Gaining Hearts by Fraud

And the army which pursued after them returned, having pursued after them in vain; and thus Amalickiah, by his fraud, gained the hearts of the people. (Alma 47:30)

And it came to pass that Amalickiah sought the favor of the queen, and took her unto him to wife; and thus by his fraud, and by the assistance of his cunning servants, he obtained the kingdom; yea, he was acknowledged king throughout all the land, among all the people of the Lamanites, who were composed of the Lamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites, and all the dissenters of the Nephites, from the reign of Nephi down to the present time. (Alma 47:35)

Mormon points out that Amalickiah gained the hearts of the people and the Lamanite kingdom by fraud.

What is fraud? The dictionary has two definitions. One is about wrongful deception for personal or financial gain. The other is about deceiving others by unjustifiably claiming accomplishments or characteristics, or in other words, by claiming to be what you are not or claiming you can do what you can not.

In what ways did Amalickiah gain the hearts of the people by fraud? Lots of ways, but in just the verses above, he arranged for the Lamanite king to be assassinated, blamed the king’s innocent servants for it, and then, in a show of patriotic outrage, instigated a manhunt for those servants. He pretended loyalty to the king when his true actions were anything but.

How did Amalickiah gain the kingdom by fraud? He sought the favor of the queen and married her, and thereby became her consort. He made himself appear to be a fit husband for a queen to help keep the kingdom together. He may have pretended affection for her or served her enough that she thought he’d be faithful. But it is notable that once he marries her, we hear nothing about the queen ever again, and it is always Amalickiah who is in charge. As for keeping the kingdom together, he starts a propaganda campaign of lies against the Nephites and plunges his people into an unsuccessful war. That’s not the actions of a good king.

I think this fraud is an important thing to notice because we may see people trying to gain favor and win our hearts with fraud. How do we keep from being taken in? I think it is important to be observant, to notice the little things people do, to notice how they act when they think nobody is watching, to see what they say when they aren’t “on” in public, to see if they will sincerely help those who can’t do anything for them, to see if they keep confidences or keep small promises or tell the truth kindly even if it is a painful truth. Big public frauds are built on small private frauds.

The promise for seeking the Lord

He that seeketh me early shall find me, and shall not be forsaken. (D&C 88:83)

This is a very simple scripture, but for some reason it touched me when I read it. It shows me a Christ who is completely loyal to those who search Him out.

Writing it another way, it might say, “He that seeketh me early shall find me, and I will not forsake him.”

I think it invites us to seek the Lord early in our lives (youth), early in the day (morning), early in our problems (prayer), early in our study (scriptures), early in our joys (gratitude), early in the week, (Sunday worship), early in the school year (father’s blessings), etc. There are so many ways to seek the Lord early, and I don’t think we are meant to use only one way, but as many ways as we can.  It’s a chance to submit to the divine orientation at the beginning of the many journeys we start on.

Looked at another way, that promise that the Lord will not forsake those who seek Him reminds me of Jesus’s mortal life when He was forsaken by all—by his friends, by his people, by everyone, even by Heavenly Father while Jesus hung on the cross, which caused him to cry out “My God…why hast thou forsaken me?”  I sense from His promise of loyalty that He who was so abandoned is determined not to abandon those who seek Him. It's a promise of both revelation and presence.

It’s so reassuring. We will not seek in vain. God wants to be found, and again, He is a loyal friend.

Abner switches sides to David’s camp and some thoughts on loyalty

6 ¶And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul.

7 And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father’s concubine?

8 Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, Am I a dog’s head, which against Judah do shew kindness this day unto the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou chargest me to day with a fault concerning this woman?

9 So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the Lord hath sworn to David, even so I do to him;

10 To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beer-sheba.

11 And he could not answer Abner a word again, because he feared him.

12 ¶And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee.  (2 Samuel 3: 6-12)

This block of verses describes the cause of Abner’s defection from Ishbosheth (Saul’s son) to David.  (If you remember Abner was another of Saul’s relatives and was in charge of the army during Saul’s reign.)

While there was war between the house of Saul and David, Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul.  I think this is an indication that there was some self-aggrandizement going on.  The final straw for Ishbosheth was that Abner took Saul’s concubine Rizpah and had sex with her, which was a traditional way for a usurper to declare they had taken a king’s place—by taking their wives.  Ishbosheth confronted Abner about it, and Abner hit the ceiling.

Abner then accused Ishbosheth of ingratitude because Ishbosheth had charged him with fault about Rizpah, after all Abner had done for him in maintaining his throne and fighting his enemies.  Abner was so angry, he said he was going to switch sides and support David instead and use all his influence to set David up as king.

Now, one interesting thing about this block of verses is that you never really know if Abner actually did take Rizpah, or not.  We just know that Ishbosheth accused him of it.  The jury is still out and all we have is Abner’s side of the story because no doubt he told it to David to explain why he switched sides, and no doubt he would tell it in such a way as to make Abner look good and Ishbosheth look bad.

Another thing is that Abner gets mad just because he’s been accused of a fault, and he immediately makes a counter-accusation of ingratitude. Now, I don’t know about you, but this seems to indicate that Abner has some kind of entitlement problem.  It is the attitude of “I’ve done all this for you, so that precludes you from every opposing me or denying me what I want, even if it is out of line or criminal.”  I have sometimes seen this in a few military people online, who, when they (or the military) are accused of fault, pull the I-defended-your-freedom-how-dare-you-treat-me-this-way card.   It is as if these individuals believe one good work should excuse other sins.  With a true idea of justice, we know that’s not the case.  Moreover, accusation, as painful as it is, does not a conviction make.  (I’m really glad this is a small minority of military, by the way.)

Back to Abner. 

What is more worrisome is that Abner’s anger and entitlement over this accusation causes him to change sides, and that gives us a clue that entitlement leads to disloyalty, even while it wraps itself in patriotism and raves about ingratitude. (We get a number of examples of this in the Book of Mormon from the stories of Amalickiah and king men and Zoramites, and other dissenters.)

If Abner changes to David’s side just because he is accused of fault (and it is a pretty big fault), how long will it be before he commits a fault with David and is accused of something?  (Assuming he did what he was accused of..)  Can he be counted on to stay true?   It’s a legitimate question.

When I apply this story to myself, I can remember a particular time a number of years ago when I tried to aggrandize myself, and it brought me to overstep my bounds, which naturally brought chastisement down on me.  Then I got offended just because I was charged with fault, and it made me want to take revenge in some way.  Thankfully, humbling myself helped me recognize my sin and I repented and stayed true to the church and to God.

May we serve faithfully and not be too big to be corrected is my prayer for myself and all of us.

"Yes, Sergeant Instructor!": Larry Echo Hawk’s Story in Oct 2012 Conference

This story from Larry Echo Hawk’s talk “Come unto Me, O Ye House of Israel” has intrigued me for quite some time, so I thought it was time to post about it, even if it was given two conferences ago..

I volunteered for service in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Soon after my arrival in Quantico, Virginia, for basic training, I found myself standing at attention in front of my barrack’s bunk along with 54 other Marine Corps recruits. I met my drill instructor, a battle-hardened veteran, when he kicked open the door to the barracks and entered while screaming words laced with profanity.

After this terrifying introduction, he started at one end of the barracks and confronted each recruit with questions. Without exception, the drill instructor methodically found something about each recruit to ridicule with loud, vulgar language. Down the row he came, with each marine shouting back his answer as commanded: “Yes” or “No, Sergeant Instructor.” I could not see exactly what he was doing, because we had been ordered to stand at attention with our eyes looking straight ahead. When it was my turn, I could tell he grabbed my duffel bag and emptied the contents onto my mattress behind me. He looked through my belongings, then walked back to face me. I braced myself for his attack. In his hand was my Book of Mormon. I expected that he would yell at me; instead, he moved close to me and whispered, “Are you a Mormon?”

As commanded, I yelled, “Yes, Sergeant Instructor.”

Again I expected the worst. Instead, he paused and raised his hand that held my Book of Mormon and in a very quiet voice said, “Do you believe in this book?”

Again I shouted, “Yes, Sergeant Instructor.”

At this point I was sure he would scream disparaging words about Mormons and the Book of Mormon, but he just stood there in silence. After a moment he walked back to my bunk and carefully laid down my Book of Mormon. He then proceeded to walk by me without stopping and went on to ridicule and disparage with profane language all remaining recruits.

I have often wondered why that tough Marine Corps sergeant spared me that day. But I am grateful I was able to say without hesitation, “Yes, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” and “Yes, I know the Book of Mormon is true.” This testimony is a precious gift given to me through the Holy Ghost with the help of two missionaries and a priests quorum adviser.

This story is remarkable because it demonstrates the power of a simple, yet forceful affirmation of our affiliation with the church and our belief in the Book of Mormon.  Can we doubt that the Spirit testified to the sergeant of the truth of Larry Echo Hawk’s terse words?

I have tried to imagine what it would have been like to be this sergeant and suddenly have a Spirit-filled testimony of the Book of Mormon come at me like this..

“Are you a Mormon?”

“Yes, Sergeant Instructor!”

“Do you believe in this book?”

“Yes, Sergeant Instructor!”

WOW.  It must have been like a bolt from the blue, like a trumpet blast in the face, or a sword to pierce joints and marrow.  It clearly disarmed him and confounded him so that he could say nothing against it.

I don’t think the sergeant was completely ignorant of Mormons or the Book of Mormon because when he saw the book, he knew it was considered scripture.  He knew enough and he was curious enough that he was willing to interrupt his abusive tirade at the Marines and ask a few serious questions and in a more respectful tone.   (We don’t know what exact tone he took; it is possible to put just as much scorn into quiet words as loud ones, but Elder Echo Hawk’s story suggests that it was more respectful, since he calls the tone “whispered” and “quiet.”)  Maybe he had known a few Mormons before.  We don’t know.

But why whisper about it?  Was it out of respect or was it to conceal a departure from the tough image he was trying to cultivate with the new recruits?  I don’t know.

The next question I found myself asking was, “Why is the sergeant looking through Larry Echo Hawk’s belongings?”  It seems pretty rude of him to do that, and the story makes it sound like Larry Echo Hawk was specifically targeted.  But then, that may be part of an act put on to intimidate the new recruits, sending the message of, “You belong to the government now, and so does everything you own.  What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is my own.”   But I have to wonder if this sergeant also looked through stuff belonging to the other recruits.  Brother Echo Hawk doesn’t say, so it could have been either way.  Perhaps the sergeant was just looking for ways to insult and break down each recruit and he found something easily for each recruit without looking through their stuff until he got to Larry Echo Hawk and then somehow he couldn’t find anything, so he decided he had to dig through his belongings.  (Any Marines or former Marines want to chime in and shed light on this?)

I also wonder what Larry Echo Hawk's comrades thought who might have heard this exchange.  It sends an interesting message when one guy escapes getting roasted by the sergeant instructor.  One might be curious and watchful to see what kind of guy the sergeant instructor could not find fault with.

There are several principles taught from this story:

1)   You never know who is going to express curiosity and interest in your religion.  It might be someone you’d never expect (like sergeant instructors who swear like a blue streak).

2)   Own you're a Latter-day Saint without hesitation.

3)   Forceful affirmations of the truth carry just as much spiritual power as extended testimony. 

4)   Testimony can soften hearts, even those of battle-hardened men.

5)   Experiences of staying true to our testimony bring joy throughout the rest of life each time we remember them.

How to rally your troops

http://restoredtruth.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/raising-the-title-of-liberty/

Alma 43 is the chapter in which the Nephites defeat the Zoramite-Lamanite army led by Zarahemnah.

One of the interesting things about Alma 43 is that it contains at least three separate reiterations of the causes the Nephites were fighting for and causes the Lamanites were fighting for.  The cause is mentioned:

1.     as the people form up their armies,

2.     when Moroni places his armies to catch the Lamanites, and

3.     in battle when the Nephites are about to give away. 

Moroni makes sure the Nephite army has a good cause to fight for, while the Lamanite-Zoramite army had to be stirred up to anger and hate and had to have their hatred preserved.

It is hard to tell if each iteration of the cause was written in the record that Mormon was abridging or whether it was only there once and Mormon made a point of repeating the Nephite cause at important points.   (It is easy to understand why Mormon would be happy to transmit repetitions or emphasize repeatedly the Nephites’ just cause after having lived through battles in his day that were motivated by unjust causes.)  Regardless, it is instructive to notice where these repetitions come.

Mormon tells the Nephite cause at the point when the Nephites begin to amass their troops on the border of Jershon and Antionum in response to build-up of Lamanite troops in that area.  When armies and groups are mobilized somewhere, it is important that they know why their movement is important.

9 And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires.

 10 For they knew that if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites, that whosoever should worship God in spirit and in truth, the true and the living God, the Lamanites would destroy.

 11 Yea, and they also knew the extreme hatred of the Lamanites towards their brethren, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, who were called the people of Ammon—and they would not take up arms, yea, they had entered into a covenant and they would not break it—therefore, if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites they would be destroyed.

 12 And the Nephites would not suffer that they [the Anti-Nephi-Lehis] should be destroyed; therefore they gave them lands for their inheritance. (Alma 43:9-12, emphasis added)

Their mobilization was specifically to prevent the Anti-Nephi-Lehis from being destroyed, and from the larger perspective, it was to protect the Nephite nation from their enemies and preserve freedom of religion.

Mormon reiterates the Nephite cause as he tells the Nephites were about to use spying as a strategy to find out what their enemies were doing.  He figured that some of his readers might be leery of the Nephites using spies (with the lying that is implied in that strategy) to beat their enemies, so he reminds us of the Nephite cause.  Happily, if we are alert, we can see that the spying consists of placing men in the wilderness to watch for when the Lamanites come (v28), and sending men to watch the Lamanite camp to see where they go (v23).  There is no direct engagement with (lying to) the enemy.

23 But it came to pass, as soon as they had departed into the wilderness Moroni sent spies into the wilderness to watch their camp…

28 And Moroni placed spies round about, that he might know when the camp of the Lamanites should come.

 29 And now, as Moroni knew the intention of the Lamanites, that it was their intention to destroy their brethren, or to subject them and bring them into bondage that they might establish a kingdom unto themselves over all the land;

 30 And he also knowing that it was the only desire of the Nephites to preserve their lands, and their liberty, and their church, therefore he thought it no sin that he should defend them by stratagem; therefore, he found by his spies which course the Lamanites were to take. (Alma 43:23, 28-30)

All that watching of the Lamanite army (and watching for it to come) would get very boring if the Lamanites weren't doing anything (or it wasn't seen coming).  During the long periods of inactivity, the spies would need to remember the cause they were fighting for, so that they could remember the important contribution they made to the cause, even when it seemed like they weren't contributing at all.  A report of "Lamanites still in the same place" is just as much of a contribution to the Nephite cause as a report of invading Lamanites, since a "Lamanites unmoving" report would contribute some piece of mind. (If we apply this to ourselves, a visiting teaching or home teaching report of "families all well" contributes just as much to the cause of Zion as a report that one of our families needs help.)

Third, Mormon reiterates the Nephite cause when the Nephites are about to give way before the Lamanites to show why the Nephites ultimately did not give up and resumed their best efforts in the battle.

45 Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.

 46 And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.

 47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion.

 48 And it came to pass that when the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink and flee from them. And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and inspired their hearts with these thoughts—yea, the thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage. (Alma 43:45-48, emphasis added)

Assuming all these iterations of the Nephite cause were in the unabridged record of how Captain Moroni rallied his men, we see that he is determined to keep their cause in mind at every important point.  We also see that when the battle gets especially difficult and they are about to give up, he again reminds them of their cause and this gives them the courage to call on God for help.   Interestingly enough, when the Nephites have the Lamanites at their mercy, Captain Moroni stops the battle to talk to the Lamanites, and we see that he even tries to rally and inspire them too with words about justice and faith.  (Too bad they rebel.)

I think that this attention to inspire and rally with important causes also inspired concern in Moroni’s army for each other and their leader.  I notice that when Moroni was attacked, one of his soldiers instantly came to his defense.  But when Zerahemnah had his scalp cut off, not a single Lamanite lifted a finger on his behalf.  Zerahemna could command his men, but he hadn’t reached their hearts.  His leadership over them was rooted in stirring them up to anger and preserving their hatred of the enemy.  Moroni’s leadership was rooted in love, defense of country, liberty, religion, and family.  His army saw all this in the way that Moroni prepared them for battle, so they defended him just as he tried to defend them.

One of the things I learn from all this is how important it is to remember the causes we are fighting for.  This also shows me how wonderful people are who have that ability to rally us and inspire us to persevere in the best causes.  What are some causes we believe in?

·      Freedom of conscience, freedom to practice our religion

·      Common decency and morality to keep our families safe from blatant and ubiquitous temptations of the worst sorts

·      Justice and equal enforcement of the laws

·      The cause of Zion and building up the kingdom of God

Another thing this teaches me is how our important it is to us to be inspired when we’re in a tricky situation where we have to stay strong and fight for our standards.  When someone rallies us by reminding us of the cause we are fighting for at those moments, oh how wonderful it seems to us!  Renewed determination can help us find strength we never knew we had.

A final thing I get from this is how important it will become for us to be able to rally others.  Mothers and fathers rally their children.  Teachers rally their students.  Coaches rally their players.  Politicians rally their supporters.  CEOs and managers rally employees. 

We see that rallying others with true and unselfish principles will be more successful than trying to use fear or anger or hate or grievance.

Finally, we can rally ourselves by reminding ourselves what we are working and fighting for.  For example, every so often it gets really hard for me to continue blogging about the scriptures here.  I ask myself,  “Why do I keep doing this?  This is a ton of work!  I’m always worrying about whether what I have written is good enough!”  I have to remind myself that I’m not doing this for fame or fortune.  I’m doing it to share what I’ve learned so that others can come to understand what I understand and learn what I am learning.  I’m doing it to help others appreciate the scriptures more deeply.  I’m doing it in hopes of persuading to repentance.  I’m doing it to try to bring others to God.  Remembering that gives me strength to keep at it.

How do you rally your troops? 

Strengthening the Family - Building Loyalty

Today I find myself thinking about the topic of strengthening the family. I have often wondered just what is encompassed by this. What principles go into this and how can we implement them?

One thing that seems to come to my mind is that improving family loyalty can help strengthen a family. When family members are more interested in the success of family life than in the competing outside concerns that tug at them, then there is loyalty. Also, when family members stick up for each other, then there is loyalty.

When I was taking a World Politics class, I thought it was interesting that there was a section of the book that talked about how countries can lose the loyalty and confidence of their citizens when the leadership and government has demonstrated consistent corruption and abuse of power. In the same way, family members can also lose confidence in their families when moral corruption and abuse of power is rife. From this we see that in order to elicit loyalty, a family must be righteous, must be living the gospel of Christ.

I’m sure that there are many different ways of teaching family loyalty, and I hope people will comment and tell how they learned family loyalty growing up. I will try to share some things that helped build my loyalty to my family. There’s really not one single thing that does the trick; rather it is by many small and simple things.

Giving each other praise. I remember one time that I was on a walk with my dad and he told me that my mother was a scriptorian. (She was a seminary teacher for the ward at the time.) Pointing out my mother’s skill with the scriptures not only built in me the desire to become like that myself, but my father’s respect for my mother taught me respect for my mother. I also gained additional respect for my father and his discernment. This helped build my loyalty to both of them.

Another example. Some of the most precious compliments that I’ve gotten while growing up were ones from my siblings. Brothers and sisters can be some of the most critical people in the world, so when they say something positive about you, you had better believe them. When my brother Cameron (20 months younger than me) told me I looked nice as we were getting ready to go to church, I felt like I had won some sort of beauty contest.

Express faith in the future of the family. I can remember when my siblings and I would get into fights, while she was trying to settle everything down, my mom would occasionally say to us something like, “I’m doing this because I want you to be able to be friends with each other. Someday your brothers and sisters will be your best friends, and that is what I’m working toward.” I remember marveling at that. Because my mom said it would happen, I trusted her, even though I didn’t see how it could happen. Today I feel that is a reality. I suppose that in a way, when my mom was expressing faith in the future of our relationships, she was also prophesying that future.

My mom wrote a family song for us to sing. She used the tune “Chopsticks” and wrote lyrics to it.

Who are my favorite friends on whom my joy depends
They come in every size, my family, that’s the guys.
Walkers are everywhere, bristling with savoir faire
Brothers and sisters here; better look out!

Michaela, Cameron, Spencer, Stuart, Tennille, and Nelson and don’t forget Trent
Then Dad and Mom, that’s George and Kimella, wondering just what they did.

Come what the weather, we’ll all stick together
In any endeavor we won’t give up ever
We try to do what’s right from morning to the night
It helps us get along to sing this song!

The Walkers shout, “We’re glad about the way we care and the way we share.
We’ve told you that; we’re where it’s at—a forever family!”

Not many families had a family song, so we felt like we were special to have one that told people how neat our family was. We sang this song for years. Mom or dad would periodically request it as the opening or closing song for Family Home Evening. We added a punctuating raspberry after each chorus. (Dad was the first one who did it, I’ll have you know.)

I asked my mom recently what gave her the idea of making a family song. She said that she heard it somewhere and it seemed to her like a good idea, because at the time she wrote it, we were not what the song said and she wanted to indoctrinate us that this is what we were going to be. She was expressing her faith in the future of our family through this song.

Do you have anything to share about how you or your parents helped build family loyalty?

Who’s Side Are You On? (Loyalty Check!)

I must warn you ahead of time that this post may turn out to be a rant. Ready… get set…

Two days ago my husband showed me a clip of a TV show that had been posted on hulu.com.

In this episode, this guy chronicles his efforts as a fledging villain trying to take over the world, with songs thrown in at various intervals. There was, I think two instances of profanity and two instances of taking the Lord’s name in vain. Otherwise, it was technically well done and emotionally cute. We see this guy taking letters from people who insult his ability to be evil and he refutes them.. in a timid, humorous way that implies, “Come on, I’m still learning the ropes here; give a guy a break!” We find out his nemesis is a certain Captain Hammer. And along the way he sings a song about the girl he has a crush on at the laundromat, and his yearning succeeds in building more sympathy for his plight. (Viewer gut reaction: Poor, unnoticed, lovelorn villain!) Then he gets a letter from a super villain who is considering his application to join his.. I don’t know.. villain posse? There is much excitement. He decides he has to pull off a heist of some sort to help his application stand out.

So he plans to rob an armored car with an elaborate apparatus that allows him to take control of the vehicle and drive it by remote control. Right as he is beginning to steal it, his love interest comes up and wants him to sign a petition to help her in her efforts with a volunteer nonprofit of some sort. (Viewer gut reaction: Put down the remote, you idiot!) His attention is torn, and rather than listen to her fully, he tries to do both car controlling and listening at the same time. And of course fails at both. Then Captain Hammer shows up—a really huge buff guy with mounds of confidence—and smashes the controlling device on the armored car. (Viewer gut reaction: How annoying! This hero is butting in right when and where he is not wanted!!) This causes the car’s steering to go haywire so that it heads straight for the girl. Captain Hammer saves the girl and villain looks on in chagrin and poignant envy as Captain Hammer and girl sing to each other with that “I’m yours” look in their eyes. (Viewer gut reaction: How annoying! Hero is stealing the girl from the villain!)

As I started watching this show, I was a little disturbed at how the story line and presentation and point of view was implicitly asking me to look at villainy as a funny thing, and how it was asking me to be amused as someone’s efforts to become a super villain. But hey, who hasn’t joked about taking over the world at some point? It’s a favorite geek fantasy. I made an effort to suspend my discomfort and get into it a little more.

Seeing the song about the love interest made me more sympathetic. Who hasn’t had a major crush on someone who doesn’t really notice them?

I was a little bothered by the efforts to pull a heist. But again, I tried to suspend my discomfort in order to get into it. I was irritated that the guy didn’t just drop his remote control in the middle of his plan and give the girl his full attention when she was talking to him.

Then when the super hero showed up, foiled the heist, saved the girl, and I found I was expected to be angry at that hero, I finally woke up to what was happening. This show expects me to be on the villain’s side and be mad at a super hero for stopping a heist and saving someone’s life and getting the girl! NO!! This is WRONG!! What I am I DOING??!! I was thoroughly depressed and irritated at the show and myself for being taken in.

Why was my reaction so strong? Because I suddenly saw the super hero as a type and shadow of Christ, who would suddenly appear right when least expected to stop the evil and save the innocent and punish the guilty. My point of view had been messed up in this show by degrees as I gradually consented to suspend my moral abhorrence for what was wrong in order to be entertained by what I was watching. What if I saw so many shows with a similar twisted point of view to the extent that I sympathized more with people who did wrong things and no longer sympathized with people who did good things and instead detested them? What if when Christ comes I find myself on the wrong side?

The issue of point of view is an interesting one. Filmmakers and authors and photographers know it is possible to totally change the feeling of a work simply by changing the point of view.

But they don’t do this just for the sake of art. They also do it to sell their work, and in order to distinguish themselves they are always looking for novelty, a new approach. But what kind of art is this that by giving the bad guy more character development and screen time makes the bad guy into the object of our sympathy and the good guy into the object of our contempt? Are we supposed to believe the subsequent implication that good and bad depends only upon our point of view?

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

The Book of Mormon gives us a nice example of a people who had this brand of moral relativism.

And thus the Lamanites began to increase in riches, and began to trade one with another and wax great, and began to be a cunning and a wise people, as to the wisdom of the world, yea, a very cunning people, delighting in all manner of wickedness and plunder, except it were among their own brethren. (Mosiah 24:7, emphasis added)

“Do whatever you want, just don’t do it to me, my family, and friends.” That was their attitude. They were into making money. Who doesn't enjoy making money? They wanted to be great. Who doesn't want to become great? They had a good secular education, cunning in the wisdom of the world. Who doesn't want to be educated and smart? They were very much like us.. except they also delighted in all kinds of wickedness. Unless it affected the fam and the buddies. (That villain in the show was the same way. He had hopes. He had dreams. He was trying to get ahead and become great. He loved somebody. But... he was doing all the wrong things.)

So watch how the Lamanite attitude plays out.

35 Therefore they did not fear Ammon, for they supposed that one of their men could slay him according to their pleasure, for they knew not that the Lord had promised Mosiah that he would deliver his sons out of their hands; neither did they know anything concerning the Lord; therefore they delighted in the destruction of their brethren; and for this cause they stood to scatter the flocks of the king.
36 But Ammon stood forth and began to cast stones at them with his sling; yea, with mighty power he did sling stones amongst them; and thus he slew a certain number of them insomuch that they began to be astonished at his power; nevertheless they were angry because of the slain of their brethren, and they were determined that he should fall; therefore, seeing that they could not hit him with their stones, they came forth with clubs to slay him. (Alma 17:35-36)

These verses show something contradictory. How can the Lamanites delight in the destruction of their brethren and then be angry because of the slain of their brethren? Point of view. They liked killing other people, but they got terribly angry if others did the same thing to them, and they never stopped to consider the idea that what might be wrong for someone else to do to them might be wrong for them to do to someone else too. So of course they don’t think that Ammon is right to keep them from stealing the king’s flocks. They don’t see anything wrong with stealing when they are the ones doing it.

And those robbers weren’t the only ones that had this point of view. King Lamoni had it too, though he was on a different side from the plunderers of his flocks.

Now this was the tradition of Lamoni, which he had received from his father, that there was a Great Spirit. Notwithstanding they believed in a Great Spirit, they supposed that whatsoever they did was right; nevertheless, Lamoni began to fear exceedingly, with fear lest he had done wrong in slaying his servants; (Alma 18:5)

Right and wrong suddenly has become not just a point of view, but the reality presided over by the higher moral authority.

I have to give Ammon a lot of credit for seeing beyond the point of view of being a servant and the loyalties implied by that role. He was firmly committed to doing the right thing by following the Lord, whether it was what the king or the servants or anyone else wanted.

I say unto you, what is it, that thy marvelings are so great? Behold, I am a man, and am thy servant; therefore, whatsoever thou desirest which is right, that will I do. (Alma 18:17, emphasis added)

Ammon, though he would seem to be soundly on the king’s side because of his protection of the king’s flocks, expressed that he reserved the right to refuse to do something that he did not think was right. We can certainly imagine that if the king ordered his shepherds to go plunder other flocks and ordered Ammon to use his great power to help, Ammon would certainly have taken a stand against it and we would have had a different story in the Book of Mormon, but one no less miraculous and instrumental in mass conversions.

Well, this post is winding down and I can feel digression fomenting, so I guess I will end by saying that I have learned from my experience that I must guard my loyalties just like anything else. I want to be on the Lord’s side. I want to be fully in harmony with His commandments. I want to see things as the Lord sees. No more am I going to allow myself to suspend my scruples in order to “get into” something. Good things don’t make you check your moral beliefs at the door, they reinforce them and improve them.