A long time ago, there was a (goodly) guy who was probably really busy just like us, and I imagine that he had a lot of things on his plate.  He was a father, which means he had a family to support – which also means he had a job, he had a place in the community, and he cared about other people.  In his city (Jerusalem), there happened to come “many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed”.¹ This threat of destruction and the need for repentance from these prophets had stirred up some strong feelings of love and action from this man, so immediately – and on top of everything else that he already had on his plate – he started praying “even with all his heart, in behalf of his people.” As he prayed “there came a pillar of fire… and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly.”²

Perhaps “these things” which Lehi saw included the impending destruction of Jerusalem, the city he loved, or the upcoming trials that would test his family.  Perhaps it was a glimpse of the additional responsibilities the Lord had in mind for him as a prophet/leader (in addition to his current load).  Perhaps it was a detailed account of his children and their future rebellion, or maybe even a glimpse at his own associates soon trying to kill him.  Any way you slice it, we can rest assured that what he did see and hear, wasn’t just all the amazing blessings that were headed his way, because (these things he saw) caused him to “quake and tremble exceedingly.”

What happens next gives us a great phrase into Lehi’s state of mind.  It also helps us understand a pattern that occurs pretty frequently in the scriptures, which means we should pay attention.  The record reads: “And it came to pass that he returned to his own house… and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.”³ The next verse starts out “And being thus overcome” reminding us that what happens is actually during his state of being overcome.  One synonym or definition for overcome is to overwhelm.  Lehi felt overwhelmed at his responsibility and his immediate future. How many of us can relate to that?  How many mothers see and hear ‘these things’ that don’t ever stop that are just a part of motherhood and feel a bit overwhelmed?  How many fathers are overwhelmed at the exact same thing?   Life can often be overwhelming.

Well, the good news, that’s not where the story ends, because the pattern shows us what great things can happen when we find ourselves “being thus overcome”.

Lehi, being thus overcome, was carried away in a vision, where he saw the heavens, God, and numberless angels so that his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled⁴ – in other words, the Lord somehow replaced Lehi’s quaking and trembling with joy and love and peace.

Note that Lehi’s vision didn’t change what the Lord was going to ask Lehi to do, nor did it change his present or future responsibilities –  all it changed was Lehi’s perception and motivation – because after this experience, Lehi had the strength and courage to go forward and prophesy to the people, and to declare “concerning the things which he had both seen and heard.”⁵

For the past 11 months or so, there has been a particularly stressful situation involving my work life.  And those of us who happen to be like Lehi, and who are charged with the heavy responsibility to “preside over [our] families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for [them]”⁶ understand how work, and everything that comes with the word “work” happens to be a large portion of our lives (every day, every week, all year long) and can affect our feelings – not to mention that it’s our “work” that pays for and supports everything else (house, cars, food, family life, etc.) we enjoy.  It’s sort of a big deal.

This particular issue started out as a typically small/normal problem to solve, but over the past year it has grown to become a potentially catastrophic one. It has brought me to the same point as Lehi – where I can honestly say that I have seen and heard much; and because of the things which I have seen and heard I am beginning to quake and tremble exceedingly.  I don’t know if I’ve cast myself upon my bed quite yet, and thrown in the towel, but I do happen to find myself sympathizing with and relating to Lehi and his state of being ‘overcome’ more and more as this situation drags on and on and on.  I also find myself wishing that this particular trial/struggle had not come to me at all.  I would eagerly pass it on to someone else.

The past two weeks have been particularly bad, to the point where I have been battling to find a proper balance in my various responsibilities (husband, father, church calling, work) and honestly, it’s been a battle even gathering my thoughts to focus on the things that I want to focus on (rather than this glaring problem dominating my thoughts and being a continuous distraction all day and night) while attempting to still make time to actually do real “work” or to work off some stress (that’s code for train/work out or relax with the family), which ironically adds stress in the event I miss scheduled time off or fail to completely give all my attention to the things that matter most.

All of this brings me to a hope that by somehow recognizing this pattern, and where I currently find myself in this pattern, I can and will be able to see or experience something great and enlightening (like Lehi) while or since or because I am “thus overcome”.  I also realize that there is a possibility that it may be two more years before I am fully ‘overcome’ or that this situation is resolved (if ever) which is frightening and sobering at the same time.  Yet, this passage also highlights the simple, yet incredibly difficult way to work through this type of burden.  Lehi, and later his son, teach us that when the going gets tough, we should just start praying fervently for other people – and then acting on those prayers to actually help them.  This for me the past several months has been easier to preach and much harder to practice.

This passage helps me remember that I have often been missing this key component to Lehi’s successfully being shown great things while he was “overcome”.  That by forgetting (or not worrying about) my own problems in order to help someone else with theirs – I will actually solve my own problems.  It’s the same way the Savior approached his monumental task in the garden of Gethsemane.

It is also probable that until I learn how to do that, I won’t be able to see clearly that all along the way there have been repeated moments of joy, “to the point where my soul did rejoice, and my whole heart was filled” – just like Lehi’s – and that I don’t need to continue waiting until some imaginary end of this trial to be happy.

So here I am, writing this to myself as a reminder to be like Lehi, who was being like Jesus.

Notes

¹ 1 Ne. 1:4

² 1 Ne. 1:6

³ 1 Ne. 1:7

⁴ 1 Ne. 1:8-15

⁵ 1 Ne. 1:18

⁶ The Family: A Proclamation to the World (p7)

Recently, the CES (Church Educational System) outlined a new approach to help its students learn how to recognize, understand, and apply gospel principles in their lives.  It’s called Doctrinal Mastery.  It is a supplement to the previous Scripture Mastery program that we had as curriculum back in the 90’s.  Instead of just memorizing scriptures (which is still an excellent idea by the way), the CES is helping and teaching and encouraging the students to learn how to search for and answer their own questions.  I encourage everyone to go here and read all of the material available (but especially the talk by Elder Ballard, Chad Webb, and the 2016 annual  broadcast), because it is outstanding information and is well worth your dedicated and repeated study time (not to mention how great it would be for FHE and/or other family discussions).

In case you don’t follow the link above right away and hope that I will recap some of the main points, below is an overview:

Principles

• Students acquire spiritual knowledge and are better prepared to respond to questions as they follow the principles and patterns that Heavenly Father has established for us to learn and understand truth.
• Students will deepen their conversion and commitment to Jesus Christ, be protected against the influences of the adversary, and be better prepared to bless the lives of others as they come to understand, believe, and live according to the Savior’s doctrine.

Desired Outcomes

Learning and applying divine principles for acquiring spiritual knowledge and responding to questions by

1. Acting in faith
2. Examining concepts and questions with an eternal perspective
3. Seeking further understanding through divinely appointed sources

Each one of these three desired outcomes is outlined in great detail in the various talks/devotionals/messages that are available through the link above, and each one of them is worth spending hours reading/learning about, but for the purpose of this particular message, I want us to understand number 2 – Examining concepts and questions with an eternal perspective.

An eternal perspective means not limiting our questions or our concerns or our doubts to our own little tiny 20^th century timeframe, nor to our little tiny understanding of a particular principle/application.  Part of examining concepts in this eternal perspective is the acknowledgement that opposition and temptation have been around since the very beginning of what we call time, and the understanding that we certainly are not the first ones to struggle or deal with a particular issue – no matter what it is.  Even if our pride thinks it is.  We need to understand that the scriptures (the divinely appointed sources referenced in item 3 above) are in fact a compilation of scenarios, situations, stories, that produced the entire gamut of burning questions and riveting answers – all recorded by righteous individuals with the express intent of being available for us to “examine concepts and questions with an eternal perspective”.

Maybe the next time we have a doubt, or a serious question, or something that makes us ‘wrestle’ with the Lord – no matter what it is – let’s ask ourselves a guiding question that will start our search for answers on the right path: “Has someone already asked this question before”?  “Has someone in the history of recorded time struggled with an issue similar to this”?  Has someone then “acted in faith” and “sought further understanding through divinely appointed sources” and received an answer – and then recorded that answer”? In most cases the answer is yes.  As a note, that’s what the scriptures are – the most true and correct FAQ document the world has ever seen.

A “yes” answer to the questions above places some of the question finding responsibility on our shoulders because I doubt the Lord loves when we ask a question that he has already answered – especially when that answer has been asked, answered, and then recorded in the scriptures.  After all, most successful companies refer you to the FAQ section before they connect you with a representative right?  Right.

To help us understand exactly what and how awesome the scriptures really are – which will in turn help us really feel the possibilities that it holds for us – let’s think of some of the times that angels have come down from heaven to visit the earth to deliver a particular message – or when a beloved prophet is sent to do the same.  Moroni comes to Joseph Smith and quotes some scriptures.  Abinidi gets sent to King Noah and ends up quoting/reading scriptures (Isaiah).  Christ himself (not to mention Nephi, Jacob, and many other prophets who wrote in the Book of Mormon) comes down to minister among the Nephites and spends a whole lot of time reading and expounding the scriptures.  Talk about answering questions – maybe he was making sure they really did have all the scriptures, so that when they recorded the Book of Mormon, it would ensure that we really do have the full set of FAQ.

There is a scripture passage that helps us solidify how we should approach and deal with any questions that we may have surrounding the gospel.  The setting is approx. 29-23 BC and the Lamanites are the good guys and the Nephites happen to be the bad guys.  At this time, there was an especially bad group (secret band of robbers) who were led and named after their especially bad leader Gadianton.  It’s found in Helaman 6:37-39:  So, when we read this passage, and understand how these two groups dealt with the robbers, we can understand and liken it to the two options we have when questions or doubts arise in our hearts – because the doubts we have about the gospel are in fact, the robbers of Gadianton.

The Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was utterly destroyed from among the Lamanites.

And it came to pass on the other hand, that the Nephites did build them up and support them, beginning at the more wicked part of them, until they had overspread all the land of the Nephites, and had seduced the more part of the righteous until they had come down to believe in their works and partake of their spoils, and to join with them in their secret murders and combinations.

And thus they did obtain the sole management of the government, insomuch that they did trample under their feet and smite and rend and turn their backs upon the poor and the meek, and the humble followers of God.

The Lamanites preached the word of God among their doubts and questions, until they were utterly destroyed.¹  I expect this preaching of the word of God (pure, scripture truth) was not a one-time sermon, but more of a repeated, continual effort that took place over time.

On the other hand, the Nephites did build them up, and support their doubts until they had overspread all the land, seduced the more part of them, until they had come down to believe in their works and partake of their spoils, and to join with them.  If we build up and support our doubts, it won’t be long until they overtake all our land, and we will come down to believe in their works, and partake of their spoils (please notice how enjoying fruit is the end goal of Lehi’s dream, Jacob 5, and Alma 32, yet spoils are the result of Gadiantons plundering and Satan’s offering to us).  Worse yet, if we to continue to build them up, these doubts will have “sole management of the government” – and they will drive away all faith, hope, and love until we become cynical, bitter, and then we trample under our feet all of the things we once loved.

Notes

¹ Questions are good – critical even.  They lead to answers.  They lead us to and through the process of becoming a seeker of truth and a seeker of answers.  So much of our history (both ancient and modern) is the result of diligent searching for answers.

In the NBA these days, there are a lot of superstars – but there are 2 MEGA superstars.  LeBron James and Steph Curry.  In the last 2-3 years there has been an increased surge of popularity and support (love and fandom) for Steph Curry.  There are some who have attributed this increased love to his “normal” physical stature (6’3” 190 soaking wet) – which happens to be much more in common with the average Joe basketball player/fan than that of LeBron James (listed at 6’ 8” 250).  For most people, they can try and be like Steph Curry through practice and training (launching 3’s and dancing as the little guy), but being built like LeBron and running like LeBron, and dunking like LeBron seem out of the realm of possibility no matter how hard we work (I can’t train myself to grow taller).  Somehow, we can all relate a bit more to Steph Curry and his ‘underdog-ishness’.¹  At the same time, we may even dissociate ourselves from comparing ourselves to the skill set or talent of LeBron James by thinking that we’ll never be as buff/ripped/tall/muscular as him, so we shouldn’t even try.

There may be a similar thing that happens sometimes in the scriptures.  Whether we mean to or not, we sometimes attribute LeBron James status to our scripture heroes, and therefore think that we can’t relate ourselves or our lives or our situations to theirs because they were just way to righteous or way to buff or way to obedient or way to faithful to be ‘the average joe’.  One (very popular) story in particular happens to be the story of the 2,000 stripling warriors.  Most of the paintings/images of these guys could easily be mistaken for a WWE roll call or an ‘ultimate warrior’ look alike contest.  A guy in my ward yesterday even said that “based on those photos, every single stripling warrior benched at least 500 lbs.” Here’s a little taste of what I’m talking about:

Now, to be fair, some of these guys could have been totally ripped.  Some of them might have looked like they were 35, but if we really want to ‘liken the scriptures unto us’ we need to understand that these stripling warriors probably looked a bit more ‘real life’ than that.  Some of them probably had some had acne and awkward teenage hairstyles. Some of them were probably as skinny as a rail, and most of them had been purposely been developing their talents off of the battlefield.  These guys probably looked a lot like the 12-18-year-old Aaronic priesthood holders that you and I see every week in church.  You know, the scrawny deacons who pass the sacrament, the slightly beefier teachers with cracking voices who prepare it, and the maybe not so burly/muscular, just getting some man-like facial hair priests who bless it.  They probably look a bit more Steph-ish than LeBron-ish right?  Most of the ones I know certainly do.

It’s worth noting here that the definition and word origin (history) for the word ‘stripling’ includes “a youth” and is possibly from the noun ‘strip’, meaning ‘long, narrow piece’ on the notion of ‘one who is slender as a strip, whose figure is not yet filled out’.² Not quite the description of the rock (Dwayne Johnson) is it?  Helaman himself calls them his ‘little’ army twice (Alma 56:19, 56:33), and his ‘little’ band twice more (Alma 57:6, 57:19).

With that in mind, let’s review some of the important things that happen throughout this entire story that are critical to helping our youth today understand and relate this amazing story to their own lives (hint: this story just might be even more important for the parents of youth to understand), because the story of the stripling warriors is pretty much the story of our youth today.

Background/Context (Alma 53): Before we even get to the great details, there are some parallels that we need to understand.  In the 2 verses that precede the introduction of this story about the ‘sons of the people of Ammon’ we learn that the Lamanites have ‘gained some ground’ over the Nephites and have ‘obtained possession of a number of their cities placing the Nephites in ‘the most dangerous circumstances’.  And, the cause of this loss (listed in both verse 8 and 9 so we don’t miss it) is ‘intrigue and dissensions’ among the Nephites.  Not an outside force, but internal intrigue and dissensions.

Intrigue:

1. Arouse the curiosity or interest of; fascinate
2. Make secret plans to do something illicit or detrimental to someone

Dissension:

1. Disagreement that leads to discord
2. Difference in opinion

These youth were growing up in a world that was filled with intrigue (curiosity, fascination, and interest with secret plans, detrimental and/or illicit things, which led to disagreements, and then subsequent dissensions (differences of opinion which led to discord and battle).  That sounds pretty much exactly like the world we live in today.  There is no shortage of intrigue, and no shortage of discord based on opinions, rights, demonstrations, initiatives, programs, litigations, demands, etc. These circumstances placed the Nephites in ‘the most dangerous circumstances’ just like we find ourselves in today.  How many times have we heard that these latter days are the ‘most dangerous circumstances’?

Things set in motion:  I’ve written here concerning Antipus and his awesomeness, but for this post, I will just highlight two things.  Alma 56:10 indicates that the army of Antipus had been reduced by the Lamanites (slain in battle), which caused him to mourn.  How many leaders of the church are mourning because we are losing members of our armies?  Lots.  Some of them are being slain by the enemy, and some of them are being lost due to intrigue and dissensions.  This reduction of our forces gives us all ‘cause to mourn’.  Yet, when this army of Helaman arrives, Antipus ‘did rejoice exceedingly’.  I can imagine that he was happy to see additional warriors, but I’m guessing he was happier about seeing (and hearing) who they were and the reasons why they were there.  Alma 56:16 indicates that this ‘little’ force which Helaman brought to Antipus, gave them (his army) ‘great hopes and much joy’.  I don’t think Helaman put that into his letter to Moroni by accident (because it’s in there twice – verse 10 and 16).  I think Helaman (and later Moroni when he was abridging the record) realized by the spirit how important this story would be for the youth in the latter days, AND how important this story would be for the adults in the latter days.

One of the main reasons the stripling warriors were so important, is because of the effect they had on the adult leaders.  Antipus, Helaman, Moroni, the other unnamed leaders, and their parents all were able to somehow find additional strength, motivation, and were filled with this same ‘great hopes and much joy’ because of what these young warriors did.  The youth of this story turn out to be the catalyst for the Nephite victory.  As soon as this story is told in the Book of Mormon, the tide starts to turn.  The Nephites were losing ground, smothered in dissension and intrigue until a little band of Aaronic priesthood aged youth reminded everyone what was the most important.  They instilled love, faith, obedience, and fire back into the Nephite army.  They were beloved by everyone (see Alma 57:25), not just Helaman.

 Obey and observe with exactness:  Since we are drawing parallels to real life, let’s not forget that the record indicates that these young men ‘did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness’ (Alma 57:21).  Here we come to maybe the most amazing part of this story, and one where the LeBron James effect can come into play – so let’s think about it for a minute.  Do we honestly think that they were born with the perfect obedience gene?  Maybe they developed the gift of the spirit called observing with exactness, but I doubt it.  I think that these young men were exactly like the young men I know.

For example – let’s just say that Helaman heads home after the battle with the Lamanites in which they acted as decoy, turned around and then overtook the Lamanites and were miraculously saved.  He sees some of the mothers of these young boys during Sunday school and he relates this story of battle to them – and while he does he includes the words ‘they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness’.  How do you suppose their mothers responded to Helaman?  They probably thought in their minds of the many times when their sons did NOT ‘obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness’ at home (like when they asked these boys to clean their rooms, take out the trash, unload the dishwasher, do their homework, and any of the hundred other normal tasks mothers ask their sons to do).  Isn’t that what you and I do when their youth leaders tell us how amazing our kids are?  These amazing mothers may have even thought to themselves, I wish Helaman could come over to my place sometime and watch my son ‘obey with exactness’.  He doesn’t know the real story….  Just this morning I had to ask my son 3 times to pick up his bow and arrow which he always leaves laying around.

Two real life examples that I witnessed just this week that help me believe this is true.

1. A young man in our ward happens to be leaving for college this weekend. He has caused his mother a fair amount of grief over the years (I know this because both he and she have disclosed this fact).  I have watched him in the priest’s quorum for the last year and happens to be one of the young men that I know I can count on.  In fact, I once asked him to sing in a combined youth meeting knowing full well he couldn’t sing (and didn’t want to) – but I asked him because I knew he would say yes (he did).  If you asked me if he ‘obeys and observes to perform every word with exactness’ I would say ‘absolutely’.
2. Due to the labor day weekend this past Sunday, our deacon turnout for fast offerings was much less than normal. We needed help from the teachers and priests.  Even though it is not their ‘normal’ fast Sunday duty, we asked them for their help (by sending out texts/calls).  About 20 minutes later, I answered the door at my home to see a priest and an almost priest gathering fast offerings.  Further, the almost priest actually apologized for being late.  Are they stripling warriors?  Yes, indeed.  Do they obey and observe to perform every word with exactness?  Yes, again.   Was there some encouragement from their mothers/fathers?   Of course.

Now, I’m not Helaman, and I’m not Moroni, and I’m not Antipus.   But I can promise that the same ‘great hopes and joy’ that they felt when this little army came to the fight is real and the leaders of our youth today feel it.  It is a love that has been around since the beginning – and it is a love that is accompanied by the spirit.

The enemy we face today is just as frightening and just as scary as the Lamanite armies the stripling warriors battled long ago.  But our youth are just as prepared and are just as important to our forces today as they were to theirs in the past.  They are taught by their mothers in the exact same way – repetition, encouragement, patience, and love.  Even when their mothers may not see the results of that firmness of mind and exactness at home every day – rest assured that others do, and they are filled with ‘great hopes and joy’ when they see it – And wise leaders recognize that these young boys and girls of today can and will turn the tide in the last and great battle just like they did before.  The youth of the church will be a catalyst for increased devotion, increased love, increased faithfulness, and increased effort from their adult leaders who are reminded of the reason we are fighting the battle in the first place.

Hopefully we (as old people), can understand that the past can teach us the future, and the series of events as it’s laid out in Alma can be repeated as our youth realize that they are exactly like the stripling warriors were. Normal, everyday young men and women who are consistent, faithful, and true.

Notes

¹ Yes, this is a made up word.  And, I realize that he isn’t really an underdog playing for the Warriors, but the idea is that he is not the physical specimen that many other NBA athletes are, and he looks like a normal dude.

² Dictionary.com/stripling

³ It’s probably a miracle all on it’s own that these young men were able to stay ahead of the Lamanite armies long enough for Antipus to even catch up.

 Additional questions to consider:

• Do you think Antipus would have run himself and his other leaders to death trying to catch the enemy if they thought these youngters could actually fight off the Lamanites?
• Do you think Helaman would have frantically searched through the numbers of wounded soldiers as soon as the battle was over to count how many of his little army had perished if they all had strength like the Hulk?
• Do you think they would have written how ‘miraculous’ it was that they all survived if they were physically built for battle?
• Do you think Helaman would have been so inspired by their ‘so great courage’ if they were at least a physical match for the Lamanites?

This photo may be a bit more ‘real life’ even though its a cartoon.

Ornament (noun)

1. An accessory, article, or detail used to beautify the appearance of something to which it is added, or of which it is a part;

 Jewel (noun)

1. A fashioned ornament for personal adornment
2. A precious possession
3. A person or thing that is treasured, esteemed, or indispensable

For the majority of my childhood and early adult years – until she passed away a few years ago – my sweet grandmother would give each of her grandchildren a Christmas ornament every single year as a gift.  She would write our name and the year somewhere on the ornament so that we knew when it was given to us (and probably so it wouldn’t get confused with the other siblings’ ornaments).  Sometimes these ornaments were similar in style or theme, but mostly the ornaments were all very different.  Each year at Christmas time, us children would gather our own ornaments from the Christmas box and decorate the tree.  This process led to our Christmas tree being completely non-uniform and definitely not color or style coordinated.  Between the 8 children (and the many years of life) there were nutcrackers, trumpets, stuffed bears, snow globes, trains, stars, and just about every other thing you could think of all adorning the Christmas tree at the same time.  To an uninformed mind, this could have looked a bit cluttered or even lazy – yet now, after many years, I am beginning to understand what it really meant.

I imagine my grandmother spending a significant part of her year, during every shopping trip, thinking about and wondering what type or style of ornament she could get for me.  Then I imagine her spending that same amount of time thinking about each of her grandchildren, and the hope that she had that someday they would appreciate and love the gifts that she gave.  Writing our individual names on the ornaments, wrapping them one by one with care, and then making the trip to our home where she would present us with the gifts that we each knew was coming.  Oh how I wish she could do it again – I would appreciate it much more now.

I like to think that grandma remembers each of these ornaments, every single one, and finds great joy, even now, knowing that each year, her grandchildren pull them out of the Christmas box, see their name written in her unmistakable cursive, and remember her.  We remember her love, we remember her life, and we miss her.  Then we place them on our own Christmas trees in order to “beautify the appearance of [the tree] to which it is added.”   Once the ornaments are placed on the tree, they naturally become a part of the tree, and we all know instinctively that the tree and the ornament belong together, because a tree without ornaments just isn’t a Christmas tree.

The thought of putting on jewels is similar – especially as it relates to a bride.  Think of the intense process that a bride goes through on her wedding day to prepare and adorn herself to make sure that everything is perfect, that her beauty is maximized, and that everyone involved will remember the day and the memories.  The planning, the preparation, the invitations, the anxiety, and the precious jewels used to highlight and amplify the beauty of the bride.  Those jewels become a part of the bride and a part of the celebration and a part of the memories.

In life, we tend to get a bit down on ourselves, especially when we’ve made mistakes or fall short of the perfection we are trying for.  One failure can turn into two or three failures, and suddenly there is a bit of a momentous slide and we find ourselves in despair or wondering to ourselves if the Lord even notices, cares, or wants us at all.  But, the good news is that he does, and he doesn’t just want us – he needs us – because we ‘beautify’ him.

“Lift up thine eyes round about and behold; all these gather themselves together, and they shall come to thee.  And as I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on even as a bride.”¹

He is like the Christmas tree and we are the ornaments that he uses “to beautify” his appearance.  We are what he permanently ‘binds’ to himself as decoration.  And just like in our house growing up, he doesn’t want any ornaments left in the box – he wants to put them all² on the tree.  No matter how many, no matter how different, and no matter what style or shape, he wants to “clothe [himself] with them all.”  And just like my grandmother, I know that the savior remembers each ornament, when he engraved³ their name, and he finds absolute joy in the process of putting that ornament on his tree.

But, this is not just for Christmas time – this is for all the times.  And just in case you thought I was kidding about how much the Lord loves us – lets appeal to Isaiah (who is never wrong): “my soul shall be joyful in by God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robes of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”⁴

Notes

¹ 1 Ne. 21:18

² As an interesting side note, reflect on how much our children love the process of decorating the tree.  How is their love and attitude towards the tree different than ours.  We may want it to look something like Lord Business wanted his Lego world to look, and our kids are more like the master builders who are creative and inclusive.  We can learn much wisdom from them.

³ Alma 5:19

⁴ Isa. 61:10

Earlier this year, I wrote about our children being plates, and our duty as parents to ‘labor diligently’ to engrave the important teachings upon them. Since then, I have noticed a few other situations in which we can substitute our role as parents (that includes teachers, leaders, and adults in general) into the stories and characters of the Book of Mormon to make them come alive.  In this case, I would like to use one of the most famous letters written in the entire record, and read it as if it was written directly to you (or us, since I am including myself in this audience).

Background for the Book of Mormon story: The year is approx. 62 BC (a.k.a the 30^th year of the reign of the judges) and the Nephites have been battling the Lamanites since Amalickiah dissented and joined the Lamanites and stirred them up to anger which started this monstrous war way back in the 19^th year of the reign of the judges.  That means that at this point, these two nations have been battling for over 11 years.  The Nephites had just regained several cities on the heels of the miraculous story of the strippling warriors, and yet, in a time when the Nephites should have really finished the Lamanites off and ended the war, the people of Nephihah are driven out by the Lamanites, and both Helaman and Moroni noticed (and are astonished) that the provisions, troops, and support that should have been sent out (that Moroni had assumed had been sent to Nephihah) to each of their respective armies (from their homeland Zarahemla) are much less than what they should be.  This leads Moroni (as it did Helaman and his other chief captains) to become “exceedingly sorrowful, and they “began to doubt” if the Nephites would be victorious.

Now let’s pause to understand that Nephi did not doubt the Lord, not one bit.  What he did doubt was the righteousness of the people, citizens, and leaders in the entire Nephite nation.  He knew 100% that victory can only come with righteousness.  He also knew that any Lamanite success was directly related to to the wickedness of his own people (Alma 59:11-13).  This situation made Moroni angry – leading him to write a letter to the guy in charge – Pahoran, and that is where we find ourselves in this story.

Background for how that story can relate to our lives:  The year is 2016, and the battle between good and evil has been raging on for pretty much as long as there has been people.  There have been many successes by good, yet evil keeps taking over cities which we assumed were in safe hands, and it keeps invading families, communities, and our children’s schools that we also assumed were guarded, protected, and safe.  This evil has made its way into our homes through various types of media and ‘entertainment’. We could say that evil is gaining the upper hand and people have been forced to flee Nephihah on their way to ‘complain’ to Moroni.  So, Moroni writes us (the guys in charge of our children) a letter (found in Alma chapter 60).  Let’s assume that Moroni is a representative of the youth of the church.  Someone who is knee deep in the battles that our young people face in the world today – and is aware of their condition.

1 … Behold, I direct mine epistle to (insert name) …and also to all those who have been chosen by this people to govern and manage the affairs of this war.

As parents, we were chosen to govern and manage the affairs of this war (between good and evil) and the troops who are fighting in that battle.

2 … Ye have been appointed to gather together men, and arm them with swords, and with cimeters, and all manner of weapons of war of every kind, and send them forth against the Lamanites.

As parents, are we ‘arming’ our children with ‘all manner of weapons of war’?  Because the enemy is.

3 … The troops (our children, their friends, the young people of the church) have suffered exceedingly great sufferings; yea, even [spiritual] hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and all manner of afflictions of every kind.

5 … Great has been the slaughter among our people; yea, thousands have fallen by the sword, while it might have otherwise been if ye had rendered unto our armies sufficient strength and succor for them.  Yea, great has been your neglect towards us.

Could these verses be any more true about our youth today?

7 Can you think to sit upon your [couches] in a state of thoughtless stupor, while your enemies are spreading the work of death around you?

Are media and other forms of ‘entertainment’ literally blinding us into a ‘thoughtless stupor’ related to the war that is happening all around us?  Worse yet, are we allowing the enemy to slip right by us while it is ‘entertaining’ us?

8 They who have looked up to you for protection, yea, have placed you in a situation that ye might have succored them…to have strengthened them…

Who better than parents are ‘in a situation’ (i.e. responsibility) to succor and strengthen our children?

21 Do ye suppose that the Lord will still deliver us, while we sit upon our [couches] and do not make use of the means which the Lord has provided for us?

I hope we don’t expect the school teachers and/or church leaders to ‘deliver’ or ‘teach’ our children for us…..

22 Yea, will ye sit in idleness while ye are surrounded with thousands of those, yea, tens of thousands who do also sit in idleness, while there are thousands round about… who are falling by the sword, yea, [spiritually] wounded and bleeding?

The image of America sitting on the couch watching TV while Satan and his evil army are attacking, wounding, and killing our youth is a sad reality of this world.

24 Now, repent of that which ye have done (or not done), and begin to be up and doing, and send forth [spiritual] food and men unto us…

25 Show unto me a true spirit of freedom, and strive to strengthen and fortify our armies

27 If there be any among you that has a desire for freedom, yea, if there be even a spark of freedom remaining…

29 Behold it is time, yea, the time is now at hand…

34 Adhere to the word of God and send speedily unto [us] of your provisions…

Moroni is literally pleading with all of us to ‘make use of the means which the Lord has provided for us’.  We are the ones who have been placed in the situation as leaders, teachers, and parents of the youth who are so critical to this war in the latter days.  We cannot fail them by withholding our support or our provisions.  We cannot sit idly by as they are relentlessly attacked, wounded or killed and we cannot allow our homes to become compromised and/or overtaken like Nephihah.  We must maintain our fortifications and our protections.

We must govern and manage the affairs of this war.  Don’t let the enemy dictate what we do.    We must help our children understand that they are in a war – a real war.  We cannot be naïve.  We cannot downplay the enemy nor his intentions because we – all of us – have been appointed ‘to gather together our [children], and arm them with swords, and with cimeters, and all manner of weapons of war of every kind, and send them forth against the Lamanites’.

Let’s not just send them forth.  Let’s work diligently to arm them with all manner of weapons of war, and then – we can send them forth to win.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve known and sung the words to the children’s song Follow the Prophet.  It is a catchy little tune and each verse ends with:

Follow the prophet, follow the prophet, follow the prophet; don’t go astray.

Follow the prophet, follow the prophet, follow the prophet; he knows the way.¹

For basically my whole life I thought ‘the way’ meant the direction or the specific route to travel in order to get from point A to point B.  I thought ‘the way’ referred to in this song was similar to me knowing ‘the way’ home from grandma’s house or ‘the way’ to the store – complete with detailed turn by turn instructions and an estimated time of travel.  My understanding was probably forged from thinking that if I ‘go astray’ from that path, I would get lost and be unable to make it back home (at least until I re-traced my steps to get back on ‘the way’.  I think this idea is true and good – but, I don’t think it’s complete.

Even if that meaning were complete, some people today have become less dependent upon living prophets (or leaders) and have failed to see the critical role they play in our lives. ² This is possibly due to the increased amount of information and history now available to the general public by way of the internet that reveals the (somehow) shocking truth that these prophets and/or leaders were not (in the past) and are not (presently) perfect – which means (to some) that there is no possibility that imperfect men could somehow ‘know the way’ let alone lead us to it.

But, “saying the church and its prophets (or leaders) are not perfect is not the same as saying they are not true.  Just the opposite is, in fact, the case according to our understanding of our Heavenly Father’s plan.  The prophets cannot be required to be perfect because that would foil the whole purpose of the plan, which is for human beings (including church leaders) to exercise moral agency.  In this life we learn through our experience to distinguish good from evil and choose truth over error.  If God were to dictate every decision and forcibly instigate every policy, if he refused to allow his church leaders, from prophets to primary presidents, to ever make mistakes or commit sin, he would be defeating his own purpose: to help us learn to use our moral agency to develop our divine nature and become like he is.  God treats the church very much like he treats individuals.  As we strive to follow him, he intervenes occasionally to provide us with guidance, to warn us from danger, or to admonish us to change direction.  Much of the time, however, even for those blessed with the gift of the Holy Ghost or the mantle of prophethood, he teaches us correct principles and allows us to govern ourselves.” ³

Proof of this comes in in the Book of Mormon – just read 1 Ne. chapter 16.  It’s the story of Nephi’s broken bow; where everyone seemed to be murmuring at their present circumstances – including the prophet/leader Lehi. Nephi didn’t assume that everything Lehi had ever taught him was suddenly incorrect because he had seen Lehi made a mistake or be less than perfect, nor did the Lord remove Lehi from his place or prophetic calling at the first sight of mortal failing – Nephi just humbly and patiently asked for his counsel on where to go.  We can all learn so much from Nephi.

Can we begin to understand that ‘the way’ may not be as detailed a step by step directional knowledge as we had hoped?  And if it’s not that – then what is it?  The answer (like all the answers) is in the scriptures. In John 14:6, Jesus says “I am the way”, and in 2 Ne. 31:21 Nephi tells us that “he [Christ] is ‘the way’, and there is none other way nor name given whereby men can be saved.”  This means that ‘the way’ is a person as much as it is a route or a direction.

“God’s [true] prophets never set themselves up as the light but rather stand on the mountain pointing people to the true Light.  Prophets instruct people to learn from their teachings and from their lives, which include many wonderful acts of righteousness as well as the sin and error that are the lot of all humanity.  In that way prophets doubly fulfill their calling to encourage all in the sound of their voice to become perfected in and through the atonement of Jesus Christ.  Prophets are not called to save us; they are called to lead us to the Savior.” ⁴ They show us The Way.

So, the next time we sing “follow the prophet, follow the prophet, follow the prophet, he knows the way”, let us understand that we are recognizing and testifying that our beloved leaders indeed know, and are pointing us to The Way – and are inviting us to ‘come unto Him’.

Notes

¹ Childrens songbook, 110.

² I make no mention of the need for prophets and apostles in order to have the priesthood authority for temple work, ordinances, etc.  This is an absolute need which I do not mean to discount, it just isn’t part of this particular thought and need for prophets to ‘show us the way.’

³ Patrick Q. Mason, in Planted (pg. 108)

⁴ Ibid (pg. 105)