Near-Infinite Patience

What struck me most about 3 Nephi 10 was all those line about a hen gathering her chickens. In verse 4, it's "how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings." In verse 5, it's "how oft would I have gathered you." And in verse 6, it's "how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart."

Clearly, the Lord is exceptionally patient. In order for a hen to gather her chickens repeatedly, it seems likely that they must have wandered off repeatedly, and still have been welcomed back with open wings every time they returned.

When they returned, that is. There were times, evidently, that they chose not to return, yet the Lord had been willing to accept their return, had they chosen to return.

And still, looking to the future, the Lord sees Himself welcoming His people back, repeatedly, as many times as they choose to repent.

Or nearly so.

You see, for all the Lord's patience, it isn't infinite. It's near-infinite, but not quite infinite. He can't keep playing this game forever, and neither can we. Eventually, there will be a Final Judgement, and we will have to show then, if not before then, which side of the line we are on.

The Lord has been patient with us, He is patient with us, and He will continue to be patient with us - up to a certain point. His mercy will be available to us as long as we need it, so long as we don't need it forever. The ultimate goal is to be gathered into the arms of the Lord, and to stay there. We need to learn how to stay righteous, how to stay Celestial, how to stay pure.

We need to learn how to stay gathered, because even the Lord can't keep gathering and regathering his chickens forever.