(Part 1 of 2 regrading Helaman Chapter 3:33-35. FOR PART 2, CLICK HERE.)

I read a passage this week that really makes me angry.

Before I go into any detail and you decide to read no further, I will summarize it this way: we must create places of refuge for the marginalized. It is what Christ did. There is no excuse for bullying or persecution. Our congregations and communities need to be safe places for everyone who enters therein (especially those who share our beliefs). Further, such places must be enabled and not hindered by anyone who purports to be Christian.

I was reading in Helaman the other day and came across this passage that I don’t remember having given me such a visceral reaction before:

“And in the fifty and first year of the reign of the judges there was peace also, save it were the pride which began to enter into the church—not into the church of God, but into the hearts of the people who professed to belong to the church of God—

“And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction” (Helaman 3:33-34, emphasis added).

These Church members became so proud that they began to persecute their own members! This makes no sense to me. Why would they do this? But they did! How can a follower of He who sought out the marginalized do this? This is “a great evil!”

I don’t think there has ever been a greater need for Zion than there is now. Our congregations, communities, and our own hearts as individuals need to be places of refuge for those who need it. We need to be safe for others who seek it. There is enough craziness and negativity in the world, that everyone should have a safe place to go. Everyone.

The need for this is outlined in the following directive from the Lord:

“Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations;

“And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth” (Doctrine and Covenants 115:5-6, emphasis added).

Are you a safe individual? Are you striving to make your community and congregation safe? Are you a Christian?