Jacob 5: Pruning, Agency and Charity

Just a short thought I have mentioned in various threads here over the years, phrased in a little different way:

I take comfort in the concept that the Lord allows (“suffers” – which is a fascinating way to describe watching the result of the agency of children) the bitter fruit to grow alongside the good fruit and prunes according to the strength of the root, lest the tree (including the good fruit) die. God weeps as a direct result of his patience and long-suffering – his charity for we toddlers who think we are adults.

I see the pruning as being the removal of incorrect traditions of our ancestors, teachings, practices, cultural artifacts, biases, prejudices and anything else that gets in the way of understanding and living the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ. I do NOT see it as the removal of people, as that is contrary to the core of how I see God.

Jacob 5 says the bitter fruit will exist right up until the end – and I wish more members (at all levels) could understand and accept that simple idea (that there is stuff that needs to be pruned), so the pruning could happen more rapidly.

It helps when I really want to use a flame thrower.