Alma 49:28 - Thanking God for Our Accomplishments

Captain Moroni is probably my favorite hero in the Book of Mormon, partly because he had a lot of passion, and partly because he knew how to win a war. When he was made the commander of the Nephite armies, one of the first things he did was he gave the Nephites armor, which was a new invention to their civilization. After his armored Nephites defeated an army of half-naked Lamanites, Moroni had the Nephites fortify their cities, so when the Lamanites came back with armor of their own, the Nephites were still able to defeat them, despite being outnumbered by them. I would give Captain Moroni credit for the Nephites' victories, but they didn't.

In Alma 49:28, we read that "the people of Nephi did thank the Lord their God, because of His matchless power in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies."

Captain Moroni and the Nephite army put a lot of work into their military victories. Armor doesn't make itself, and neither do fortifications. And even with these advantages, the Nephites still had to put in a little bit of elbow grease. They did all the work, and Moroni had all the ideas, and yet, when they won battles against the Lamanites, they thanked God for delivering them.

Perhaps that makes sense. After all, Moroni's ideas had to have come from somewhere; They might have been inspired. And the Nephites might have been strengthened or aided as they were building the fortifications. And of course, there's always at least some element of luck on the battlefield. God almost certainly had a hand in helping the Nephites win.

In life, we may sometimes feel like we've earned things ourselves. For example, I would love to take credit for writing consistently half-decent blog posts and for getting good grades on my essays, but I know that I can't take all the credit. God helps us more than we may realise. He gives us strength and ideas. He helps me (eventually) think of things to blog about. If nothing else, He gave us the minds and bodies we use to do everything we do. The only reason we are able to accomplish anything is because God gives us the power to do it, so whenever we accomplish anything, even when it takes a lot of work on our part, we owe at least some thanks for that to God. The Nephites seem to have understood that principle, and now, thanks to God, so do I.