When They Saw Your Conduct

Every time I read this section of the Book of Mormon, this phrase stands out to me. 

Alma is now talking to his other son, Corianton, who has made some not-so-great choices. Alma is hoping to help him understand the gravity of his sin, so he talks about that for a while.

It turns out that they were preaching among the Zoramites, and they saw the actions of Corianton. This is how Alma described what happened:

"...for when they saw your conduct they would not believe in my words." (Alma 39:11)

I think sometimes we categorize sin as a very personal thing. Some sin we justify because it "only hurts ourselves". This is a false belief, though, because sin always affects other people. It could be, as in the case of Corianton, that people saw his sin and didn't want to learn any more or did not believe. Sometimes sin is more visible, and it tends to have more of this kind of affect, either the people being taught don't believe the message, because of your example, or maybe it leads people away because they justify behavior because of someone else.

Probably the more dangerous sin is the kind where nobody knows (except you and God). You feel like this doesn't affect other people, but the reality is, when you sin, you lose the Spirit. And when you lose the Spirit, you are a different person. You are more irritable. You are prone to sin more because you don't have the guidance from the Spirit to help you avoid it. You start to lose faith. This affects families, friends, and loved ones. This affects more than just you.

At the end of the day, the thing to remember is that while we will all make mistakes and sin, we should stop ourselves from sinning. It has potential to ruin both your spiritual and your physical life. People get hurt. People don't believe because of your example. These kinds of things really are painful, especially if you have the presence of mind to understand the pain and hurt that YOU caused because of your sin.

I think Alma does a great job explaining what the problems were with his sons actions, and I hope that Corianton went on to repent and work to improve his life.

I hope that I can always be aware that my actions affect other people and that I need to do better not just for me but for those around me.