Ether 13 – Anger

It is anger that trips Coriantumr up in a big way.  A prophet of the Lord came to him and told him if he and his household repented the Lord would return to him his kingdom (v20).  Why wouldn’t that do it for just about anyone?  Wasn’t it his kingdom that he wanted?  Sadly, the answer to that question is no.  He wanted to punish those who had taken it from him in the first place.

How many times does the Lord offer us the same deal?  Repent and come unto Him and we can be partakers of Eternal Life with Him, to dwell with them (Christ and Heavenly Father) throughout the eternities and become heirs to all that the Savior hath.  But we refuse to let go of the things that keep us from the Savior, i.e. pride, desire for wealth, fame, rule – just about any of the vices that can be found as examples in the Book of Mormon.  We have in the scriptures the outcome of this type of behavior, Coriantumr being just one.  He was left to wander in the wilderness until he stumbled across the Nephites in the Book of Omni 1:21.  What a sad footnote to ones life.  He lived with the Nephites for nine months and was never spoken of again. 

Do we want to suffer such a fate?  If not, we must be willing to let go of anger and its many cousins that trip us up.   Frustration to the point of losing control is one I battle.  What about not forgiving?  I think it falls in that same category.  I know when I get angry – really angry – I lose my sense of promise to Heavenly Father to keep His commandments and the covenants I have made with him.  It’s nothing serious like wanting to kill or do serious injury, but the Spirit lets me know in a very subtle way that I have crossed the line.  This happens most often in a thought.  I’m currently dealing with a son-in-law who has lost his testimony and is being cruel and abusive to my daughter – a daughter of God, a covenant daughter, and a treasure to me and to Heavenly Father!  Whenever I think of something I want to say to him or my daughter that is not what the Savior would say, I get a tingle in the back of my neck.  I know I’ve crossed the line and quickly repent.  This is such a blessing to me, although it does deprive me of a creature pleasure of the natural man to want to strike back. 

Today I will keep from having angry thoughts – frustrated thoughts that cause my voice to tighten even though I don’t say anything; I know the tone of my voice betrays my desires to stay calm and Christ-like.