes him as merely a man in a white robe. In contrast, when the Lord delivers Lehi to the spacious field and he encounters the tree of life, and the fruit:

“…I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.” (1 Nephi 8:11)

If Lehi had never encountered the glory of the Father as he did in 1 Nephi 1:8, or seen the vision of the fruit which was exceedingly white—if he didn’t have anything to compare it to, he probably would have made the same assumption that I made, that the man in the white robe was an angel, a heavenly messenger or guide. It’s another reminder that no matter how much I think I know, there is always more truth and light to be sought.

Arms of Mercy

Let’s talk about mercy. Beautiful, beautiful mercy.

“Having gone according to their own carnal wills and desires; 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; they being warned of their iniquities and yet they would not depart from them; and they were commanded to repent and yet they would not repent.” (Mosiah 16:12)

The Lord stretched out his arm of mercy, but they would not call on him. They were warned of their iniquities, but they would not depart from them. They were commanded to repent and would not.

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Mercy can’t be sprinkled over us like fairy dust. It’s something that we have to take hold of. It’s always there. The Lord is always stretching out his hand of mercy, hoping we will take hold of it, but if we refuse, then justice is there to take over.

So then, how do we take hold of mercy? We repent.

“Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state… And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.” (Alma 42:13-14)

For the record. None of us want justice for ourselves. What we deserve in this fallen realm is not something anyone would aspire to, because what we deserve is to be cut off from the Lord’s presence. The Lord knows that and he wants to prevent it. He does not delight in doling out punishments. He’s not sitting around, waiting for us to mess up so that he can slap us with a fine, send us on a guilt trip, or thrust us down to hell. He doesn’t want us to suffer, which is why he warns, then he warns again, and again. He stretches out his merciful hand, hoping that we will take hold. He cannot snatch us away from justice—that would deprive us of our agency. So then, we must be the one to choose Him. Repentance is required for mercy to take effect.

What is repentance? It’s a change of mind. It’s turning our hearts to God. When we realize that our actions are contrary to God’s will and we make the decision to change—that is repentance, and it can happen in an instant.

When King Benjamin preached to the people, the result was immediate. The people ended up with such a consciousness of their own guilt that they fell to the ground and begged forgiveness.

“He cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them…And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins…after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience.” (Mosaic 4:1-3)

How long did it take the Lord to forgive them? It was immediate. They finished speaking, the spirit came upon them and they received a remission of their sins.

How long does it take for the Lord to forgive us? It’s instantaneous. He’s forgiven us before we even ask. He is ready, waiting and eager to forgive us. In John 8, when the woman taken in adultery was brought before the Savior, what did He do?

Keep in mind—this wasn’t a false accusation. She was guilty, having been caught “in the very act.” Justice demanded punishment, and the people brought her to Christ to see what he would do. In order to convict her, there needed to be two accusers. So Christ invited any there that were without sin to cast that first stone—to condemn her.

They all went away, and no accusers were left.

It’s interesting to note that this woman didn’t come asking for Christ’s mercy or forgiveness. But he forgives her, even without her asking.

     Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?

     No man, Lord.

     Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

He’s showing her the way. He’s stretching out his merciful hand and saying, “Look! My forgiveness is here for the taking. All you have to do is make the decision to sin no more.”

There were no lashes with a whip, no stones thrown. There wasn’t even a rebuke or wagging finger. He found a way to get around the law of the land by pricking the hearts of those who wanted to accuse her. He went out of his way to be merciful in order to prevent justice from claiming the woman’s life.

We don’t have a record to show us if this woman accepted the opportunity to repent. We don’t know how her life proceeded from that point. But we know that it was her choice. He laid his mercy at her feet and she had to decide whether or not to pick it up.

That’s us. That’s our situation every day. Christ has laid his love, grace, and mercy at our feet and invited us to pick it up. Repent, turn to Him, and take hold of His mighty forgiveness, His mercy, His power to save. The savior can offer that gift because he atoned for our sins.

“And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.” (Alma 42:15)