Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. (Alma 48:17)
Wow! What an incredible tribute. I can't imagine there being higher praise than having someone say "the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever" if more people were like you. So what attributes did Moroni have that elicited such praise? Well, Mormon gives us a list:
And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;
Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.
Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ....(Alma 48:11-13)
He sounds like an amazing man. In fact, if I could choose to meet one person from the past (aside from Christ, of course), I think it would be Captain Moroni. His exceptional courage and faith at an age younger than mine is so impressive to me. We do need more people like him, even today.
As I continued reading though, I was struck by one verse:
Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni; for they did preach the word of God...(Alma 48:19)
No less serviceable. Helaman and his brethren - missionaries - were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni - a Captain over all of the Nephite armies, and charged with the safe-keeping of not only the Nephite people, but their liberties and freedoms. I love this phrase - no less serviceable! It gives me great hope. As I was studying, I came across this quote:
Not all of us are going to be like Moroni, catching the acclaim of our colleagues all day every day. Most of us will be quiet, relatively unknown folks who come and go and do our work without fanfare. To those of you who may find that lonely or frightening or just unspectacular, I say, you are 'no less serviceable' than the most spectacular of your associates. You, too, are part of God's army. (Howard W. Hunter, "No Less Serviceable", 64)
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| ©Darrell Wyatt |
I sometimes get caught up in comparing myself to those around me. I want to be better than I am, which is not always a bad thing, but it can lead to unrealistic expectations. I will never be as Captain Moroni, for obvious reasons, but I am no less important to the great causes in which I am involved. I will probably never literally fight for my country, but I can still fight for my liberties and the liberties of those that I love. I may never serve an actual full-time mission (although it is a goal), but I can still spread the good news of the gospel. I will probably never be a renowned advocate for autism awareness or cancer research, but I can be an advocate nonetheless. Any energy that I can put toward a goal or a cause for right is good and important energy. As President Hunter said, I am no less serviceable than the most spectacular of those I see on TV or read about in the news. I am my own spectacular me.
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