Stirred up emotions

The Book of Mormon has many instances of using the phrase “stirred up” to describe the process of raising up emotions in order to push individuals or crowds to action. It’s useful to look at these instances to see what we can learn.

Probably most notable of instances of stirring and stirring up is when people are stirred up to anger. 

Some larger principles about stirring to anger

Jesus declares that stirring people up to anger is no part of His doctrine, but declares such things should be done away. (3 Nephi 11:30)

Nephi says those who are part of the devil’s kingdom must be stirred up to repentance, or the devil will stir them up to anger and they’ll perish. (2 Ne. 28:19)

Mormon declares the wicked stir people up to bloodshed. (Mormon 4:5)

Nephi prophesies of how Satan will stir people up to anger against that which is good. (2 Ne. 28:20) We can find many instance of this in the Book of Mormon.

Stirred against good

Laman stirred up Lemuel with suspicions that Nephi lied to them about spiritual experiences in order to usurp power over them. (1 Ne. 16:38)

The priests of Noah stir up the king to anger against Abinadi with charges that Abinadi reviled the king, and King Noah orders Abinadi be slain. (Mosiah 17:12)

King Noah accuses Alma of stirring the people to rebellion as a pretext of sending his army against him and his people. (Mosiah 18:33)

The charity of the Anti-Nephi-Lehites for the poor Zoramites who were cast out stirs up the anger of the elite Zoramites. They mix with the Lamanites and stir them up to anger against the Anti-Nephi-Lehites as well. (Alma 35:10)

The Nephite chief judges stir up the people to anger against the prophet Nephi when he calls them to repentance. (Helaman 8:7)

Satan stirs up the Nephites to do iniquity continually, spreading rumors and contentions everywhere to harden people’s hearts against goodness and prophecy. (Helaman 16:22)

Instances of Kings/authority figures stirring up the people to anger

King Laman stirs his people up to contend with Zeniff’s people (Mosiah 9:13)

King Laman’s son (now king) begins to stir up his people against Zeniff’s people (Mosiah 10:6)

King Noah accuses Alma of stirring the people to rebellion as a pretext of sending his army against him and his people. (Mosiah 18:33)

Amlici stirs up his followers to anger against those who opposed his bid for kingship. (Alma 2:8)

Amalickiah stirs up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites. (Alma 47:1, Alma 48:3, Alma 51:9) [Captain Moroni knew this would happen far ahead of time. (Alma 46:30)]

Tubaloth (king of the Lamanites) stirs up his people to anger against the Nephites, and they go to battle the Nephites. (Helaman 1:17)

The Nephite chief judges stir up the people to anger against the prophet Nephi when he calls them to repentance. (Helaman 8:7)

Zarahemnah intends to stir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites to usurp power over them and use them to bring the Nephites to bondage. (Alma 43:8)

After Zarahemna loses his scalp, he stirs up the rest of his soldiers to fight more powerfully. (Alma 44:16)

People stirring up people to anger

The Lamanites are stirred up to anger against the Limhi’s Nephites, and they start coming into the land to harass them. (Mosiah 21:2) (Cause is unstated, but it can’t be an authority figure, otherwise battle would have resulted.)

The Amalekites and Amulonites stir up the Lamanites against the Anti-Nephi-Lehites. (previous to their attack on Ammonihah) (Alma 24:1)

The Amalekites stir up the Lamanites against the Anti-Nephi-Lehites because they can’t get revenge on the Nephites. (Alma 27:2)

The peoples of Coriantumr and Shiz are stirred up to anger against each other and go to battle. (Ether 15:6)

Dissenters from the Nephites stir the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites (Alma 63:14, Helaman 11:24)

Nephite dissenters try to stir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites and don’t succeed. (Helaman 4:3) The next year, they do succeed. (Helaman 4:4)

People stirring up leaders

The priests of Noah stir up the king to anger against Abinadi with charges that Abinadi reviled the king, and King Noah orders Abinadi be slain. (Mosiah 17:12)

Seeing others sorrow & pain stirs to anger

The cries of the widows and orphans stir up the people of Limhi against their Lamanite taskmasters and they go to battle and lose. (Mosiah 21:11)

Amulonites martyring new Lamanite believers stirs up other Lamanites to anger against the Amulonites. (Alma 25:8)

Motives of gain stirring to iniquity

The lawyers of Ammonihah stir up the people to riotings, disturbances, and wickedness in order to have more work and to get gain. (Alma 11:20)

Satan stirs up the Nephites to unite with the bands of robbers and enter secret combinations. (Helaman 6:21)

Satan stirs up the people to do iniquity, puffs them with pride, and tempts them to seek for power, authority, riches, and worldly things. (3 Nephi 6:15)

Can there be good emotional stirrings?  There are some instances in the Book of Mormon of this too.

War meant to stir people to remember God

The Lord tells Nephi that the Lamanites will scourge the Nephites, as a means to stir the Nephites up to remember God. (1 Nephi 2:24)

Elsewhere, the Lord tells Nephi that if the Nephites don’t get stirred up to repentance by the Lamanite scourge, they will be destroyed. (2 Ne. 5:25)

Battle losses stir up the Lamanites to remember the words of Aaron and his brethren and they begin to disbelieve their Lamanite traditions. (Alma 25:6

The depredations of the Gadianton robbers stir up the Nephites to remember the Lord. (Helaman 11:34)

Afflictions and famine can stir to remembrance of God

King Benjamin tells Mosiah of how their fathers were smitten with afflictions to stir them up to remember their duty. (Mosiah 1:17)

The prophet Nephi prays that a famine will be used to stir up the Nephites to repentance. (Helaman 11:4)

Preaching meant to stir us to remember God

Enos tells that the prophets had to stir up the Nephites continually with preaching of war, contention, destruction, reminding them of death, judgment, and the duration of eternity, to fear the Lord. (Enos 1:23)

Jarom tells of the prophets stirring the people up to repentance by pricking their hearts with the word. (Jarom 1:12)

King Benjamin appointed priests to teach the people and stir them up to remember the oath they had made to serve God (Mosiah 6:3)

Alma goes to preach among the people to stir them up to remember their duty. (Alma 4:19)

Captain Moroni says Pahoran should have stirred himself more diligently for the welfare and freedom of the people. (Alma 60:10) He threatens Pahoran that if he doesn’t get reinforcement, he will stir up any remaining spark of freedom into insurrection and fight against those who usurp power and authority. (Alma 60:27)

All of this is particular important to know these days because of the prevalence of incivility and anger out in the world today and attempts to manipulate with stirring strong negative emotions. Not only do we need to work to keep from being affected by it, but we will face the temptation to use it ourselves.

Saul promotes, then hates David

5 ¶And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

6 And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick.

7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?

9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

(1 Samuel 18:5-9)

These verses tell how King Saul promoted David and then nearly as soon after began to hate him and throw javelins at him.

You’ve probably already talked about this story in Sunday school, but I want to bring up a few more points.

The impetus for this was the women of Israel singing that fateful line—“Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”  Saul is offended that more is ascribed to David than to him when David has only fought one battle and Saul had a whole career of fighting behind him. 

Strictly speaking, Saul does have a point.  He has done more over his life than David.  But then public acclaim is a fitful thing and doesn’t distribute itself fairly, so it can’t be depended upon, and it seems Saul had come to depend upon it. 

But then looking at it another way, often acclaim has to do with expectations and whether someone has exceeded expectations or not.  Saul, having been king for quite some time and having a spotty record of exhibiting bravery and courage, will have a hard time meeting expectations.  But David—a nobody at this stage—went FAR above expectations, so there is going to be a lot more excitement over his achievement.  (Question: Do people only deserve praise when they exceed expectations?)

Now, looking at it from yet another angle, we often assume that the women singing this line were singing out of simple joy for what David had done.  But what if the song was meant to wound Saul, like a political cartoon?  What if it was an indirect expression of discontent with Saul’s leadership record? 

Whatever it was, it hurt.  We have to understand what Saul felt in order to really grasp what kind of choices Saul had.  It would be like discovering someone had made a music video making fun of you and saying someone else is better than you and then video goes viral on the internet. It is one thing to feel one has been eclipsed by another, but it is another thing entirely to feel that everyone else might be thinking the same thing and thinking less of you because of it.  The question is, what do you do when something like that happens?    Who do you turn to?  

You have to turn to the Lord and rely on Him.  But Saul had rejected the Lord a long time ago, so he was bereft of any support. 

Saul also remembered the huge acclaim that came after his own first battle success and he saw this as the same sort of thing coming to David and he begins to think of David as a rival for the throne.  (To give him credit, he was right that David would replace him on the throne, but he was wrong about David being a direct threat to him.)  This must have been when Samuel’s words came back to him about how the Lord would rend the kingdom from him and give it to a neighbor who was better than him.  Saul had been collecting valiant men for his army for a while, but this is the first time he begins to connect that prophetic pronouncement with anyone he has gathered and promoted.

Saul says David has the praise of the people “and what can he have more but the kingdom?”  Somehow you get the idea that he thinks the kingdom is easily transferred or easily acquired.  Perhaps that’s because for him it was.  But it never seems as easily transferred between dynasties again.  You also get the sense that Saul things the praise and credit is the best and most important part of being king.  And I imagine it isn’t necessarily that way.

Another problem was that the praise to David was exaggerated.  Sure David had killed Goliath, but it isn’t known how many others he killed in the same battle.  Would it be smart for David to believe his own press (if we can call it that)? No.  Opinion can change quickly. 

This makes me think about basis on which I admire or praise people.  Is it because they follow good principles?  Is it because they are effective?  Do I only praise people when they exceed my expectations, or do they merit appreciation for meeting them?  Am I noticing the best things or am I caught up by less important factors?  It also makes me think about the praise I receive.  Is it merited or is it exaggerated?  Can I depend on it?  Not really.  I have to depend on the Lord.

Think what it was like for David, to be promoted so quickly and then suddenly have his own king throwing javelins at him.  I think David is a good example of acting consistently no matter what people thought of him.  He endured the hazards of both good and bad pubic opinion.  He endured through both public acclaim and being the subject of a national manhunt led by the king himself.

Also compare Saul’s reaction about the rise of David to the prophet Samuel’s reaction about the rise of Saul.  In a way, both Samuel and Saul were in similar positions.  They both were rejected, though Samuel was rejected by the people as judge in their desire for a king, and Saul was rejected by God.  Saul was jealous of David, but we do not detect any jealousy from Samuel.  Samuel’s only concern was that Saul keep the commandments of God. 

From here on, we begin to see that Samuel’s prophesy to Saul that the Lord would rend the kingdom from him was perfectly true (1 Sam 15:26-28).  If you recall, Samuel told Saul the Lord had rejected him from being king and as Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed Samuel’s robe and held on so hard it tore, which became the impetus for Samuel saying the Lord would rend the kingdom away from Saul.

Samuel perceived that if Saul was going to be so grasping and desperate over Samuel simply leaving, that would surely manifest itself again when it became clear the Lord was taking the kingdom away.  Saul would grasp at anything and try anything to keep the kingdom, and it would tear the kingdom apart just as Saul had torn Samuel’s robe.  (You have to marvel at the depth of Samuel’s discernment and how he was able to perceive the final fruits of relatively simple acts sown.)

So because Saul suddenly suspects David will take the kingdom away from him, he begins to hold the kingdom tighter and tighter, employing desperate measures to try to eliminate the imagined threat, even though David never actually challenges him for power.  Instead, Saul alienates more and more people and may have even been the means of bringing his own demise. 

How can Saul’s story help us today? 

Because of the internet and the longevity of things that are posted, any of us at one time or another might find ourselves in Saul’s position, faced with a recitation of our inadequacies in comparison to someone else’s excellence seemingly announced everywhere under heaven.    We have a choice.  We can become angry, suspicious, and jealous people, or we can turn to God for support and strength.

Further, Christ has said that wo is unto us when all men speak well of us, because they spoke similarly well of the false prophets, so we must expect to endure being bad-mouthed. 

We also learn about how exaggeration causes problems and how indulging in jealousy ruins our peace.

Do you get anything more from this story?

KJV versus JST about the anger of God

KJV:

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life:

weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

(Psalms 30:5)

JST:

For his anger kindleth against the wicked;

 they repent, and in a moment it is turned away,

and they are in his favor,

and he giveth them life;

therefore, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

(JST Psalms 30:5)

The KJV makes it seem like God’s anger is a flash in the pan and without any change it is gone.  It also doesn’t say what He is angry about, making it seem like God is fickle and erratic and capricious.  (Of course, believers know this is not so, but it is good to mention that it is sin He’s angry about.)

The JST clarifies that God’s anger is directed at the wicked, but the moment they repent His anger is turned away.  It also expands upon the mercy of God, how not only does He immediately turn away His anger, but repentance brings people into His favor (a 180 degree change), and He gives them life, or spiritual blessings.

This also causes the second line about weeping in the night to make more sense.  While the KJV makes it seem like the weeping is generalized grief, with the previous clarifications in the JST it becomes clear that the weeping in the night is someone who is mourning over their sins with intent to repent and change.  This kind of grief over sins may endure for a night, but joy (given from God along with forgiveness) comes in the morning after.

I appreciate the JST because it better expresses the holy character of God, both His anger at sin and His approval of repentance.  It helps me want to repent quickly because it builds my trust that God will respond quickly and with great mercy. 

Do you get anything else from the JST?

Vengeance as a whirlwind

Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord. (D&C 112:24)

Having grown up in the Midwest and seen how tornados form and their conditions, this verse is telling. The clouds form, the sky gets a very unnatural color, the wind rises, and in the middle of the roiling clouds, the funnel drops and turns. It roots up everything, tears it apart, and scatters it far and wide. Tornados tend to have narrow paths...


so when this verse says vengeance will come “as a whirlwind…upon all the face of the earth,” we are to understand that it will hit everything.


The impulse to take revenge when you've been wronged is so strong that it can suck you in almost without realizing it, especially if everyone else around is wrung by the same drive.

STAND IN HOLY PLACES AND BE NOT MOVED.

Image #1: 620CKRM Willy Cole Blog, http://www.620ckrm.com/blogs/willycole/?p=983
Image #2: Watercooler Weather, http://watercoolerweather.blogspot.com/2008/05/here-we-go-again.html
Image #3 Ultimate Chase : Deadly Florida Tornado Damage Photos, http://www.ultimatechase.com/Chase_Accounts/florida_tornado_damage_photos_2007.htm

School your feelings. Schooooooool your feeeeelings.

I have to hand it to President Monson. Talk about prophetic. You know, the longer I live, the greater respect I come to have for the prophet (and the apostles) for their willingness to speak out on important issues. The talk that I’m particularly grateful for right now is his talk “School Thy Feelings, O My Brother”, which he gave in the priesthood session. In this talk, he urged the priesthood to cultivate a proper spirit at all times by choosing to refrain from becoming angry.

I testify that this talk was both timely and needed. In the last little while I have witnessed or heard about at least four anger incidents just in the lives of members of the church, one incident of which I was involved in. Reading his talk made a big difference for me and helped me get back on track.

President Monson pointed out various causes of anger such as the following:

• When things don’t turn out the way we want
• Reaction to something said about us
• Reaction to something said to us
• When people don’t behave the way we want
• When we have to wait for something longer than we expected (Hello, road rage on slow-moving highways!)
• When others can’t see things from our perspective
• When we feel we have been hurt or unjustly treated

Some other choice tidbits:

A man’s a fool who takes an insult that isn’t intended.

There are as many reasons for anger as there are people on the earth. (But there are also as many reasons to refrain from anger.)

The Apostle Paul asks in Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 26 of the Joseph Smith Translation: “Can ye be angry, and not sin? let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”
I ask, is it possible to feel the Spirit of our Heavenly Father when we are angry? I know of no instance where such would be the case.

From 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, we read:

“There shall be no disputations among you. . . . For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.”

It is my conviction that it doesn’t matter if you were right or wrong if you have the spirit of contention. You have to get rid of that spirit.

To be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan. No one can make us angry. It is our choice. If we desire to have a proper spirit with us at all times, we must choose to refrain from becoming angry. I testify that such is possible.

Anger, Satan’s tool, is destructive in so many ways.

May we ever be exemplary in our homes and faithful in keeping all of the commandments, that we may harbor no animosity toward any man but rather be peacemakers, ever remembering the Savior’s admonition, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” [emphasis added]

“School thy feelings, O my brother;
Train thy warm, impulsive soul.
Do not its emotions smother,
But let wisdom’s voice control.”

As I read that bit of verse, one word that sticks out to me is “school”. We must “school” our feelings, not “smother” them. What is involved in schooling our feelings? I think it involves careful self-talk, figuring out what it is that we feel, giving it a label so that we know what it is, figuring out what exactly is causing it, analyzing what the extent of it is, thinking about how we’d like to react, thinking about whether that would change anything for the better, pinpointing any unreasonable feelings and talking ourselves out of them.

“Self, I know it feels like you are being insulted, but she didn’t mean it.”
“But what if she did?”
“Then do you want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she got to you? But, you don’t know what she intended, and you don’t have control over her. You only have control over yourself.”

When we school our feelings, we teach ourselves what to feel, how to feel it, and how to express it. We teach ourselves when it is time to walk away and cool down. We teach ourselves what tone of voice to use and what words and actions are totally off limits.

“Self, you will NOT raise your voice, and you will NOT call names. You also will NOT use profanity, no matter what happens.”

“Self, you are starting to hate her. You need to go pray for help to forgive her and pray to not be angry.”

“Self, you will NOT send that email today. You will wait 24 hours and then read through it again and edit it.”

Elder Kent D. Watson also gave a great talk on temperance in conference called “Being Temperate in All Things”. Elder Watson indirectly highlighted one particular area that temperance is needed when he describes the age Joseph Smith lived as he was seeking answers to his questions. About the community of converts to various religions, “All their good feelings one for another, if they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about opinions.” This shows us that temperance is needed in religious discussion. That word “contest” shows where the intemperance can come from. When opinion-sharing becomes a contest, temperance flies out the window and spiritual manipulation and abuse can creep in.

This suggests some other ways that we can acquire temperance. We can temper our perceptions so that we are not easily offended. One way that I have found that helps me temper my perceptions is by working hard to remember that the person I am talking to does not mean to be offensive or cause me pain. When I am talking to person who is part of an organization, I try to remember that the person has certain rules set by the organization that they have to follow which may dictate the way that they interact with me. If they can’t help me, keeping the above in mind helps me keep from feeling like they are trying to make my life hard just for fun. Instead, I try to find out what policies they may be working around in hopes that we can negotiate a way to both meet our goals.

Of course there are times when people do things just to try to push our buttons. At these times, temperance is important because it allows us to choose our actions, rather than reacting in a way that we may regret later. I found that one skill that laid a foundation for me to acquire temperance in this respect was that of controlling the volume of my voice. When I was a teen, there were times when I got upset with my parents and started arguing with them. I would get louder. My dad could keep his voice perfectly level and he would tell me, “Please lower your voice.” I had to. (And he was keeping his voice down, so I always felt like I had gotten out of hand.) Another thing that helped me become more temperate was when my mother would tell us not to call each other names. This meant we had to find other ways of communicating displeasure with someone. (And of course, I learned from watching my brother get his mouth washed out with soap that profanity wasn’t appropriate either.)

Elder Watson compared temperance to the qualities of tempered glass.

Tempered glass, like tempered steel, undergoes a well-controlled heating process which increases strength. Thus, when tempered glass is under stress, it will not easily break into jagged shards that can injure. Likewise, a temperate soul—one who is humble and full of love—is also a person of increased spiritual strength.

If our windshields were not made of tempered glass, any bit of highway gravel thrown up at them might shatter them into thousands of sharp pieces and hurt everyone in the car. However, because windshields are tempered, the small things that hit it during everyday driving seem to have no effect. At most we may see a small crack, which we can then repair.

In the same way, a tempered soul has the spiritual strength to deal with the thousand little stresses of everyday with self-control and poise and the act of dealing well with the small things increases strength to handle the big problems.

I testify that these words about temperance and schooling our feelings are needed TODAY. Following the words of the prophets will allow us to escape the wrath of God when it overtakes the wicked.

Lessons from the Morianton-Lehi land war

Recently in my scripture study I ran across the story of the contention between the people of Morianton and the people of Lehi. It seemed so bald and straightforward to me that I found myself wondering just why Mormon included it. It didn’t seem to have any particular lesson to it. We don’t get any “and thus we sees” to help us navigate it and make sense of it.

Just so that you have it clear in your minds what this story is, I’m including it here:

25 And it came to pass that in the commencement of the twenty and fourth year of the reign of the judges, there would also have been peace among the people of Nephi had it not been for a contention which took place among them concerning the land of Lehi, and the land of Morianton, which joined upon the borders of Lehi; both of which were on the borders by the seashore.
26 For behold, the people who possessed the land of Morianton did claim a part of the land of Lehi; therefore there began to be a warm contention between them, insomuch that the people of Morianton took up arms against their brethren, and they were determined by the sword to slay them.
27 But behold, the people who possessed the land of Lehi fled to the camp of Moroni, and appealed unto him for assistance; for behold they were not in the wrong.
28 And it came to pass that when the people of Morianton, who were led by a man whose name was Morianton, found that the people of Lehi had fled to the camp of Moroni, they were exceedingly fearful lest the army of Moroni should come upon them and destroy them.
29 Therefore, Morianton put it into their hearts that they should flee to the land which was northward, which was covered with large bodies of water, and take possession of the land which was northward.
30 And behold, they would have carried this plan into effect, (which would have been a cause to have been lamented) but behold, Morianton being a man of much passion, therefore he was angry with one of his maid servants, and he fell upon her and beat her much.
31 And it came to pass that she fled, and came over to the camp of Moroni, and told Moroni all things concerning the matter, and also concerning their intentions to flee into the land northward.
32 Now behold, the people who were in the land Bountiful, or rather Moroni, feared that they would hearken to the words of Morianton and unite with his people, and thus he would obtain possession of those parts of the land, which would lay a foundation for serious consequences among the people of Nephi, yea, which consequences would lead to the overthrow of their liberty.
33 Therefore Moroni sent an army, with their camp, to head the people of Morianton, to stop their flight into the land northward.
34 And it came to pass that they did not head them until they had come to the borders of the land Desolation; and there they did head them, by the narrow pass which led by the sea into the land northward, yea, by the sea, on the west and on the east.
35 And it came to pass that the army which was sent by Moroni, which was led by a man whose name was Teancum, did meet the people of Morianton; and so stubborn were the people of Morianton, (being inspired by his wickedness and his flattering words) that a battle commenced between them, in the which Teancum did slay Morianton and defeat his army, and took them prisoners, and returned to the camp of Moroni. And thus ended the twenty and fourth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.
36 And thus were the people of Morianton brought back. And upon their covenanting to keep the peace they were restored to the land of Morianton, and a union took place between them and the people of Lehi; and they were also restored to their lands. (Alma 50:25-36)

As I was trying to derive some kind of lesson from this, the main thing that comes to my attention was this little story about Morianton’s maid servant and her courage to flee after being beaten. And she didn’t flee to just any place, she fled to the army of Captain Moroni.

Why didn’t Morianton follow her when she fled? I can think of two possibilities. Had he washed his hands of her? I doubt it. I can’t see a person like Morianton letting a servant go so easily. Losing a servant is a loss to the household. Someone has to do the work the missing servant used to do. The other possibility that I can think of is that Morianton had beat this servant girl many times before and she had fled many times before and had always eventually returned. I bet that he didn’t follow her because he expected she would eventually return. Except this time she didn’t. This time she spilled all his plans to the very people Morianton’s people feared.

The obvious lesson here is that if you alienate the people who serve you, they leave and mess up your plans by telling them to your enemies/competitors.

Well, that’s a great lesson for business people, but what about the rest of us?

The next thing I noticed was that it says that Morianton was “a man of much passion, therefore he was angry…” This gives us a little more to work with. His passion (anger) was what got him in trouble. And anger was what got his people in trouble too in their arguments with the people of Lehi about whose land was whose. If they hadn’t gotten so angry that they wanted to kill the people of Lehi, then a lot of trouble could have been prevented.

So it seems like in the problems between the cities of Morianton and Lehi and in the problem Morianton with his servant there was a lot of anger and overreaction. Compare that to Captain Moroni, who wanted to assist the people of Lehi, preserve the liberty of the land, and wanted to stop Morianton and his people in their flight. It seems like he wants to stop the overreaction and smooth things down. This seems to show us that when there are arguments we need to be very careful not to overreact because overreaction really does make things worse.

There was one other thing that I found. It’s this:

…the people who were in the land Bountiful, or rather Moroni, feared that they would hearken to the words of Morianton and unite with his people, and thus he would obtain possession of those parts of the land, which would lay a foundation for serious consequences among the people of Nephi, yea, which consequences would lead to the overthrow of their liberty. (Alma 50:32)

Moroni didn’t want Morianton pulling the people of Bountiful into it. Undoubtedly Morianton would tell a distorted and one-sided version of the story to them and get them all fired up and convinced that Morianton was right and be determined to fight on his side. The puzzling thing to me was that I didn’t quite understand how this would lay a foundation for the destruction of liberty. Previously I thought it might have something to do with hedging up that north land so that the Nephites would be surrounded by enemies and have no place to flee. But it struck me this time that perhaps it had something to do with continuing a bad precedent. If Morianton succeeded in getting his way by stirring people to anger against his enemies, as a number of wicked men had done before him (Amlici, Amalikiah…) then it would seem like the only way to solve a problem and get your way would be to get more people on your side and go to battle. (Trying get more people involved and on your side tends to cause more problems and you get a scenario like in World War I in which people are pulled into a war because their allies are in a war. And we know that ultimately leads to a society consisting of two armed camps that fight until one or the other is completely destroyed.) Moroni was trying to preserve the precarious liberty that was based on a foundation of solving problems without fighting.

Another thing you could get from this story is the danger of gossip, no matter what level it occurs at. The People of Lehi had already come to the army of Moroni and told them their side of the story, and it must have been pretty convincing, since we are told “they were not in the wrong”, but note that Mormon doesn’t think it is important to tell us why the people of Lehi were not in the wrong, so we have no real data to judge by in order to see whether they were right or wrong. For all we know, Morianton’s people could have been in the right. And Moroni was worried that Morianton would gossip about the people of Lehi to the Bountiful-ites. And of course Morianton’s maid servant dished the dirt on Morianton and his plans. Without the details on everybody it is hard to make any kind of call and the best we can do is rely upon the good faith of the record keeper.

The good thing about Captain Moroni is that while he may have felt that the Lehi-ites were in the right, his intent was to preserve peace. This seems to have made him more impartial. So instead of trying to wipe out the Morianton-ites, he had them brought back. And his final solution is interesting—he has the Morianton-ites covenant to keep the peace. He doesn’t mediate or arbitrate and force a solution, he leaves it up to them to figure out a way to keep the covenant they had made to keep the peace because they are now morally obligated to do it as part of their duty to God.

This seems to be a story about the necessity of both individuals and peoples to control their tempers and passions. It also seems to be about the dangers of gossip, and it seems to provide a good model for how to deal with chronic physical abuse by escaping. It also reinforces the positive effects of making peace through making covenants.

Hmmm. This story was more sophisticated than I thought.

Beware of Anger

6 And now, as the Amalekites were of a more wicked and murderous disposition than the Lamanites were, in and of themselves, therefore, Zerahemnah appointed chief captains over the Lamanites, and they were all Amalekites and Zoramites.
7 Now this he did that he might preserve their hatred towards the Nephites, that he might bring them into subjection to the accomplishment of his designs.
8 For behold, his 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. (Alma 43-5-8)

In the verse 7 above, Zerahemnah wanted to preserve the Lamanites’ hatred towards the Nephites in order to bring the Lamanites into subjection so that they would do what he wanted them to do. He wanted to get the Lamanites mad at the Nephites so that they would fight the Nephites and bring them into bondage.

What this teaches me is that I need to watch out for people who have an angry disposition. It is really hard for an angry person to keep from venting their anger and trying make other people just as angry. Have you ever seen someone try to stir other people up to anger? I’ve seen it a lot. There is a recitation of injustice and unfairness and normal avenues of conflict resolution are portrayed as ineffective or insufficient. (In the Lamanites’ case, no doubt violence was called for at this stage.)

I’ll tell you a few common times I’ve noticed that people are stirred up to anger. How about feminist criticism? In literature, feminist criticism is a way of viewing the literature and pointing out how women were treated or portrayed. Often it turns into a recital of the oppressions against women, and anger is aroused.

Or how about Native American studies? Often it turns into a tale of the oppression and subjection of native peoples that recited and it arouses anger. My husband and I went to the Heard Museum in Phoenix a few years ago and along with the displays of pottery and dress and crafts there was a lot said about how badly they were treated.

Personally, I think this kind of thing is useless. You can’t seek redress from characters in a book. And what’s the point of getting mad at people who are dead and gone? It could be argued that it is important to recite the oppressions of the past to realize the blessings of the present, and that is a valid thing to do. But I hardly ever see people doing this in academia.

At one point in the Book of Mormon, Alma tells his son Helaman to remember the captivity of his fathers.

2 I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our fathers; for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in their afflictions.
3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day. (Alma 36:2-3)

However, I must point out that Alma does not tell Helaman to remember the captivity of his fathers in order to make him angry, but to point out that it was God that delivered them and that God would deliver him too if he kept the commandments. The offenses of the past were used as a lesson to provoke gratitude for the present and teach good behavior. I wish there was more of this in school.

I seem to have gotten off the topic, a little bit, but maybe that’s okay here. My point is that it is important to notice when someone is trying to make us angry at other people so that we can keep our heads and act, instead of just reacting. Often we may feel that if we don’t get angry, then something is wrong with us, but in these cases it is far better to be rational than rash, because it is too easy to overreact. I’ve always found fact-finding to be a great way of cooling down. And if that doesn’t work, prayer does. We can overcome the past with gratitude for the present and teaching positive lessons.

Watch out for anger

For behold, his designs were to stir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites; this he did that he might usurp great power over [the Lamanites], and also that he might gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into bondage. (Alma 43:8)

This scripture teaches me that I must be very careful when someone is trying to make me angry at another person. I’ve noticed that when I get angry, it is almost impossible for me to be fair or prevent myself from over-reacting.

The resurrected Jesus Christ talked about the dangers of anger when He visited the Nephites on the American continent. (He said some of the same things that He said during his mortal ministry):

21 Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, and it is also written before you, that thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment of God;
22 But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of his judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. (3 Nephi 12:21-22, compare to Matthew 5:21-22)

According to the index, the work Raca suggests contempt in both Aramaic and Greek.

Anger puts us in danger of the judgment of God because when we are angry we almost always want to take it out on something or someone. When we take our anger out on people we do or say mean things, which is a sin. In the midst of anger, we don’t want to think about weighing our actions or making sure we don’t go too far, because that requires a cool head and careful thinking. We don’t want to think when we’re angry, we just want to act.

I think it is interesting that right after warning against anger, Christ also warns against name-calling. This is probably because name-calling tends to make other people angry, and also it is a manifestation of arrogance and pride.

A lot of people misunderstand the nature of pride. President Ezra Taft Benson gave an amazing talk in which he clarifies the danger of pride. I think pride and anger are very much connected. Thinking we are better than someone else, which is a big part of pride, opens the door for us to justify being angry with them.

I’ve found the best way I can overcome my anger is by praying.

I can remember when I found out my husband had done something that very much made me feel insecure. I was very angry with him, and it was a good thing he wasn’t around at the time. I paced around our apartment and I just couldn’t let go of it. I didn’t like what I was feeling and deep inside I felt that what I was angry about was actually really stupid (a pin I found in our bed). I didn’t want to be mad at my husband, because he is my best friend. So I prayed about it. I told Heavenly Father all about how I felt and that I didn’t want to feel that way and I asked for help to not be angry any more. And gradually I simmered down. When my husband came home, I was able to express myself on the issue kindly, without heat, and reasonably.

When do you get mad at the word of God?

There are a few subjects that I can't listen to without cringing and getting a little perturbed. I will refrain from saying what they are. I've noticed that there are other people who have at least one aspect of the gospel that gets their goat. I suppose this is natural, but it is also worrisome.

At various times in the scriptures it is recorded where people don’t like the message preached to them. There’s the Zoramites..

And it came to pass that after the more popular part of the Zoramites had consulted together concerning the words which had been preached unto them, they were angry because of the word, for it did destroy their craft; therefore they would not hearken unto the words (Alma 35:3, emphasis added).

These peoples’ jobs were on the line; the word of God threatened to put them out of work, possibly because they were paid to make the idols for people to bow down to. (Alma 31:1) They probably made a lot of money at it.

The Nephites also sometimes got angry when preached to…

…the hearts of the people began to wax hard, and that they began to be offended because of the strictness of the word... (Alma 35:16, emphasis added)

And of course there is Laman and Lemuel…

And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.
And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center. (1 Nephi 16:1-2, emphasis added)

It is helpful to know what disturbed Laman and Lemuel so much. I surmise that it was probably that Nephi had just got done saying that no unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God. (1 Nephi 15:34)

This is certainly a strict doctrine. If no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God, it means we have to repent of every single one of our sins. It also means we have to be way more alert and watchful of ourselves to resist sin and temptation. This is a tricky thing, because King Benjamin noted that there are numberless ways of sinning. (Mosiah 4:29) (He may have been thinking of Leviticus in which the Lord lists and forbids a lot of the worst ones, and the list is quite long.)

But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.
(Mosiah 4:30)

That caution and watchfulness and strictness takes a lot of spiritual energy and that is one thing we shy away from—all that effort.

We’re don’t tend to want to look for something that is more strict; we want something with fewer and looser requirements. It is a good thing that we have Christ telling us that we need to look for a stricter way.

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matt 7:13-14)

How did we get into those lax, broad roads in the first place?

And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost. (1 Nephi 12:17, emphasis added)

It seems that we are tempted into those lax ways. Satan tempts us when he whispers that we don’t need to be so cautious or concerned about whatever we do. “Just once won’t hurt”…”It’s no big deal”…..”It’s just a movie”…..”Stop being so uptight”…..”There’s nothing wrong with it”…..”It’s only a little bad part”…..”You’re different; that commandment doesn’t apply to you”... It’s hard to resist that kind of thing unless we have something to hold to.

That’s why Heavenly Father gives us scriptures and prophets, the vehicles of His word, so that we have guidance. They lead a straight, undeviating course to eternal life. No wonder the word of God is likened to an iron rod.

And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction. (1 Nephi 15:24)

So why do we complain when the word of God doesn’t deviate when and where we want it to? If it deviated like that, it would become an iron slinky instead of an iron rod! That wouldn’t keep us very safe, would it?

Now, what is this narrow way that is so strict?

Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine.
And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me…and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.
And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. (3 Nephi 11:31-33, emphasis added)

And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. (3 Nephi 11:38-39)

So we need to:

• Believe in Christ (that He atoned for our sins)
• Repent of all our sins
• Be baptized
• Become as a little child

Then after Christ says this, He starts giving the Beatitudes—the higher law—and in the middle he says something which throws greater light on the narrowness of the way we have entered.

Therefore come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven (3 Nephi 12:20, emphasis added).

I remember when the meaning of this first became clear to me. I was astounded. Suddenly the Beatitudes weren’t optional, they had become required! But you can see why, because they are certainly a recipe for a celestial character.

This seems to say that not only must we avoid sin of all kinds, we must become celestial. That seems to double the strictness, doesn’t it?

Fortunately, we have help. When we have truly repented of our sins and had a change of heart, our very nature is changed so that we have no more desire to sin. It certainly would keep us from sinning if sin seems icky. The same change of heart causes doing good things to become attractive. That would certainly make it more palatable and enjoyable to be good, wouldn’t it? It would also mean we would like to hear the word of God, instead of dreading it.

And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us. (1 Nephi 16:3)

Now, just because we have become converted to the truth and are in the way does not mean that we can become completely obedient on the instant. Neither does it mean we will suddenly have the desire to do EVERY good thing. It also doesn’t mean that our character flaws are suddenly eliminated. As our faults meet temptations they bring out sin, and so we must continue to repent and seek the Lord’s help in recognizing and exorcising our faults and adding to our strengths. It is a continuous process of cleansing and improvement. Multiple conversions.

I have recently realized that one of my flaws is being controlling of other people. I am tempted at various times to reduce people’s agency, and each sin of coercion that I commit I have to repent of. I have finally come to the realization that this is a pattern of behavior that demonstrates a flaw in my character and unless I address the flaw itself, I will continue to commit sins of coercion. I need to be changed so that I have no more desire to coerce. I make the first step by praying for the change. Then I ask for help in learning to protect agency. Then I go to work on it. I know this pattern works for eradicating weaknesses because I have used it before.

What about adding good that I previously haven't done before?

I used to tune out talks about family history, because I was intimidated by the idea and it never sounded very fun to me. But when I learned that I had to learn to control my desires and figured out that Heavenly Father could help me want to do good things that previously I had no desire to do, a little seed of faith was planted in my heart, and I said to myself, “I am not yet good enough to want to do family history, but someday I will be, and when I get to the point that I want that desire, I will pray for it and Heavenly Father will help me.” Eventually I did get to the point of wanting to do family history, so I took a class on it and learned a lot. Now it is really fun! The commandment doesn’t seem strict anymore.

Now there’s one more thing that I want to mention in this post. There will be times that we may be called “narrow-minded”. If we earn this epithet for sticking to the strait and narrow way, we can say, “Actually I prefer the word ‘focused’”, because we have to concentrate completely on living those gospel principles to the extent that there is no room for anything else. If we earn this epithet for not opening our eyes to more truth, well, then we have a problem…

From my Journal on the Virginia Tech Shootings

4/21/07
Two days ago some guy going to Virginia Tech opened fire on students in several classes and killed 30 some people and wounded 20 some more. Very sad. The last major shooting rampage at a college was 1966 when whats-his-bucket at UT shot people from the top of the Kniker carillon. The nation is in shock, candlelight vigils are proliferating, and the media is abuzz with editorial. There are starting to be discussions about how to keep it from happening again, and what security measures to inflict.

Today I had a scripture come to mind about it.

Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, and it is also written before you, that thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment of God;
But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of his judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
(3 Nephi 12:21-22)

Christ hit the nail on the head. The violence is not the problem, but the symptom of the problem. The real problem is anger. They need to start targeting anger and put effort into anger management, more than security measures.

In my experience, the best way to deal with anger is to pray about it. I take it to Heavenly Father and tell Him everything I feel and why and then I ask Him to help me not be angry any more because I don’t like it. I can’t quite describe what happens afterward, because I never quite remember how it happens, but I end up much more calm.

If people learned to control anger, not only would there be no shooting rampages, but there would be no road rage incidents, no spousal or child abuse, no murders, and so on.

In one of my classes the teacher brought the subject of Virginia Tech up. She talked about security measures and wondered if carrying concealed weapons might have made the difference. I spoke up and told about the above scripture and made my view known. That was the end of the discussion.