Ponderize - For Purpose, Protection, and Power

"I promise you will not regret writing a verse of scripture on your mind and heart each week. You will experience a feeling of perpetual spiritual purpose, protection, and power." - President Devin G. Durrant, "My Heart Pondereth Them Continually", October 2015

Finally, a promised blessing I actually want.

In this General Conference talk, President Durrant, First Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, invited us to "ponderize" one verse of scripture each week. This means to ponder and reflect on a selected verse, and ultimately memorize it over the course of the week. If we do that, President Durrant promised, we "will experience a feeling of perpetual spiritual purpose, protection, and power." That, to me, sounds like a prize worth fighting for.

This week, I will ponderize Ephesians 6:10, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." It's the verse right before Paul tells the Ephesians about the Armor of God, which is on brand for me. And I hope that ponderizing this verse about God's power will help me gain the power I need in my life.

"Less Than the Dust of the Earth"

Helaman 12:7 O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth.

And yet, we are Children of God, of infinite worth and potential. We have value beyond estimation. So, then, how are we "less than the dust of the earth"?

Helaman 12:8 For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God.

We are "less than the dust of the earth" because the dust obeys God, and we often don't. We are "less than the dust of the earth" because the dust is willing to "[divide itself] asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God," and we usually aren't. We are "less than the dust of the earth" because the dust neither exercises nor even has agency, and we do.

We make our own choices. The dust lets God make all its decisions for it. And that's what makes us "less than the dust of the earth."

I'm not buying it. Not for one second.

Agency is important. Agency is so important that we fought a war to keep it. God wants us to exercise our agency. God does not want us to be dust.

Yes, God wants us to obey Him, and it would be wise for us to do so, but God wants it to be our decision. God wants us to choose to follow Him, not because we have no choice, but because we trust that it's the best choice. God wants us to want to follow Him.

God gave us agency. He wants us to use it, and to use it wisely.

Remembering God, in Good Times and Bad

Helaman 7:20 O, how could you have forgotten your God in the very day that he has delivered you?

Unfortunately, forgetting God in the day that He delivers us is all too common. It's easy to turn to God for help when we need it, but it's harder to remember to turn to God in thanks when things seem okay. Even shortly after we get relief from a problem, it's easy to sit back and enjoy the relief instead of thanking the One who made it possible.

Perhaps that's part of why it's important to pray daily, in good times and bad. That way, we stay in regular communication with God, whether we need His help at that moment or not. When we need special blessings, we can pray for them in our daily prayers, and when we're doing alright, we can thank God for that in our daily prayers.

It's important that we don't only turn to God when we need Him. It's important to Him that we remember Him, thank Him, and turn to Him every day, on good days as well as bad ones. We need daily reminders to maintain a close relationship with God, even when we're doing alright. That's the lesson the Nephites seemed to keep forgetting. Let's hope that we'll be wise enough to remember it.

One Can't, But...

About six and a half years ago, only about a year into my practice of blogging daily, I set myself an Analogy Challenge, in which I would try to find some Gospel-related message in any random object or idea I could think of. At that time, in my bedroom, there was a shape of paint near my bed that somewhat resembled a toucan, so I set myself the challenge of blogging about toucans. I failed. I could not think of anything blogworthy about toucans.

Last night, I realized where I had gone wrong. I was trying to blog about toucans, the creature. I should have blogged about toucan, the word. Or rather, two words. Two can.

We all face challenges. Some of us face very serious challenges. Yet, many people hope that they can overcome their challenges on their own or that if they wait long enough and pray hard enough, God will take away their challenges. Both of these approaches are flawed. While we may have some challenges that we can overcome on our own, some challenges prove to be too great for us. And while God is happy to help us in any way He can, He will not help us in any way that would actually hinder our growth. God won't solve all our problems for us, and we can't solve all our problems on our own. The only way for us to solve all our problems is to work together with God.

That's true for me as much as it is for anyone else. As much as I'd love to be able to solve all my problems on my own, I'm not quite at that level yet, and as much as I'd like God to some my problems for me, that wouldn't help me grow. God can't do it for me, and I can't do it alone. Either one of us on our own can't, but working together, we two can.

I know that's incredibly corny, and I know it's six and a half years late, but I'm glad I was finally able to squeeze a blog post out of "toucan," the word, not the bird. But you know, I think I had help with this. Specifically, I think I had God's help with this. God didn't write this blog post, but He probably inspired it, and then, with that inspiration, I was able to write this blog post. God helped me write this blog post. We did it together. With this Analogy Challenge, as with may of my challenges, I don't think that God or I would or could have done it alone.

Many Revelations Daily

Helaman 11:23 And in the seventy and ninth year there began to be much strife. But it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi, and many of their brethren who knew concerning the true points of doctrine, having many revelations daily, therefore they did preach unto the people, insomuch that they did put an end to their strife in that same year.

At first, it struck me as odd that Lehi and Nephi had "many revelations daily," but perhaps it's not quite as extreme as it sounds. We who have been baptized and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost can have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, who can grant us inspiration, if not revelation, on a regular, if not constant basis. If we listen carefully for the voice of the Spirit, getting "many revelations daily" isn't that much of a stretch. We can receive countless messages from God each day, if we listen for them, and apparently, Nephi and Lehi did.

It's remarkable that Nephi and Lehi had many revelations daily, and it's even more remarkable that we can, too.

Blessed for Effort, not Success

Helaman 10:4 Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.

It didn't matter that not everyone believed in his prophecies or his prophetic calling. It didn't matter that hardly anybody listened when he told them to repent. It didn't matter that Nephi's results were less than stellar. Nephi was blessed because he made the effort. He did his best, and that's all that God can ever ask of anyone.

Our success or failure is outside of our control. What we can control is whether and how hard we try. God blesses us for our efforts, regardless of our level of success. So, let's make the effort, and then, let's try not to stress about whether we're successful or not. Success doesn't matter. What matters is that we continue to make the effort.

Prophet or Not

Helaman 10:1 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 were many different reactions to Nephis prophecies. Some (rightly) thought he was a prophet. Some thought he was a god. Some thought he was a quack. And some thought he was a conspirator to a murder. I hope that, when we hear prophecies, and especially when we begin to see those prophecies being fulfilled, we will see the prophets for what they are: prophets. Not gods, not frauds, and not lucky guessers. There are those who receive information from God and share it with the rest of the world, and if we, too, seek information from God, He can help us identify the true prophets as the prophets they are.

A Prophecy Proven

Helaman 8:21 And now will you dispute that Jerusalem was destroyed? Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were Mulek? Yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem? But behold, this is not all—

At this point in Nephite history, it had long been prophesied that Jerusalem had been destroyed (for the umteenth time) shortly after Lehi had been commanded to leave it. Once Lehi and his family arrived in the Promised Land, they received a revelation indicating that Jerusalem had, in fact, been destroyed. At this point, it was too late for them to go back and check, so they had to take that revelation on faith, and I imagine that some of them didn't. Some of the sons of Lehi didn't believe the prophecy that Jerusalem would be destroyed, and they probably didn't believe the revelation that it had. Yet, after Jerusalem was destroyed, some of the survivors were led to the same Promised Land, and they met with the Nephites and confirmed the destruction of Jerusalem. They bore witness that the prophecy had come true and the revelation had been correct.

We don't always get that luxury. We don't always get proof that a prophecy came true or that a revelation was right. But on those rare instances when we are given proof, it should strengthen our faith in the other prophecies and revelations we've been given, so we can more firmly believe in the prophecies and revelations that haven't been proven yet.

The prophets ask us to take a lot on faith, but in their defense, they've got a decent track record of getting things right. Perhaps we ought to give them the benefit of our faith, even as we patiently wait for the evidence that will prove that they were right all along.

Forgotten Stakes

Helaman 7:16 Yea, how could you have given way to the enticing of him who is seeking to hurl away your souls down to everlasting misery and endless wo?

You know, I think we sometimes forget the stakes we're fighting for. We're not only fighting for righteousness and Eternal Life, but we're also fighting against wickedness and eternal damnation. Yet, when we're down here on Earth, it's easy to forget that heaven and hell are real places, and our day-to-day choices will determine which afterlife we get.

I think part of the reason it's so easy for us to forget about heaven and hell is because the adversary wants us to, and to some extent, so does God. Satan wants us to forget about heaven and hell to remove that motivation. If heaven is the carrot and hell is the stick, the devil wants to keep both of them out of sight and out of mind so they don't influence our decisions.

God, oddly enough, seems to have a similar desire. He placed the veil of forgetfulness over our minds before we were born, partly so mortality could be a proper test. If we had the same eternal perspective He has, our day-to-day decisions would be no-brainers. Of course we should spend a mere century proving our faithfulness, if it means we get to spend an eternity in a heaven that's just as good, if not even better, than the one we were raised in for an immeasurable amount of time before we were born. If we could remember what we're fighting for and how long eternity is, mortality wouldn't be much of a test. God wants us to make good decisions because we're good people, not because we remember what we're going to get out of it. Granted, God tells us about heaven and hell, blessings and punishments, but still, He has us take those things on faith, not with the certainty of memory.

So, in answer to Nephi's rhetorical question, the Nephites could have given way to the enticings of the devil partly because they forgot the full ramifications of what they were doing, partly because both God and Satan wanted them to. God wants us to make good choices for good reasons, and Satan doesn't want us to make good choices at all, so both of them have reasons to not make it too obvious that our eternal welfare is at stake. And that's something that we would do well to remember.

How To Destroy Your Enemies

Helaman 6:37 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was utterly destroyed from among the Lamanites.

This, I think, is a good way to "destroy" one's political, religious, and/or philosophical enemies. Talk it out. Use scriptures and sound logic. Convince evil-doers that what they are doing is evil, and they will naturally want to change. Of course, it'll take some very convincing arguments, but if we're patient enough, and if we choose our words carefully enough, I think we can make progress in that direction.

Some people promote a more direct method of destroying their enemies, but I prefer to talk things out. Fighting turns enemies into corpses. Talking turns enemies into friends.

God's Patience

Helaman 4:15 And it came to pass that they did repent, and inasmuch as they did repent they did begin to prosper.

It often astonishes me how patient God is with us. These are people who were guilty of all kinds of sins and iniquities, and they had lost the favor of the Lord. Yet, when they repented of their sins, they regained God's favor and were blessed again. God is sometimes slow to hear the cries of those who had been wicked, but He never ignores them completely. As long as people are repenting and changing for the better, the Lord will be with them to strengthen them and to help them repent. As the Lord Himself said, "Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me" (Mosiah 26:30).

I am grateful that God has that kind of patience. I'm grateful that our sins don't need to hold us back any longer than we let them. I'm grateful that God continues to be willing to forgive us, no matter how far or how many times we have fallen. God is a God of justice, but He is a God of mercy also, and I'm grateful that His mercy is extended to us, both farther and longer than we probably deserve. God's patience with us is incredible, and while we shouldn't try to test His patience or rely on it any more than we have to, it's good to know that God is capable of exercising an incredible amount of patience.

We Cannot Fall

Helaman 5:12 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.

I wonder how true that last part is, that if we build our foundation on "the rock of our Redeemer," we "cannot fall." It seems to me that there were some people who relied on God and built their foundation on faith in Him who have nonetheless "fallen" in certain ways. God allows us to experience setbacks, and even some failures, because those things help build character. The good news is that if we rely on God enough, He won't let us fall too far or in the wrong ways. And, no matter what happens, we can't fall out of reach of the Atonement.

We can and will fall some distances in some ways, but we can take comfort in knowing that, if we build our foundation on Him, we won't let us fall too far.

Repent and Vote

Helaman 5:2 For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted.

I sometimes worry that this is happening here. Not everyone upholds high moral standards, or even hardly any moral standards, really. There are some people who rejoice in iniquity and call evil good and good evil. There are a number of people who promote actually evil behavior and ideas, and that number seems to be growing by the year. I worry for this country. We can only retain the blessings of God so long as we are, collectively, trying to be righteous. When the majority of the people in this country choose evil, this country will be in trouble.

That's why it's so important to repent and vote and to urge others to repent and vote. If those who choose evil become more numerous than those who choose good, we will be ripening for destruction. We can't afford for that to happen. We, as a country, need to repent and vote righteously

Open Unto All

Helaman 3:28 Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.

I sometimes wonder how restrictive the Celestial Kingdom will be. I know that it presents strict moral standards to those within the church, but what about those outside it? How easily could a Catholic or some other Christian enter the Celestial Kingdom?

On one hand, it would seem fairly easy. This verse basically says that if you believe in Jesus, the gate is open to you. However, no matter how open the gate is, you still have to go through it. 2 Nephi 31:17 teaches us that "the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism," and Helaman 3:28 comes right after Helaman 3:26, which describes how tens of thousands of people were baptized and united with the church of God. So, non-members can enter the Celestial Kingdom. They just have to get baptized and join the church of God first.

Thankfully, temple ordinances, including baptisms for the death, ensure that the gate stays open as long as possible, and we know that God judges individuals based mostly on how closely they followed the light that they had. This may mean that, when a Catholic dies, God will judge them based on how closely they followed Catholicism rather than how closely they followed Mormonism.

I don't know precisely what the rules are for non-members to enter the Celestial Kingdom. I know that they need Temple ordinances, since everyone does, but I'm not sure what standards they have to live by to be considered worthy of that. I am confident that God's judgments on this matter will be fair; I just don't know whether that fairness means everyone has to uphold the same standard or whether it means that everyone will get a fair chance to earn the right to enter the Celestial Kingdom.

Whatever the rules are, God doesn't seem like the kind of God that would arbitrarily turn away those who seek to enter His Kingdom. I believe that "the gate of heaven is open unto all." I just don't know how hard or how easily it will be for members of other faiths to enter through it.

So Much for Secrecy

In Helaman chapters 1 and 2, a man named Kishkumen conspires with others to help him assassinate Nephite leaders and, hopefully, get away with it.

Helaman 1:11 And he went unto those that sent him, and they all entered into a covenant, yea, swearing by their everlasting Maker, that they would tell no man that Kishkumen had murdered Pahoran.

Helaman 2:3 But behold, Kishkumen, who had murdered Pahoran, did lay wait to destroy Helaman also; and he was upheld by his band, who had entered into a covenant that no one should know his wickedness.

But since we know the name Kishkumen, we know his plan didn't work out. His plot to kill Helaman was foiled, and his secrets were brought to light.

A similar fate may await us as well. Many people endeavor to keep secrets, but those secrets don't always stay kept. In the end, most, if not all secrets will be revealed, and most, if not all works of darkness will be brought to light. At the very least, we know that no one can keep secrets from God.

Relying on secrecy is incredibly foolish. It may work for a time, but it won't last forever. At Final Judgment, there are no secrets. So it's probably best to try not to keep too many secrets in the first place. Kishkumen relied on secrets, and now millions of people all over the globe know how far that got him.

Specialized Gospel Study

I find that Sundays are good days for introspection and for studying Gospel-related topics that are directly pertinent to me. Especially in this church-at-home setting, it makes sense to study topics that are directly relevant to me, making for a highly specialized Gospel Study experience. Granted, this doesn't have to be reserve only for Sundays. We can study any aspect of the Gospel any time we want. Sundays just seem like a particularly good day for Gospel Study, even though no day is a bad day for it. There's no bad time for such self-reflective Gospel study, but Sundays (and Mondays) seem like especially good days for it.

Resist Evil

Alma 61:14 Therefore, my beloved brother, Moroni, let us resist evil, and whatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such as rebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we may retain our freedom, that we may rejoice in the great privilege of our church, and in the cause of our Redeemer and our God.

I like how this passage of scripture reminds us that there are multiple ways to resist evil, some of which are better than others, and that even a military commander and a political leader facing an unjust rebellion knew that it's better to resist evil with words than with swords. We know that it's important to resist the evil in the world, but as we do so, we should remember that it's also important to resist it the right way. There is a point at which violence becomes necessary. Until that point, it's better to resist evil with words.

Independently Inspired

 I went down a bit of a rabbit hole this evening. As we were reading Alma 61, I noticed that Pahoran, the chief governor of the land of the Nephites, twice used phrases related to "stand[ing] fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us free." That phrase sounded familiar, so I looked back and saw that Helaman said that the 2000 stripling warriors were known to " stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free."

I wondered where those two had gotten that phrase, so I looked by farther and found that (as far as I can tell) the first instance of that phrase in the Book of Mormon came from Alma the Elder, who was Helaman's grandfather and also the man who passed the leadership of the Nephites down to Nephihah who felt it to Pahoran. It's possible that both Helaman and Pahoran got the phrase from Alma the Elder.

However, it's worth noting that a similar phrase is found in Galations, written by Paul: "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage," (Galatians 5:1). Sine Paul and the Nephites weren't in contact with each other, I must conclude that the phrase was inspired independently in at least two people, who then shared the message with everyone else, mostly through letters to either the Galatians or to Captain Moroni.

You know a message is important when God inspires multiple people with that message, with the intention of sharing it. I plan to dig into this phrase and its meanings tomorrow, but for tonight, I just wanted to point that the phrase was inspired independently in both Paul and Alma the Elder and that it spread out to the Galatians and to the Nepthites from there. I thought that was interesting. I hope you will too.

Faithful and Blessed, Despite Difficulties

Alma 58:39-40

And those sons of the people of Ammon, of whom I have so highly spoken, are with me in the city of Manti; and the Lord has supported them, yea, and kept them from falling by the sword, insomuch that even one soul has not been slain.

But behold, they have received many wounds; nevertheless they stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free; and they are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do observe to keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually; and their faith is strong in the prophecies concerning that which is to come.

The 2000 stripling warriors were legendary for their faithfulness and for how they were preserved by God despite facing great numbers of trained warriors, yet we don't always remember that they were all wounded, some very seriously. After a particular battle, all of them had "received many wounds," and about a tenth of them had "fainted because of the loss of blood" (Alma 57:25). This war was not easy for the Sons of Helaman.

Yet, despite the afflictions they faced in the war, including their need to go to war at all, the 2000 stripling warriors were "exceedingly valiant for courage, and ... true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted" (Alma 53:20). And because of their valiance and faithfulness and courage, they were blessed and preserved on multiple occasions.

Similarly, we face challenges and afflictions (though our afflictions are probably not as great as those of the stripling warriors), and the blessings we receive to help us get through our afflictions will largely be based on our responses to them. The Sons of Helaman faced their challenges with diligence and courage. If we want blessings of anywhere near that magnitude, we too should face our challenges with diligence and courage. The more diligently we live, the more blessed we will be, especially if we remain diligent in difficult circumstances.

The Sons of Helaman remained diligent in difficult circumstances, and they were greatly blessed. If we follow their example, we will be, too.

Gid's Perspective

Alma 57:30-35

30 And now, these are the words which Gid said unto me: Behold, we did start to go down to the land of Zarahemla with our prisoners. And it came to pass that we did meet the spies of our armies, who had been sent out to watch the camp of the Lamanites.

31 And they cried unto us, saying—Behold, the armies of the Lamanites are marching towards the city of Cumeni; and behold, they will fall upon them, yea, and will destroy our people.

32 And it came to pass that our prisoners did hear their cries, which caused them to take courage; and they did rise up in rebellion against us.

33 And it came to pass because of their rebellion we did cause that our swords should come upon them. And it came to pass that they did in a body run upon our swords, in the which, the greater number of them were slain; and the remainder of them broke through and fled from us.

34 And behold, when they had fled and we could not overtake them, we took our march with speed towards the city Cumeni; and behold, we did arrive in time that we might assist our brethren in preserving the city.

35 And behold, we are again delivered out of the hands of our enemies. And blessed is the name of our God; for behold, it is he that has delivered us; yea, that has done this great thing for us.

What strikes me most about these passages is Gid's positive perspective, despite the escape of the prisoners. Losing those prisoners was, on its own, a bad thing, since those prisoners were then free to rejoin the Lamanite army. However, the escape of the prisoners enabled Gid and his men to stop having to worry about guarding their prisoners all the way to Zarahemla, so they were free to help save Cumeni. Gid was only able to help save Cumeni because those prisoners escaped. That's why Gid considered the escape of the prisoners a "great thing" even though it was, on its own, a bad thing.

This probably happens a lot in life. Negative events sometimes pave the way for positive outcomes and prove to be good overall. So perhaps we should not be so quick to judge our luck as good or bad. Sometimes, bad things can lead to good things, and vice versa. Perspective matters. I want to have a positive, glass-half-full perspective, like that of Gid.

Fathers and Mothers

Alma 56:27 And now it came to pass in the second month of this year, there was brought unto us many provisions from the fathers of those my two thousand sons.

48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

These two verses from Alma 56 highlight the importance of both fathers and mothers in the lives of the 2000 stripling warriors. Their fathers provided them with the food they needed to live, and their mothers taught them the lessons they needed to know to live well.

Granted, the ideal, nuclear family isn't possible in all cases, and each family must do the best they can, but when it is possible, it's good to have both fathers and mothers playing complementary roles that make use of their individual strengths. For most of human history, fathers were the primary breadwinners and mothers were the primary caregivers. This was the case with the 2000 stripling Sons of Helaman, and that seemed to have worked out fairly well for them.

The world can say what it wants about families, gender roles, and parenthood, but in my mind, both fathers and mothers are important parts of a stable, successful family.

"You May Do According to Your Desires"

Alma 55:12 And Laman said unto them: You may do according to your desires.

When I blogged about this verse five years ago, I focused on how we can safely accept that offer, so long as the desires we act on are good. Tonight, I want to focus on the fact that we can accept this offer, period.

We have moral agency. Neither man nor the devil can take it from us, and God never will. We have to ability to make our own choices, to "do according to [our] desires," and we always will.

The catch is that there are consequences for every action. We can choose what we do, but we can't avoid the consequences that come as a result of what we choose to do. Still, those consequences aren't always negative, and even the negative consequences don't actually prevent us from making the choices that lead to them. We can still do what we choose to do, regardless of what happens next.

We have been trusted with a great deal of freedom, the freedom to do basically whatever we want, the freedom to "do according to [our] desires." It's our responsibility to prove worthy of that trust, to use that freedom for good, and to "let the consequence follow."

Teancum's Impossible Task

Alma 52:16-17 

And it came to pass that Teancum had received orders to make an attack upon the city of Mulek, and retake it if it were possible.

And it came to pass that Teancum made preparations to make an attack upon the city of Mulek, and march forth with his army against the Lamanites; but he saw that it was impossible that he could overpower them while they were in their fortifications; therefore he abandoned his designs and returned again to the city Bountiful, to wait for the coming of Moroni, that he might receive strength to his army.

Teancum had been given a difficult task, a task that, by one estimation, was impossible for him to accomplish at that time. Yet, he eventually accomplished this task, with the aid of Moroni and his army.

I wonder how often we're given tasks like that. There are many commandments. By some counts, there are hundreds, including the commandment to "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). By some estimations, it is not possible for us to keep all the commandments perfectly all at once. With our finite time and energy, with our limited wisdom and will-power, with our merely mortal capabilities, there are some limits to what we can and can't do.

So, what can we do when we're given a task that we can't accomplish or when we're given more tasks than we can handle? At those times, it might be wise to follow Teancum's example. Teancum did all he could do, learned that it wasn't enough, and waited for the help he knew was coming.

Similarly, God expects us to do all that we can do, but He doesn't necessarily expect us to work miracles. That's His job. Our job is to do everything we can and wait for assistance from the Lord. Sometimes, that assistance comes as we are accomplishing the task, giving us strength to handle it. Sometimes, that assistance comes after repeated, failed attempts, as a reward for our diligence and perseverance. And sometimes, that assistance comes much later than we would like.

If we are ever given a task that's impossible for us to accomplish on our own, we should do all we reasonably can, and when that's not enough, we need to exercise patience and wait for assistance from the Lord.

An Unconquerable Spirit

Alma 52:33 And it came to pass that Jacob, being their leader, being also a Zoramite, and having an unconquerable spirit, he led the Lamanites forth to battle with exceeding fury against Moroni.

I know that Jacob the Zoramite was one of the bad guys, and he certainly wasn't a role model in many respects, but I want to acknowledge his courage in the face of overwhelming adversity. He was tricked by Teancum into leaving his stronghold in Melek, and was soon surrounded by the armies of Lehi and Moroni, but he never gave up. He had "an unconquerable spirit," and even though his cause was basically hopeless, he fought for it to his dying breath.

Granted, we should choose better goals than killing a righteous military commander like Captain Moroni, and we should try to be wise enough and cautious enough to not leave our strongholds, but if we ever find ourselves surrounded by enemies, we should take a page out of Jacob the Zoramite's book and fight our way toward home with all the strength we can muster. We may or may not make it, but we should give it everything we've got, like Jacob the Zoramite did.

One thing I love about the war chapters of the Book of Mormon is that we can learn from both sides of the war. We can learn from both the good guys and the bad guys. We can learn from their good examples and from their bad examples. Both sides show us how Satan attacks us, and both sides show us ways to defend ourselves against him. We shouldn't follow Jacob the Zoramite's example in getting tricked out of our strongholds, but we should follow his example of fighting with an unconquerable spirit.

Consequences in Mortality and Immortality

Alma 50:22 And those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord were delivered at all times, whilst thousands of their wicked brethren have been consigned to bondage, or to perish by the sword, or to dwindle in unbelief, and mingle with the Lamanites.

This verse makes some generalizations that I'm not fully comfortable with, mostly because they're not always true. Those who are "faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord" are not always "delivered at all times," and those who are wicked are not always punished. Oftentimes, God allows good people to suffer because such suffering builds characters and qualifies them for great blessings hereafter. Meanwhile, sometimes bad people go unpunished for seemingly no real reason at all, except perhaps that God, being reluctant to hurt any of His children, extends them some mercy, hoping that they'll repent before any punishment is necessary. Sometimes, people don't get what they deserve, at least not in this like.

In the hereafter, it's a different story. In the Final Judgement and Resurrection, the righteous are delivered from all their trials and troubles and are given unimaginably great blessings. Meanwhile, the wicked also get their just desserts, which could, poetically, be described as death or bondage. In life, people don't always get what they deserve, but in death, everyone always does.

That's why I think it's more important to consider the eternal consequences than the consequences we face in mortal life. In mortal life, people are often given blessings and/or afflictions that they don't deserve, but people always get what they deserve (or better) in the end. 

We shouldn't fixate on the outcomes in mortality. Mortality isn't always fair, but immortality always is.

Moroni's Glory

Alma 48:16 ... and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity.

These are good things to glory in, and the fact that Moroni gloried in these things may be a large part of the reason why "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" (Alma 48:17). I used to think that the powers of hell would be shaken because all those Moronis would keep each other straight, like how Moroni was prepared to deal with Pahoran until he learned that Pahoran didn't need straightening out. But if Moroni took active pleasure "in doing good, ... in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity," it would be very hard for the devil to gain power over the heart of such a person.

I already thought of Captain Moroni as a role model, apart from his apparent anger management issues, but Alma 48:16 really shows me what made him a good role model. It's important to do good, to protect people, to keep the commandments, and to resist iniquity. If Captain Moroni not only did that, but also took pride and pleasure in doing so, that is certainly an example that I would like to follow. I don't necessarily want to become a warrior or a soldier, but I certainly want to become a soldier of God. I want to develop a habit of keeping the commandments and resisting iniquity, and I want my heart to glory in it. I want to take pride and pleasure in doing good, and to some extent, I already sometimes do. There are some good things that I enjoy doing. Now I just need to expand that circle of good things I enjoy doing until it includes all the good things I do and/or should do.

Glory, pride, and pleasure are not usually the holiest of motivators, but if Captain Moroni gloried in doing good, keeping the commandments, and resisting iniquity, then maybe I should, too.

Poison by Degrees

Alma 47: 18 And it came to pass that Amalickiah caused that one of his servants should administer poison by degrees to Lehonti, that he died.

I know this point gets brought up pretty often, but that's partly because it's a lesson that warrants frequent reminders. Amalickiah had one of his servants poison Lehonti "by degrees." One's enemies aren't always as direct as a knife to the heart. Sometimes, they use methods so subtle that their attacks are difficult to notice.

Satan often operates this way. Lacking the ability to physically destroy us, he tries to subtly trick us into figuratively destroying ourselves. And he knows that he has to be subtle about it, or we'll catch on and avoid his tricks. 

Lehonti would not willingly drink poison, and most of us wouldn't either. If Lehonti could have tasted the poison, then he wouldn't have drunk it. That's why Amalickiah's servant couldn't administer the poison all at once. If the smell or taste of poison was too obvious, Lehonti wouldn't have fallen for it, and the assassination attempt would have failed.

Similarly, the adversary tries to keep his poison hidden. That's why we need to be cautious. We need to recognize the spiritual poison that the enemy tries to feed us, and we need to carefully avoid it so as to consume as little poison as possible.

We need to be wary of Satan's subtle attempts to weaken and destroy us. If we're not careful enough, we too may find ourselves being "poison[ed] by degrees."

Title of Liberty

Alma 46:12 And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.

This was the Title of Liberty, a banner Captain Moroni made to remind his soldiers what they were fighting for. It was basically like a motivational poster, only instead of featuring a vapid platitude like "You can do this" or "hang in there," Captain Moroni's motivational poster was made to remind the Nephites what their actual motivations were.

When we get lessons about the War Chapters and the Title of Liberty, we are sometimes encouraged to write our own. Personally, I'm motivated by feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit, so my Title of Liberty would probably have "to feel the Spirit" on it somewhere, in addition to other motivating factors.

At some times, especially when it's not easy to make the right choices, I can see it being very helpful to have a list of motivating factors written down somewhere where you can see it. Captain Moroni had copies of the Title of Liberty written and flown over every tower in the area, and while we may not go quite that far with it, I can see the benefit of putting such a list on your bathroom mirror or somewhere in your bedroom; somewhere where you'll see it often.

It can sometimes be difficult to make good decisions. At those time, it can be helpful to have a written list of factors that motivate us to choose the right.

Motivations

In Alma 44, Captain Moroni had the opportunity to try to convince the enemy captain, Zerahemnah, to surrender, and he used several factors to try to motivate Zerahemnah to surrender:

Alma 44:5-6

And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, 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, and we will seek not your blood, but we will spare your lives, if ye will go your way and come not again to war against us.

The first several factors, pretty much all the factors Captain Moroni listed in verse 5, are ones that don't strike me as strongly motivating for Zerahemnah. We may find it impressive that Captain Moroni could command Zerahemnah to repent in the name of God, but Zerahemnah and his soldiers didn't believe in God, so that factor wouldn't have held a lot of weight for them. They likely would have been even less impressed by appeals to the Nephites' faith, religion, rites of worship, church, or scriptures. If Zerahemnah doesn't care about the Nephites' God, he wouldn't care about any of those things either.

That leaves three factors from verse four: "the sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children," "that liberty which binds us to our lands and our country," and "all that is most dear unto us." If Zerahemnah is willing to go to war with people, he probably doesn't care a whole lot about those people's wives and children. And, as it happens, their liberty is what  Zerahemnah was coming to destroy, at least according to Moroni:

Alma 44:2 

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. But this is the very cause for which ye have come against us; yea, and ye are angry with us because of our religion.

And as for the last factor of that verse, "all that is most dear unto us," I think that was Captain Moroni's problem. He was listing things that were important to himself and to the other Nephites, not to Zerahemnah and his army of Lamanites. Granted, Moroni could have been doing this on purpose, saying things that would motivate his own soldiers, even though he knew that none of that would do a thing to help motivate Zerahemnah to surrender.

Eventually, though, Captain Moroni appeals to a factor that actually would motivate Zerahemnah: his own survival. After listing several motivating factors that were important to the Nephites, Captain Moroni said "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, and we will seek not your blood, but we will spare your lives, if ye will go your way and come not again to war against us" (Alma 44:6). I believe it was this factor that (almost) convinced Zerahemnah to surrender.

When we're trying to convince someone to do something for us, it doesn't make much sense to base our arguments on factors that are only really motivating for us. Instead, we should focus on what is or might be a motivating factor for them. We should consider what they care about and appeal to that. That way, we'll be more likely to be able to convince them to do what we want them to do, like surrender a fight with no further bloodshed.

I think God understands that principle, which may be why He offers us eternal blessings, threatens us with punishment, and appeals to our love for Him. He knows that different people will have different reasons to want to keep the commandments, so He appeals to many of those reasons, knowing that various reasons will resonate with some people more than others.

When attempting to motivate others, I think it's important to consider their perspective and make appeals to motivations that we think are important to them.

Armor Again

As it turns out, we're not done with armor just yet. This week, the Come, Follow Me lesson is all about the War Chapters of the Book of Mormon, and of course, the first thing Captain Moroni did was equip his people with armor. I wonder if he knew what symbolism armor has in the gospel. I suppose not. Paul's letters to the Romans and Ephesians hadn't been written yet, yet I think Moroni would have thought of something similar on his own, since he was giving them armor partly so they could better defend "their rites of worship and their church" (Alma 43:45), among other things. Regardless of Captain Moroni's foresight or insight, armor is very helpful, both practically and spiritually. It helps defend us against physical and/or spiritual attacks, and while we hopefully don't suffer physical attacks very often, we suffer spiritual attacks every day. We need our armor just as much as the Nephites theirs, if not more so. We are at war every bit as much as the Nephites were. We need to make sure our defenses and armor are strong.

Armour of Light

As good as it is, Alma 42:27 is not my favorite scripture, but Romans 13:12 might be:

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

I like how this verse says a lot with only a few words. 

I like how "The night is far spent, the day is at hand" can be encouragement or a warning. For those who are righteous, the phrase is encouraging. It means that the suffering of mortality will soon end, to be replaced by the light of either the Millennium or Spirit Paradise and the Celestial Kingdom. And for those who are unrighteous, the phrase is a warning. Playtime is almost over, and then it will be time for judgement and justice.

I like how "the works of darkness" and "the armour of light" don't go into too much detail, but still paint a clear enough image for us to know what Paul was talking about. I especially like the imagery of the Armour of Light. It's not as specific as the description in the Ephesians, but it still gets the point across. Also, "armor of light" seems a lot cooler than normal, metal armor, so there's that.

Romans 13:12 conveys a good deal of important messages in a way that is succinct, poetic, and awesome, and that's why it's one of my favorite verses of scripture.