Life

2 FEB 15

Helaman 1:24 “And supposing that their greatest strength was in the center”

I love how this little bit of information is missed on what ever Intel they had previously gathered. Making weak things strong is an important theme we see in these battles.

How can we apply this lesson to our lives? Well our lives aren’t in physical battle but we are in constant battle with Satan. He seeks to probe our weaknesses and destroy them. The answer is of course to make our weaknesses strengths as the Nephites did. What’s one of the weaknesses I work at? I’m terrible at naturally expressing feelings of love. This is a weakness I have identified before. I expect to say something once and people know that’s just forever. So to counter that I work on expressing my love to my family. In many small ways.

Helaman 2:13-14 “I do not mean the end of the book of Helaman, but I mean the end of the book of Nephi, from which I have taken all the account which I have written.”

You have got to love the ominous foretelling that Mormon puts into the narrative here. Think… Mormon is looking around seeing how his civilization has fallen apart and and lived through his own sort of Apocalypse. He’s looking at this and saying “this is where it all went wrong”. This is where the destruction of the Nephites started.

3 FEB 15

Helaman 3:14-16 “hundredth part”

What a small part of everything do we have from their records. In the surrounding scriptures they talk of cement work and ship building. I wonder what it was all like. The ships would be all rotted away but does the reference to cement really mean cement or does it mean clay or other work?

In Helaman 3:24-28 we see some of the prosperity of the church. Normally when I think of prosperity and the Nephites, I think of the temporal wealth and inevitable pride that comes before the fall in the pride cycle. In this case we are told of a great spiritual prosperity that goes on and the great growth of the church. Maybe the close brush with destruction in the earlier chapter humbled the people and brought them closer to Christ? At any rate, I think it’s also great to hear about the positive things that went on amidst these difficult times. I stopped at verse 28 because I love how it tells us that “we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all”. That sounds like a really pleasant invitation, if we just get up and choose to do what’s needed to walk through the gate.

4 FEB 15

Helaman 5:12 “Rock of our Redeemer”

What is the imagery from this scripture? Rock, Foundation, Mighty Winds, Storm.

I’m imagining a powerful storm beating on a home. Having lived in California I’m remembering images of Malibu and some other hill areas where million dollar homes were built on dirt. Or how most of the bay area is built on silt. In both areas they have had huge damage in storms or earthquakes. It’s a very practical reminder of why building on a strong foundation is important and helps me to remember the importance of a spiritual foundation.

 

Don’t be this guy.

Helaman 5:29, 32-33  “voice as it were above the cloud of darkness”

Voice coming out of the darkness to repent. I would be scared out of my wits. That’s a time to get on your knees and pray for forgiveness.

5 FEB 15

In Helaman 6:21-22 it talks about the secret signs used to distinguish brothers and to help hide their murders and thefts. This made me think of when I was a teen and lived in foster care. Many of the other foster children were in gangs or tagging groups and used signs of their own. They would use these signs to mark territory or to recognize someone from their group, much like the Gadianton robbers.

We still have crime today and gangs are an issue law enforcement is still working on but did you know that violent crime this year dropped from the previous year and that violent crime has dropped to 1963 levels? This has been a continuing trend from the early 1990’s. You wouldn’t realize that from the news. Most people I run into still think things are more dangerous today as opposed to safer. So take hope. If we keep working at opposing evil in the world, we are able to see success.

6 FEB 15

Helaman 7:5 corruption in government and justice

Well at least it’s not just us with corruption today… well that’s still not a good thing. This makes me fear what we potentially have to look forward to. Can this sort of corruption also spell our doom?

Helaman 7:23 “it shall be better for the Lamanites than for you except ye shall repent.”

That’s some more foretelling there. It’s not looking good for the Nephites. Some people say that the book of Mormon paints the Nephites as all good and Lamanites mostly bad but ultimately who did the Lord have survive? Those that were the least evil in the end.

26 JAN 15

After the Holy Order of God by which they were called. (Alma 43:2)

That title is very interesting. It seems very similar to names given to the Melchizedek priesthood in ancient times. I think this is just another indicator of how the Nephites operated under having the Melchizedek priesthood and not limited to just the Aaronic as the Israelites were at this time.

 

Some basic characteristics of Moroni. (Alma 43:16-20)

I forgot how young Captain Moroni was. I always picture him as a man in his 40’s. More seasoned in years but more physically able. I was 25 and a Sergeant/Staff Sergeant during my first deployment in Iraq. While I took on a lot of responsibility I can’t fathom being essentially the Commander in Chief of the military. That would be insane. I also like the mentioning of protective clothing and armor in this section. After returning from Iraq I took my equipment to a few seminaries (by request) and gave a speech on wearing the full Armor of God.

 

“defend their lands and their country their rights and their liberties” (Alma 43:26)

These are some of the honorable reasons to go to war for. I think this gets repeated a few times. It must be important as a principle then.

 

“defend them by stratagem” (Alma 43:30)

I like the use of strategy in these war chapters. While being saved in amazing devine ways is great, also having wisdom given for strategy is a great thing. Having it all work to plan exactly just shows it’s divine. Nothing ever goes to plan like that.

 

“defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion“ (Alma 43:47)

This repetition of words has shown up again. It has to be important and essentially for reasons we would need to shed blood.

 

27 JAN 15

First reference to scalping. (Alma 44:14)

This makes me wonder if this was an event that already took place or if later native americans picked up the tradition later.

 

Alma prophecy? (Alma 44:7,18)

It seems a soldier of Moroni prophesied the Lamanites being decimated. This is an interesting bit from someone that’s not a prophet.

 

This land will be cursed for those that do wickedly. (Alma 45:16)

This is one of those times that I wonder if we are ripening for destruction. Not the church but the nation. It seems value’s are crumbling around us and what’s wicked is valued. How far does this country have to go before it’s considered fully ripened. I remember one seventy in a particularly bad area for missionary work saying that, “if it weren’t for the saints in the area, this city would be destroyed as Sodom and Gomorrah”.  I’m not sure if that seventy had leave of the brethren to say that or it was a personal opinion but it was a sobering moment for us there.

 

The “Title of Liberty”. (Alma 46:12).

The reasons he write on the title of liberty are: freedom of belief and religion, freedom in general, peace and lives of family. Those are all very honorable things to go to war for. It gives us a look into the type of man Captain Moroni was.

 

28 JAN 15

Lamanite second in command takes charge. (Alma 47:17)

This sounds similar to the order of succession that our government has.

 

Raised hand as a token of peace. (Alma 47:23)

This sounds like a variation of a hand salute to me. In the military we were told of the ancient origin of this custom. I could see how it would have divergent paths of becoming a custom.

 

Ancient propaganda. (Alma 48:1)

It’s good to know that propaganda and yellow journalism isn’t something new. Even in ancient times it existed.

 

Made weak strong. (Alma 48:9)

I love how Moroni deployed his largest bodies of troops to his weakest fortifications. That’s some great messing with the Intel that the Lamanites had. In addition we see that the Nephites practiced good OPSEC as the Lamanites didn’t find out about these troop movements.

 

If we look further ahead at (Alma 48:11) we get even more of an insight when we are told that while he was a man of war he “did not delight in bloodshed”. While in the Army most of the people I knew didn’t love bloodshed, there were a few that I ran into that it was a good thing they had that as an outlet. It was a bit disturbing but let’s get back to Captain Moroni, he was a much better example in that area. He was so righteous “that 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). Captain Moroni is one of my heroes. He’s a much better hero than many of the movie stars and athletes that are the heroes of people today. I wish more people would strive to be like him.

 

29 JAN 15

The Ammonites give their covenant. (Alma 53:11)

This was amazing to see the healing that went on with this group of Lamanites and closing the rift with the Nephites.

 

The Ammonite sons (Alma 53:17)

Luckily there was 2,000 young men who had not taken the oath of their parents. The Lord plans ahead in ways we can’t fathom.

 

Moroni did not delight in bloodshed (Alma 55:19)

I’ve met a few soldiers that did. That was pretty disturbing. They enjoyed being on gun trucks in Iraq and “using force by fire” to get cars of the road or destroyed. Most other gunners weren’t so gleeful about doing that duty.

 

In Alma 56 and Alma 57 we read about Helaman and his 2,000 stripling warriors. The story reminds me in small ways of when I have worked with young men and have seen the faith they have acted with at times. They tell us in Alma 56:47 how they had faith in the words of their mothers and if that “if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.” I have seen young men in different times of their lives tell me of experiences when they were in spiritual peril.  They told me that they remembered the what they were taught in their family and how the Lord would help them overcome the obstacle they faced. In small ways I was reminded of the bravery of these young men.

 

I’m also reminded of other young men which were brought up well from their families. In Alma 57:19-21 were are told more about the work ethic and obedience of these young men. When Helaman says “they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness” in reminds me of some young men that I have worked with in the past that also obeyed and performed every duty above and beyond. While many of the young men I have worked with have been the more rebellious sort, I was blessed to see a few who I think that had the same spirit instilled in them as the 2,000 from their families.

 

30 JAN 15

Pahoran gets rebuked by Moroni. (Alma 60:6)

Ouch! these are some harsh words. Moroni will later take these words back but I would not want to be on the receiving end. I am reminded of some of the letters of George Washington to the Continental Congress with this.

 

Teancum (Alma 62:34-36)

We don’t hear too much of Teancum but what we do know is that he is hard core. I like to compare Moroni and Teancum. They were both officers, just with different leadership styles and talents. Moroni had a great deal of charisma and foresight that he used to inspire other leaders. Teancum was the type of officer that would join in the work with his men and not send anyone on a mission he wouldn’t go on. When he made a mission with high chances, there was no one he could send with good conscience except himself. I’d also say Teancum would have also been one of those leaders with several tabs on his shoulder (Special Forces, Ranger, Airborne).

 

 

Hagoth (Alma 63:5-8)

Where did he go? I heard many speculation pieces on it but I finally ran across a reference to confirm. President Joseph F. Smith said, “I would like to say to you brethren and sisters…you are some of Hagoth’s people, and there is NO PERHAPS about it!” (Cole and Jensen, p. 388.)

 

19 JAN 15

Alma remembers the Savior. (Alma 36:17-18)

I have found chiasmus interesting interesting to learn about in the past. I always find it fun to see people’s eyes light up when I tell them about this poetic form in the scriptures. In this case the center of the chiasmus is remembering the Redeemer. I like this Chiasmus in particular because we should also remember to keep the Savior in the center of our lives.

 

Alma forgiven of sins (Alma 36:19-20)

It’s a good reminder that people can turn their lives around any day of the week. Sometimes people have the mistaken belief that they are too far gone. The examples of Alma, Saul/Paul and a few others are good reminders that the hand of the Lord is extended to us all. In the Lords eyes we all need to be saved through accepting the Savior and showing this through repentance and baptism. Church isn’t just a place for people who don’t really need it.

 

20 JAN 15

By small and simple things are great things brought to pass (Alma 37:6)

It’s the small things that we do every day that build who we are, what we represent and what we accomplish. It’s rarely just one big thing.

 

It still seems like a strange word to me “omniscient” but I can’t think of a better way to describe how the Lord foresees the needs of us. In (Alma 37:9) we are told of how Ammon used the words in the brass plates to convince thousands of Lamanites of their incorrect traditions. So if we step back a bit we realize that this had been part of the Lord’s plan for a little over 500 years. The Lord had sent Nephi back for the brass records and then had had Nephi keep two records of the events after that.

 

Then later Alma entrusts the records to Helaman to “preserve for a wise purpose in him, that he may show forth his power unto future generations.” (Alma 37:14) Those future generations of course are referring to those in our time. How many millions of souls have accepted the Gospel since the restoration and these records were part of that. A plan that started over 2,500 years ago. It’s amazing to see how the Lords plan has come to pass over this time.

 

21 JAN 15

Secret oaths and covenants of Jaredites kept out of scriptures. (Alma 37:27)

I think the avoiding of details was to avoid accidentally romanticizing the subject by having more details to draw on. I figure the actual signs and symbols would be similar to the gang signs, colors, ect. we see today. We can even look at modern secret combinations as an example of what they may have been trying to avoid. If you do a quick Google search of “best gangster movies” you will run across multiple lists of movies that make crime look glamorous and interesting. All of these movies are based on modern crime and what could be called secret combinations of people who make oaths to rob and murder. Now imagine if there were more details on the Gadianton robbers or other secret groups. Would their stories have morphed and drew people in to them? I think that may have been the potential worry.

 

Corianton chased after the harlot Isabel. (Alma 39:3)

This is some daytime soap opera material here. So Corianton (the prophets son) is sent on a mission but he fails because he goes after a harlot so infamous that even the prophet knows of her. The church’s reputation is so ruined by Corianton that they are unable to teach there. I can’t imagine a prophet’s son doing that now days but then again I have seen many Bishop’s sons and daughters that have been huge trouble makers. I guess it’s a bit of the pride cycle where the church leader was blessed and the children became prideful and rebellious and fell away. Now that I think about it more the harlot story is familiar in a way. A woman’s home in my mission was banned from contact after she kept trying to get missionaries in bed. I had a single mother try to sit down close to me when we were teaching her nine year old daughter. She had changed into a nice dress before we stopped by which I thought was odd. When she sat down close to me my immediate reaction was to move over a cushion on the couch. My companion (Elder Burns – my trainer) got a good laugh about that later. He said he was proud of his “greenie”. Maybe Corianton should have noticed the temptation and moved over or do whatever he needed to do to avoid that temptation.

 

22 JAN 15

In (Alma 40:23) we are told that the “soul shall be restored to the body” and that “every limb and joint” will be restored to the body. I often wonder how that will appear for people that I know that have lost limbs. I imagine that will be a joyful experience for them. It goes on to say that “all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame”. (Emphasis mine.) I have often wondered what the perfect frame will look like. If we looked to the world for the example of what that would look like, I think we would have a vision of people mostly in impossible proportions and looking like they have been photoshopped heavily. I also wonder at what age people will appear. Really the details don’t matter. I’m just glad for the gift of restoring limbs, eyesight and removing malady’s from body’s in the resurrection. I can imagine that when I am older I will be glad for the removal of just the pains of regular aging. I talked about this with another student in class and he described how he would love to sit down with a genetic engineer to iron out the details. Which brought up another thought of how many of those details will matter to us? It’s all really insignificant in the eternities. Maybe we will have different concepts of beauty then. Maybe our current bodies in good health will good enough or maybe we will all look like super models… who knows. Copy/Pasting some of those conversations here because I will keep this journal but those conversations disappear at the end of the semester.

 

23 JAN 15

Restored from good to good and evil to evil. (Alma 41:4-5)

There is a certain symmetry to the principle described in this scripture. Evil cannot be restored to good if it was not good in the first place. The restoration isn’t a fresh start, it’s restoring us each to the same way we were before death.

 

Wickedness never was happiness. (Alma 41:10)

This ends up being a continuation of the scripture I was speaking of before. We cannot be restored to a different state than what we were previously. It would both upset the bounds of justice and not be the best thing for us. I like to describe to people the judgment. as us being the worst judges of ourselves. We will know the state of our souls and like a guilty child we will either be able to be in the presence of our Father without shame or we will not.

 

Atonement had to be made for mercy to appease justice. (Alma 42:15)

This is another scripture of symmetry and balance. To balance the scales of justice someone had to pay and there is only one person capable of that. I am grateful for the savior and his sacrifice.

12 JAN 15

All things denote there is a God. (Alma 30:44)

Every time I get out and have a chance to see the night sky outside of a city I think of this scripture. One of my missionary companions drew a very nice picture inspired by this scripture. I’m going to attach it to this journal entry to share with my instructor. The picture features the Denver Temple with the World as globe (the earth), the sun and the savior as part of the clouds bringing our minds to him.

Korihor came to believe his own lies. (Alma 30:53)

As I was reading Alma 30:53 I was struck by the confession of Korihor and the change he went through. I was thinking to myself of what type of experience it would be to have an “angel” appear and tell him the things that the devil told him. Deep down he must have known what he was saying were lies. He didn’t say he believed the words until he had so much success. It’s like a modern day scam artist starting to believe his con after selling it for a while.

13 JAN 15

We can worship in places other than houses of worship and more than once a week. (Alma 32:10-11)

When reading this scripture I thought of all the interesting places I worshipped while deployed. We used old building of Saddam Hussein, tents and  steel warehouse buildings. If we waited for a nice church building I would have never had sacrament. It was also interesting to have times when we blessed crackers, tortillas or “bread” from MRE’s for the sacrament. This scripture reminds me to open to worshiping in many unconventional locations and to also remember to worship in the home.

It is better to be humble without being humbled. (Alma 32:16)

Alma first describes those who are humbled by circumstances in the world. He then goes on to describe those who “humble themselves because of the word” (Alma 32:14). I think the second group are those who find the Gospel and choose to be humble due the Holy Ghost and Gospel teachings.

If you have proof, you can’t have faith. (Alma 32:18,21)

People seem to want to try to say the Gospel isn’t true due to a lack of evidence. While there is some supporting evidence, it really all comes down to faith. The Lord isn’t going to take away everyones opportunity to have faith in something.

14 JAN 15

The words of the Lord are given to men, women and children. (Alma 32:23)

As I was reading the assignment this week I came across Alma 32:23 and it made me think of how much more this scripture means to me now. I previously had marked this many years ago but that was before I was a father. I have a three year old son and we have been blessed with how well he has taken to praying and his love to pray with us. We started by including him in prayers pretty early and we have had prayers over meals and family prayers every night. The things he picks up and remembers to pray for astound me sometimes. As I read the scripture and it said that “little children do have many words given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the learned” I thought of my sons words and how confounding it is that he can pick up when a family member needs to be remembered in a prayer. I know that each of us may receive promptings and revelation like this, even little children.

15 JAN 15

Pray in all places and all times. (Alma 34:17-27)

In Alma 34:17-27 Amulek is given an opportunity to testify to us. Midway in his words he exhorts us to pray. Not only does he tell us to pray but he goes into detail of many times and places to pray both publicly and on our own. As he went into detail of some of the various places to pray, I thought of some of the stranger places I took the opportunity to pray. One regular opportunity was while I was deployed in Iraq. My Detachment Sergeant often had to have me help him with things and he was not very good at some of the job. It was pretty frustrating to clean up some of the messes he made. When ever I became too overwhelmed with things, I would take a quick break by jumping in my Humvee and reading a scripture from my pocket Book of Mormon and saying a prayer. While the vehicle was hot and dusty and the time taken was only a few minutes, I always felt more peaceful afterwards. It gave me the peace I needed to carry on. I know that if we pray for assistance, we will receive it no matter where we are.

16 JAN 15

The Zoramites stir up the Lamanites and prepare for war against the people of Ammon. (Alma 35:10-11)

This makes me think of this as a historical parallel to some things in the Church’s past. During the 1850’s there was the Utah war which was brought about by anti-Mormon groups and the false testimony of those opposed to the Church. I can’t help to see this as a warning to the Saints. Could this be applied to us today? A literal war would be very unlikely but there are wars that go on in public debate and the courts that concern the Church. I think it would be still wise to watch for those that would stir up the forces of the devil against the Saints.