Friday, March 19, 2021

Gerald N. Lund on 3 Nephi 11:28-29 and the “Spirit of Contention”

 

Note that Jesus didn’t just condemn angry disagreement, but the “spirit of contention,” saying it “is not of me.” Spirit here seems to imply a disposition to be disagreeable—something that is more habitual. We call such people “contentious.”

 

President Dallin H. Oaks defined the essence of what is meant by a spirit of contention: “It is necessary to emphasize that the kind of contention discussed in this chapter is synonymous with wrath, strife, angry disputes, and quarrelling. This is the meaning expressed in the adjective contentious. Holding different views or conversing about points of disagreement does not constitute this kind of contention. Neither does an argument or a debate, if (a big if) it can be done with a peaceful spirit and method. In short, the kind of contention here consists of disagreement plus a wrathful spirit or a quarrelsome method” (The Lord’s Way, 138). (Gerald N. Lund, Why Isn't God Answering Me? [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2018], 64-65)