Why does the Book of Mormon have so much war in it? This is a question I seem to repeatedly ask myself. As I was doing my scripture study I had a thought. We are always at war. We are at war with so many things in our lives. We are at war with the world. We are at war with things that we don’t agree with. We are at war with people we don’t agree with. We are at war with family, and most of all we are at war with ourselves. There is a constant war within us as we fight off the natural man. Sometimes he wins and sometimes he loses but whether he wins or loses doesn’t change the fact that he is there and that we are at war with him. It doesn’t change if we yield to his inticements or if we withstand them, he is still there letting us make decisions. I was reading at the end of Alma right before the stripling warriors made their grand debut. I love the story of the stripling warriors because it gives me hope, and courage, it makes me feel like I can do hard things, so naturally I was trying to get through all the struggles of Captain Moroni and the wars with the lamanites. That’s when I asked myself the question: why is there so much war in the Book of Mormon. How does this correlate to my life? We are at war in every aspect of our lives.
It was then that I started to pay a little more attention to the words during the war chapters. Obviously I noticed how as soon as the Nephites got a little more in regards to the world their focus started to shift to the world and they started to forget God. Or the goodness of God. I noticed that when Moroni took Lamanites captive he put them to work to help fortify and build the Nephite cities which made me think(Alma 53). Wait, I should be using my “enemy” to help fortify me and build myself up to be stronger??? Interesting..
As I continued reading in Alma 55 I took interest in how Moroni tricked the lamanites by using one of his men that was of lamanite decent to bring the lamanites alcohol. So that they could arm the prisoners so that they could escape and be freed. What should this mean to me? In my life? When it comes to family or to our safety do I need to be sneaky? They talk about alcohol being poison. When I think about poison in my life today I think about pornography, alcohol, drugs, obviously but my thoughts are turned more toward happiness. I think that Satan tries to trick us with our emotions. He tries to deceive us into thinking we aren’t happy and what we need to be happy in this world may not be in harmony with the teaching of the Gospel. So I guess what I am getting from this chapter is that Satan is tricky and he is trying to trick us but we can be tricky also and we can learn from how we are tricky. The Nephites gave the lamanites alcohol and tricked them into getting drunk. Then the lamanites tried to do the same trick but the Nephites wouldn’t fall for it because it was their trick. How can I use that against satan? How can I use that in my life?
Alma 56
I noticed that there is a lot of talk about spies. The nephites send spies out many times to make sure they are keeping track of their enemies that they might not be unprepared. This to me is totally relatable in modern times. We need to keep track of the ways Satan will try and hurt us. We need to try and be one step ahead of him so when he does strike we have a plan. The lamanites don’t scare easily but when they noticed that the nephites were increasing their forces daily they knew they couldn’t go up against them, at least not at that time. I wonder if that’s the same with Satan. I wonder if we can intimidate Satan by increasing our forces daily?
It’s always so encouraging to read about the faith of the 2000. They had never fought but they did not fear death. They did not doubt God would deliver them. It’s our faith that will deliver us. Lastly in this chapter the 2000 and the nephite armies made a plan and had each other’s backs and worked together and when they did that they were able to beat the lamanites.
Alma 57
I love how there was not one soul of them who had perished neither was there one soul that did not receive many wounds. They also talk about some who had fainted because of the amount of blood loss. In this life we will get wounded. We will receive many wounds not just one, and some will faint with the amount of wounds they receive but we will not die if we just have faith. Everyone has problems in life, some are worse than others but we can still find happiness if we have faith.
Alma 58
Helaman and the Nephites with him didn’t know why they weren’t getting assistance from the government. They were scared but they kept praying even though they didn’t know why they weren’t receiving help. Hard work to take the city of Manti. The Nephites sacrificed sleeping to continue their march to make it to take back the city of Manti from the Lamanites.
Alma 59
Moroni was angry with the government because they weren’t helping and the city of Nephihah was over taken by the Lamanites. This is important to me because Moroni was angry. Sometimes when I read the scriptures I feel that the people back then were more spiritual that they just connect better with the gospel, but even if they did connect better with the gospel they still get angry. They still have weaknesses.
Alma 60
Moroni writes a letter to Pahoran and he gets mad at him and tells him if he doesn’t come help them by sending food and more men then he will go to war with him. We should make use of our means that the Lord has provided for us. This chapter really stands out to me because Moroni stands up for himself and his people and he will not take no for an answer. He demands help and he is pretty harsh with his words yet again showing me that he is human, because he does assume that Pahoran is just being idle and not caring about his people. We find out in the next chapter that Pahoran has been run out by the king-man. That he himself was in dire need. This can be applicable in our life. We shouldn’t assume the what or the why for what others do. What we don’t know what is going on in their lives and unless we reach out to each other we will never know. Pahoran showed humility by not being offended by Moroni’s words.
Alma 62
Because the prayer of the righteous humanity was spared. There was a lot of wickedness in the world but God didn’t curse the land or cause them to suffer because of the righteous. I think it’s easy to see people maybe doing things that aren’t up to the standards of God but still succeeding in the things of the world and to envy them or to think why. Why are they successful and yet not doing what they should be doing according to the standards of God? I think there is more than one answer to this question. I think that God isn’t cursing the “land” because of the cries of the righteous and I think that the righteous also need to learn or to try and focus more on things of an eternal perspective and not too focused on the things of this world.
Helaman 1
Coriantumr attacked Zarahemla. The Nephites didn’t guard Zarahemla as heavily as the other cities because it was the heart of their lands so they assumed that the Lamanites wouldn’t attack them there. Satan is going to attack anything. Nothing is off limits. Our minds, our bodies, our lives. I often think about my thoughts and how nowadays people say “I was born this way” or “this is how I feel” Satan can still attack these areas of our lives. That is why life is hard for me. Is this me? Is this Satan? Is Heavenly Father ok with my decision making? Because of this I think a deep connection with Heavenly Father is needed. In Helaman it also states that coriantumr attacked so fast that the Nephites didn’t have time to react and they were caught off guard. That is exactly how Satan works. We have no idea he is coming until it’s too late. Once Coriantumr took over Zarahemla he decided to continue his march and try to take over Bountiful, but the Nephites fought back and drove them back to Zarahemla. This could be like Satan. He wants to keep coming for us especially when we are down but that doesn’t mean we will not have the power to bruise his heel. If we fight back we can drive him away.
Helaman 2
Helaman’s servant protected Helaman from Kishcuman. People are sent to us to protect us or to help us in our lives. We need each other.
Helaman 3
Helaman gave his son’s the name of Nephi and Lehi so that they can remember where they came from and that they may think of God. Pride was a problem with the people of the church. If the people noticed this pride they fasted and prayed often so that they could grow in their humility. Sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God(versus 35).
Helaman 4
The Nephites lost the city of Zarahemla again and they lost possession of almost all their lands. They lost their lands because they had started to go against the word of God and started to do iniquity, As soon as they repented and started to follow the commandments they started to regain half their lands and possessions. I think there are examples of this throughout the scriptures. I feel like the Nephites are either good or bad and that they are safe or unsafe according to their actions. What if this is in here so that we can take a look at our lives and think, are good things happening to me? If things are not going my way is there something that I need to repent of?
Helaman 5
Helaman taught his sons the about staying true to the commandment and he warned them about building a strong “foundation”. Helaman testifies that having a strong foundation is the only way to with stand the “blows” from Satan. When I listen to the story of Nephi and Lehi in the prison I correlate this to my life that Heavenly Father will protect his servants. Heavenly Father is here with us and knows when we need him.
Helaman 6
What sticks out to me in this chapter is first how quickly the Nephites turned back to iniquity and second how much Satan was referred to. In chapter 32 it states that all these iniquities did come unto them in the space of not many years. To me this is suggesting that turning our backs on our beliefs can happen quicker than we may expect. In versus 26 it clearly states that it’s Satan who put into the heart of gadianton that he should commit murder and all manner of wickedness. The deception of Satan continues through versus 31. I think it is written to help us understand who our enemy is. We need to stay focused on who we need to stay away from.
Helaman 7-9
This chapter contains the story of Nephi praying upon his tower. I think it’s important to not that he didn’t go up on his tower to show off, rather he went up there to get away from others. At least that is why I think he goes up there. People in his city see him praying and start to gather. When he has finished pleading with God he sees all the people that have gathered, and starts to preach to them. This is when the judges start to get mad at him and try to get the crowd mad at him as well. They want to throw him in prison but Nephi has done nothing wrong so many of the people in the crowd do not let it happen (chapter 8). Nephi sees that some people are on his side and starts to believe him so he continues to preach and tell the people of their iniquities. I wonder do the last dispensation Prophets preach this way? I haven’t really noticed if they preach about all the iniquity that is going on rather I notice them preaching on how to get back on the right path or how to hold on to the rod more firmly, but I have noticed them talking about pornography and about sexual sin. I’ll have to pay more attention and see if he says other things that are stirring me off the pathway. In chapter 9 Nephi gives the people proof that he is a prophet of God by telling the crowd that the Chief Judge was dead. He also told them that he was killed by his brother. Nephi gave the people details that he wouldn’t know unless God made them known unto him. When I think of this story I think of how God will always be with us. This could have been a really sticky situation for Nephi if Seantum didn’t confess. I think this is just another example of how God will be on our side of God’s love for us and how he wants to protect us.
Helaman 10
God makes it known unto Nephi that he is proud of him and gives him to to seal on Earth. God also tells Nephi about the Nephites that if they don’t repent they are going to be destroyed off the face of the Earth. After God talks to Nephi I find it interesting that Nephi goes straight to the people and preaches everything he has learned about them and what would happen to them if they do not repent. To me this shows the love Nephi has for the people, who are incredibly rude to him and who threaten him. He has this emens love and wants to save them.
Helaman 11
This chapter is when Nephi prays to God asking him to send a famine rather than war, to humble the Nephites that they might repent. This idea that everything happens for a reason, is what I think about when I think of Heavenly Father “not saving us”. He lets us go through the famine he brings about the famine so that we can humble ourselves and be saved, but yet it is still our decision.
Helaman 12
God cares. He loves us. There is so much evidence in the scriptures to suggest that he cares for us. In helaman 12:14-15 we know that Mormon knows about the universe. How would he know this? The only logical explanation would be because God shared this wisdom with him. He loves us, he wants us to succeed, he wants us to learn, he wants us to make our decisions. In this chapter it talks about repentance being the key to happiness. As I think about my life now I am afraid. I am afraid to move, I am afraid to make a mistake, I am afraid to learn from my mistakes but as I read this chapter I see that repentance is the only way to happiness. I can’t live my life in fear. I can’t live my life not making mistakes, they are bound to happen. What I can do is learn from my mistakes.
Helaman 13
The truth that I take away most in this chapter is we can not be happy in sin. Wickedness never was happiness. We know right from wrong. I think it is important to use what we know and make decisions based on that.
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