Later I will share about the Rich Young Man and some anti-behaviorism stuff I read from Alfie Kohn, but TODAY I read “The Book of Alma: Lessons for Today” in the October Ensign and I just found it so timely (I am sure that was the intent of the editors, I’m no dummy), given that Election Day is two weeks away, and considering the tumult in the world.
The author, Elder Peiper, introduces his ideas by pointing out that there must be something relevant to us in this book since Mormon did not edit it out. There are twenty chapters dedicated to telling us how the Nephites defended their system of government (judges vs. kings) and their liberty. He distills three main lessons for us to maintain our own liberties: (1) Maintain proper desires and motives, (2) Be kind and generous to the less fortunate (my fave), and (3) Listen to and follow inspired leaders. Here are my favorite parts, quotes I think we should ponder and take to heart:
I) “Their desire was to preserve their agency—the right to act in righteousness and to answer for their own conduct—rather than have a king prescribe their conduct. Their motive was to preserve equality under the law, specifically their liberty to worship God and maintain their church.”
“There are and always will be in societies forces seeking to manipulate public opinion to obtain power for personal gain. There is a temptation to adopt their motives and turn the conflict into a power struggle. The Lord’s way is to always act based only on pure desires and motives…” –If we want God’s support, we do things His way.
II) I am particularly fond of this next story because I'm kind of an Ammon fan, and I love that the people he taught were so committed to being like Jesus that they buried their weapons of war and vowed to never fight again. And did the Nephites mock them and call them dirty hippies? NO! They defended them and supported them...
"When their former enemies, the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, were threatened with destruction, the Nephites voted to give them a place to live and build new lives and provided them with protection. Because the Anti-Nephi-Lehies had taken an oath never to take up their weapons of war again, they provided instead 'a large portion of their substance to support the Nephite armies during these critical times. Nevertheless, there is no record that the Nephites treated these immigrants with anything other than respect and love, even though they must have been an easy political target for those who wanted to stir up dissension.
"The kind treatment the Nephites gave to the people of Ammon, as they came to be called, was reciprocated and eventually contributed to the formation of one of the most inspiring military brigades in recorded history—the 2,000 stripling warriors. Ironically, the service of these young men may have been the key to preserving Nephite society from an early destruction.
"In times of internal dissension, external attack, and economic challenges, there is a tendency to become negative toward those who are 'not like us.' It becomes easy to become critical of them and make judgments. One might question their loyalty to and value in society and their impact on our economic well-being. These negative responses are inconsistent with the Savior’s charge to love our neighbors as ourselves, and they create polarization, contention, and isolation."
III) Then Elder Peiper talks about how Moroni helped the people prepare temporally by building fortresses and armor, and Helaman prepared them by strengthening their faith and righteousness so the Holy Spirit could guide them through the conflicts. "By listening to the temporal and spiritual direction of inspired leaders, the Nephites were preserved."
“We are blessed to live in a day when the Lord has called living prophets, seers, and revelators to warn us and guide us to prepare for today’s challenges. In 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) gave inspired instruction and warning to Church members: ‘The time has come to get our houses in order. So many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings. …The economy is a fragile thing. … There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.’"
2 comments:
Another lesson I learned from Alma in this election season (I am an Alma Groupie....he is one of my favorites!) He tells his good son Shiblon to "bridle his passions" so he could be filled with love. I have always assumed this was a sidelong comment about not falling in to Corianton's problems but as I read yesterday I realized it is more about keeping our strong opinions and feelings (anger was the first "passion" that came to mind) in perspective. When we are caught up in believing only our way is the right way (passionately) we are unable to truly see and have compassion for others who believe differently than we do. We need to avoid the trap of being SELF-centered in our hearts and be loving towards all.... I don't know if I expressed my thought well, but that is what I learned yesterday in my reading. k,
Miss K, my mind was on the same things as I drifted off to sleep. I wasn't thinking of Alma's words in particular, but I was thinking that as children of God we have inherited divine qualities from him and those qualities include charity, understanding & meekness, a desire to create or build-up rather than to destroy. Of course The Natural Man is capable of squawking so loud and so self-centeredly, it is quite easy and common for our divine selves to be drowned out. Nor can we hear the Spirit whispering a Better Way.
Anyway, I thought how it's so common for good people to be blinded by their passions to the point of self-righteousness, so blind that it's impossible to understand someone different from themselves. And then we surround ourselves with voices that reinforce things we already think , we continue to cut ourselves off from the ability to see and understand another good person's point of view. I have so many loved ones who honestly think it's okay to make uninformed generalizations and judgments about people who are different from themselves in spite of--and sometimes because of their own interpretation of--the gospel. It really shocks and disappoints me, and election season magnifies the problem.
I testify that there exists no "right way" of thinking in politics. If there were, God would endorse a political party. All of his apostles would belong to it. Another thing we learn so well in the Book of Mormon is that there will always be gadiantons scheming for power, taking advantage of good people, using them to get gain (WAKE UP! YOU ARE BEING USED!)We also learn to beware of pride, and of placing so much faith in our own ideas that the Spirit cannot help us be charitable and understanding of others. And one last lesson from the BOM, straight from the Savior's mouth: "For...he that hath contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger one with another. BEHOLD, THIS IN NOT MY DOCTRINE, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine: that such things should be done away (3Ne 11:29-30)." Or this precious litte gem that I can relate to: in Alma 19:28, a woman came, "and when she saw the contention which was among the multitude, she was exceedingly sorrowful, even unto tears." That's me, and that's why you'll never catch me in a debate or in anything political. I don't have the heart for it. And I am proud of that.
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