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.