COMPASSION
During his ministry in Jerusalem, a certain man named
Lazarus was sick. Lazarus was Martha and
Mary’s brother. Mary is the one who
anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. (Matt. 26:7) Mary is also the one who did not serve the
guests in their house when Jesus was present but instead sat at Jesus’ feet and
heard his words. Upon Martha’s complaint
(she was left alone with much of the serving) Jesus stated that Mary had chosen
the good part. (Luke 10:42) Jesus was
close to this family. The scriptures
state that Jesus loved Martha and her sister [Mary] and Lazarus. After going to Lazarus, Jesus found that he
had lain in the grave 4 days. Martha and
Mary both in heartbroken anguish complained to Jesus, both saying, “If thou had
been here, my brother had not died.”
“33 When Jesus therefore
saw her [Mary] weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he
groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
35 Jesus wept.” (John 11:1-44)
After Jesus appeared and taught the Nephites and Lamanites
after his resurrection he announced he was leaving and commanded the people to
go home and ponder his words to prepare themselves for tomorrow when he would
return. As he looked at the multitude,
he saw they were in tears and would ask him to stay longer with them. He said,
“6 …my bowels are filled with compassion towards
you.”
He then healed their sick and his joy was full.
“ 21 And… he wept,
[and blessed the children]
22 And when he had done
this he wept again…” (3 Nephi 17:12-22)
On one occasion, Jesus went to the coasts of Judaea by
Jordan and taught the people. There came
a man running and kneeled to him and asked him, “What shall I do that I may
inherit eternal life?” Christ rehearsed
the 10 commandments upon which the man said that he had observed all these from
his youth. Then Jesus told him to sell
all that he has and give it to the poor and thou shalt have treasure on
earth. It is interesting the account
states,
“21 Then Jesus beholding
him loved him…” (Mark 10:21)
Early in his ministry a leper came to Jesus beseeching him,
and kneeling down to him saying:
“40 … If thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean.
41 And
Jesus, moved with compassion, put
forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou
clean.” (Mark 1:41)
Later Jesus went into a city called Nain with his
disciples. At the city gate they met a procession. A man had died who was the only son of his
widow mother. Jesus raised the dead son
and delivered him to his mother. The
scripture says:
We get glimpses here into who Jesus was. He had compassion for people. He wept when others were sad. He wept when others were happy. He loved people he had never met before but who
came asking questions.
And, one of the most often reiterated commandments in the
standard works is to love others. Therefore,
if there ever were an attribute of Jesus that we ought to try to obtain, it is
love for others. Jesus himself stated:
“34 A new
commandment I give unto you, That ye love one
another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one
another.
35 By
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one
to another.” (John 13:34-35)
I think of compassion as an expression of love or charity
toward others. It is the proof of
heartfelt love because it really moves us.
Compassion is a feeling of sympathy and empathy for someone because you
understand and care about them. It is
often associated with pity or sorrow for the pain of somebody else but in the
passage with the Nephites, we clearly see that compassion also includes feeling
the joy or happiness of somebody else.
Sympathy is the ability to understand and feel sorrow or joy
felt by somebody else, but with empathy we transfer somebody’s own feelings vicariously
to ourselves to experiencing them ourselves.
The Savior provides a perfect example for feeling sympathy and empathy.
In the parable of the
Good Samaritan, Jesus emphasized the need for compassion. The story states:
“33 But a certain Samaritan,
as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on
him,” (Luke 10:33)
And, in the parable of the Prodigal Son:
20 And he arose, and came to
his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and
had compassion,
and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20)
We will all do well to cultivate and exercise our ability to
have compassion. With compassion toward
others we will experience the why of missionary work and it will be the driving
force for better success because people will feel it in us.
President Robinson
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