On May 19, 2012 my Stake Presidency challenge the Young Single Adults in my stake to study the Book of Mormon for 30 minutes a day. As I have done this many thoughts have come to me. Some have been very personal revelations but there have been many that I have just been aching to share. I loved companion study on my mission and I hope each of you will be my companions and share your insights with me as I share mine with you.
I was in the middle of Alma when the challenge was issued and on the brink of my very favorite set of scriptures...The War Chapters. I don't know why in all my youth these chapters got such a bad reputation, I have learned so much about life, its challenges, and the safety measure I need to put into place to keep myself safe. For instance, in Alma 43:25-46 we experience one of the first battles of the Nephites versus the Lamanites egged on by the dissenting Zoramites. Being thus threatened by the Lamanites, Moroni seeks the will of the Lord in destroying them--not for destruction's sake, but for the sake of their wives, children, religion, and freedom. This being the case and the Lamanites having such an opposite purpose (that of tyranny and power) the Book of Mormon states in verse 30 that Moroni "thought it no sin that he should defend them (the Nephites) by stratagem..." In verse 46 we gain further insight into his reasoning, "for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies." This same justification for Earthly judgement and punishment is repeated in Alma 48:14 and in Doctrine & Covenants 98:23-36.
As I pondered these verses in Doctrine & Covenants 98, two words stood out: ENEMY and PATIENTLY. The verses urge us to be patient with the afflictions placed on us by our enemies, and that by doing so, we would be rewarded.
It occurred to me that I have no physical enemies. No specific person that I am aware of seeks to harm me physically or mentally. I guess in this knowledge I have been great blessed. However, it also occurred to me that my enemy does not always need to be a who; it can also be a what.
The enemies we fight or patiently bear are those of jealousy, loneliness, sorrow, fear, and unkind thoughts. At times we may find that we can patiently bear these enemies attacks and temptations. Other times it may be all that we can do to keep our mouths shut and our thoughts to ourselves. It is easy to lash out irrationally as a result of these adversaries. We choose to fight jealousy with bitterness, loneliness and sorrow with hermitage and depression, fear with anger and frustration, and unkind thoughts by unleashing them, often at those who do not deserve their sting. It would be better to fight jealousy with kindness, loneliness and sorrow with services, fear with prayer and faith, and unkind thoughts with compliments and bitten tongues.
But if we are to bear the attacks from our enemies patiently, how was Moroni able to receive the Lord's permission in fighting back? I found the answer in section 98:29, 31, "And then, if he shall come upon you or your children, or your children’s children unto the third and fourth generation, I have delivered thine enemy into thine hands;...Nevertheless, thine enemy is in thine hands; and if thou rewardest him according to his works thou art justified; if he has sought thy life, and thy life is endangered by him, thine enemy is in thine hands and thou art justified." The instruction is to choose our battles wisely. It is not given unto us to rush against every enemy or lash back foolishly against temptation. It would be easy for us to give in and let our non-physical compulsions overpower us because we chose to fight them before we chose to think about them. Think of the blessings we could miss out on if we left our patience at the entrance of the arena. As we patiently seek the Lord's will in the timing and stratagem these, our battles, we will be blessed as the armies of Moroni to conquer with His blessing. And like the armies of Moroni, we will not be "slain by the hands of [our] enemies."
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