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)

Once upon a time there was an awesome missionary.  His name was Ammon.  Based on his righteous example, he taught the gospel – which invited the spirit – which in turn prompted the conversion of a Lamanite king named Lamoni.  This Lamoni had previously been a pretty rotten guy.  But, since repentance is awesome and the gospel is true – Lamoni became a totally good guy (the truth will set you free).

Lamoni’s father– who was the king of all the Lamanites – was also a pretty rotten guy (generational ignorance helps people be rotten sometimes) and when he met Lamoni and Ammon on the road one day, he asked Lamoni to go ahead and kill Ammon since he was (according to his belief) “one of the children of a liar”.  Lamoni politely declined, and commenced in telling his personal tale of conversion at the hand of Ammon in an attempt to do away with the murderous thoughts that gripped his Lamanite king father.

This detailed explanation didn’t work.  To Lamoni’s astonishment, his father was still angry with him, and “commanded” Lamoni to slay Ammon.  He still wouldn’t – so Lamoni’s father then took matters into his own hands and started a sword fight with Ammon.  Ammon channeled his inner Westley (a.k.a. Dread Pirate Roberts from the Princess Bride) and “withstood his blows, and also smote his (Lamoni’s father’s) arm that he could not use it”.  This left king Lamoni’s father at the mercy of Ammon (I imagine him sitting/kneeling on the ground clutching his wounded arm/shoulder with a full realization that his mortal life is now completely in the hands of his opponent) – and he got a bit nervous.

In this spot, Lamoni’s father says to Ammon “If thou wilt spare me I will grant unto thee whatsoever thou wilt ask, even to half the kingdom”.  So, in return for Ammon sparing his physical life, Lamoni’s father was willing to give up to half of his kingdom.  That’s the high priced value of his physical life.

Ammon of course spared his life (and didn’t even collect on half of the kingdom), but required that Lamoni’s father let his son be and do as he pleased with his conversion and his religion.  This perplexed Lamoni’s father enough that he later “insisted” that Aaron (one of Ammon’s missionary companions) administer unto him, and teach him the things that had caused Lamoni to change his ways.  Aaron began to teach Lamoni’s father about everything (the creation, the fall, the atonement) which naturally filled the king with a burning desire to be born again, and to have his “wicked spirit rooted out of his breast… that he may be filled with joy.”  Then, after hearing the good news of the gospel he exclaimed: “I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.

In summary, he was only willing to give up half his kingdom to save his physical life, but was willing forsake all in order to gain his spiritual life.

So, in thinking about how I could relate this sentiment (giving up half the kingdom, vs. forsaking all my kingdom) to the real world and our everyday lives, I naturally thought of triathlon unitards.  Yes, triathlon unitards – stay with me.

Last summer, I signed up for my first triathlon (I signed up on June 14, and the event was Aug. 8 – that’s a little less than 2 months to train).  I was fairly naïve in my training regimen leading up to the event.  I swam a bit, rode my bike a bit, and even mixed in a couple of runs on my way.  After all, it was a short distance triathlon and I was confident in my ability to just make it.  Please remember I used the word naïve in the previous sentence.

On race day I showed up a bit early and what I saw was a bit concerning – or even alarming.  Most of the other participants were wearing skin tight suits.  I later learned that these are triathlon suits (sometimes called tri suits or tri jerseys) – which are pretty much the equivalent of an adult onesie or a wrestling singlet.  These are designed to be worn in all 3 disciplines (swim, bike, run) to avoid the time wasting activity of changing clothes during transitions.  In other words – they are made specifically for triathletes to wear during a triathlon.  I on the other hand, had brought a backpack full of shorts, shirts, jackets, extra socks, headphones, my phone case, etc.

I even thought to myself “these other people (like 90% of them) look pretty silly in their spandex unitards”.  But not me, I look totally amazing in my gym shorts and my warm jacket.

Needless to say, my transition times were about what you’d expect from a first timer.  I watched these veteran triathletes dash from the water and jump soaking wet onto their bikes and ride off in a matter of seconds while I calmly dried myself completely with a towel, put on a t-shirt, shorts, and a jacket, and managed to spend a good 5 minutes not moving at all.  For reference, 5 minutes equates to about 8-10% of the winner’s overall time (and that was just my first transition).

After reviewing the results of my first triathlon (my finish time but most of all my transition times) and in evaluating my weaker areas, I metaphorically sat on the ground, clutching my wounded shoulder and said to myself: “I will do whatsoever is required to improve my triathlon times, even to half the kingdom”.  And I did.  I sacrificed ‘even to half the kingdom’ by increasing my training intensity, my training frequency, and my mental focus.  Then, I had another race.

I improved my split times, and even placed in my age group.  In addition, I have done 3 other races since the first, and been right on or near my goals for each race, yet for the purposes of this blog post, and the likened story of king Lamoni’s father – I still haven’t been able to move from giving up ‘half of the kingdom’ to ‘giving up all that I posses”.  I was still holding something back.

In order for me to be like Lamoni’s father and fully give up all that I possess – I had to wear the unitard.  There was just no way around it.  I can’t hold anything back if I expect to enjoy the absolute joy of knowing that I gave it everything I had.

I thought in the beginning of my triathlon life that I felt like I gave it my all – and I was right, because the first race or two, I gave it all that I had.  But, now that my training has improved and I know a lot more about the sport, I fully realize that my previous all is barely ‘even to half’ of my current all.  This means I need to re-evaluate my commitment every time – just like we do each week when we take the sacrament.  The more I improve, the more my all demands of me.

Maybe the unitards look silly, but they are designed to help save time and ultimately be a tool for improvement.  And after all, isn’t the goal of a triathlon to finish with your absolute best time?  Yes.  So, in order to give up all that I possess, I need to give up whatever self-conscience barriers I have built up around donning the elastic triathlon unitard.  I need to be ‘willing to take upon me the unitard’ in order to ‘always’ have it benefit me.

And since this blog is about principles of faith, and faith is a principle of action, and I don’t want to only be a sayer of the word (and not ‘a doer of the word’) – AND since I am desirous to become more than recreational weekend triathlete, AND because I am finally ready (just like Lamoni’s father) to give up all that I possess, I vowed to wear a stretchy triathlon unitard in my next race.

That race was May 7^th – and that date is past tense.  I totally wore a triathlon suit – the whole time.  Let me write that again: I wore a spandex-like suit while biking and running through hundreds of spectators.  And I loved it. Wait, what?

Upon crossing the finish line last week, I knew that my effort was ‘all’ that I had to give.  I felt completely satisfied with it.  Then, two days later, I realized that I wanted that feeling again, and started to realize that I wanted to ‘improve’ even more, and started to identify things that I had kept back.  I had now only given ‘most’ of my kingdom, even though it had been all just a short time before.  So, I made a new¹ list of everything in my kingdom that I was willing to give up.

The more we improve, and the better we become, the more we realize we have to give up to take the next step in our progress.  The small things that we hadn’t thought mattered before start to stick out and we try to get rid of them one by one.  Slowly but surely we become something better – and maybe the best news of all, the Lord is patient with us as we recognize and attempt to become like him – and he helps us all along the way.

Notes

¹  For some reason, I felt better about giving an example of my ‘new’ list in the notes instead of the body of the blog post – I just couldn’t bring myself to indicate that by shaving my arms and legs in order to become more aerodynamic I am taking the logical next step in my spiritual progression.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day – and I (like many others) want to do something special for my wife.  I want to do this because she is special to me, and because of all the mothers in the whole world that I know, she is the one that I love the most.

I thought hard about all of the things that she loves (vacations to tropical beaches, Disney cruises, home renovations and/or home décor) and then I decided that the thing she would probably love the most is for me to write a blog post about Alma and his visit to Ammonihah (found in Alma chapter 8-9) as a tribute to her awesomeness as a mother.  So you’re welcome dear.  Please note that while this post has drawn much from her greatness (that I get to see regularly), it is also a tribute to all of the women and mothers who truly make the world the great place that it is.  To be clear, mothers are NOT just those who have birthed and/or raised their children and mothering is NOT limited to immediate parent/child relationships.

Backstory for context:  This Book of Mormon story takes place in 82 B.C. (a.k.a. the end of the 9^th year of the reign of the judges) and Alma (who has recently retired from his day job to focus on preaching the word of God) has recently completed his sermons in the cities of Zarahemla (Alma 5-6), Gideon (Alma 7), and Melek (Alma 8:4-5) and has just arrived in the city of Ammonihah.

Alma starts to preach to the people, and the very first thing we learn is that “they would not hearken unto the words of Alma.”  It took all of 1 verse (Alma 8:9) for us to relate Alma and his preaching to motherhood right?  How many mothers can say (about their children or spouses or friends or co-workers or the world) that “they would not hearken unto the words of [insert mother’s name]?” I’ll give you a hint – it’s all of them.

“Nevertheless he (Alma) labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his spirit upon the people who were in the city”.  How many mothers labor much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer in order for him to pour out his spirit upon the people under their watchcare?  The mother I know best labors much in the spirit, and wrestles with God in mighty prayer – all the time.

Verses 11-12 further describe the people of Ammonihah and their murmurings in response to Alma’s teaching.  In today’s language they said something like: “you can’t tell us what to do”, “you’re not the boss of me”, and “your rules are stupid”.  I would guess there are a few mothers out there that have heard something similar to this.

Then we read in verse 13 that the people “withstood all his [Alma’s] words, and reviled (criticized) him, and spit upon him, and caused that he should be cast out of their city.”  Now, at first glance we might say that’s a bit of an extreme parallel to motherhood, but if you reflect honestly I can promise that the mothers we know the best have all been criticized, spit upon (burping babies) and caused to be cast out (hello teenagers with locked doors and raging emotions that say things like “I hate you” or “you are the worst mother ever”).

Motherhood is starting to look a whole lot like Alma in Ammonihah right?

After being cast out of the city – in the moments immediately following this rejection – Alma is feeling pretty lousy (just like mothers do sometimes), “being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul”, because of the people who were in the city.  Just like a mother, Alma was weighed down because of the people he served and cared for (and their choices), not just because he didn’t get his way.

It’s no surprise then, that during this time (after he was rejected and while he was “thus weighed down with sorrow”) that an angel appeared to Alma and said to him: “Blessed are thou Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great reason to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy first message from him.

Just like Alma, mothers are sometimes “weighed down with sorrow” because of the people they love.  Motherhood is extremely tiring work, and more often than not it is the most thankless work that all to often only pays in criticism, being ignored, forgotten, taken for granted, spit upon or even cast out by those whom they are trying to save.  And, as hard as it is for us to understand it is in this great sorrow and tribulation and struggle that the angel comes to offer a pick-me-up (please see 1 Ne. 20:10-11 and Luke 22: 41-44 and verses 4-6 of Hymn 85).

But before we take our next step, let us try to fully understand Alma’s feelings of sorrow.  He probably feels like he has failed in his spirit-led quest to preach the gospel to the city of Ammonihah.  He might be wrestling with his self esteem or his effectiveness as a prophet using the logic that would go something like this: “God called me to this office, and he led me to this city, and I preached here, and even though I can look back and see some baptisms, repentance, or conversions in the past from other cities, this most recent failure (and my sorrow because of the people) in this city must mean that I did something wrong, or that I wasn’t good enough, or that I failed in my one duty (as prophet) and therefore God is disappointed in me because I’ll never be as good a prophet as Moses.”  Sound familiar yet?

Now, I understand that there isn’t anyone who can fully grasp the trials and daily hardships of motherhood like another woman/mother – but can we all suppose for just a minute that when the angel came down and told Alma to ‘cheer up because you are awesome’ it may not have immediately prompted him to jump up and down and cheerfully say “you’re right – I do have ‘great reason to rejoice, and I am awesome”.  Can we imagine the possibility that it could have made his feelings of sorrow even worse?  Worse because it highlighted the fact that he wasn’t finding ‘joy in the journey’ during the hardest of times and therefore wasn’t appreciating the struggles of his sacred prophethood.  After all, didn’t Alma already know that being a prophet wasn’t always just the pure joy of baptisms and the conversion parties and the spiritual outpourings?  Didn’t he know that being a true prophet also included a fair amount of being spit on, cast out, and reviled?  Didn’t he know that there must be opposition in all things?  I think he knew that, but I also think that Alma was a bit surprised with how hard it was at the moment, and with just how sorrowful he felt when they wouldn’t even listen, and with how hot the refiners fire can be.

Now, it’s not mentioned in the official record, but what could have also contributed to Alma’s sorrow was all of the super happy photos on his prophet friends’ Instagram feeds of their baptisms, conversion stories, miracles, great hair, great teeth, perfect kids, and super clean tents, crops, and herds.  Yet, here was Alma (in the real world) learning from his own experience that being a prophet was stinking hard work and it weighed him down.  In fact, I think Alma was learning that it was the hardest work that he’d ever be asked to do.

Another reason that the angel’s words might have failed to put a huge smile on Alma’s face is what came next: the angel continued “I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah and preach again unto the people of the city”.  The summary of the angel’s message (in today’s language) goes something like this: “Alma, I see you are sad.  But, you have a lot of reasons to be happy; because you have been doing the Lord’s work.  Now, go back to the city of Ammonihah and preach again (because they really need your help).  See you later.”

Hey moms out there – you tell me if this sounds like an awesome pep talk for sacrament meeting this Sunday (after you’ve spent the morning wrangling your kids to get ready for church against the formidable opposition that is present on Sundays) “Mothers, don’t be sad.  You guys are awesome.  You have a lot of reasons to be happy, mostly because you are continuously doing the Lord’s work.  Now, go back to the city (the crucible of home life) again (because your family really needs your help and in some cases you are their only hope) …. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Following the angel’s visit, Alma realized and perhaps identified on a different level with Nephi (also a prophet) who wrote that he was “overcome because of [his] afflictions, for [he] considered that [his] afflictions were great above all” (1 Ne. 15:5).  The trials and tribulations and sorrow that Nephi felt in his day were indeed ‘great above all’, and now so were Alma’s.  The same holds true for every single woman and mother out there who tries like crazy every day to be the best she can be despite the difficulties and struggles and hard times of daily life.  And every single one of them can claim that their struggles actually are ‘great above all’ because that’s exactly what they are.

The difficulty of motherhood is ‘great above all.’  It is the one job in mortality that is ‘above all’ in goodness and Christ-likedness.  The problem with this is that by necessity it means that it is also ‘above all’ in its difficulty and unrelenting demands on your emotions, spirits, and bodies.

Curiously, there is no recorded response from Alma after the angel commanded him to go back to Ammonihah.  But, what is recorded is that he didn’t just return, he returned ‘speedily’.  He was exhausted physically, mentally, and spiritually yet he returned speedily to the very city that caused his sorrowful exhaustion.  This sounds exactly like a mother who at the end of a grueling day crawls into bed completely ragged after giving every effort to her family… only to be summoned ‘back again’ and answers ‘speedily’ to the additional demands of motherhood in the middle of the night for a coughing child, a crying baby, or someone else in need.  Could there be a closer tie to Jesus Christ than a mother?

The next part of Alma’s story in Ammonihah can give mothers a welcome ray of hope and allow all of us to appreciate the tender mercies that the Lord provides – especially when he asks for more than we feel like we even have to give.  When Alma was weighed down and at the end of his rope, the Lord provided ‘a man’ (Amulek) to receive him as he entered Ammonihah this second time around.  Amulek took him in, fed him, and tarried many days with him (Alma 8:26-27).  In other words – Amulek was a blessing provided by the Lord to strengthen Alma in his time of extreme need – no doubt a welcome blessing after so much sorrow.

Could there be a better model for Amulek than the mothers we all love?

There are times when the women in our lives have felt just like Alma (weighed down with sorrow) when a friendly Amulek arrives seemingly out of nowhere (provided by the Lord) to feed, care for, and tarry with them in a time of need.  AND, there are times when these same mothers have acted just like Amulek (who recognized Alma and heeded a promting) to feed, care for, and tarry with others in need.  Many of those times, the Amulek’s of the world were at the end of their own ropes and yet “speedily returned” to feed, care for, and tarry with those whose struggles were also ‘great above all’.  And because the Lord is awesome, and because he rewards those who love him – “they (meaning both parties) were filled with the Holy Ghost” (Alma 8:30).

My dear wife knows how to feed, care for, and tarry with me in a time of need.  I am so blessed to have her, and we are all so blessed to have the women and mothers in our lives.  They – through their Christ-like service – fill us with the Holy Ghost.  And because of this, “they [have] power given unto them, insomuch that they could not be confined in dungeons; neither was it possible that any man could slay them…” (Alma 8:31).  Oh how our wives, mothers, and women have “power given unto them” in our day.  They are the driving force of nurturing our Heavenly Father’s children here on earth, and they do a magnificent job.

Before we wrap up this story of awesome motherhood I would like us to read and understand one more part of this story – which happens to be a question from the people of Ammonihah to Alma (after he’s begun preaching to them this second visit).  “As [he] began to preach unto them, they began to contend with [him], saying… Who art thou?”… “And they said: Who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things?”

The world asks these same questions to our wives and our mothers and our daughters.  Who art thou? And Who is God that sendeth no more authority than a mother to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things?

For all of us, I hope we can understand exactly who and what our mothers are.  Then, I think we will begin to understand how that relates to the reason why God didn’t (and doesn’t) need to send more authority than one man to save the world.

Mothers are the ones ‘speedily returning’ to Ammonihah.  They are the ones who are feeding, caring for, and tarrying with those in need.  They are the ones who are constantly partnering with Christ in his efforts to develop, nurture, and love his children.  And they are the ones pointing and leading all of our souls to him and leading us to his open arms.

To close, please understand that I don’t think (nor would any mother tell you) that every minute of every day is so incredibly difficult that mothers are just constantly weathering the storm trying to make it to the next day – because that’s not the case (even if some days it does feel that way).  Mothers are wise and kind and gentle, and they know that “sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven”.  They also know in a very intimate way that pure joy can be found in selfless giving – and each of them consider their callings as mothers to be their greatest treasure.

I used to wonder why there wasn’t more stories about mothers and wives in the Book of Mormon.  I don’t wonder that any more.  I have found that If I know what to look for, and if I remember how the Book of Mormon (and the spirit) teach me, every story can be about a mother – because every story in the Book of Mormon is about Jesus Christ – and every story about Jesus Christ can be a story about a mother.

Please celebrate the wonderful women in our lives this Sunday (and everyday) by telling them and showing them how amazing they are and how grateful we are to have them.

Freedom is often misunderstood.  This means that arguments, positions, and claims for freedom are just as often flawed and in many cases lacking.  This is not new, and people have been discussing and striving for their ideal version of freedom ever since (and before) the very beginning.

In the pre-existence when our heavenly father proposed his plan of salvation to his children and asked for a volunteer to be the savior, there was already a mistaken understanding of freedom.  Lucifer, as an eager volunteer, claimed that he could truly ‘free’ everyone once and for all, by relieving them – or helping them be ‘free’ from – the responsibilities of choosing for themselves.  Thus, he offered a false sense of freedom (freedom from the possibility of failure, and freedom from progression and learning).  Please note that his plan for total freedom for us also included himself being ‘free’ from the responsibilities of actually being a savior.¹

The very first family on earth also includes a reference to this false sense of freedom, when Cain – after being encouraged by the master deceiver himself that he would somehow be a true master, and ‘get gain’ by being ‘free’ from his brothers unfair yoke, he “rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him”.  Following this murder, “Cain gloried in that which he had done, saying: I am free; surely the flocks of my brother falleth into my hands”.²

The Book of Mormon is also full of individuals desiring to be ‘free’ from restrictions.  Laman and Lemuel repeatedly murmured about the ‘hard things’ required of them, and they often expressed the desire to be ‘free’ from Nephi and Lehi’s teachings and expectations.  Korihor claimed that the people (followers of Christ) were “bound down under a foolish and vain hope”, and further referenced that belief as a “yoke”.³ King Noah, his followers, and then many of the Lamanites and the kingmen that follow all throughout the remaining Book of Mormon stories repeatedly want to be ‘free’ from the burden or bonds of responsibility and duty (as required by society and order).  But, because I love his example so much, I am going to highlight what I think is one of the best examples of this false freedom – Giddianhi.⁴

Giddianhi was a guy that wanted to be free.  Free from anything and anyone that told him what to do or how he should live his life.  He had a bunch of friends who liked to be free as well, so they dissented (to dissent is to hold or express opinions that are at variance with those previously, commonly, or officially expressed) from the Nephites and the authoritative governing body.  By dissenting (and choosing to leave), he and his band of friends were totally free.  Free from the oppressive rule of society and its norms, expectations, rules, laws, and on an on.  With his new freedom, he convinced many others that life outside of the government and its societal yoke was much better – and many listened and joined him in his utopian refuge of freedom.  The only problem that Giddianhi encountered was that his little band grew to a big band fairly quickly – since everyone loves the idea of freedom (especially Giddianhi’s version of it), his followers soon looked to him (as the leader of the free people) to provide them with their daily sustenance (food, shelter, clothing, support) in order to stay alive and they likely asked him several times about the details of this new society (where the food was, who was cooking them dinner, who was planting the crops or raising their flocks – and other things that a rule-laden society would produce through responsibility and the yoke of bondage also known as a market or economy or industry or just bondage).  Suddenly, his freedom seemed a whole lot like bondage.  He was bound to his promise of freedom from all cares and responsibilities.  He soon realized that freedom from sowing is also freedom from reaping.

So, being a smart man, Giddianhi (like many others before him) just stole stuff.  They began to lay waste to all of the cities that were nearby, and stole the food and other necessary items in order to survive.  After all, true freedom means you are free to do whatever you want right?  Yep, his community really is the best.  Nobody could tell Giddianhi what he could and couldn’t do – he was the only one who could decide what was right and wrong, and just taking whatever you want seemed like a nice plan to everybody.

Eventually, Giddianhi’s dream world of free people started to look bleak, as the cities and towns that his people laid waste to weren’t spontaneously being rebuilt and the fields and flocks that they had plundered and eaten were not being replanted with food in order to sustain the appetite of his ever growing band of robbers and let’s be honest, Giddianhi isn’t going to rebuild or restore them.  That’s too much work.  That is why he dissented from the Nephites in the first place – too much responsibility and not enough freedom.

So, the law abiding citizens burdened under the yoke of bondage (the kind of bondage that drove Giddianhi and his fellow dissenters away) decided (under the wise leadership of Lachoneous and Gidgidonni) to move in together and store all their food in one central location to avoid being plundered continuously by Giddianhi and his robbers.  After this move, Giddianhi’s newfound freedom left him with limited options – mostly since they were unwilling to actually work for anything.  Somehow, the very freedom he claimed to embrace was the source of his stopped progression.  He was certainly free from the Nephite rules and laws, but he was not free at all.⁵

Realizing his plight, Giddianhi wrote a letter to the governor of the Nephites in a desperate attempt to sway the government (which they had dissented from) to provide for his needs without any effort on his part.  He politely asked (or demanded) Lachoneous through this letter to give him all of their food, lands, possessions, and the power of government – and then he adds the kicker – “that this my people (the band of robbers) may recover their rights and government, who have dissented away from you because of your wickedness in retaining from them their rights of government”.⁶

This band of robbers led by Giddianhi considered anything that prevented them from being government leaders and having slaves with no effort on their own part (similar to what king Noah was) as ‘wickedness’. All of the societies and laws that make up a good nation with hard work and cooperation is just labeled as bondage to them. They feel that this way of leadership (free of responsibility but somehow full of all the available benefits) is their ‘right’.

This is remarkably similar to people today that think it is their ‘right’ to act any way they please, and that anyone who opposes their personal thought process is bigoted, racist, sexist, or has directly wronged them in some way. And when others don’t agree with their view of ‘freedom’ they shout to the world and all who will hear that they have been wronged, and demand retribution by their rights of ‘freedom’ to which they are obviously entitled.

Just to recap how ridiculous this stance is, Giddianhi’s letter could really read something like this:

Dear Lachoneus,

Me and my merry band of robbers like your city. In fact, we like your city so much we want to live there. We want to plunder and steal all of your crops, buildings, and everything else. It would be so much easier for us if you just let us have it. That way, my ‘warriors’ don’t get tired and nobody gets killed (and because if you and your people are dead, nobody will be around to keep the flocks, plant the crops, and really keep life going – because we don’t know how to and don’t want to do it for ourselves).

 Further, and because I want to justify this stance in some way, we feel that it is our right to rule over you. Why you ask? Well, because we don’t like the way the laws are set up and we don’t like the rules you have.  They aren’t fair to us and they don’t provide a way for us to not work and still enjoy all the benefits.  After all, that’s why most of us ‘dissented’ from you in the first place. We think in our minds that we should rule over you, (and you didn’t let us rule over you while we were there) and that makes you wicked therefore we think it is our ‘right’ to rule over you now (again/still).

 Please understand noble Lachoneus, that we have no intentions of being civil, instituting or living by justice, common sense, reality, or anything else (because we are totally free) and if left to ourselves we will probably run the city and your crops into the ground like we’ve done elsewhere because it would be hard work to maintain order and keep up with everything, and we both know that’s one of the reasons we ran away and complained about your system in the first place.  So, in summary, please give us your city because we can’t build or maintain any of our own.

 Giddianhi

If we think that freedom is being ‘free’ from any and all rules, responsibilities, duties, restrictions, expectations, or any other external factor that we feel prevents us from being truly free to do whatever we want, whenever we want, for no other reason that our simple desire – we have a very limited view of freedom – we limit it to our being free from something – and by doing that we prevent ourselves from actually being free to something.  Freedom to something is the actual capacity and resources and ability to make a choice – or do something.  I can enjoy the temporary feeling of being free from my piano teacher, but not without forfeiting my freedom to actually learn how to play the piano.  The freedom to play the piano by necessity includes bondage to practice.

Freedom, the true and real and lasting kind of freedom – is binding.  It permanently binds us to things (especially responsibilities).  Just ask Moroni, who indicated to Zerahemnah that “the sacred support, which we owe to our wives and our children, by that liberty which binds us…”⁷ was in fact the very thing that strengthened them (allowing them to prevail in battle).  Pahoran, in his epic response to Moroni’s scathing letter, also indicated that “the spirit of freedom” is in fact “the spirit of God”⁸ and I don’t think for one second that God acts the same way as Giddianhi (wishing to be free from his duties).  God has a whole lot of responsibility on his plate, and yet, somehow he is the freest of all beings.

Somehow, somewhere we got confused and forgot that true freedom isn’t the fairy tale idea of not having anyone to answer to, or having any responsibilities, or any authority figures at all.  Too many complain that “they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; nothwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them”.⁹

Before we think that this is just a political context, – please know that this is most definitely a universal context and a family context – and that freedom from one thing is slavery to another.  “Freedom from evil is slavery to goodness”.¹⁰

There are many in the world today who act like Giddianhi and ‘free’ themselves of the duties, responsibilities, and expectations of any long-term commitment (including commitments they have made contractually) all while claiming that it is their ‘right’ to avoid or leave any commitment if at any time it suits their fancy (i.e. when it gets hard or inconvenient or they just get tired) or if they’d simply like to be ‘free’ of all the interference.  If however, (and when) we fail to give ourselves an excuse or an alternative (when we bind ourselves fully) – the untapped capacity to dig deeper inside us is triggered, and suddenly we understand what the ‘bonds’ of freedom really are.  “In this sense, our bonds are our liberation.  Until being ‘forced’ by such voluntary commitment, we may never tap into the reservoirs of strength and compassion we carry within ourselves”.¹¹

In our effort to be free from the obstacles that would prevent our progress, let’s not hesitate when we see the bonds of liberation being offered to us by the Lord.

Notes

1. If people are not allowed to choose between good and bad, they will never choose badly, and thus there will be no sin. If there is no sin, there is no need for repentance and no need for a savior to take upon himself the pains and sickness of his people in order to overcome death and redeem them from sin.  Thus, Satan proposed a way to save everyone without having to actually save anyone or do anything at all except ‘free’ everyone from the positive and spiritual development opportunities brought about by the effects of sin (grief, guilt, remorse, humility, repentance, increased love, service, etc.).
2. Moses 5:31-33
3. Alma 30:13 (see also verse 23 referencing ordinances)
4. Colby mentioned some of Giddianhi’s qualities here.
5. We all complain about school and the never ending assignments, projects, tests, etc. (wishing to be free from them) without realizing that the bondage of school is the very thing that makes us free to be something by giving us options in life and for a career.
6. This letter is so awesome, and one blog post cannot do it justice – so please read the entire story found in 3 Ne. 3 (and surrounding chapters).
7. Alma 44:5
8. Alma 61:15
9. 12:6
10. This is a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. (as quoted by Tim Ballard in The Lincoln Hypothesis) pg. 207.
11. The Belonging Heart, by Bruce C. and Marie K Hafen. 182