Love Your Enemies

I have been reading Vie et Enseignement de Tierno Bokar, a book about a Malian spiritual leader in the first half of the 20^th century known for his teachings on religious tolerance and love. Amadou Hampâté Bâ was one of his students and wrote this book about Bokar’s life and teachings. Though he was an influential and popular teacher for many years in the city of Bandiagara, near the end of his life Bokar was severely persecuted because of his position on what should have been a minor matter related to the proper number of repetitions of a certain prayer. Because of ignorance, he was rejected by nearly everyone, and eventually he was forced to remain at home with few friends and abandoned by most of the world. This led to intense physical suffering because of illness. And yet he said of his persecutors, “Ils sont plus dignes de pitié et de prières que de condamnation et de reproche, parce qu’ils sont ignorants. Ils ne savent pas et, malheureusement, ils ne savent pas qu’ils ne savent pas” (p. 115). (“They are more worthy of pity and prayers than of condemnation and rebuke, because they are ignorant. They do not know and, unfortunately, they do not know that they do not know.”) As his health declined he suffered boils on his skins, frequent fevers, and nearly constant headaches so painful that he could not leave his bed. He prayed at that point, “Mon Dieu, prends-moi en pleine vie…. Pauvre Bandiagara… Si Bandiagara savait ! Si les gens de Bandiagara avaient su…. Mais ils ne savaient pas… Mon Dieu, pardonne-moi et pardonne-leur parce qu’ils ne savaient pas” (p. 118). (“My God, take me alive…. Poor Bandiagara… If Bandiagara had known! If the people of Bandiagara had known…. But they did not know… My God, forgive me and forgive them because they did not know.”) Like the Savior did when He was persecuted to the point of death, Bokar showed incredible forgiveness and love towards those who had chosen to be his enemies.  

Bâ wrote these words after relating Bokar’s terrible suffering and death, “Quoi qu’il en soit, l’intolérance, étroitement liée à l’ignorance et au manque de maturité spirituelle, n’est le privilège d’aucune race, d’aucune communauté particulière. C’est une maladie humaine générale. Tous les temps et tous les cieux l’ont connue. Aujourd’hui même, plus ou moins tapie dans certaines zones obscures de notre être, elle menace toujours de montrer les griffes dès que nous rencontrons, chez l’autre, une différence que nous ne pouvons comprendre. C’est pourquoi il nous faut des maitres spirituels qui soient, en même temps, des médecins du cœur. C’est ce que fut Tierno Bokar, dont l’appel à l’union et à la compréhension s’adressait, par-delà son entourage, a tous les hommes : ‘Je souhaite de tout mon cœur la venue de l’ère de réconciliation entre toutes les confessions de la terre, l’ère ou ces confessions unies s’appuieront les unes sur les autres pour former une voute morale et spirituelle, l’ère ou elles reposeront en Dieu par trois points d’appui : AMOUR, CHARITE, FRATERNITE’” (p. 122). (“In any case, intolerance, closely linked to ignorance and lack of spiritual maturity, is not the privilege of any race, of any particular community. It is a general human disease. All times and all heavens have known it. Even today, more or less lurking in certain dark areas of our being, it always threatens to show its claws as soon as we encounter, in others, a difference that we cannot understand. This is why we need spiritual masters who are, at the same time, doctors of the heart. This is what Tierno Bokar was, whose call for union and understanding was addressed, beyond his entourage, to all men: ‘I wish with all my heart the coming of the era of reconciliation between all the confessions of the earth, the era where these united confessions will lean on one another to form a moral and spiritual vault, the era where they will rest in God by three points support: LOVE, CHARITY, BROTHERHOOD.”) Bokar, despite the intolerance shown him, yearned for unity and love amongst all the people of the earth and left the world preaching love and the brotherhood of all men and women.

            Tierno Bokar’s message of unity is very relevant to us today, and it is consistent with what President Nelson has been trying to teach us recently. He urged, “Vulgarity, faultfinding, and evil speaking of others are all too common. Too many pundits, politicians, entertainers, and other influencers throw insults constantly. I am greatly concerned that so many people seem to believe that it is completely acceptable to condemn, malign, and vilify anyone who does not agree with them. Many seem eager to damage another’s reputation with pathetic and pithy barbs! Anger never persuades. Hostility builds no one. Contention never leads to inspired solutions.” He continued, “The Savior made this clear in His sermons to followers in both hemispheres. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’ He said. ‘Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.’ And then, of course, He gave the admonition that challenges each of us: ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.’” His words remind me of what happened as the Nephites became largely wicked before the Savior’s death when pride and contention filled their society. Mormon described them this way: “Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world…. Some were lifted up in pride… some did return railing for railing.” That sounds a lot like our own world. But Mormon highlighted that not everyone fell into this pride and contention and intolerance: “Others were exceedingly humble…. Others would receive railing and persecution and all manner of afflictions, and would not turn and revile again, but were humble and penitent before God” (3 Nephi 6:13, 15). Our challenge is to be like those “others” who, in the midst of a world of contention and pride, humbled themselves and refused to return reviling for reviling. The Savior’s words on the Sermon on the Mount are a call to us today to fight evil with good, returning blessing for cursing and love for hatred. It suffices to follow this well-known counsel: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Consistent with this message, Bokar also taught, “La bonne action la plus profitable est celle qui consiste à prier pour ses ennemis…. Il faut toujours bénir et ses amis et ses ennemis.” If we could all really follow these words of both the Savior and this humble spiritual leader—doing good to and praying for both friend and foe—our world would certainly be a much better place.