Pushing forward like Lamanites + MY NEW BOOK!

The Lamanites are busy little beavers in these verses:

33 And now it came to pass that it was expedient for Moroni to make preparations to attack the city Morianton; for behold, the Lamanites had, by their labors, fortified the city Morianton until it had become an exceeding stronghold.

34 And they were continually bringing new forces into that city, and also new supplies of provisions. (Alma 55:33-34)

At this point in the text we get an interruption of Helaman’s letter with the story about the stripling warriors, which causes us to lose the thread. But it is picked back up in Alma 59:

5 And it came to pass that while Moroni was thus making preparations to go against the Lamanites to battle, behold, the people of Nephihah, who were gathered together from the city of Moroni and the city of Lehi and the city of Morianton, were attacked by the Lamanites.

6 Yea, even those who had been compelled to flee from the land of Manti, and from the land round about, had come over and joined the Lamanites in this part of the land.

7 And thus being exceedingly numerous, yea, and receiving strength from day to day, by the command of Ammoron they came forth against the people of Nephihah, and they did begin to slay them with an exceedingly great slaughter.

8 And their armies were so numerous that the remainder of the people of Nephihah were obliged to flee before them; and they came even and joined the army of Moroni. (Alma 59:5-6)

Here we are told that while Moroni was making preparations, the city of Nephihah was attacked and overwhelmed, and the inhabitants (including refugees from cities Moroni, Lehi, and Morianton) were forced to flee.

What this tells us strategically is that there was a reason the Lamanites kept bringing more men and provisions into the city Morianton and fortifying it; they meant the city Morianton to become the next jumping off point for their next invasion into Nephite territory. There are reinforcements for maintenance and there are reinforcements for imminent invasion, and the Lamanites intended invasion. The Lamanites made Morianton a great stronghold so they could store more supplies there and strengthen their supply chain.

How does this help us today? Can we learn something positive from the Lamanites here, even though we’re used to thinking about them as the bad guys?  I think it helps us to think about where we are putting most of our energy and focus. The Lamanites put emphasis on amassing supplies and men at Morianton in anticipation for starting their invasion.  So, we could ask ourselves where we are putting our energy and preparation, and to what end? What do we expect to be able to do because of it? Are we simply maintaining things as they are, or are we preparing for progress? Are we preparing for new things, new goals, new growth?

The Lamanites knew how to grow their territory—they received strength from day to day, and then they PUSHED into new territories. What would happen if we followed that example spiritually in good ways? Can we receive strength from God from day to day? Yes. Can we prepare for new things? Yes. Can we push into new spiritual territories? I think so, if we are sufficiently prepared.

Today, let's press forward with faith in Christ.

Postscript NEWSFLASH 

I got my rear in gear recently, and pushed forward to finally publish my book To Defend Them By Strategem: Fortify Yourself with Book of Mormon War Tactics. (The audience goes wild, slings roses in all directions, and moshes enthusiastically with the orchestra while the world rejoices!)  This book contains many ideas about how the stories of war in the Book of Mormon teach us how we can defend ourselves against Satan. 

I’m very excited to have this book finally out, after all the work I’ve done on it. It contains some of my best thoughts and insights from this blog, which have been polished and reworked to focus specifically on spiritual strategies that can protect us. I think that you’ll really enjoy it and learn a lot.

This book will not be in Deseret Book…unless you decide to ask for it specifically by ISBN # (978-0-9968730-0-0, if you’re interested).  So, if you want to see it there, request it. ;-) 

Alternatively, you can get it Amazon, as it is available in both paperback and as a Kindle book.

See here:

Amazon paperback ($12.99)

Kindle ($2.99)

Barnes & Noble Nook ($2.99)

Kobo ($2.99)

iBooks ($2.99)

That I may carry thy people

 

And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters. (1 Nephi 17:8)

That bit at the end – that I may carry thy people” – struck me. It is as though God uses the idea of a boat to symbolize Himself and how He will carry and protect Nephi’s family from the elements.

Looked at it that way, anything that carries us can be a symbol of God—our transportation: cars, buses, airplanes, boats, etc. And anything that protects can symbolize God as well—our clothes, our houses, fortifications, armor, etc.

Called the People of Ammon

This bit from the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis jumped out at me:

…And they went down into the land of Jershon, and took possession of the land of Jershon; and they were called by the Nephites the people of Ammon; therefore they were distinguished by that name ever after. (Alma 27:26)

It first strikes me as an incredible compliment to Ammon that the Nephites called the Anti-Nephi-Lehis “the people of Ammon.” It gives a sense that Ammon was amazing. Wouldn’t it be incredible if you or I were instrumental in converting so many people that they were called “the people of [your name]”?

But then, Ammon wasn’t the one who did all those conversions. First of all, it was the Spirit, and Ammon was only one of the instruments. Also, Aaron and his other brothers had a big part to play as well. They were all involved. So, it wasn’t necessarily fair to the others to have Ammon shoulder all the credit that way. (Ammon was probably personally embarrassed by it as well.)

And another thing—it was the Nephites who used this name for them, not the Anti-Nephi-Lehis. The Anti-Nephi-Lehis already had their own name for themselves to distinguish them from the Lamanites. We don’t really know how they felt about this name the Nephites put on them. They may have had mixed feelings about it—glad to be identified with Ammon, who was so exemplary, but perhaps wishing for more accuracy.

We perhaps could understand how they feel when we consider how we could be called Latter-day Saints because of the full name of our church, but others have called us “Mormons,” and we’ve had to own and accept that name, even though we consider ourselves Christians.

I really like the next verse that characterizes the Anti-Nephi-Lehis:

And they were among the people of Nephi, and also numbered among the people who were of the church of God. And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end. (Alma 27:27)

“Distinguished for their zeal.” What do you think that looked like in daily life? Excitement and enthusiasm for doing their duty? Love and interest in prayer and study of the word of God? Interest in serving others? Did this arise out of the joy of their conversion, or is this also something we can choose to become? I think one has to choose it, because while it understandable that conversion from an awful state would lead to great gratitude, there are people who have always been faithful who continue to maintain their zeal.

It might seem superfluous to add that the Anti-Nephi-Lehis were “perfectly…upright,” but think what it would mean if someone was distinguished for their zeal toward God but was not perfectly upright in all things. There would be an element of hypocrisy there. Zeal means nothing without uprightness.

So, if someone is zealous toward God and perfectly upright, does that mean they are perfect? I don’t know? I imagine they would be close to perfection, and it would only be those little errors and occasional mistakes that would create a problem. But it also says the Anti-Nephi-Lehis were “perfectly honest,” so they would be willing to admit their faults, and then because of their faith in Christ, they would be quick to repent. How can you go wrong if you repent every time you notice (or have it brought to your notice) that you have erred or transgressed?

Today let’s work on being zealous for God, not expecting happiness from something indefinite or mysterious out there, but putting all our efforts on doing the Lord’s will. Let’s find our joy in that and strive to be upright in all things.

Two Harvests in Revelation 14

14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. (Revelation 14:14-20)

What we have here is a big gathering of two separate groups. We don’t know what the 1^st group is at first, but we are told the second group is gathered to be cast into the winepress of the wrath of God, so that tells us the grapes represent the wicked. So, the first group must be the righteous who are gathered together for safety. This is consistent with the message of Jesus’s parable of the wheat and the tares in which both the righteous and the wicked are allowed to mix and grow together until the end when the wheat (righteous) are gathered into the garner and the chaff (the wicked) remain to be burned.

It appears that at some point the Saints will need to physically gather for safety and security. I imagine the prophets will tell us when that time comes.

Big problems among the Scribes, as Jesus points out

After Jesus answers some questions meant to entrap him, we get this bit:

45 ¶ Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples,

46 Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;

47 Which devour widows’ houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation. (Luke 20:45-47)

What exactly is Jesus saying here?

He’s warning the disciples to beware of the scribes who do certain things. It seems to me He’s not telling the disciples to shun them necessarily, but to beware of becoming like them.

So what exactly is wrong with this behavior, and are there modern equivalents that must be avoided?

They desire to walk in long robes – Long robes are not easy to move in, and they get dirty easy. I get the impression that long robes were a sign of status, and hard work was not done in them. People in long robes don’t gird up their loins to serve others; they are usually the ones being served. The modern equivalent might be people who desire to wear suits all day.

They love greetings in the markets – This seems pretty benign at first. Who doesn’t love to run into friends at the market? The problem, I think, is when it becomes a point of pride, when one preens over one’s connectedness and how all those greetings by all one’s acquaintances lead one to say, “Look how important I am! Everyone knows me and loves me! Even people who don’t know me can see I must be special because of all the people who greet me!” It is hard to focus on others, when others are so focused on you.

They love the highest seats in the synagogues and the chief rooms at feasts – High seats in the synagogue are probably leadership seats. They love the best places and aspire to importance and status. They love the visibility more than the opportunity to serve.

They devour widows’ houses – Here’s a sad thing. These scribes will visit widows (thinking they are charitably bestowing their attention and encouraging presence) and then the widows are obligated by the rules of hospitality to feed them a big fancy dinner, so the widows have to spend beyond their means to do it, and of course, those scribes have to do justice to the spread, so they eat it all, and thus the widow is far worse off financially after the scribe’s visit than she was before. The scribe is devouring her house. And she lives at poverty level, anyway, so it is all very bad for her finances. At bottom, this is a lack of awareness of how hospitality is going to affect one’s host. It is inconsiderate, and a lack of charity. If these scribes had any real charity, they would host the widow and not obligate the widow to host them. Or they’d bring a nice big present of grain or something to make up for the burden of their visit.

For a show, they make long prayers – Their prayers aren’t doing them any good if it just a show to impress other people. If there is no real desire or repentance or gratitude behind the words, the prayers mean nothing.

The thing that is the greatest warning is that Jesus says, “the same shall receive the greater damnation.” To me, this is saying these characteristics get disciples more spiritually stuck and stop progression more than some others.

To summarize:

Long robes >> status clothing that precludes service and work

Loving greetings >> status and such connectedness that prevents one from forgetting oneself and focusing on others

Loving high seats and the best rooms at feasts >> obsessed with public shows of status at religious events and gatherings. Preoccupation with position and visibility more than opportunities for service and ministering.

Devouring widow’s houses >> Lack of consideration and charity for those who really need it. Making a show of attention that doesn’t really help and leaves the widow worse off afterward.

Making long prayers for show >> Desire to look holy has overcome any desire to actually be holy.

So, the pattern I see here is that status and show for these scribes has become the most important thing, such that they completely miss the increased opportunities for service and charity and ministering that come with a leadership position. They are stopped in their spiritual progress from becoming more like Christ.

Can we draw any conclusions from what one should do instead?

1)    Wear clothes you can help people in

2)    Focus on others and appreciate the humility of anonymity

3)    Care more for the opportunities to serve than position, status, or visibility

4)    Find ways to give notice and charity without taxing others’ resources to give hospitality

5)    Pray with sincerity

These things tell us that Jesus was strongly aware that if leaders weren’t careful, some of the earthly advantages of status created awful spiritual disadvantages with eternal negative consequences. He wanted His disciples to be aware of those problems and do all they could to avoid those behaviors and attitudes so that their position could be a real blessing to them and to all those around them.

Knowing Intentions

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… (Alma 43:29-30)

Knowing the enemy’s intentions is important. When we contend for the truth, it is important to know the stated and the underlying intentions of those we face.

When we find ourselves in a situation of temptation, it is also helpful to remember that Satan always intends to destroy us, weaken us, subvert our efforts and morals, and subject us to bondage in sin. That’s his intention every time, and he may use people with different intentions to try to do his work.

Compare that to Christ’s intentions—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man—and how He goes about that in ways that preserve our agency.

I think it is also important for us to examine our intentions and whether they are good or not. This scripture in particular struck me at a time when I wondered about someone else’s intentions toward me, and when I turned the question back on myself, I realized my intentions are not as good as they could be, so I had to do some repenting myself.

Sacred Support

In this verse, Captain Moroni commands Zerahemnah to surrender in the name of God and by a list of other things that are important to the Nephites.

And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children, by that liberty which binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us— (Alma 44:5)

One of these things mentioned is “by that sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children.”

I love that term “sacred support.” To me it doesn’t just mean the psychological support and commitment to wife and children, but all the hard work that is done to provide for one’s family. I love that Captain Moroni calls it sacred, and it really is. That support is a sacrifice that good, able-bodied men make every working day for their families.

As a wife who benefits from this sacred support, when I see it as sacred, I realize it would be terribly disrespectful and ungrateful of me to then turn around and waste that. It puts a responsibility on me to use it wisely for the benefit of our family. It also means that the tithing that is paid out of that sacred support is doubly sacred, since it is essentially a second sacrifice.

Knowing that support of my husband is sacred gives yet another good reason for budgeting, to make sure that none of that sacrifice is wasted or for naught. Because it would be awful if our choices make that sacrifice meaningless.

Remembering the Captivity and Deliverance of Our Fathers

In Alma’s advice to his son Helaman, he starts out with this bit:

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)

I’ve always thought it a little peculiar that Alma wanted Helaman to remember the deliverance of his fathers from captivity. It made me wonder why that was so important. I noticed Alma also preached to the people in Zerahemla in Alma 5, asking if they had sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of their fathers and that God had delivered them.

Eventually I realized the reason for this. Sooner or later, we will get ourselves into some sort of predicament—spiritual or temporal—in which we will be stuck and we can’t fix it ourselves, and we will need the Lord to stretch out His mighty arm and save us. And when that salvation happens, we need to remember it FOREVER, remember His mercy and power and let that motivate us to love and serve God ever after.

Alma the Younger had his own experiences with deliverance, a spiritual one from hellish torment, and a physical one from the prison of Ammonihah and the cruel leaders who mocked and abused him. In both cases, he was stuck, and only God could deliver him. This meant so much to him, but he couldn’t exactly universalize these experiences when preaching to others—“remember my captivity and that the Lord delivered me”—because it wouldn’t resonate as strongly. But exhorting his son and others to remember the captivity of their fathers would be better because the Nephites would have various family stories they handed down, stories of leaving the land of Nephi with Mosiah I, or escaping from King Noah, or escaping with Gideon and King Limhi from the Lamanites. These stories would also be added to whatever personal experiences they’d had with the Lord delivering them from physical and spiritual captivity.

How does remembering that captivity and deliverance help us? Remembering our captivity reminds us of all the difficulties we labored under, all the afflictions and so on. It strengthens our resolve to never put ourselves in that position again, to fight any tendency to slide back into that state. It causes us to remember the great mercy of God in delivering us out of that captivity and strengthens our resolve to serve Him and testify of Him.

So, take some time to remember your deliverance today and how the Lord has blessed you.

When Nephi reproaches his brothers for forgetfulness

10 How is it that ye have forgotten that ye have seen an angel of the Lord?

11 Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us, in delivering us out of the hands of Laban, and also that we should obtain the record?

12 Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him. (1 Nephi 7:10-12)

As Nephi and his brothers bring Ishmael’s family out of Jerusalem and the ones who want to go back make their feelings known, Nephi asks his brothers how they could have forgotten the great things the Lord has already done for them—sending an angel to instruct them, saving them from Laban, helping them get the brass plates.

It struck me that the events Nephi tells about are things he best remembers because they were 1) in his favor, and 2) vindicated his faith, and 3) he was the main participant, whereas his brothers might be 1) anxious to forget the angel because they were chastised, 2) anxious to forget the incidents of getting the brass plates because their efforts were ineffectual and they weren’t personally involved in the final successful effort. 

So, from a certain point of view, Nephi is the one who is mostly likely to be convinced by his own arguments here.  Still, if Laman and Lemuel had had the faith to persevere, they could have been more involved and thereafter more convinced.

It seems to me we are most likely to want to remember the times the Lord has helped us be successful versus the times we were chastised or not personally involved. It seems that as faith decreases, we are less likely to be convinced by arguments of how faith has been vindicated in the past, but as our faith increases, we are more convinced and moved by arguments about remembering when faith was vindicated.

So the overall lesson to draw from this seems to be that we must act in faith now if faith is to continue to have weight with us in the future.

Feeeelings… nothing more than feeeeelings. Or something else?

Do you ever find yourself in a mental-emotional place where your feelings contradict the thing you know to be true?  Or when you don’t feel good about the thing you know to be right, or feel bad about the thing you know to be good?

It’s annoying, but it happens on occasion, and it is important to at least be able to recognize what is going on so that the feelings don’t get the upper hand.

I’m going to tell about a weird conversation I had with the Lord to illustrate how I discovered Satan had been working on me to try to stop me from making progress.

Heavenly Father, I don’t understand what’s going on. I have to finish these minutes for the meeting, but I don’t want to do it. But I also want to do it, and here I am folding clothes when I should be working on finishing the minutes. I’ve already done the biggest part of the minutes job, and it shouldn’t be a problem to finish it, but it feels like it is a huge job hanging over my head and I don’t want to do it.  I know I’m mostly finished, but I don’t feel how close I am. I know it shouldn’t be a big deal, but it feels like a big burden. Why am I feeling like this?  I know I have troubles finishing tasks as a symptom of ADD, but this seems different.

I also know that as I make the action list from the minutes, I will be creating a task list for myself as well as the other people in the organization. And when I’m done, I’m going to feel like I have to do all those tasks immediately instead of getting on to the tasks that are most important to me that I want to do today. I know I’m going to feel like this because this has happened in the past. It is possible I’m folding clothes because I’m trying to show myself I can do some tasks anyway that are important to me before I finish the minutes. That seems to make it a control issue; I’m trying to show I have control over what I choose to do.

This seems like a situation in which my feelings are lying to me. I don’t like that. Please help me to do what I know I need to do.

Feelings? Really?  Is it “nothing more than feelings”? 

Sometimes it is Satan.

It is Satan who attempts to hijack feelings like that. Feelings are very powerful, and they are useful for motivation, but they are changeable and can be manipulated. This is why it is a great safeguard that we are promised in the D&C the Lord will tell us things in both our mind and our heart.

When I finished my prayer, it was clear to me that Satan had been trying to attack me through my feelings. And if he’s doing that to me, he probably does that to you too. My prayers to Heavenly Father talking about the situation helped me realize it and know what I needed to do. (I trust that when I get done, I will feel happy about it, and the obstructing feelings will dissipate.)

Don’t let Satan win.