Some thoughts on Lehi’s army shielding and attacking

35 And as the Lamanites had passed the hill Riplah, and came into the valley, and began to cross the river Sidon, the army which was concealed on the south of the hill, which was led by a man whose name was Lehi, and he led his army forth and encircled the Lamanites about on the east in their rear.

36 And it came to pass that the Lamanites, when they saw the Nephites coming upon them in their rear, turned them about and began to contend with the army of Lehi.

37 And the work of death commenced on both sides, but it was more dreadful on the part of the Lamanites, for their nakedness was exposed to the heavy blows of the Nephites with their swords and their cimeters, which brought death almost at every stroke.

38 While on the other hand, there was now and then a man fell among the Nephites, by their swords and the loss of blood, they being shielded from the more vital parts of the body, or the more vital parts of the body being shielded from the strokes of the Lamanites, by their breastplates, and their armshields, and their head-plates; and thus the Nephites did carry on the work of death among the Lamanites. (Ama 43:35-38)

In these verses is described how the army leader Lehi encircled the invading Lamanites in the rear, which forced them to turn and fight, and how the unarmored Lamanites were killed at almost every stroke while the armored Nephites only occasionally fell from the loss of blood.

It hit me that there are several strategies used here that are often missed.

First, Lehi’s men attacked the rear of the Lamanite army. It is possible the Lamanites front-loaded their greatest and most confident warriors and put the weakest at the back. If so, then attacking their rear gave Lehi’s men an advantage and not just that of surprise.

Second, it says the Lamanites were exposed and nearly every Nephite blow brought death, but the Nephites only fell every once in a while because the more vital parts of their bodies were shielded by armor.   Now, I don’t know about you, but this gives me a peculiar-but-impressive idea of what a clash between Nephite and Lamanite looked like. They approach, they swing at each other, the Nephite sword connects once, and the Lamanite falls. This is different from our perhaps cinema-informed ideas of combat in which swords clash against each other, one attacking, another parrying, causing it to take time and effort to push through the opponents guard. 

If the Nephite can kill a Lamanite almost with every stroke, then the Lamanite swords aren’t stopping the Nephite swords.  And if the Lamanite swords aren’t stopping the attack, then the Lamanites are either incompetent at defense, or they are trying to do something different.  Perhaps making their own attack.

This suggests a different way of doing battle than we might be used to. Perhaps the Nephites did not parry or block their opponents’ weapons. Perhaps when they raised their swords, they avoided the Lamanite swords and went straight for the kill-strike at the same time that the Lamanites were trying to hit them back.  It may even be that they allowed the Lamanites to hit them and trusted the armor to protect them. While the Lamanites struck, they struck the Lamanites. Since the Lamanites had no armor, every blow was guaranteed to do damage.  (Swords in Mesoamerica consisted of many obsidian blades struck along both edges of a club. One swipe across the neck with one of those babies shreds open your enemy’s jugular vein and death comes quickly.)

This teaches us about the importance of putting on the armor of God. Otherwise, every temptation that hits us, we will give in, and that brings spiritual death.  The odd way the Nephites fought also says something about how to hit back at the temptations.  If temptations entice with a twisted combination of truth and lie, strike directly at the lie. Hit it hard with the truth you know. (And if you don’t know what the lie is, pray hard for revelation and power to resist and for discernment. The Spirit will eventually show you where the lie is.)

Thinking about D&C 27: Revelation on the sacrament

Historical background on D&C 27 from History of the Church 1:106:

Early in the month of August Newel Knight and his wife paid us a visit at my place in Harmony, Pennsylvania; and as neither his wife nor mine had been as yet confirmed, it was proposed that we should confirm them, and partake together of the Sacrament, before he and his wife should leave us. In order to prepare for this I set out to procure some wine for the occasion, but had gone only a short distance when I was met by a heavenly messenger, and received the following revelation, the first four paragraphs of which were written at this time, and the remainder in the September following:

1 Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Lord, your God, and your Redeemer, whose word is quick and powerful.

2 For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins.

3 Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, that you shall not purchase wine neither strong drink of your enemies;

4 Wherefore, you shall partake of none except it is made new among you; yea, in this my Father’s kingdom which shall be built up on the earth. (D&C 27:14)

This is so interesting to me that Joseph Smith was told that it didn’t matter what was used for the sacrament as long as it was done with an eye single to the glory of God in remembering Christ’s sacrifice.   It’s a good thing this was given by angelic to Joseph Smith, otherwise the church would have changed the ordinances and would be in danger of the same penalty as Cain, who tried to offer a sacrifice with the fruits of the ground instead of the firstlings of the flock.

I remember sitting in a seminary class when the teacher asked the students if they’d ever had unusual things used in place of bread and water. One person said watermelon and root beer had been used. 

While I’m sure part of the priesthood responsibility is to ensure that proper ingredients for the sacrament are provided, it is nice to know that we are not kept from partaking of the sacrament in the event of an unavoidable scarcity.

5 Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, and with Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fulness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim;

6 And also with Elias, to whom I have committed the keys of bringing to pass the restoration of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began, concerning the last days;

7 And also John the son of Zacharias, which Zacharias he (Elias) visited and gave promise that he should have a son, and his name should be John, and he should be filled with the spirit of Elias;

8 Which John I have sent unto you, my servants, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Oliver Cowdery, to ordain you unto the first priesthood which you have received, that you might be called and ordained even as Aaron;

9 And also Elijah, unto whom I have committed the keys of the power of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, that the whole earth may not be smitten with a curse;

10 And also with Joseph and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, your fathers, by whom the promises remain;

11 And also with Michael, or Adam, the father of all, the prince of all, the ancient of days;

12 And also with Peter, and James, and John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles, and especial witnesses of my name, and bear the keys of your ministry and of the same things which I revealed unto them;

13 Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;

14 And also with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world. (D&C 27:5-14)

Next we are told there will be a great culminating sacramental feast to be given when Christ comes, when a great number of prophets and Saints will partake of the sacrament together. This fits very well with the account in 3 Nephi when Christ instituted the sacrament among the Nephites and had it distributed to the multitude on two separate occasions.

Can we read of the prospect of taking the sacrament with Christ, Moroni, Elias, John the Baptist, Elijah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Adam, Peter, James, and John, and all those the Father has saved from the world without feeling this sacrament will be a grand and solemn experience?

I think by telling us this, the Lord elevates the sacrament’s importance by showing us it is something the ancient prophets would not hesitate to participate in. Perhaps we take for granted the ordinances and priesthood rites we have and think the old ways of the Old Testament would be more solemn and significant and awake our awe better.  But if the ancient prophets will appreciate the sacrament for what it is, then we must strive to do the same.

And isn't that event something to look forward to and work toward? Wouldn't it be a tragedy if we were unable to attend and partake because we felt unworthy?

15 Wherefore, lift up your hearts and rejoice, and gird up your loins, and take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand.

16 Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which I have sent mine angels to commit unto you;

17 Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked;

18 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and be agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also. Amen. (D&C 27:15-18)

These verses seem to review the admonition from Thessalonians to take upon us the armor of God, as all the parts of the armor are listed. 

Why put this here?

I believe it is to show us that taking the sacrament worthily allows us to put on the armor of God. All the parts of the armor are spiritual blessings I can trace back to taking the sacrament. It describes how the Spirit can help us if it can always be with us as we keep our part of the covenant.

I know when I take the sacrament, I feel more spiritually prepared to live the gospel, I feel ready to exert my faith, I feel shielded from the temptations that so easily beset me before.

In what ways do you feel the armor of God in your life from taking the sacramant?

How to put on the armor of God every day?

We know about the armor of God which Paul wrote of in Ephesians 6:14-17. The Sunday School manual asks a very good question—“How do we put it on every day?”

HOW do we put on truth, righteousness, preparations of the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Spirit?

I think we know exactly what to do.

Spiritual Protection	How to put it on
Truth	Study the gospel in the scriptures every day
Righteousness	Practice choosing the right in all cases
Preparation of the gospel of peace	Consistent good choices and preparing for our responsibilities
Faith	Trust in God and using our agency to take positive action
Salvation	Repent every day
Spirit	Pray to have the Spirit, keep the commandments, and remember Christ always

Each one of those things can be done every. single. day.  

It’s so simple and beautiful. I think I just forget the simplicity and effectiveness of it, and I have to be reminded. I think Paul’s metaphor of armor is very helpful in illustrating how important and powerful those simple daily practices are.

How strong is your armor?

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In these verses, there is an interesting comparison between the armor of Lehi’s excellent troops and the armor of later Nephite armies in the same battle who meet the Lamanites later.

While on the other hand, there was now and then a man fell among the Nephites, by their swords and the loss of blood, they being shielded . . . from the strokes of the Lamanites, by their breastplates, and their armshields, and their head-plates; and thus the Nephites did carry on the work of death among the Lamanites. (Alma 43:38)

Later:

…many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, yea, for they [the Lamanites] did smite in two many of their head-plates, and they did pierce many of their breastplates, and they did smite off many of their arms; and thus the Lamanites did smite in their fierce anger. (Alma 43:44)

Somehow one part of the army of the Nephites had better armor than another group. The army without the good armor found they couldn’t stand up as well under Lamanite attack.  Why is this?

I don’t think they had armor factories at that time. Any armor they made--and it probably had to be made quickly—was probably made at home by the combined efforts of their families.

There’s a great lesson here for us today. Our spiritual armor in the war against evil is not made at a factory and bought. It has to be made at home. It has to be carefully fitted to the individual. It has to be purposeful, rather than casual, otherwise it won’t be strong enough.  It's made of prayer, gospel study, and a pattern of righteous choices that keeps the Spirit with us.

You probably got done reading the scripture from Ephesians about putting on the armor of God and all the pieces that entails, so I’ll skip a discussion of the pieces of armor. 

The Nephites made their armor for this battle and not doubt it continued to serve many more times, if it was good armor. But we must begin building our armor from the very beginning, since the attacks are coming more and more early. We must build our armor and keep it strong, otherwise we will find our armor is not strong enough to protect us.

Thoughts on how the armor of God protects us

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I was thinking about Ephesians 6:13-18 about the armor of God recently.  You know the verses, but I’ll just quote them again.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ephesians 6:13-18)

Others have talked about how the particular piece of armor corresponds very nicely with its spiritual counterpart, so I want to ask this question – What do these pieces of godly armor protect us against?

I think there are particular evils they help us withstand, so I’ll list them.

Truth protects us from lies and deception that would lull us into carnal security and cause us to waste our days of probation.

Righteousness, when it is a deep part of our nature, makes wickedness ugly and gross so that we want nothing to do with it.  When we come into contact with wickedness and our reaction is “Bleah” and avoidance rather than fascination, we’ve got this bit of armor in place.

Preparation of the gospel protects us from impulsive offers to sin. Preparation fills our time with good which crowds evil out and helps us realize that sin would make our preparation for naught.  We don’t like to discover our time and effort was a waste, so it is good to avoid whatever makes it ineffective.

Faith protects us from fear, uncertainty, and doubt.  Yes, we may deal with uncertainty, but faith prevents uncertainty from crippling and paralyzing us. Faith’s factor of trust in God protects us from fear.

Salvation protects us from the damnation and burden of guilt.

The Spirit protects us with the power to disperse evil when it tries to smother our souls, and it helps us rise from the Fall.  It protects us from Satan-sent feelings of apathy, depression, discouragement, and so much more.  (Some of those feelings may be from chemical imbalances in our body, but Satan also tries to use them, and the Spirit can dissipate those feelings when we pray.)

So, in summary, the armor of God protects us from

--lies

--the natural man’s attraction to evil

--impulsive offers to sin

--fear, uncertainty, and doubt

--guilt and damnation

--smothering negative feelings from Satan

That’s a lot of stuff the armor of God protects us from!  Today let’s be alert to notice when we’re being attack by Satan and use the armor of God to quench those fiery darts.

Fiery darts of the adversary and our defense

23 And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?

24 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 15:23-24)

Lately, one question I found that I had was this: just what are the fiery darts of the adversary? Obviously “fiery darts” is being used as an image for an idea, so what is the fiery dart representing?

Fiery darts are poison darts. They spread infection and corruption. Fiery darts are insults and slurs cast against our faith, targeting our identity, our self-esteem. They are often intended to make us feel bad about our previous decisions to choose the right. They are accusations against good works that put the worst possible construction on our motives and acts. The fiery darts are aimed at our eyes to try to blind us, or to make us see good as evil.

Or they may not even be directed at us; they can be directed at church leaders and against God and we’ll still feel like we got hit. Fiery darts can be used at long-range to keep us out of the battle. Compare this to our offensive weapon—the sword of the Spirit—which is used at close range in hand-to-hand combat. (http://demondope.com/site/?p=243)

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (Ephesians 6:16)

The shield of faith quenches the fiery darts, causing them to lose effect. And as Nephi described, the rod of iron (the word of God) keeps us from being blinded by the fiery darts of the adversary.

In what way do we hold up a shield of faith in our lives? What do we have faith in?

We have faith most of all in our Savior Jesus Christ. How does that become a shield to us from the adversary?

For me, when I realize that I have done something wrong, my faith in Christ shows me I can repent and escape that sin. I don’t have to live with my sins forever. It shows me that I can rely on Christ to help me become better than I am.

We have faith in living prophets. How does that shield us from the adversary’s fiery darts?

We have faith in the scriptures. How does that shield us?

What other faith that we have shields us?

Lessons from the battle in Alma 43

In Alma 43, the chapter about Zerahemnah's attack on the Nephites and Moroni's defense at the waters of Sidon, there are several things that puzzled me. One is that it seemed like the Nephite armies got weaker as the battle progressed and that the other was that it seemed like the Lamanites seemed to get stronger.

Nephites getting weaker: At the beginning of the battle, the Nephite army headed by Lehi meets the Lamanites and administered "death almost at every stroke." But further on, the Nephites were "about to shink and flee" from the Lamanites when they saw their fierceness and anger.

Lamanites getting stronger: At the beginning of the battle, the Lamanites were getting slaughtered almost with every blow, and then nearer the end, they were smiting in two the Nephites headplates, piercing their breastplates, and smiting off many of their arms, fighting like dragons.

The simple explanation for this is that there was a range of skills and abilities represented in the Nephite army. Lehi's army seemed to be full of the more experienced and skilled warriors. They seem to have known exactly how to wield their weapons in the most effective and efficient way both to protect themselves and to bear down all Lamanite defense. Of course these men would be at the front of the battle, to buffer the less experienced warriors from the full strength of the enemy. When we also consider that Moroni raised part of his army from the Manti populace to help defend their lands, it is easy to understand that the Manti militia would be substantially less experienced and hardened to the rigors of battle. Thus, the Lamanite enemy that was a piece of cake for Lehi's army to beat, seemed to the less-experienced Nephite army to be fighting like dragons. That the Lamanites could suddenly render the Nephite armor ineffective indicates that the Nephite armor wasn't much help without good fighting skill.

Nevertheless, the account shows that the Manti militia, when they called upon God for their liberty and freedom, were able to stand with power equal to their more experienced brethren in Lehi's crack army, driving the Zarahemnah's Lamanite army to the river. I think this is the message that Mormon was trying to get across in his account. Another message that we can get from this is that spiritual armor makes the most difference in our lives when it is coupled with experience and skill at resisting temptation and that for those who don't yet have the experience and skill, praying is what can make up the difference.

Resistance is NOT futile, and I WILL NOT be assimilated!!!

I’ve made a discovery which I probably should have made long ago, but which is finally sinking in. The self-defeating thoughts that come to my mind are not from God. They’re from the devil. The thoughts that come into my mind that buffet me about my past sins which I have already repented of are not from God. They’re from the devil. The thoughts that try to make me think that I’m worthless are from the devil. The thoughts that insist that I have screwed up my life and that nothing good I try will work are from the devil.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:11-12)

The principalities and powers that Paul talks about in this verse belong to Satan, the prince and ruler of darkness.

I’m beginning to learn the difference between how Heavenly Father talks to me about my past sins I’ve repented of and how Satan talks to me about my past sins I’ve repented of. Heavenly Father reminds me of the past only to gently warn me from future mistakes, and He’s very mild about it so I’m not pained. Satan knocks me down with past mistakes and beats me with a nail-spiked board until the guilt pools like blood.

It’s Sunday and you’d think I’d be able to rest right? Wrong.

3:30pm and I have been brought to tears by some gritty thoughts that I have no worth. (Even after those fabulous Ensign articles about the worth of souls!) I cry in my husband’s arms for a few minutes.

6:55pm. I am finishing my dinner and thinking about the lesson I taught the CTR 8 class and I find myself worrying that I was not talking enough to people in church. Soon I am feeling that I am too selfish. Then thoughts begin to come to my mind about a difficult stage I went through a year and a half ago. My past mistakes (already repented of) start replaying in my mind and I am beginning to feel like a terrible person. (Resistance is futile…) Then somehow it comes to me that I don’t deserve the torture since I’ve already repented, and I think to pray. Heavenly Father, PLEASE help me resist the bad thoughts! Peace comes immediately.

7:00pm. I am sitting on the couch thinking about how nice it was to be in primary today. The children were so happy and innocent. Then some bitter thoughts creep in and I find myself wishing I could be back at that age again, before I ruined my life. (Resistance is futile….) WHAT?! I haven’t ruined my life! This is Satan again, trying to make me think I have done something wrong when I haven’t. I pray again for Heavenly Father to help me resist the bad thoughts and I immediately feel peace again.

I’m sure it sounds very much like I have done something terrible, that I’m suffering guilt that is deserved, and that I’m denying that I deserve it. I want to tell you that it is possible to be buffeted by Satan even when you are guiltless. I think Paul knew about this, which is why he wrote about wrestling with Satan and about putting on the armor of God. (If you want to see read about someone else in the scriptures who had to deal with "thought ambushes" from Satan, check out Nephi in 2 Nephi 4 with his "oh wretched man that I am" ruminations.)

In particular, I want to call attention to one of the items Paul listed—the helmet of salvation. (teacher voice) Class, where does a helmet go? (On the head!) Very good! Class, where do thoughts happen? (In the head!) Very good! So when Satan directs vicious fear-choked thoughts at our mind that tell us that we are lost forever (when we have repented), we must remember that we have repented and that Christ has already covered our sins. We’ve been saved! * pa-TING! * Hear that? That’s the sound of a fiery dart bouncing off the helmet of “I’ve-already-repented-so-I’m-safe”, which is commonly known as the helmet of salvation.
How can I be sure that I don’t deserve suffering from these nasty deprecating thoughts? This is why I need the rest of the armor.

Loins girt about with truth. Knowing correct principles and following them takes care of a lot of doubt that I am in the wrong. Also, being honest and telling the truth to myself and to others “covers my butt”.

The breastplate of righteousness. Living the correct principles I know to be true gives even more conviction and firmness to my living. Further, since it is impossible to commit a bad act and a good act at the same time, living righteously all the time means there is no room in the inn for wickedness.

Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. There are principles that I am imperfect at living, but I am preparing to do better, and I know Heavenly Father will help me, so I can have peace knowing that I will become a better person by following the gospel.

The shield of faith. Heavenly Father won’t give me more than I can handle. It may be more than I think I can handle, but it won’t be beyond my capability. For every doubt, there is a shield of faith that can meet it.

The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. As it has been pointed out in the Doctrine and Covenants so many times, the word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow. But this isn’t a sword that you commit hari kari on. It’s for cutting to the heart of a problem. It’s for morally dissecting temptations as if they were a fetal pig in biology class.

To conclude, we must be aware of the source of the opposition we face and realize that Satan is behind it. It takes time for awareness to come, and we don’t know from what quarter we’ll be hit next. So, we must be sure we are..

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (Ephesians 6:18)

Image from Children of Narcisus, http://www.arachnoid.com/ChildrenOfNarcissus/media_portrayals.html