I admire Samuel the Lamanite. It could not have been
easy speaking to the Nephites and calling them to repentance. In Helaman
13:2-3 we read, “they did cast him out, and he was about to return to his
own land…the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and
prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart.” This
touched me deeply. Here was this amazing Lamanite prophet told to return to a
city from which he had been rejected to speak the words the Lord would direct
him to speak. I thought of the things I need to do that I don’t want to do. I
feel ashamed that my willingness wavers. I am currently the primary caretaker
for my mum’s end-of-life-care. I have never done anything harder in my life. I
have prayed and prayed that the Lord would show compassion and mercy on my mum
and allow her to go gently into the next world. Yet, day after day and week
after week I watch her suffer. These verses helped me realise that the Lord has
asked me to do something He knows I can do. If He has this faith in me, I must
have faith that He will help me.
Helaman
13:4 records, “he cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people
whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart.” This scripture made me think of
the importance of our living Prophet. When we hear the Prophet speak, we know
the Lord has put that message in his heart. When
the Prophet speaks to us at General Conference, we hear “the will of the Lord…the
mind of the Lord… the word of the Lord…the voice of the Lord, and the power of
God unto salvation” (D&C
68:4).
I love listening to the Prophet in General Conference.
I found a little video with a wonderful reminder of some of the most recent words
of the Lord from the April 2020 General Conference, direct from our Prophet
Russell M. Nelson. This video is called, “PROMISES FROM A PROPHET: The last 6
promises made by Russell M. Nelson during General Conference”.
This little Knowhy video (Book of Mormon Central) is a
wonderful reminder of what the Book of Mormon teaches us about prophets. This
includes Samuel the Lamanite.
Samuel the Lamanite prophesied many things connected
to the birth and death of Jesus Christ. Brother John Bytheway provided two
charts (shown below) that summarise the signs listed by Samuel the Lamanite
leading up to the birth and death of the Saviour. He added in the scriptures in
3 Nephi where the prophesied signs were fulfilled (Gospel
Doctrine Prep).
Helaman
14:30-31 contains a powerful message. Although this was Samuel speaking to
the Nephites, it is relevant for every person who goes through this mortal
existence. It states, “And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever
perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto
himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for
behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free…ye can do
good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good
restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto
you.” The choice is in our hands. We know that the consequences of our choices
are determined by us. The Atonement of Jesus Christ invokes this agency.
Without the Atonement, repentance and forgiveness would not be possible,
therefore, we would not have that choice. As a parent, I know how hard it is to
see my own adult children make wrong choices. I fear for the pain of the
consequences that I know will follow.
I pondered for a while on the scripture found in Helaman
15:4. “But behold my brethren, the Lamanites hath he hated because their
deeds have been evil continually, and this because of the iniquity of the tradition
of their fathers. But behold, salvation hath come unto them through the
preaching of the Nephites; and for this intent hath the Lord prolonged their
days.” I understand that the Lord loved the Lamanites but hated their actions.
Brother John Bytheway (Gospel
Doctrine Prep) explained this distinction, “So perhaps it’s a “hate the
sin, love the sinner” distinction. When
we read the whole sentence from Samuel, we see that they are “hated” because
their “deeds have been evil continually.”
It was their choices that mattered.” A scripture that clarifies the
meaning of ‘hate’ in Helaman
15:4 mentions the opposite ‘love’: “If you keep not my commandments, the
love of the father shall not continue with you, therefore you shall walk in
darkness” (D&C
95:12).
We know from Helaman
15 that the Lord indeed loved the Lamanites and rewarded them for their
faithfulness. “And now, because of their steadfastness when they do believe in
that thing which they do believe, for because of their firmness when they are
once enlightened, behold, the Lord shall bless them and prolong their days,
notwithstanding their iniquity.” As I thought about this scripture, I glanced at
the monitor and watched my little mum asleep in the next room. The Lord will
bless her. I know of no one who has been as faithful and steadfast as she has
been. Through her pain and illness, I have spoken to her about how short a time
we have in mortality and that her pain will end. I cannot imagine the Lord will
let her suffer for much longer.
We are so fortunate to have the guidance of a living prophet,
President Russell M. Nelson. We also have the guidance of the General
Authorities, our area, stake, and ward leaders. My wonderful Bishop and Stake President
have called a ward fast for today for my mum. At the end of the fast, the
Bishop and Stake President will be coming around to give mum a priesthood
blessing. Right now, I feel confident that “God is at the helm”. This phrase
comes from M. Russell Ballard's talk from October 2015 General Conference. This
is explained in the little video below.
The
Gadianton Robbers are mentioned repeatedly in the chapters of Helaman. In my
initial post I discussed secret combinations and the Gadianton Robbers. I found
a clear explanation of secret combinations in 30 Characteristics of Secret Combinations. These 30 characteristics also appear in
an article called Waking Up to Secret Combinations (2011)
by Darren Andrews. When Nephi returned from northern lands to the Land of
Zarahemla he found that the Gadianton robbers were filling the judgement seats,
laying aside God’s commandments, and corrupting justice (verse
4). The robbers were condemning the righteous, letting the guilty buy their
way out of punishment, and seeking glory and adulation, using their position to
more easily commit adultery, steal, murder, and do whatever they wanted (verse
5). When we look at the U.S.A. today we see the same things. The laws have
been corrupted, the guilty buy their way to power and freedom from conviction,
and those who rule are prime examples of this corruption. The prevalence of
secret combinations today is terrifying. We know that their power comes from
Satan.
In Helaman
7:7-8 we read, “Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my
father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem, that I could have joyed
with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, firm
to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do iniquity; and they
were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord—Yea, if my days could have
been in those days, then would my soul have had joy in the righteousness of my
brethren.” Brother John Bytheway called these verses, “Those were the days”.
How often do we think about previous years and compare them to 2020, with the
same attitude, “Those were the days”? I know I miss travelling. I haven’t seen
my oldest son and his beautiful family for several years. I was due to fly to
Sydney before the Covid-19 pandemic. Now all I see are photos and videos on
Facebook and Instagram. My mum (96 years old) was admitted to Middlemore
Hospital in mid-August. For the first nine days I was unable to see her because
of the Covid lock-down. Then, for compassionate reasons, I was the only support
person allowed in to see her once per day. Now, she has been home for nearly a
week and I am her primary caregiver. I am responsible for end-of-life care. I
know I often think about previous months and years – “Those were the days”!
The story that follows
in Helaman
7 to 9 is covered so well in three media files from the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Brother John
Bytheway pointed out some interesting ideas in his podcast on Helaman
7-12:
Verse
13: Passers-by have stopped to hear Nephi pray on his garden tower. Nephi
warns them of their iniquities.
Verse
17: “O repent ye, repent ye! Why will ye die?” Nephi points out to his
listeners that they were choosing to die spiritually.
Verse
19: “And behold, instead of gathering you, except ye will repent, behold,
he shall scatter you forth that ye shall become meat for dogs and wild beasts.”
The idea that the righteous will be gathered while the wicked will be scattered
appears repeatedly in scriptural references.
Verses
6-7: Some reject and condemn Nephi, while others defend him as a ‘good man’.
Verse
27: Nephi delivers a real-time prophecy that the chief judge has been
murdered, “he lieth in his blood; and he hath been murdered by his brother…”
Verse
4: Five men run to the chief judge and find him lying in his own blood.
They believe Nephi and they fall to the earth. They are found and thrown in to
prison because of a misunderstanding. It is thought that they killed the chief
judge.
Verse
20: The trial of Nephi is described. The five are released and Nephi is
accused of plotting the death of the chief judge. He is offered money to reveal
the murderer with whom he plotted. The following verses are Nephi’s condemnation
of the people.
Verse
26: Nephi tells his accusers to look for evidence of the murder at Seantum’s
house, as he had killed his own brother, the Chief Judge Seezoram. The events
that followed occurred according to Nephi’s words.
Verse
1: They could not convict Nephi. “And it came to pass that there arose a
division among the people, insomuch that they divided hither and thither and
went their ways, leaving Nephi alone, as he was standing in the midst of them.”
There are two
videos from Knowhy (Book of Mormon Central) that cover some interesting aspects
of the events in these chapters. The first discusses why Nephi’s words in Helaman
7-8 sounded so much like a funeral speech. The second looks at how Seantum
was able to be convicted under the Law of Moses without two witnesses to his
crime.
In Chapter
11, Nephi was bestowed with great blessings because of his unwearying
obedience and faithfulness. He is promised, “I will make thee mighty in word
and in deed, in faith and in works…that ye shall have power over this people, and
shall smite the earth with famine, and with pestilence, and destruction,
according to the wickedness of this people…I give unto you power, that
whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye
shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power
among this people” (Helaman
11:5-7). Nephi calls for a famine to bring the wicked and hard-hearted to
repentance. The Knowhy video (Book of Mormon Central) below addresses the
question of how Nephi used the power to seal on Earth and in Heaven.
Miracles can strengthen the faith of believers. Sometimes they can
be the reason why people believe. However, many people witnessed Nephi’s
miracles and still hardened their hearts. The danger of relying on miracles to
build faith is illustrated by the story of Mrs Johnson (Joseph Smith and the Restoration, p. 176, 199)
This incident was
enough for Ezra Booth and he joined the Church. Miracles are not sufficient by
themselves to truly convert a person. After only a few months in the Church,
Ezra apostatized and even wrote a number of articles against the Prophet. (Joseph Smith and the Restoration, p.
176, 199)
It amazes me that with the famine, the people began to remember God (Helaman 11:7), yet once the famine ended, within a few short years, they once again began to forget God (Helaman 11:36-37). It is sad that
when things go well and there is plenty, pride creeps in and people stop being
grateful or obedient. One of my favourite quotes from President Brigham Young
is the one shown below.
A scripture that
made me ponder deeply was Helaman
12:7-8, “O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even
they are less than the dust of the earth…For behold, the dust of the earth
moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great
and everlasting God.” There is a footnote on this scripture that leads to Moses
1:10 which reads, “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing
I never had supposed.” In his communication with God, Moses recognised that man
on his own is nothing. It is when man connects with God that he can reach his
greatest potential and become something. As men and women we are less than the
dust of the Earth because we have rebellious spirits. Dust always obeys God but
we do not. My lesson from this scripture is that I need to connect with God, I
need to become what He wants me to become if I want to be something. I am a
child of God but that has the responsibility of being obedient and staying
close to the Spirit.
This post covers Helaman
1 to 6. President Ezra Taft Benson mentioned repeatedly that the lessons that
prepared the Nephites and Lamanites for the coming of Jesus Christ are for our
benefit. There are so many parallels that impact on our preparations as we face
the Lord’s Second Coming (April
1987 General Conference).
Helaman
1 outlines the political upheavals in Nephite government. The three sons of
Pahoran vied for the position of Chief Judge. The contention and fighting
allowed the Lamanite army, under the leadership of Coriantumr, to obtain the
city of Zarahemla. The following Knowhy video (Book of Mormon Central)
discusses the issue of why the void in leadership was so dangerous for the
Nephites.
Brother John Bytheway in his weekly Gospel Doctrine podcast
(OurTurtleHouse.com), pointed out something that impressed me and testified
strongly of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Pahoran had three sons: Pahoran,
Paanchi, and Pacumeni. Hugh Nibley in his book Since Cumorah (1988) discussed
the name Paanchi (p. 170). In the 7th century B.C Paanchi was a popular Egyptian name. This was only discovered in the late
19th century. Imagine the young Joseph Smith being able to create a
name so unusual and unique that was later uncovered to be a genuine, popular
name at this point in history, by sheer accident. The Book of Mormon is sacred.
Joseph Smith translating (Del Parsons)
Kishkumen started the Gadianton Robbers. His murder of the
Chief Judge Pahoran (the second) was concealed by oaths made within the secret
society of the Gadianton Robbers. The scripture that surprised me in in Helaman
1:11 reads, “they all entered into a covenant, yea, swearing by their
everlasting Maker, that they would tell no man that Kishkumen had murdered
Pahoran”. What surprised me was that men as evil as the Gadianton Robbers would
swear anything in the name of God. I followed the footnote to this scripture
that led to Moses
5:29, where Satan made Cain swear by the name of God. “Satan said unto
Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and
swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not”.
This seems to be a technique used by Satan to make something evil seem more
acceptable. When I thought about the world today, it is understandable. All
around us, the evils of Satan are made to appear good and desirable.
In Helaman
2:13 we read, “And behold, in the end of this book ye shall see that this Gadianton
did prove the overthrow, yea, almost the entire destruction of the people of
Nephi”. Gadianton took over leadership of this secret society from Kishkumen.
In Don’t miss this in the Book of Mormon (Freeman & Butler, 2019) it
states, “Because of this one man [Gadianton] and the evil he put in motion,
almost all of the people of Nephi would be destroyed. It is inspiring what good
a single person can do, and it is also scary what one evil person can do. The
people we choose to align with, the choices we make, and the direction we are
facing, although those choices seem small at first, end with much larger
consequences”. This really made me think about the influence that various
people have made in my own life. I have been fortunate to have had some very
good people influence my decisions. I look at the current political leadership
in the U.S.A. and I can see clearly the effect of one evil man on an entire
country.
The effect of the political contention, the secret society,
and the pride of the Nephites, was that they became weak and could not defeat
the Lamanites. This Knowhy video examines the question, ‘How did the Nephites
become weak in such a short time?’
There is a comprehensive list detailing the wickedness of the
Nephites in Helaman
4:11-13. “Now this great loss of the Nephites, and the great slaughter
which was among them, would not have happened had it not been for their wickedness
and their abomination which was among them; yea, and it was among those also
who professed to belong to the church of God…it was because of the pride of
their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their
oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding
their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the
cheek, making a mock of that which was sacred, denying the spirit of prophecy
and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery,
rising up in great contentions, and deserting away into the land of Nephi,
among the Lamanites… because of…their boastings in their own strength, they
were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were
afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost
possession of almost all their lands”. When I look around at the world today, I
see the wickedness described here. I do not see it among members of the church,
but I am sure there are things that I do not see. In the midst of the Covid-19
pandemic, I wonder if the world is just too wicked and there are other
pandemics, plagues, earthquakes, and natural disasters that will yet be sent to
afflict, try, and test us.
Helaman
4:15 states, “And it came to pass that they did repent, and inasmuch as
they did repent they did begin to prosper”. This is a seemingly simple solution
that we can apply in our own lives. Repentance should be part of the way we
live from day to day. In Don’t miss this in the Book of Mormon (Freeman
& Butler, 2019) the word repentance is linked to anxiety, with the account
of Adam and Eve hiding behind a tree to prevent the Lord from viewing their
nakedness. It goes on to say, “The word repentance implies a turning back, and
turning back invites Him back into our lives. Then we begin to prosper. We
prosper because He is there. We will never find the strength, love, and grace
behind the tree that we will in His presence. Turn again to Him”.
One of my very favourite scriptures is Helaman
5:12 which contains the words of counsel from Helaman to his sons Nephi and
Lehi, “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our
Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation;
that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the
whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it
shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless
wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a
foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall”.
Christ is the only sure foundation. Building on a false
foundation (money, prestige, popularity, appearance, accomplishments) will lead
to unhappiness and weakness in facing Satan’s temptations. Peace comes from being
close to the Spirit and following the Lord’s guidance. The following video is
inspirational in remembering the importance of Christ as our rock and our
Redeemer. It provides us with a clearer understanding of the scriptural use of ‘rock’.
This Knowhy video answers the question: ‘Why did Helaman compare Christ to a rock?’
After Nephi and Lehi converted thousands of Lamanites in the
city of Zarahemla they went on to preach to the Lamanites in the Land of Nephi.
They were thrown into prison. For days they went without food. When the
Lamanites came to kill them, they could not go near these wonderful
missionaries. It appeared that they were standing amidst flames. The Lamanites were
encompassed by a cloud of darkness. They heard a quiet yet powerful voice
command them to repent. The earth shook and the cloud continued to overwhelm
them. Nephi and Lehi were looking up and appeared to be speaking to someone.
Aminadab, a Nephite dissenter living with the Lamanites, testified that, “They
do converse with the angels of God” (Helaman
5:39). The Lamanites asked, “What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness
may be removed from overshadowing us?” (Helaman
5:40). Aminadab told them that they should repent. When they did, they
found they were surrounded by a pillar of fire and angels came down to minister
to them. Sometimes we experience a ‘cloud of darkness’, so what can we do to
get rid of this cloud? I love church music. One hymn that answers this question
is Where can I turn for peace? The following video is this hymn sung by
Kathleen Jacob. The background illustrates some of the things that can
contribute to our own clouds of darkness.
I have mentioned chiasmus in several previous posts. Helaman 6 provides a further example of chiasmus. In Helaman
6:7-13 we have a very precise chiasmus. This is illustrated below. There is
also a Knowhy (Book of Mormon Central) video that answers the question: ‘Why was
chiasmus used in Nephite record keeping?’
I thought a lot about the significance of these scriptures
to my own life. The Nephites succumbed to evil while the Lamanites became more
righteous than the Nephites. The Nephites descent into wickedness can be
illustrated by the Pride Cycle seen below.
In the April 2009 General Conference, Elder Russell M. Ballard
said, “…the Book of Mormon records that ancient civilizations followed exactly
the same pattern: righteousness followed by prosperity, followed by material
comforts, followed by greed, followed by pride, followed by wickedness and a
collapse of morality until the people brought calamities upon themselves
sufficient to stir them up to humility, repentance, and change…One of the great
lessons of this historical pattern is that our choices, both individually and
collectively, do result in spiritual consequences for ourselves and for our
posterity”. We are faced with a time of calamities. The world is full of
evil and selfishness, so the calamities are not unanticipated. As members we
need to be humble and rely on the Lord to guide and support us. We need to
avoid pride and all the snares and temptations of Satan. I personally need to
rely on the Lord to guide me through this difficult time where daily I see my
old mum in constant pain. He knows best and I only pray that He will look on my
mum with compassion and mercy. I will try to maintain the connection I have
with the Spirit and do my best to be steadfast.
I love these two songs, for the words and the harmonies. The
first is a song by Vocal Point (BYU) called, In Christ alone. The second
is a song called Waymaker (by Leeland), recorded during the Covid-19
lockdown, sung by David Archuleta and the Housecat Band.
I am feeling sad and maudlin after reading through my own
post from 2016. I spoke about mothers and my own mother. On August 16th,
my mum was rushed to Middlemore Hospital by ambulance. She was in severe pain.
When the doctors asked her to pick a pain level between one and ten, her answer
was “100”! My mum has a very high pain threshold, so I knew she was
experiencing excruciating pain. I could stay with her while she was in
Emergency, but as the hospital is under Covid lock-down, I have been unable to
see her in nine days! Tomorrow I have been asked to attend a meeting with the
medical team at 10.00 a.m. at the hospital. I am scared about what will be
discussed but, at least, I get to see my little, frail mum.
I paid tribute to my mum in my previous post, but I want to
add that over the years she has become even more special to me. I have spent
every evening with her for years now, and I have missed this so much over the
past nine days. For the past year, mum’s health has been failing and her
short-term memory is now very bad. Well, I expect that is understandable
considering she is 96 years old. I pray for her all the time. I know her wish
is to move on to the next life and leave the pain behind. I know that, right
now, I cannot imagine my life without her.
I wish I could be as good a person as my mum. I have not
been the sort of mother that raises Stripling Warriors! I love my children
dearly and I would do anything for them. They have all grown into fine young
people. I am very proud of them. It does sadden me that only one out of six is
active in the church. This is one reason I esteem my mother. She would have
done better than I have done. This is also one of the main reasons I am in awe
of the mothers of the Stripling Warriors. In Alma
56:47 it reads, “they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did
not doubt, God would deliver them”. Then, in verse
48 it states, “they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying:
We do not doubt our mothers knew it”. What amazing faith and courage was
instilled in these young men by their mother.
President Spencer W. Kimball said, "To be a righteous
woman during the winding-up scenes on this earth, before the Second Coming of
our Saviour, is an especially noble calling. The righteous woman's strength and
influence today can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times. She has
been placed here to help to enrich, to protect, and to guard the home—which is
society's basic and most noble institution. Other institutions in society may
falter and even fail, but the righteous woman can help to save the home, which
may be the last and only sanctuary some mortals know in the midst of storm and
strife" (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 326). I will always be grateful for my
mother. I love her, I respect her, and I honour her. I also love her with all
my heart. I pray that the Lord will look on her now with mercy and compassion
and help her through this dreadful time.
Brother
John Bytheway gave each of these war chapters a title, capturing the
spiritual message he discovered. These were the titles he suggested:
·Alma 53: Knowing what is true, being true to
what you know
·Alma 54: Fear God more than armies
·Alma 55: Be cautious that no poison is
administered among you
·Alma 56: The righteous need not fear death
·Alma 57: Some were about to give way, some were
firm and undaunted
·Alma 58: God will visit the faithful with
assurances
·Alma 59:
Better to prepare and prevent than repair and repent
·Alma 60: Cleanse the inner vessel
·Alma 61: God has not commanded us to be subject
to our enemies
·Alma 62: Respond to afflictions with faith
These are great spiritual messages. The ones that I focussed
on this time were Alma 57, 59, 60, and 62.
In Alma
57:6 we learn that the 2,000 Stripling Warriors were joined by 60 more. In Alma
57:6 Helaman recalls, “at the beginning of the twenty-ninth year, we
received a supply of provisions…in addition to sixty of the sons of the
Ammonites who had come to join…my little company of two thousand”. I had not
really paid attention to this scripture until I read Don’t miss this in the
Book of Mormon (Freeman & Butler, 2019). They told the following story:
The
boy was three years old when he wandered away in the west desert of Utah and
got lost. He was missing for days. Search parties were assembled. The army was
called. Search and Rescue came with their dogs. All through the day they
searched to no avail. In our neighbourhood, a huge group gathered to drive down
to the desert and help. They left in the afternoon. One man was late getting
home from work. He missed the ride with all the others. He decided not to go.
But his wife had packed his dinner, and she had the car ready and waiting when
he pulled in. So, he went, even though he was late. When he arrived at the
scene, everyone had already gone out searching. There was no one there to give
directions, so he knelt and prayed, and then he went where the Spirit directed.
There were thousands searching the desert that day. But the man who found the
three -year-old boy was the one who almost didn’t go—the one who showed up
late.
There is no explanation in the Book of Mormon why the 60
Ammonite boys joined the army late, but they did, and they provided much needed
support for the original 2,000 Stripling Warriors. Freeman and Butler (2019) suggest
that when someone needs our help showing up is sometimes more important than
showing up on time. So, do not hesitate to show up just because you are running
late. Reach your destination with your strength and faith in God and allow
miracles to happen! 😊
In Alma
57:20-21 we read more about the 2,060 Stripling Warriors. We read, “And
while the rest of our army was about to yield to the Lamanites, behold, these
two thousand and sixty stood firm and undaunted…they obeyed and tried to carry
out exactly every order; yes, and it was done to them according to their faith”.
The following Knowhy video (Book of Mormon Central) comments on the ‘exactness’
in which the Stripling Warriors performed their duties.
Moroni assumed that reinforcements would be sent to the city
of Nefiah to defend the people there, and he was angry when these
reinforcements did not arrive, and the Lamanites successfully occupied the
city. He had made a valid assumption, “knowing that it was easier to prevent
the city from falling into the hands of the Lamanites than to take it back” (Alma
59:9). I included the following quote in my last blog post, but I will
include it here as well because it is so apt. President Ezra Taft Beson said, “It
is better to prepare and prevent than to repair and repent”. This is exactly
what Moroni was thinking in Alma
59:9. I am so grateful for the Atonement and the power of repentance, but
it feels so comforting when there are small and simple principles we have no
trouble obeying and we do not need repentance in these areas. Freeman and Butler
(2019) make another wonderful comment based on this scripture, “When someone is
struggling, when there is a chance of falling, perhaps we could provide the
increase of support in the beginning, to keep them, so we don’t have to…rescue
them”.
In Alma
60 Moroni sends a harsh letter to the chief judge Pahoran. He accuses the
Nephite government of neglect and even treason. In reply, in Alma
61, Pahoran sends a reply that is meek and kind. Pahoran states that he is
not angry, but “[rejoiced] in the greatness of [Moroni’s] heart” (Alma
61:9). Pahoran set a powerful example of how to not take offense. Elder
David A. Bednar (General Conference, Oct 2009) stated, "You and I cannot
control the intentions or behaviour of other people. However, we do determine
how we will act. Please remember that you and I are agents endowed with moral
agency, and we can choose not to be offended…One of the greatest indicators of
our own spiritual maturity is revealed in how we respond to the weaknesses, the
inexperience, and the potentially offensive actions of others. A thing, an
event, or an expression may be offensive, but you and I can choose not to be
offended—and to say with Pahoran, 'it mattereth not'."
The leadership of
Pahoran is examined in the following Knowhy video (Book of Mormon Central).
One scripture that truly touched my heart is found in Alma
62:41. It reads, “But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of
the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites many had become hardened,
because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened
because of their afflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before
God, even in the depth of humility”. We are in the middle of a pandemic, Covid
19. Amid this pandemic I am out of work and my mother is in hospital. How
should I respond? I need to pray for a soft heart and faith in the Lord.
Brother John Bytheway (Gospel
Doctrine Prep, Alma 43-62) stated, “We can use our God-given agency to
choose how we will respond to our afflictions and problems”. President Uchtdorf
summed this up perfectly when he stated, “first doubt your doubts before you
doubt your faith.”
Alma 43 to 52 are referred to as the War Chapters. I wrote about these
chapters four years ago, in a post located at: https://gospeldoctrine2016.blogspot.com/2016/09/.
I made an attempt to go through each of these chapters and locate a spiritual
lesson. I managed to do this with the help of a wonderful talk by Brother John
Bytheway called Righteous Warriors: Lessons from the War Chapters (2006
Ed Week). I have, once again, included this talk below, as it contains such a
wealth of information and doctrine. Brother Bytheway also has a book by the
same name – a wonderful resource for this week’s Come Follow Me.
One reason for including the War Chapters in the Book of
Mormon is that the ancient Book of Mormon prophets saw our day, they saw the
warfare between and within countries, and they knew we needed to know how we
should feel about war and how we needed to rely on the Lord, stay
obedient,and have faith in his
protection and guidance. Sister Kathleen S. McConkie (Defending against evil,
Ensign, 1992) mentioned a second reason, i.e. “Satan is waging an all-out war
against truth and righteousness”. We are faced with this war today.
We are all fighting the war against Satan, but there are
those who must also literally fight wars for their countries. The following
video from Knowhy (Book of Mormon Central) provides an interesting insight into
how the Book of Mormon can provide peace and meaning to those in military
service.
All the water in the world,
However hard it tried,
Could never sink the smallest ship
Unless it [gets] inside.
And all the evil in the world,
The blackest kind of sin,
Can never hurt you the least bit
Unless you let it in.
(Anonymous. Best-Loved
Poems of the LDS People, 1996, p. 302)
I know I sometimes feel like the smallest ship in the
biggest ocean. I love the scriptures in Alma 44:3-4 that read, “But now, ye behold that the Lord is
with us; and ye behold that he has delivered you into our hands. And now I
would that ye should understand that this is done unto us because of our
religion and our faith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy
this our faith. Now ye see that this is the true faith of God;
yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are
faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and
never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall
into transgression and deny our faith”. In these two verses Moroni is
speaking to Zerahemnah, who led the Lamanites in an attack on the Nephites. Zerahemnah
had joined the Lamanites but had been a Zoramite who professed to know that
there was no Christ. The testimony of faith given by Moroni is compelling. It
is this testimony of faith that helps me to realise that I will be strengthened
by the Lord if I do not waver and stand strong in my faith. “Faith is a
decision that we get to make and choose to hold on to. No attack or argument or
adversary can ever destroy it unless we give it up. And in the words of that
mighty captain, the reason we cannot be destroyed is because we have the Lord
with us—the Captain of our souls. Our Captain will not let evil in. He gives us
authority and courage to look our enemies in the eyes and tell them they have
no place here. They are not welcome here. They have no power here” (David
Butler and Emily Freeman, 2019, Don’t miss this in the Book of Mormon).
This is an informative video from Knowhy (Book of Mormon
Central) that answers the question, Why did God support the Nephites in
battle?
In Alma 45, Alma shares a prophecy regarding the future of the
Nephites with his son Helaman, and then, in verse 7 we read, “he departed out of the land of Zarahemla,
as if to go into the land of Melek. And it came to pass that he was never heard
of more”. Helaman continued to preach despite the wars and contentions that had
been so traumatic in the lives of the people. We are told in verse 18, “it became expedient that the word of God should
be declared among them”. There is never a time when spiritual well-being should
not be the most important requisite in the lives of the people. Our dear
prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, under the direction of the Lord,
initiated the Come Follow Me home-study programme before the turmoil of
the Covid 19 pandemic. The Lord wanted us all to have this spiritual health and
well-being, even in the midst of so much physical sickness and death.
The account of Amalickiah deceiving Lehonti is found in Alma 47. This is a riveting plot of cunning, deception, and
murder. In the briefest outline, Amalickian wanted to be made King of the
Nephites. He failed and was cast out. He went to the Land of Nephi and stirred up
anger in the hearts of the Lamanites. The King of the Lamanites sent a
proclamation that they would once again attack the Nephites. Many of the
Lamanite army were terrified to go against the Nephites, so disobeyed the King.
Amalickiah was given command of the part of the army who were prepared to obey
the proclamation. The larger part of the army escaped to Mount Antipas under
the leadership of Lehonti. Amalickiah had no intention of following the King’s
orders. He stationed his smaller army at the base of Mount Antipas. He sent
three messages to Lehonti to come down the mount to speak to him. Lehonti would
not. Eventually Amalickiah went up the mount and asked Lehonti to come down
just a little way. Lehonti obliged. Amalickiah made a pact with Lehonti that he could bring his men down the mountain and surround the smaller army. Lehonti would
then be in control of the whole army, if he agreed to make Amalickiah second in
command. Lehonti did this. With malice and cunning, Amalickiah arranged for a
servant to poison Lehonti slowly. When Lehonti died, Amalickiah had complete control
of the army. He then went back to the King of the Lamanites. He arranged for
the King to be killed and made it look as if one of the King’s own servants had
committed the murder. He then succeeded in becoming King of the Lamanites and
marrying the murdered King’s wife.
What can we learn from this grave plot? Firstly, don’t come
down from the mountain! Lehonti said ‘No’ three times but was finally tempted
when he knew he only needed to go down a little way. This is the way Satan
works. He cannot persuade good people to commit major sins straight away. So he
chips away at the little sins with little temptations. Once we commit a little
sin, it is easier to move on to a bigger sin and then an even bigger sin. We
come down our mountains just a little way! The second thing we learn is that we
need to avoid being poisoned by degrees (Alma 47:18). This reminds me of how to boil a frog. If you
try to put a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will jump out immediately. But
if you put a frog into a pot of cold water and slowly heat it to boiling point,
the frog will be cooked. He will not jump out. We need to be aware of this ploy
of the adversary. We cannot look on sin with the least degree of allowance.
These words from President Spencer W. Kimball summarise the
messages of this story:
The arch deceiver has studied every way possible to
achieve his ends, using every tool, every device possible. He takes over,
distorts, and changes and camouflages everything created for the good of man…so
he may take over their minds and pervert their bodies and claim them his.
He never sleeps—he is diligent and persevering. He
analyses carefully his problem and then moves forward diligently, methodically
to reach that objective. He uses all five senses and man’s natural hunger and
thirst to lead him away. He anticipates resistance and fortifies himself
against it. He uses time and space and leisure. He is constant and persuasive
and skillful. He uses such useful things as radio, television, the printed
page, the airplane, and the car to distort and damage. He uses the
gregariousness of man, his loneliness, his every need to lead him astray. He
does his work at the most propitious time in the most impressive places with
the most influential people. He overlooks nothing that will deceive and distort
and prostitute. He uses money, power, force. He entices man and attacks at his
weakest spot. He takes the good and creates ugliness…He uses every teaching art
to subvert man.
The adversary is subtle. He is cunning. He knows that he
cannot induce good men and women to do major evils immediately, so he moves
slyly, whispering half-truths until he has his intended captives following him.
Be grateful, worship joyously, fast and pray (Alma 45:1). Even when trials bring us down, we can gain
great joy from our participation in the gospel. There is no experience that can
parallel the joy of temple service.
Follow the example of the Title of Liberty (Alma 46:11-20). Surround ourselves with reminders of the
covenants we have made.
Follow the example of Captain Moroni. In Alma 48:17 we are told, “if all men had been, and were, and
ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have
been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of
the children of men”. In Alma 48 we can identify some of Captain Moroni’s
characteristics: he had respect for others (verse 11); he understood the importance of free agency in
the gospel (verse 11); his “heart did swell with thanksgiving to his
God” (verse 12); he was prepared to labour for the “welfare and
safety of his people” (verse 12); he was firm in the faith of Christ (verse 13); and he gloried in doing good, preserving his
people, keeping the commandments of God, and resisting iniquity (verse 16). In the April, 2015 General Conference, Elder
Ulisses Soares said, “All of Moroni’s attributes stemmed from his great faith
in God and in the Lord Jesus Christ and his firm determination to follow the
voice of God and His prophets. Figuratively, all of us need to transform
ourselves into modern Captain Moronis in order to win the wars against evil”.
The following Knowhy video (Book of Mormon Central) descrives the reasons why
Mormon viewed Captain Moroni as a hero.
Be prepared and fortify ourselves. Alma 49 is the Preparation Chapter as it mentions
preparation in many places. Moroni had prepared the Nephites to defend
themselves against the Lamanites. He had prepared fortifications around cities
that astonished the Lamanite armies. We can fortify ourselves by standing in
holy places, by creating strong gospel-centred homes, and by wearing our armour
of righteousness. We must also prepare ourselves continually. In Alma 50:1 we read, “Moroni did not stop making preparations
for war”.Our battle against Satan
continues every day. As we survive one temptation or trial, there is another
just around the corner. The following YouTube video (Knowhy, Book of Mormon
Central) examines the nature of Nephite fortifications).
Avoid contention. In Alma 51: 1-12, the rise of the Kingmen introduces internal
contention. They demand law change and desire a king be appointed. Moroni’s
attention is forced to handle the up-rising of the Kingmen. It is while he is
distracted by internal contention that the Lamanites attain some success in
capturing Nephite cities. We need to increase unity in our families and in our
wards and stakes to avoid the wiles of Satan.
In the War Chapters we see the wonderful example of Captain
Moroni. We learn to have faith, to fortify ourselves, and to be upright and
watchful to avoid Satan’s temptations. We learn to be prepared and to keep the
commandments. President Harold B. Lee was once asked which of the commandments
was the most important. He answered that it was whichever commandment that was
causing us the most trouble. We need to make weak things become strong.
We need to continually remind ourselves of our covenants. We need to be
grateful for our blessings and find joy in worship. We need to avoid
contention and be unified. If we are vigilant and obedient, Satan can have no
power over us.
