Why So Much War? (Alma 43-63)

Professors Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin state that there are 85 instances of armed conflict written about in the Book of Mormon. This leads one to wonder why the ancient authors of the Book of Mormon felt inclined to include so much about war. This week I'll discuss a few ways we can find value in the Book of Mormon's accounts of war.

Elder Geoffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that the Book of Mormon was written for the last days, and the wars in the Book of Mormon are a metaphor for what we face today. He also mentions that in ancient times Zion would flee into the wilderness when Babylon would move in-- they would pick up and settle somewhere else and get away from the evil influences. (See the DVD accompanying the book, "For Times of Trouble").

Today we live differently, don't we? Today, we need to stand and fight the adversary and share our light with others, withstanding temptation and attacks where we live and work and learn. It's right in our backyards; right in our homes through media and other influences. There are few places left to run. So how do we use the Book of Mormon's war accounts to fight our own battles? 

I think a great start is simply reading those 'war chapters' with a prayer and attitude asking "what can I learn from this?" For example, in Alma 43 the army of Zerahemnah wouldn't even go up against the Nephites in battle, even though they greatly outnumbered the Nephites. The reason? The Nephites' preparation for battle, in particular the armor they wore, greatly surpassed what the would-be attackers had. 

Using footnotes, cross-references, the index and topical guides, and most importantly praying for inspiration, we can take this little insight in many different directions. We can compare the armor the Nephites wore with the whole armor of God we have been admonished to wear. We can think of changes we might make in our home that might better defend us against Satan's influence-- perhaps in the music, movies, television, or books we enjoy, or in how we use the internet. 

We might consider other ways we can prepare to fight the good fight, envisioning the drills and exercises the soldiers might have practiced over and over at the hands of captains and leaders like Moroni and Helaman. Perhaps we can develop routines that strengthen us today-- for example more attentive focus on the sacrament each week, or increasing the time we spend daily in study or prayer, or how often we attend the temple. There are probably many 'exercises' we can perform each day and week that will make us more spiritually fit and resilient to all of today's constant attacks.

It's also useful to note the differences between 'winning' Nephite armies and those that perish, and what traits are reflected by different armies in different eras. Those traits and tendencies can give us great clues as to how we can win our own battles in life. An example of this is found in Alma 48:7, in which we learn that while the wicked Amalickiah tried to obtain power by fraud and deceit, the stalwart Moroni was busy "preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord." In fact, Alma 48 goes on to paint a great portrait of Moroni, giving us an inside look at one of the greatest men to ever walk the earth.

Another thing I observe about Moroni, and certainly a key reason for his success, is that he never stops finding ways to improve and strengthen his people. It would have been easy for him to rest upon the first big victory, when the opposing army did not even dare attack because of Moroni's preparation of his people. However, Moroni kept working to strengthen his people and their cities, building ditches and mounds and walls and using strategies that were certainly inspired by the Lord. 

When the Lamanite armies returned to fight, armed in a manner that was similar to what they had previously seen in their Nephite opponents, they were dismayed to see the Nephites' preparations -- they were once again impenetrable! Moroni's people had altered the very landscape, giving them vantage points and defensive positions unlike anything that had been encountered in the Book of Mormon times before. Like Alma before him, it seemed that Moroni "could not rest" (Alma 43:1). What a great lesson for us in our time, as we prepare for our own battles!

The successful Nephite armies of the Book of Mormon were humble, grateful, and acknowledged God's hand in all their victories. They fought reluctantly, only when necessary to defend their families and their faith and their freedom. They were obedient and prepared-- and constantly preparing. They kept oaths and covenants. There is much to learn from reading their accounts!

As a young man, I would breeze through those 'war chapters,' reading through them quickly, occasionally acknowledging a little lesson here or there, entertained by the stories of intrigue, spies, and soldiers. It is only recently that I have begun to appreciate and try to understand the Lord's greater purpose in including these accounts. We are indeed all enlisted in even more crucial conflicts than those we read about in the Book of Mormon. 

Thankfully, God has given us all of the tools we need to triumph over the temptations and battles we encounter-- including prayer, inspiration through the Holy Ghost, fellow soldiers to lean on and learn from, and the words of ancient and modern prophets and apostles. I know that the Book of Mormon can help us prepare for and win the battles we face today and tomorrow!  

  

Gratitude and the Anti-Christ (Alma 30)

There is an interesting little anecdote almost exactly halfway through the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon. It is, in fact also just about smack dab in the middle of the Book of Mormon itself. It’s the story of Korihor, and it comprises Alma chapter 30.

The story seems wedged into the sequence of Alma and his contemporaries; it occurs in between ‘preaching missions’ and wars. To me, it really stands out, almost seeming disjointed or placed in as an afterthought. For this reason, I think Mormon must have really felt compelled to include it as he compiled and edited centuries’ worth of records… It doesn't exactly flow with the narrative of the Book of Alma to me, but it’s certainly important!

I won’t recap all the details of the account, just a couple things that really stand out to me. The first thing I noted was how similar the sentiments which Korihor proclaimed are to many of today’s voices. Korihor said the believers were foolish, they had been indoctrinated through family traditions, and that you cannot know there is a Christ. He called them deranged, due to the effects of ‘frenzied minds,’ and that they were in ‘bondage’ to those traditions.

He taught there should be no guilt, that there was no ‘falling’ or ‘saving.’ He claimed the leaders of the Church suppressed the people and led them to believe this way so they could ‘glut (themselves) with the labors of their hands.’

Korihor was wise and crafty, and he used ‘great swelling words.’ His charge was that there is no evidence that there is a God. Alma’s response is the key point I want to highlight in this post.

Alma’s conviction is this: we have ‘all things’ as a testimony, or evidence of God’s existence. He says, “…all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44).  

I am often struck by how important attitude is. Alma’s grateful heart, his testimony bolstered as he saw evidence of God’s existence and love everywhere he looked—“in all things”—was a choice as well as a blessing. Faith is a gift we are given when we choose to obey and to do and to believe. Korihor refused to partake of this gift—he made that choice; that was the attitude he chose.

I am not saying that if we aren’t grateful, and don’t see and confess God’s hand everywhere we look that we will end up like Korihor. But ancient prophets, as well as modern prophets from Joseph Smith to Thomas S. Monson have talked of the importance of gratitude. We would all do well to look at the world with a prayer and desire of seeing God’s hand in it. When I pray for this, and look for this, the Lord shows me great things. I become less like Korihor, and more like Alma, and ultimately more like Christ.

I’ll close with a poem by Walt Whitman that I discovered while I sat in a hospital room, next to my son Liam as he recovered from brain surgery. It is entitled ‘Miracles,’ and I have a feeling Alma would have approved of it!

Miracles

Why, who makes much of a miracle?
As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night
with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet
and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;
These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.
To me the sea is a continual miracle,
The fishes that swim--the rocks--the motion of the waves--the
ships with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?