Blogging in Balboa
We are on vacation with our family (“on holiday” as you Brits would say) on Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California. Our family (my parents and five children) started coming here on vacation in 1948, 72 years ago. They left me home because they thought, as the youngest, I was too young at age two and would be a nuisance. Since then, I’ve spent more than two years of my life on vacation here on Balboa. It’s been three years since we were last here because of our mission to England and Wales. We used to come every year but then started several years ago coming every other year and going somewhere else in the off year. It’s good to be back! I have a ton of memories from this place. It’s part of the fabric of my life.
This year, we have each of our eight children, all but one of their spouses (one son-in-law in school this summer who couldn’t get away), all of our 24 grandchildren (except one granddaughter serving as a missionary in the Arkansas Bentonville Mission after being evacuated from Brazil) and our one granddaughter-in-law, a total of 41 of the 43 in our family here at the beach. It’s fun to be together. There is so much to do here but not much time to write. We’ll see how much I can get done on this blog by the end of the week. I’ll try to at least write a little that will, hopefully, be useful for you.
The war chapters
The next twenty chapters in the book of Alma (chapters 43-62) are often called the “war chapters” for obvious reason. They are about the almost continuous wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites including the Nephite dissenters over a period of seventeen years, BC 74 – BC 57. When I was much younger, these were some of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon because of the action they contain. Now I find them a little tedious, though there are some wonderful lessons to be learned from these chapters. These twenty chapters are the subjects for Come, Follow Me for the next two weeks.
Why does Mormon include twenty chapters focused almost entirely on wars? Interesting question! Here are some possibilities:
(1) Mormon is a soldier. He spent most of his adult life leading the Nephite armies against the Lamanites. It’s not surprising at all that he would find these wars interesting to him, so he wants to capture them for us.
(2) Mormon is a faithful historian. This period of time with almost continuous wars was an important time in Nephite history. Mormon wants to give us the whole story of these people in the book that bears his name. Wars are part of the story.
(3) There are some great stories to tell about some great people – Captain Moroni, the Sons of Helaman, and others. Their stories need to be told.
(4) There are lessons for us to learn in our day from the stories about these wars. There are examples of good and bad. We need to learn about both to be prepared to better meet the challenges of our day.
(5) There are messages about Christ hidden in these chapters. Christ is the central focus of the whole Book of Mormon. We need to look for Him in all the chapters, including these twenty chapters about war.
Study helps
There is no Book of Mormon video (that I can find) for chapters 43 – 62. In fact, the Gospel Library app doesn’t show any more Book of Mormon videos after Alma 42. I hope there are more coming, but I don’t know when they will become available.
The Tyler Griffin and Taylor Halverson weekly Book of Mormon Insights for this week is exceptionally good. I should just quit now and have you watch or listen to them instead of taking time to read what I will write. Here is the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/xoUSUNfUnRQ
As you know, I often quote from Robert Millet and Joseph McConkie’s Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, but I won’t be quoting from them for the next twenty chapters. Instead of a verse-by-verse commentary, they chose to address the material in these twenty chapters in an essay titled War and the Saints of God. I will summarize this essay in the endnotes.[1]
The Notes by Jack Welch for this week are good and very complete. (41 pages on my Acrobat reader!) He has lots of interesting information, if you take the time to read them. You might find especially interesting a chart of the wars in the Book of Mormon. He lists fifteen different wars in the thousand-year history of the Nephites with information about each. You may find that interesting. Here is the link to the .pdf file: https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/sites/default/files/archive-files/pdf/welch/2020-08-01/alma_43-52_formatted.pdf
Alma chapter 43
Alma continues to preach
After receiving wise counsel from their prophet-father, the sons of Alma did go forth among the people, to declare the word unto them. And Alma, also, himself, could not rest, and he also went forth. It sounds like Corianton repented and went back to the ministry. Good for him! And notice that “Alma could not rest” so he went back to preaching, as well. President Hinckley was known to say, “I think that man (or woman) has a little more tread on him. Let’s put him to work.” I hope I still have some tread on me.
As part of a letter to the Saints from Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph wrote, … we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness. … Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed. D&C 123: 13, 17
We won’t hear much more about Alma in the Book of Mormon. There are two more important things to share about him. We’ll share them a little later. Otherwise, all we know is that Alma will “waste and wear out” his life in the Lord’s service. We can do the same.
Zerahemnah vs Moroni
We’ve pointed out before that the Book of Mormon contains the stories of a number of pairs of persons who are contrasts or foils for each other. We can learn from the contrast between them. We now learn about two such contrasting powerful men – Zerahemnah and Moroni.
Zerahemnah was a Zoramite. The Zoramites who were not converted by Alma and his brethren became Lamanites. They stir up the Lamanites to go to battle against the Nephites and appoint Zerahemnah to be their leader. He, in turn, appoints chief captains over the Lamanites, and they were all Amalekites and Zoramites. Now this he did that he might preserve their hatred towards the Nephites.
Notice that it is the Nephite dissenters who hate the Nephites the most. The situation was similar in Illinois in 1844. It was the former trusted friends and associates of Joseph Smith who were the prime instigators of the mob action that led to his martyrdom and that of his brother Hyrum at Carthage.
Compare the designs of Zerahemnah with those of the Nephites and Moroni. Zerahemnah’s designs were to stir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites; this he did that he might usurp great power over them, and also that he might gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into bondage.
On the other hand, the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires.
Who is going to gain the favor of the Lord and His help in their ventures? It’s obvious. What do we desire? Do our desires bring the help of the Lord in our ventures? If our desires are righteous, we can have faith and confidence that God will help us. God, … doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, (Mosiah 4:21)
We are introduced to Moroni
I think Mormon is excited to introduce us to a new character in the Book of Mormon, Captain Moroni. He is obviously, probably next to the Savior Himself, Mormon’s biggest hero. They have so much in common. Mormon even named his son after this great man.
We don’t know much about Moroni – where he came from, his ancestry, his youth or how he was chosen to be the leader of the army of the Nephites. We just know that the man who had been appointed to be the chief captain over the Nephites … was Moroni. And we know that he was young when he was appointed to be chief captain. He was only twenty and five years old when he was appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites. There is generous precedent for the Lord’s choosing young people for important callings. Consider the youth of Samuel (prophet in Israel), Mormon himself and Joseph Smith when each was called. There are also important individuals in history who rose to power and influence at young ages, such as Napoleon, Lafayette and Joan of Arc.[2] We will hear lots more about this great man, Captain Moroni, in the next twenty chapters.
Moroni prepared the Nephites for battle
Zerahemnah, being the good Zoramite that he is, decides to attack the Nephites. He figures that Jershon should be an easy target because that’s where the people of Ammon, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, went to live and they won’t fight. But Moroni had prepared a little surprise for Zerahemnah and his men. When they got to Jershon, they found that the armies of the Nephites were prepared to meet them in the land of Jershon. And besides that, Moroni, had prepared his people with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing. Wait, what’s going on here? Moroni isn’t playing by the rules. Warriors are supposed to be dressed in skimpy loin cloths to show their bravery and their strong bodies. The army of Zerahemnah was not prepared with any such thing; … they were naked, save it were a skin which was girded about their loins; yea, all were naked, save it were the Zoramites and the Amalekites.
Zerahemnah’s warriors were exceedingly afraid of the armies of the Nephites because of their armor, notwithstanding their number being so much greater than the Nephites. They wisely decide not to attack the Nephites in Jershon and instead they leave the land of Antionum and head for the land of Manti.
The armor of righteousness
If we prayerfully try to liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning (1 Nephi 19:23), how can these verses apply to us? It is not a stretch at all to see Zerahemnah and his armies as symbolic of Satan and his diabolical legions who are fighting against Christ, represented here by Moroni, and His followers, the children of Christ (Mosiah 5:7), hopefully, ourselves included, represented by the righteous Nephites. How do we protect ourselves from the attack of the Adversary? Well, one way is to put on the armor of righteousness (2 Nephi 1:23) as Lehi counseled his posterity to do just as the army of Moroni put on their personal armor. What are our breastplates and arm shields?
In August 1830, just four months after the organization of the Church, Joseph Smith was told to:
Gird up your loins, and take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand.
Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which I have sent mine angels to commit unto you;
Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked;
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit, which I will pour out upon you, (D&C 27:15-18)
As Saints and warriors of the Latter-days, we prepare ourselves with the armor of righteousness to go into battle against the forces of evil. A skimpy loin cloth just will not do against Satan and his legions in our day. We need the full armor of God provided by righteous living and keeping our covenants.
The word of the Lord came unto Alma
The armies of Zerahemnah actually do something smart – they don’t attack Moroni and his forces in Antionum. Instead they head for the land of Manti. But they have a surprise waiting for them there. Moroni being a humble man and knowing of the prophecies of Alma, sent certain men unto him, desiring him that he should inquire of the Lord whither the armies of the Nephites should go to defend themselves against the Lamanites. Good thinking, Moroni! When in doubt, ask the prophet!
The word of the Lord came unto Alma, and Alma informed the messengers of Moroni, that the armies of the Lamanites were marching round about in the wilderness, that they might come over into the land of Manti. After asking the prophet, then follow the prophet! He knows the way! The forces of Moroni are waiting for Zerahemnah and his army in the land of Manti. Moroni is accompanied by another great warrior, Lehi, whom we meet for the first time. Moroni and Lehi trap the forces of Zerahemnah on both sides of the River Sidon. We’ll come back to the story in a minute.
Follow the Prophet! He knows the way!
Remember, we are likening the scriptures to ourselves and our day. So, after we put on the whole armor of righteousness by keeping our covenants, the next step for us in our battle against the forces of evil in our day is to follow the Lord’s prophet. Our safety today lies in aligning ourselves as individuals and families with the living prophets and apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is no other way! We may think that we have a better idea or can figure it out better than a bunch of older men can, but we are kidding ourselves.
Remember the story of Naaman, the leper (2 Kings 5)? He was told by the prophet, Elisha, after traveling from his home country in Syria to Israel to be cured of his leprosy, to Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. Naaman was incensed! Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. Naaman thought he could choose his favorite river in which to wash. But if he did, he would not be cleansed as the prophet promised. Too many of us think that we have a better plan, a better “river”, than the Lord’s prophets and apostles. What do they know? Too many in our day have left the covenant path to wash in other rivers. But it doesn’t work that way.
Naaman’s servant said to him, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Naaman was told to wash in the Jordan seven times. What are we asked to do in our day? We do the simple things the prophets and apostles ask us to do. They are the “Sunday School answers” which teenagers sometimes make light of – have a meaningful prayer at least once every day; study the scriptures every day; pray together as a family every day; humbly partake of the sacrament each Sunday; worthily hold a temple recommend and attend the temple as often as our circumstances allow; pay an honest tithing and generous fast offering; and minister to others in our circle of concern. Those are seven easy to understand, concrete things we can do to follow the prophet. They are like washing in the Jordan seven times. You can make your own list from the things that the prophets and apostles have asked us to do. Your seven “dips” in the river might be a little different from mine, but probably not much. But you can’t choose your own river. The only river that works is the covenant path of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is not “rocket science”; but is actually quite simple. Unfortunately, many lose their way because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished (1 Nephi 17:41) choosing to wash in other rivers.
Do you think our prophets “know the way”? Did Pres. Nelson and the other leaders of our church prepare us for the challenges of this pandemic and the shutdown of churches and temples? Absolutely! They may not have seen (or maybe they did) exactly what was coming, but they were inspired to shift to a “family-centered church-supported” curriculum for gospel study. And they were inspired to institute a plan of ministering, “a higher and holier way”, to care for each other which works much better than the former home/visiting teaching programs given the current challenges of social distancing. These are just two examples which show that our current prophet and apostles “know the way.” Our job is to listen and follow. They are doing a marvelous job in their responsibilities. How are we doing in our job? Are we listening? Are we following?
Zerahemnah trapped
Guided by the prophet Alma, Moroni and Lehi and their forces surround the much larger army of Zerahemnah at the banks of the River Sidon. Even though the Lamanites did fight like dragons, … the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church. … They were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God … they cried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their freedom from bondage. Inspired by a better cause, they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom.
Moroni is not blood thirsty and is not seeking for power. He sees that the Lamanites are surrounded and they were struck with terror. Now Moroni, when he saw their terror, commanded his men that they should stop shedding their blood. If the tables were turned and Zerahemnah had the armies of the Nephites surrounded, he probably would have killed them all.
Alma chapter 34
Moroni vs Zerahemnah
Moroni said unto Zerahemnah: Behold, Zerahemnah, that we do not desire to be men of blood. Ye know that ye are in our hands, yet we do not desire to slay you. Behold, we have not come out to battle against you that we might shed your blood for power; neither do we desire to bring any one to the yoke of bondage.
Moroni is no shrinking violet! He commands Zerahemnah in the name of that all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children, by that liberty which binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us—Yea, and this is not all; I command you by all the desires which ye have for life, that ye deliver up your weapons of war unto us.
He offers to let the Lamanites go free if they will make an oath that they will not come back again against the Nephites in war. Zerahemnah, to his credit, though willing to surrender was not willing to enter into such an oath, an oath which he knew he would not keep. At least he had some sense of honor. He takes his sword and rushed forward that he might slay Moroni; but as he raised his sword, behold, one of Moroni’s soldiers smote it even to the earth, and it broke by the hilt; and he also smote Zerahemnah that he took off his scalp and it fell to the earth. (Is this when the practice of “scalping” which was practiced by the American Natives centuries later, had its beginning? Maybe so.)
After one of the warriors of Moroni waves the scalp of Zerahemnah on the tip of his sword, many came forth and threw down their weapons of war at the feet of Moroni, and entered into a covenant of peace. And as many as entered into a covenant they suffered to depart into the wilderness.
Isn’t that interesting – ending a war by a covenant of peace and being allowed to depart without further conflict? Moroni is amazing!
That contrast between Moroni and Zerahemnah is so apparent. It is such a compelling example of the difference between Christ and Satan. Satan seeks for the destruction of the souls of others at any cost and shows no mercy. The Savior, on the other hand, desires peace and the well-being of everyone. He is forgiving and trusting. Even after fighting against Him by sinning, once we enter into a “covenant of peace” with Him through the waters of baptism and again at the sacrament table, our past offenses are forgiven and we are allowed to depart in peace. And that can happen to us every week as we repent and present ourselves with a broken heart and contrite spirit before Him, kneeling, as it were, and symbolically throwing down our weapons, at His feet at the sacrament table. Oh, it is wonderful!
The battle still isn’t over
But the battle isn’t over. Zerahemnah was exceedingly wroth, and he did stir up the remainder of his soldiers to anger, to contend more powerfully against the Nephites. This time, Moroni was angry, because of the stubbornness of the Lamanites; therefore he commanded his people that they should fall upon them and slay them. The men of Moroni begin to fight again and the Lamanites begin to fall.
Zerahemnah, when he saw that they were all about to be destroyed, cried mightily unto Moroni, promising that he would covenant and also his people with them, if they would spare the remainder of their lives, that they never would come to war again against them. And it came to pass that Moroni caused that the work of death should cease again among the people. And he took the weapons of war from the Lamanites; and after they had entered into a covenant with him of peace they were suffered to depart into the wilderness.
Zerahemnah, finally at the peril of his life, is willing to enter into a covenant of peace. Some people have to hit rock bottom before they recognize that they can’t do it alone and reach out for help, hopefully to the Savior. Moroni, like Christ, is still forgiving of the Lamanites and Zerahemnah. Once again, he spares their lives and allows them to depart with a covenant of peace. We never hear of Zerahemnah again in the Book of Mormon. Scalpless, we hope that he kept his covenant not to go to war against the Nephites again. Perhaps, every time he felt the scars on his head he was reminded of his covenant of peace.
What reminds us of our covenants? We don’t bear any physical signs of our broken heart or our contrite spirit, so we need to find other ways to remember – the scriptures, prayer, the sacrament, the temple, sacred clothing, hymns, the words of leaders, the testimonies of others, the subtle whisperings of the Spirit – these all help us to remember our covenants and to stay on the covenant path.
The end of the record of Alma
Thus ended the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. And thus ended the record of Alma, which was written upon the plates of Nephi.
This is the end of the record of Alma, a record that began in Alma chapter 1. Forty-four powerful chapters of doctrine, testimony, admonition and great examples of faith and courage skillfully woven under the inspired stylus of Mormon into a compelling history of the Nephites for 18 important years. Thank you, Alma, for your remarkable contribution to the Book of Mormon. And, thank you, Mormon, for your inspired organization of the story and for choosing those things to include in your book from the record of Alma which would be most helpful to us in our day.
The next 17 chapters of the book of Alma, chapters 45-62, are from the record of Helaman, son of Alma. He will continue the war chapters.
Alma Chapter 45
Alma passes the torch to Helaman
After Zerahemnah and his men depart, the Nephites exceedingly rejoiced … and gave thanks unto the Lord their God; yea, and they did fast much and pray much, and they did worship God with exceedingly great joy. What a great response in gratitude for their blessings! Rejoice, give thanks, fast much, pray much, worship God with exceeding great joy. How often, when the crisis that prompted our fervent prayers has passed, do we remember to give thanks with the same intensity as we asked for help? We could be more like the Nephites in this way.
Alma must have a premonition that his time has come. He conducts an interview with his son, Helaman, and asks him three penetrating questions:
Believest thou the words which I spake unto thee concerning those records which have been kept?
Believest thou in Jesus Christ, who shall come?
Will ye keep my commandments?
Helaman responds,
Yea, I believe.
Yea, I believe all the words which thou hast spoken.
Yea, I will keep thy commandments with all my heart.
Alma is satisfied,
Blessed art thou; and the Lord shall prosper thee in this land.
Remarkable prophecy of Alma
Before departing, Alma makes a remarkable prophecy, but instructs Helaman, what I prophesy unto thee ye shall not make known; yea, what I prophesy unto thee shall not be made known, even until the prophecy is fulfilled;
He then goes on to prophesy, I perceive that this very people, the Nephites, according to the spirit of revelation which is in me, in four hundred years from the time that Jesus Christ shall manifest himself unto them, shall dwindle in unbelief. Yea, and then shall they see wars and pestilences, yea, famines and bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi shall become extinct.
As we know and as we will read later this year in the Book of Mormon, this prophecy is fulfilled. This prophecy must have been written in the record of Helaman at the time it was given but was not made generally known to the people at that time. But Mormon, writing nearly 400 years after the coming of Christ, can now write this prophecy in his book. In fact, he has seen its fulfillment in his day. The Nephites have dwindled in unbelief and will become extinct. Alma was a prophet in every sense of the word!
Departure of Alma
Alma must know that his time is limited. Watch what he does. These are the actions of an inspired leader who is saying goodbye to those he loves and is trying to strengthen them to carry on after his departure.
After Alma had said these things to Helaman, he blessed him, and also his other sons; and he also blessed the earth for the righteous’ sake. He also blessed the church, yea, all those who should stand fast in the faith from that time henceforth.
We have only two verses that describe the departure of Alma.
When Alma had done this 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; as to his death or burial we know not of.
Behold, this we know, that he was a righteous man; and the saying went abroad in the church that he was taken up by the Spirit, or buried by the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the scriptures saith the Lord took Moses unto himself; and we suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit, unto himself; therefore, for this cause we know nothing concerning his death and burial.
We presume that Alma was translated. We wish we knew more. If so, why was he translated? My understanding is that righteous persons are translated because they have a work to do that requires them to remain in the flesh – Enoch, Melchizedek, Moses, Elijah, John the Revelator, the Three Nephite disciples. If Alma was translated, what is the work that he still had (or has) to do? Some who have missions to perform, can accomplish them as spirits, such as all of those who appeared as spirits before the resurrection of Christ. Some accomplish their missions as resurrected beings, like John the Baptist and Moroni. Sometimes, we even see a combination of both translated and resurrected beings appearing at the same time, such as when Peter, James and John appeared to Joseph and Oliver to restore the Melchizedek Priesthood. Peter and James, both having died, must have been resurrected beings in order to put their hands on the heads of Joseph and Oliver and ordain them. John was a translated being. He was still in his physical, though translated, body so he could also participate bodily in the ordination of Joseph and Oliver. Perhaps we’ll learn someday what mission Alma performed or will still perform that required his translation, if that is what, in fact, happened to him.
Alma is one of the great prophets of all time! How blessed we are to have 44 chapters of Book of Mormon taken from his record! How blessed we are by his remarkable conversion story – the poster child of spiritual rebirth! How blessed we are by his inspired teachings to the people of Zarahemla, Gideon, Ammonihah, and Antionum (the Zoramites), his defense before the heresies of Korihor and his wise counsel to his sons. How inspired we are by his love for his sons as their father, his love for the people he served and his love for the Lord! I hope to be worthy to go where he is going and hopefully to meet him there. Thank you, Alma, for being a good and faithful servant! Lord bless you until we meet someday.
Time for me to stop
I told you that we are on vacation in California. It’s now Saturday and I’m out of time to write any more this week and yet there is so much more to say.
As we continue the chapters for this week, Helaman and his brethren will go on to preach the word and strengthen the church. We will meet Amalickiah, a proud, wicked man, who is the source of much contention and suffering among the Nephites and Lamanites. He, like Zerahemnah before him, is a foil for Moroni and a type of Satan. His desire to be king and the insurrection of his followers will inspire Moroni to erect the “Title of Liberty” and rally freedom loving people in the land to his cause. Tyler and Taylor have an especially good segment in their weekly lesson this week about the significance of the points that Moroni included in the Title of Liberty. I’ve already given you the link to their YouTube video. I’ll give it to you again in the endnotes and have it start at the point where Tyler talks about the Title of Liberty.[3]
We will also meet Lehonti, a good man with righteous intentions, who gives into the enticings of Amalickiah. His story is a classic model for why we shouldn’t leave the high ground and come down to meet Satan, even if only part way down and even if it looks safe. You can also find on Book of Mormon Central a short (3 ½ minute) YouTube lesson by John Hilton III titled, “What will you do on the Fourth Time?” He is enthusiastic in his presentation and it is quite good. He contrasts the lesson from Lehonti who came down from high ground with that of Nehemiah, who would not come off the wall of the temple he was rebuilding to those who called to him from below. It is a good contrast. His video could make a good lesson for a family with teenagers. Here is the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/xP8Fjd4QDK4
In chapters 46 and 48, we will see the use of the term Christians, the only times in the Book of Mormon that you will find this term. They are those who did belong to the church [and] were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.
We will read more about the righteousness of Moroni. What a powerful example of integrity, courage and commitment to covenants! His leadership and strength will inspire Mormon to say, Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, 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.
I wish I had more time to write about how Moroni prepared the cities of the Nephites against Lamanite attack by putting up mounds of earth and on top of the mounds, timbers of wood and on top of the timbers a frame of pickets with towers on the walls. As we talked earlier about how to fortify ourselves and our families against the attack of the enemy (Satan) in our day, we talked about putting on the whole armor of God, symbolized by the protective shields and clothing that Moroni had his soldiers wear. And we talked about following the prophet, as Moroni did when he followed Alma’s prophetic counsel where to go to meet the Lamanites.
But we also need to fortify our homes, symbolized by how he protected the cities. Look for how many times the word prepare or preparation is found in these chapters which describe how Moroni prepared his people. How are we preparing ourselves and our families for the invasion of Satan into our homes and lives? What are the mounds of earth, the timbers of wood, the pickets and the towers that we can put up around our homes and families to protect them from the attacks of the enemy? That might be a good discussion for a family to have.
Conclusion
The Book of Mormon is so relevant, so timely, so real! Even the “war chapters”, which we are tempted to skip over, are filled with poignant lessons for our day. If we will liken the scriptures to ourselves and look for types of Christ in the things we read, the Book of Mormon is rich and rewarding, whether we are reading it for the first time or the fiftieth and whether we are 8 or 80 years old. I witness again that it is true. How blessed we are to have this sacred record!
Thanks for reading!
Richard
Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California
Endnotes
[1] War and the Saints of God
The Millet & McConkie Commentary gives several reasons for the inclusion of the war chapters in the Book of Mormon. These are the reasons they give. These chapters are included to illustrate:
1. The Christian’s attitude toward war;
We see that war is incompatible with Christ’s teachings. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel of peace. War is its antithesis and produces hate. It is vain to attempt to reconcile war with true Christianity… There are, however, two conditions which may justify a truly Christian man to enter—mind you, I say enter, not begin—a war: (1) an attempt to dominate and deprive another of his free agency; and (2) loyalty to his country. Possibly there is a third, viz., defense of a weak nation that is being unjustly crushed by a strong, ruthless one. . . . David O McKay, Conference Report, April 1942
2. The importance of righteous military leaders;
3. Our attitude toward constituted government;
4. The power and influence of a righteous home;
5. A person’s external circumstances need not determine his attitude or his faithfulness;
6. Why God allows the righteous to be slain; and
7. A prophetic pattern of what is to come;
In summary:
We have in the Book of Mormon a superlative collection of stories, lessons, precepts, and warnings which, if pondered and studied, will help to prepare us as Latter-day Saints for perilous times that surely shall be. The decades preceding Christ’s first coming may serve as a pattern or type of the years preceding his second coming.
President Ezra Taft Benson has explained: “In the Book of Mormon we find a pattern for preparing for the Second Coming. A major portion of the book centers on the few decades just prior to Christ’s coming to America. By careful study of that time period, we can determine why some were destroyed in the terrible judgments that preceded His coming and what brought others to stand at the temple in the land of Bountiful and thrust their hands into the wounds of His hands and feet. From the Book of Mormon we learn how disciples of Christ live in times of war.” (A Witness and a Warning, pp. 20–21.)
[2] Thanks to my good friend, King Udall, for his comments about famous and influential people who were called into service while still quite young.
[3] Title of Liberty (Griffin & Halverson)
Here is the YouTube link to the discussion by Tyler and Taylor about the Title of Liberty. It is good! https://youtu.be/xoUSUNfUnRQ?t=1253
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