Everlasting Kindness
In the manual: Come, Follow Me lesson 41, “He Hath Borne Our Griefs, and Carried Our Sorrows,” on Gospel Library
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In Isaiah 54:2, the Lord tells Zion to make her tent bigger, with longer ropes and stronger stakes, because her family is about to grow. The Church uses this picture when it calls a group of wards a stake.
Read Together
In this chapter Israel is like a wife who thinks her husband has left her for good. Her husband is the Lord. “For thy Maker is thine husband” (Isaiah 54:5).
7For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. 8In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.
10For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
What It Teaches
The Lord speaks honestly about the exile. “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.” Next to his mercy, even the long years in Babylon were a small moment.
The word translated “kindness” in verses 8 and 10 is the Hebrew word hesed. It means the loyal love God has for people bound to him by covenant. Mountains can move and hills can fall, and his kindness stays.
President Russell M. Nelson explained what hesed means for us. “Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us.”
President Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, October 2022
Isaiah 57:15 tells where this God chooses to live. He lives “in the high and holy place,” and he lives “with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.” When we come back after our mistakes, he says, “I have seen his ways, and will heal him” (Isaiah 57:18).
Talk About It
Mountains are the most lasting things most of us can picture. What does it tell you about the Lord that his kindness outlasts them? Who needs to hear that this week?
Take to Church
The Lord says his kindness will stay after the mountains move. When we return to him with a humble heart, he promises to heal us.