Tuesday, October 18, 2011

This, Too, Shall Pass


The phrase “And it came to pass” appears in the Book of Mormon 198 times from the beginning of the book until 2 Nephi 5:30 and then it is never used again by Nephi. Later, in the book of Ether, Moroni uses the phrase 160 times, but he never uses it his own writings. 

What has been discovered from other writings originating in the Near East is that the phrase “And it came to pass” is used to indicate that a period of time has elapsed. This phrase is very useful  when writing history. Therefore when Nephi is recording the story of their leaving Jerusalem that happened several decades before he is writing he uses the phrase until he brings the record up to the current time and then he no longer needs it. Likewise, Moroni while abridging the Jaradite account uses it throughout the book of Ether, but when he is telling us what is happening to him he doesn’t use it.

This is interesting to me, but I like the phrase for another reason. “And it came to pass” are words of hope. Yes, today might be a down day. Things might be going wrong today. Horrible things might even be happening today. But . . . they will pass. There will be a brighter day, and eventually all days will be bright days. God has promised it. 

Remember, 
"Weeping may endure for a night, 
but joy cometh in the morning
(Psalms 30:5).

4 comments:

  1. I love this. My 6 year old neice once said (during a time of trial), 'remember, He said it came to pass, it didn't come to stay'.

    ReplyDelete
  2. that's nice to think about since i'm in year 6 of my trial and i look forward to the day when i can say it came to pass.... :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really appreciated the last part of this post. Thanks for the good reminder. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. My mom says this to me! It has been a source of comfort to me to remember that the things I struggle with today will pass. That the not-fun phase my child is in right now will pass. When I get frustrated, I remember "And it came to Pass". I love the "it didn't come to stay" addition!

    ReplyDelete