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I’m sure like many of you, I am saddened to hear of the death of Nelson Mandela. He was a good man IMHO, but not the cosy Liberal some want to portray him as. He was prepared to go to prison for his beliefs, and was arrested for armed struggle against racism. Some called him a terrorist.
It is sobering to think that when Mandela was imprisoned our church engaged in a form of racial segregation and would not let blacks in the temple until the end of the seventies. But I digress.
The greatest lesson Mandela gave us was forgiveness and reconciliation.
* Invited along his prison guard to his wedding.
* Helped turn the Rugby World Cup in South Africa from a potential flare up to a celebration of the diversity of that nation.
* Visited Mrs Verwoed on her remote farm, the widow of the South African leader who had helped turn apartheid into its worst form.
South Africa is FAR from perfect, but thanks to Mandela, has not turned into a bloodbath.
Thanks Sambee. I was just watching a documentary and was hugely impressed by the reconciliation initiative. And yes, the fact that we practiced a form of apartheid is not lost on me.
(Apartheid simply means a form of segregation based on race. It means “apart-hood”)
Agreed. That he could forgive such a brutal regime is amazing. Or invite the guy who wad his warder in prison to his wedding. He could have had rows of guillotines or gallows set up for all the white politicians who were involved in apartheid, or worse a pogrom of white South Africans. As a rugby fan, I also appreciate what he did for the Springboks and the world cup, although there is still woeful black representation on the team. (Springboks are the South African rugby team and were all white for many decades) By giving his seal of approval to the team, he was effectively letting white South Africans know that he considered them welcome in the new South Africa.
SA’s got terrible crime, but it is much better than it could have been thanks to Mandela.
I will dig out some quotes from him, when I’m off this phone and on computer.
It is easy for some people to condemn him for the actions he took initially to deal with an extreme situation the people who criticize him have not had to deal with in their own lives. What impressed me the most, however, was his statement about leaving prison and realizing he would have to let go of the hate he had felt for so long – and then his determination and success in doing so and preaching a very different message from that point forward. It takes “true” character to do something like that. That was an incredible example of intentional change – the purest form of repentance (meaning nothing more than “change to a better condition” and without labeling his previous actions as wrong or sin in any way). That alone should be an inspiration to all of us. Add what he accomplished and everything else he said, and the world lost a spiritual giant.
I really like the Church’s statement, especially given how “we” marginalized him earlier in his life:
Quote:With the rest of the world, we mourn the passing of revered statesman Nelson Mandela. His courage, kindness and extraordinary moral leadership have been an example to all people. We express our love and sympathies to his family and the people of South Africa as they remember his extraordinary life. (
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/church-statement-nelson-mandela Thanks for posting that link, wasn’t aware the church had issued a statement. I’m aware that Mandela is a political figure, but there are certainly many things he said which are relevant to spirituality (although not necessarily intended as so). Forgiveness is a core tenet of our religion. (I wouldn’t generally post about most political figures.
Margaret Thatcher died recently, and regardless of one’s opinion on her, it’s harder to relate her stuff to spirituality, although I do think her greatest gesture was to visit a church in Soviet Moscow*)
It may be paradoxically that Mandela’s imprisonment gave him a lot of time to meditate and reflect.
By the way, his autobiography is thoroughly recommended by me.
* I have strong opinions on Thatcher, but I don’t think they belong here. I post about her elsewhere!
Quote:I have strong opinions on Thatcher, but I don’t think they belong here. I post about her elsewhere!
Thank you.
[img]http://images.elephantjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/TugQgqE.jpg [/img] Nelson Mandela quotes –
* I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.
* Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.
* Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
* If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
* If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
* There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.
* If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.
* I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
* For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
* I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man.
* During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people, I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if it needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
* As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
* Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.
Thanks for those quotes, Sam. Powerful stuff. There are many other good ones. Some not suitable for this board because they’re a bit too political… I usually post from my phone, hence I haven’t been able to put this together yet. Quote:Courageous people do not fear forgiving for the sake of peace.
I love this one.
I love the first two. A man who admits his faults and mistakes is, paradoxically, better than one who pretends to be perfect. Mandela was the first to admit he got some things wrong in his past, and that’s part of what made him great, along with his ability to identify his oppressors’ humanity and needs.
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