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| ©Darrell Wyatt |
It's nearly impossible to read the book of Alma without thinking about war. There were so many wars and so many deaths during Book of Mormon times. In today's reading, Moroni had just become captain of the Nephite armies when it was discovered that the Lamanites were headed toward the Nephites. So Moroni prepared his army for war.
...and his people were armed with swords, and with cimeters, and all manner of weapons of war...with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing. Now the army of Zerahemnah was not prepared with any such thing; they had only their swords and their cimeters, their bows and their arrows, their stones and their slings; ...But they were not armed with breastplates, nor shields - therefore they were exceedingly afraid of the armies of the Nephites because of their armor, notwithstanding their number being so much greater than the Nephites. (Alma 43:18-21)
So the Lamanite army retreated. But they did not go away. They decided to take a different approach and go around to another city that would be far less fortified. Moroni, however, sent spies to follow the army and find out where they were going. He also sent messengers to ask Alma, as the high priest, to pray to the Lord that they might have guidance and direction in knowing where they needed to be in order to defeat the Lamanite army and protect their cities. God did give them this direction, and they were able to cut off the army before it reached their cities. A great battle ensued, and the Nephite army was once again able to temporarily fend off the Lamanites. The victory was short-lived, and the Lamanite army came at the Nephites again, but with more vengeance than the Nephites had ever before seen.
Now in this case the Lamanites did fight exceedingly; yea, never had the Lamanites been known to fight with such exceedingly great strength and courage, no, not even from the beginning....and many of the Nephites were slain by their hands...(Alma 43:43-44)
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...and it came to pass that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they cried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their freedom from bondage. And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power(Alma 43:48-50).
The scriptures say that the Lamanite army was more than double the size of the Nephite army, yet they were able to surround them and stop the battle for the time being.
As I was trying to decide how I could relate this to my life, it struck me that we are all at constant war. Yes, there are wars in the world right now, in which brave men and women are fighting for their freedoms, but that's not the type of war that came to mind. Each one of us is in a struggle to return home to our Father in Heaven. There are forces all around us, all the time. Just as Moroni prepared his army to meet the Lamanites, we must be prepared to fend off these inbound attacks. And, like Moroni's army, we must always be one step ahead of the adversary. We must have armor when it does not. We must have a strategy. We must fortify all areas of our lives, to prevent it from entering in through a weak spot. One of the most important parallels to this battle, though, is that we must never be comfortable in our own strength. We must not let our guard down at any time. We may be able to temporarily fend off the adversary, as Moroni's armies did, but it will return with a vengeance. And if ever we feel that we just cannot go on, we must also look to the example of Moroni and his men. We must cry "unto the Lord [our] God" for direction and strength and support. And, like Moroni's army, if we consistently rely on Him, we will receive the strength we need to make it through this battle and the next one and the next. With His help, we can conquer all.
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