Before You Know It...

Helaman 3 reminds me of a situation I've seen many times with myself and friends. If we are not careful, we will end up far from where we want to be on the gospel path... before we know it.

In the beginning of Helaman chapter 3, it is mentioned that during the 43rd year of the reign of the judges there was NO CONTENTION among all of the people of Nephi, save it were a LITTLE pride which was in the church. This pride did cause some dissensions among the people, but was settled by the end of that same year.

Fast forward a few years and many Nephites started migrating north. They figured out how to work cement, built houses, and became prosperous in that part of the land. These people even kept many records of their proceedings in this land. That is, until they began to fall into transgression "...becoming wicked, and wild, and ferocious..." (Helaman 3:16). What caused this big change from being righteous to wickedness in such a short amount of time?

I truly think that the key word is found in verse 1 of Helaman 3: PRIDE. Initially, the problems began when pride entered into their hearts. (To read an excellent discourse on PRIDE, see this talk written by President Ezra Taft Benson.) Sure, they may have "settled" the issue at one point. But they didn't keep their pride in check. They allowed themselves to fall.

We must be aware of the temptations of Satan. As Mosiah said, "...if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not" (Mosiah 4:30).

These once righteous men and women (some of them a part of the people of Ammon and maybe even a part of Helaman's army) did not take heed to this counsel. They allowed themselves to make mistakes and to stay away from God's Spirit because they did not keep themselves in check. May we beware of pride. May we remmeber to keep our thoughts, actions, and deeds clean. May we perservere until the end of our days by trying to overcome pride and those temptations that befall us. That is my hope for myself and my loved ones.

Secrecy, Deception & Lies

People are hurt by lies, deception, and secrecy. Whether it is in a family or as an individual, secrecy and deception eat away at our very core. When we are not open with other people about those things we should be, it hurts. Sometimes the hurt is only within, but sometimes the hurt is felt more keenly by others.

Recently, I've been dealing with a situation where secrecy was involved. The person kept a secret thinking that it would spare me from unnecessary hurt. But, because the secret was kept for so long, it hurt me worse than if I had known from the get-go. Time and again I've seen over the years that it is better to be open and deal with the consequences, then to wait. When you do, the situation seems to amplify to a much higher level.



This morning, I was reminded of this pain I'm dealing with as I was reading in Helaman chapter 1. Chapter 1 begins with the death of Pahoran, the current chief judge of the land. Because of jealousy, power-seeking, and greed, three of his sons seek after the office of chief judge. Rather than being unified, they cause a rift among the people. The people became angry and one of the brothers was sentenced to death for rebellion against the government. Eventually, the brother elected was murdered by Kishkumen and his followers, who took a secret oath to never tell the secrets. This secret hurt those followers as it did the society they eventually plundered. This deception caused such a problem and temptation and led to even more deception and temptation.

As Sir Walter Scott so aptly wrote, "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."

I know that sometimes we get caught in a situation where we have been keeping a secret from someone. If you are in that situation, don't make it worse for yourself. Do your best to be honest and get out of that situation. I know that a burden will be lifted from your shoulders. You'll feel better and the people around you will also be bettered from your honesty. I know it's not always easy to get out of the "tangled web" we create for ourselves. But, I do know that life will be better once you do work to get out of that situation!

"If ye are not one ye are not mine"

Doctrine and Covenants 38:27
"I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine."

After several years of prosperity among the Nephites, the Lamanites come against them again to take away their lands. And this time, the Lamanites start to succeed. You want to know WHY they succeeded? Because the Nephites were not unified.

Shortly before the Lamanites invaded, a group of Nephites (who came to be known as the king-men) decided that they did not agree with the leader of the land on a law and wanted to establish king instead to rule over the land. Having a king had serious consequences throughout the land, most of which had to do with removing the freedoms the people had.


As the Lamanites began marching into the land for war, the king-men said they would teach the Nephites all a lesson and not fight against the Lamanites. At that point, the Captain of the Nephite army, Moroni, had a choice to make. March to fight off the Lamanites or take care of the problems of dissenters within his own land. He opted for the latter. His army defeated and "humbled" those dissenters that did not lose their lives in the process.

Because Moroni was forced to take so much time, resources, and energy to fight this battle with the king-men, the Lamanites had time to take over several of the fortified Nephite cities. If the king-men would have been unified with the rest of the army, this may not have happened.


What can we learn from this in our lives? Well, I'm reminded of a recent conference talk by President Eyring in which we spoke about having our hearts knit as one. (You can read the full talk HERE.)

Although we all live in different circumstances and have different opinions and beliefs, it is very important that we remain unified and forgiving. Satan wants us to be angry. He wants us to hate others for their beliefs and perspectives that differ from our own. God wants us to seek for understanding in others, not hate. He wants us to serve and help others, even (and maybe ESPECIALLY) those whose beliefs differ from our own. As we are seeking to understand each other and find common ground, we WILL become more unified. Our lives will improve as will the lives of those around us.

Weaknesses and Strengths

War. War. War. The Lamanites seem intent upon it in order to conquer land they feel is rightfully theirs. Isn't it interesting what perspective and knowledge can give you as you read about the wars between the Nephites and Lamanites?

One central theme that seems to be reoccuring throughout the war chapters is that of preparation. When the Nephites were prepared for battle - both spiritually and temporally - they were able to win the battle. When they were not, they lost. One such example of this is in Alma chapter 48.


Nephite dissenters had gone over to join the Lamanite army. This meant that those dissenters knew about the Nephite army. They knew their strongholds in the land and their weaknesses as well. The Lamanites planned an attack based on this knowledge: "While Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God." Moroni strengthened his army spiritually BEFORE he strengthened them physically. Additionally, he was aware of their places of weakness and he strengthened and fortified those places.

There is much that we can learn from this. Ether 12:27 says, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness... for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

Moroni was aware of his weaknesses. In humility, he desired to improve his weakness in order to save his people. For he was "a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people" (Alma 48:12). Moroni worked hard to serve and he always gave thanks unto God for the blessings he had been given, even in hard times.

We all have weaknesses. Satan is as much aware of our weaknesses as we are. In fact, he is probably MORE aware of them. He seeks on every hand to battle against us and attack our weak parts, knowing how to take us down. If we do not fortify ourselves and prepare ourselves accordingly, then we will not win the battle against him. We need to be aware of our weaknesses and ask Heavenly Father in faith to help us to improve them. Heavenly Father WILL guide us if he humbly ask him and if we truly desire to improve ourselves, always giving thanks for what we have been given.

Hopefully if we do so, we can be described like Moroni in Alma chapter 48 verse 17, which says,

"Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yeah, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men."

Decisions & Consequences

For the second time this week (the first being last Sunday), I've been confronted with the consequences of some decisions I made earlier this year. When I made the decisions, I knew there would be consequences. I felt bad for the decisions I made and wished I hadn't made them. Several times since then have I been reminded of said decisions and my regrets for having made them. However, it wasn't until this week that the full weight of my decisions hit me smack in the face. And I mean one of those stinging smacks that leaves a red mark and lingers. A smack so hard it hurt and immediately caused tears to well up in my eyes.

It happened so suddenly. I didn't expect in the middle of a conversation with a perfect stranger to be reminded of my negative choices and the fact that these choices are still hindering me now. I was reminded that although we may make a choice, we may NOT choose the consequence. There was a consequence assigned to that choice long before the choice was made. As Newton said, "To every action there is an opposite and equal reaction." Although Newton was talking about the Laws of Motion when he said that, I believe that also applies to our choices. There are consequences for our actions. Some call it karma. Others call it God's laws. No matter what you call it, we all must succumb to the consequences of the choices we make.

I apologize for being so cryptic. I'm purposely being ambiguous because I really don't want to delve into my decisions. I do, however, want to remind you to make sure you think about your decisions before you make them. I know that because of this experience, I will definitely be more careful and deliberate in the choices I make in my life.

If Ye Prepare, Ye Shall Not Fear

As we look at the world around us, we can see that troubled times are happening both in and out of our country. For me, contemplating on these troubled times can cause me much anxiety! I know that many of the current events have been foretold in scripture and by revelation from latter-day prophets. The unknown in any of its forms can be unsettling. However, we can take comfort that if we're doing our best to prepare ourselves, we truly should have nothing to fear for the Lord will guide us and direct us.


I was led tonight to contemplate this as I read about the Nephite vs. Lamanite wars that started in Alma chapter 43. The Nephites were faithful in many ways. They knew who their prophet was and trusted in him and the revelations he received from the Lord. In addition to being faithful, they also TOOK ACTION. They did all they could to ensure that they could protect their families, homes, and religion. These Nephites did not just sit at home praying that everything would turn out okay. Nor did they allow the fear in their hearts to take over and keep them from improving themselves.

I'm sure it was NOT easy for them to know that they were severely outnumbered by Nephite-dissenters and Lamanites alike. It must have been incredibly unsettling to be in their situation! I can't even imagine knowing that people who were once your brothers now had an extreme loathing and hatred for you so much so that they wanted nothing more (and nothing less) than to kill you and your families and take your land and substance.

Rather than giving up in such discouraging circumstances, they prayed and went to work.


In a conference talk given by President Thomas S. Monson in April of 1989, he shared a story that gives us insight into this topic:

A mammoth 747 jetliner, while flying over the Pacific, sustained a gigantic tear in its side, ejecting nine passengers to their deaths and threatening the lives of all. When the pilot, Captain David Cronin, was interviewed, having brought the craft back safely to Honolulu, he was asked, “What did you do when the plane ripped open? How did you cope?”

Captain Cronin replied, “I prayed, then went to work.”

My brethren, this is an inspired plan for each of us to follow: Pray, and then go to work.

That is exactly what the Nephites did. They prayed and went to work. They prepared themselves as much as they could with breastplates and shields, armor and weapons of diffent kinds. And you know what? Their preparation frightened the enemy and helped them to win the battle. (Of course it also helped that they turned to their prophet, Alma, for guidance who was able to give them revelation from the Lord of how to win the war. Granted, if they hadn't been spiritually prepared, Alma wouldn't have been able to receive that revelation for the people.)

All of this reminds me of the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 38:30, which says "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." (President Hinckley addressed the men in a priesthood conference talk so titled which you can find here.) I know that if we are doing our best to uphold God's laws and to keep His commandments, we will be both guided and blessed. Yes, we do live in troubled times as the Nephites did. Let us remain faithful in word and deed. Let us do our best to keep ourselves spiritually and temporally prepared for whatever the future holds.