Alma 43:1-13
43:1-3 - This is going to sound really morbid, but now we are getting into the war chapters, and these are my favorite, why? Because I’m military, my family is military, and I think I’ve mentioned this before, but war effects every generation and the effect is large, war is one of the absolute worst of the human experience, whether you are fighting, whether you are supporting, whether you are at home worrying and picking up the slack, I’ve filled all of those roles and they all suck equally. War changes people, makes them stronger and makes them weaker, some grow in their humanity and some wither away into psychopathic stalks of craziness, many people lose their salvation in during wartime, so this critical concept must be mastered during peace time because during the throws of war is not the time to decide. The IM states that “Some people wonder why the Book of Mormon contains so much about war. President Ezra Taft Benson stated that ‘from the Book of Mormon we learn how Disciples of Christ live I times of war.’ Since Mormon saw our day and knew we would live in a time of ‘wars and rumors of wars,’ he included how to live righteously during these times. Many Latter-day Saints have been and will be involved in military conflicts. Look for the gospel principles Mormon included in these war chapters. Mormon revealed the tremendous suffering caused by conflict and also explained why war may be necessary in the defense of life and liberty. Both Mormon and modern prophets have described circumstances when war is justified. President Gordon B. Hinckley related the heavenly sorrow that accompanies such events, even when wars are justified: ‘I think our Father in Heaven must have wept as He has looked down upon His children through the centuries as they have squandered their divine birthright in ruthlessly destroying one another.’ The Nephites and Captain Moroni showed the proper attitude toward war and bloodshed.” Our times have been prophesied to be bloody and violent and it’s crucial that we know what to do, Mormon has tailor made the Book of Mormon for our time and these are our instructions. The concept of how God can allow war and the absolute horror that unfolds to people in this life, but this is where the law of compensation comes in for me, in fact I talked to a friend about this very idea, telling him, “imagine the most horrific events that have ever occurred in the history of the world, Darfur, Mao, Pol Pot, Hitler, Stalin, all of these, and then imagine all those who were victims of these and countless other atrocities, what’s the only way that a just God could bring justice for the victims, while still allowing mercy to be available through repentance for those who perpetrated these crimes? How could that happen? The only way that I can see justice being satisfied while allowing mercy is for the rewards and compensation that the next life will bring would have to be unfathomable to us as mortals. It’s kind of like my childhood, horrific to me at the time, but now looking back, I see what I learned and my life now is so amazing, that yes I remember it, but it doesn’t seem unjust to me, I’m cool with it, and I’d imagine that when we get to the next life, somewhere, that we will feel the same way about the injustice and victimization that occurred in this life. The IM further quotes the message sent out by the First Presidency during WWII saying, “Members must give allegiance to their sovereign and render it loyal service when called thereto. (This includes military service.) But the Church, itself, as such, as no responsibility for these policies, as to which it has no means of doing more than urging its members fully to render that loyalty to their country and to free institutions which the loftiest patriotism calls for… There is an obligation running from every citizen or subject to the state. This obligation is voice in that Article of Faith which declares: ‘We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law…’ Obedient to these principles, the members of the Church have always felt under obligation to come to the defense of their country when a call to arms was made… Thus the Church is must be again war… It cannot regard war as a righteous means of settling international disputes; these should and could be settled- the nations agreeing- by peaceful negotiation and adjustment. But the Church membership are citizens or subjects of sovereignties over which the Church has no control… Where, therefore, constitutional law, obedient to these principles, calls the manhood of the Church into the armed service of any country to which they owe allegiance, their highest civic duty requires that they meet that call. If, harkening to that call, and obeying those in command over them, they shall take the lives of those who fight against them, that will not make of them murderers.” What’s the interesting part about this statement? The encouragement to “render it loyal service,” to their sovereign nation, who were the main participants in the conflict in WWII America vs. Japan vs. Germany vs. Italy, and guess what, there were members of the church in all those countries, so in essence, the Church didn’t come out in support of any one nation or cause, but instead encouraged patriotism and loyalty to one’s own country. My mom told me a story once about how during WWII in Europe, there were Americans and Germans fighting each other, then in some way, they both found out that they were LDS and then they couldn’t kill each other after that, sounds a little farfetched but anything is possible. The ironic part of opposing armies, not really in the case of the Nephites and Lamanites here, but usually, those front line foot soldiers that are fighting and dying for the cause of country, are very similar to each other but they stand on opposite sides of the line because of where they were born, and if they weren’t commanded to kill each other many of them would be friends with each other. Anyway, I digress.
43:4-13 - The Nephites "saw that the Lamanites were coming upon them; therefore they made preparations for war; yea they gathered together their armies in the land of Jershon." Strategically, this would make sense since this was the place, apparently that was closest to the spot to the Lamanites, so it would be natural as a staging place. While teaching about the way in which Captain Moroni was a great military and spiritual leader, the IM teaches, "During his service as chief captain, Moroni relied on his strengths and the Lord's power to defend the Nephites. Alma 43 is an example of how Captain Moroni blended his good judgment with his obedience to God's counsel. He prepared each soldier with improved military armor, and he sought the prophet's advice before entering battle. 'The Lamanite campaign was directed by Amalekite and Zoramite officers, whose knowledge of Nephite military secrets and methods would have given them an enormous advantage over any commander but Moroni. Right at the outset his foresight had robbed them of their first and logical objective- the buffer land of Jershon. He had taken up his main defensive position there, but when the messengers returned from consulting the prophet he learned that the Lamanites were planning a surprise by directing their push against the more inaccessible but weaker land of Manti, where they would not be expected. Immediately Moroni moved his main army into Manti and put the people there in a state of preparedness. Informed of every Lamanite move by his spies and scouts, Moroni was able to lay a trap for the enemy, catching them of-guard as they were fording the river Sidon.' Captain Moroni expected the blessings of the Lord because he had given his best efforts. He was perhaps the brightest military mind of his day, and yet he showed humility by following the prophet's counsel. This made Captain Moroni a mighty instrument in the hand of God." We skipped ahead a little bit but it's interesting that Captain Moroni (CM from here on out, it's easier to type that way,) did not rely on the Lord's guidance alone, nor did he rely on his own military stratagem alone, he used both, he sought intelligence from the scouts like it was his only hope and he he sought guidance from the prophets like nothing else mattered, this is what made him successful. Going back a bit, we find that most of the Lamanite's military leadership was made up of Amalekites and Zoramites, "as the Amalekites were of a more wicked and murderous disposition than the Lamanites were." The first thing that I want to point out is that the apostate Nephites, Amalekites and Zoramites were not leading the Lamanites to war to defend themselves, they didn't legitimately care if the their soldiers fell, who lived and who didn't, their only objective was death and destruction among the Nephites, the Lamanites were simply their pawns, a means to an end, who ultimately were killed and maimed, and their leadership was happy to sacrifice them. Likewise, Satan uses us as his pawns, as a means to an end, to commit sin, to hurt others, to take happiness away from the Savior, our spirits ultimately die, we are miserable and unhappy, and Satan doesn't care, there is no loyalty there, and in the end, our sacrifice is a price that he's happy to pay. Moving on, the IM teaches (The Zoramites once belonged to the Nephite nation. Due to pride, however, 'the Zoramites became Lamanites.' Before the defection, Nephite leaders rightly feared that the Zoramites might enter into an alliance with the Lamanites, thus placing the Nephite nation at risk. In order to prevent this mass defection, Alma led a mission to reclaim the Zoramites, many of whom had already abandoned the true faith. Even though some of the Zoramites were restored to the faith, the majority were angry and 'began to mix with the Lamanite and to stir them up' in preparation for war. Lamanite war leaders appointed the more bloodthirsty Zoramites and Amalekites as chief captains in an effort to gain an advantage over the Nephites. The Zoramites... invited the Lamanite hordes to move in and occupy their country as their first major move against the Nephites. At their head can the Lamanites commander-in-chief, the Amalekite Zerahemnah. The Amalekites were Nephite dissenters of an earlier day, and like most dissenters were more bitter against the Nephites and 'of a more wicked and murderous disposition than the Lamanites were.' Zerahemnah had seen to it that all the key commands in the army had gone to Amalekites like himself or to equally ferocious Zoramites." I guess that begs the question, what is the influence that a wicked, or righteous for that matter as we'll see later with who CM appoints, military leader? As with any leader, we've seen that their influence can be great, both for righteousness, as with King Benjamin, or wickedness, as with King Noah. But I feel that military leaders can carry an added significance, because while faced with the prospect of death, both your own and those who you send to the next life, that's as close as anyone can get to the great abyss of chaos. When standing on the cliff of madness, with death or taking life as your options, sometimes it doesn't take much to be sent over the edge, and the strong voice of reason and humanity can pull you back just as easily as the voice of hate and blood can send you over. We can also see that the, like we learned before, once you leave neutral ground, you can never go back. The Amalekites and Zoramites (A&Z from here on out,) left neutral ground when they learned of the gospel, but then when they decided to follow Satan, they could not go back to a state un not knowing, of innocence, no they had to make their stand either for or against, and once they chose to leave the safety of the gospel, they fell into the traps of Satan. But the A&Z didn't want to just kill or harass the Nephites, they desired to "gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into bondage." They were fueled by hate, greed, and selfishness, the Nephites on the other hand was desirous to "support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires. For they knew that if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites, that whosoever should worship God in spirit and in truth, the true and the living God, the Lamanites would destroy." The Nephites just wanted to be free, the didn't want to enslave the Lamanites or to kill them all so that they would leave them alone, they just wanted to love God and their families. But there was also another problem if the Lamanites won, the Nephites "knew the extreme hatred of the Lamanites towards their brethren, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, who were called the people of Ammon- and they would not take up arms, yea, they had entered into a covenant and they would not break it- therefore, if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites they would be destroyed." So it wasn't just love for their own freedom or the freedom of the friends and family, it was love of another group of people who would suffer greatly if they lost, and that kind of devotion is priceless, not only in combat but to the spirit.
43:4-13 - The Nephites "saw that the Lamanites were coming upon them; therefore they made preparations for war; yea they gathered together their armies in the land of Jershon." Strategically, this would make sense since this was the place, apparently that was closest to the spot to the Lamanites, so it would be natural as a staging place. While teaching about the way in which Captain Moroni was a great military and spiritual leader, the IM teaches, "During his service as chief captain, Moroni relied on his strengths and the Lord's power to defend the Nephites. Alma 43 is an example of how Captain Moroni blended his good judgment with his obedience to God's counsel. He prepared each soldier with improved military armor, and he sought the prophet's advice before entering battle. 'The Lamanite campaign was directed by Amalekite and Zoramite officers, whose knowledge of Nephite military secrets and methods would have given them an enormous advantage over any commander but Moroni. Right at the outset his foresight had robbed them of their first and logical objective- the buffer land of Jershon. He had taken up his main defensive position there, but when the messengers returned from consulting the prophet he learned that the Lamanites were planning a surprise by directing their push against the more inaccessible but weaker land of Manti, where they would not be expected. Immediately Moroni moved his main army into Manti and put the people there in a state of preparedness. Informed of every Lamanite move by his spies and scouts, Moroni was able to lay a trap for the enemy, catching them of-guard as they were fording the river Sidon.' Captain Moroni expected the blessings of the Lord because he had given his best efforts. He was perhaps the brightest military mind of his day, and yet he showed humility by following the prophet's counsel. This made Captain Moroni a mighty instrument in the hand of God." We skipped ahead a little bit but it's interesting that Captain Moroni (CM from here on out, it's easier to type that way,) did not rely on the Lord's guidance alone, nor did he rely on his own military stratagem alone, he used both, he sought intelligence from the scouts like it was his only hope and he he sought guidance from the prophets like nothing else mattered, this is what made him successful. Going back a bit, we find that most of the Lamanite's military leadership was made up of Amalekites and Zoramites, "as the Amalekites were of a more wicked and murderous disposition than the Lamanites were." The first thing that I want to point out is that the apostate Nephites, Amalekites and Zoramites were not leading the Lamanites to war to defend themselves, they didn't legitimately care if the their soldiers fell, who lived and who didn't, their only objective was death and destruction among the Nephites, the Lamanites were simply their pawns, a means to an end, who ultimately were killed and maimed, and their leadership was happy to sacrifice them. Likewise, Satan uses us as his pawns, as a means to an end, to commit sin, to hurt others, to take happiness away from the Savior, our spirits ultimately die, we are miserable and unhappy, and Satan doesn't care, there is no loyalty there, and in the end, our sacrifice is a price that he's happy to pay. Moving on, the IM teaches (The Zoramites once belonged to the Nephite nation. Due to pride, however, 'the Zoramites became Lamanites.' Before the defection, Nephite leaders rightly feared that the Zoramites might enter into an alliance with the Lamanites, thus placing the Nephite nation at risk. In order to prevent this mass defection, Alma led a mission to reclaim the Zoramites, many of whom had already abandoned the true faith. Even though some of the Zoramites were restored to the faith, the majority were angry and 'began to mix with the Lamanite and to stir them up' in preparation for war. Lamanite war leaders appointed the more bloodthirsty Zoramites and Amalekites as chief captains in an effort to gain an advantage over the Nephites. The Zoramites... invited the Lamanite hordes to move in and occupy their country as their first major move against the Nephites. At their head can the Lamanites commander-in-chief, the Amalekite Zerahemnah. The Amalekites were Nephite dissenters of an earlier day, and like most dissenters were more bitter against the Nephites and 'of a more wicked and murderous disposition than the Lamanites were.' Zerahemnah had seen to it that all the key commands in the army had gone to Amalekites like himself or to equally ferocious Zoramites." I guess that begs the question, what is the influence that a wicked, or righteous for that matter as we'll see later with who CM appoints, military leader? As with any leader, we've seen that their influence can be great, both for righteousness, as with King Benjamin, or wickedness, as with King Noah. But I feel that military leaders can carry an added significance, because while faced with the prospect of death, both your own and those who you send to the next life, that's as close as anyone can get to the great abyss of chaos. When standing on the cliff of madness, with death or taking life as your options, sometimes it doesn't take much to be sent over the edge, and the strong voice of reason and humanity can pull you back just as easily as the voice of hate and blood can send you over. We can also see that the, like we learned before, once you leave neutral ground, you can never go back. The Amalekites and Zoramites (A&Z from here on out,) left neutral ground when they learned of the gospel, but then when they decided to follow Satan, they could not go back to a state un not knowing, of innocence, no they had to make their stand either for or against, and once they chose to leave the safety of the gospel, they fell into the traps of Satan. But the A&Z didn't want to just kill or harass the Nephites, they desired to "gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into bondage." They were fueled by hate, greed, and selfishness, the Nephites on the other hand was desirous to "support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires. For they knew that if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites, that whosoever should worship God in spirit and in truth, the true and the living God, the Lamanites would destroy." The Nephites just wanted to be free, the didn't want to enslave the Lamanites or to kill them all so that they would leave them alone, they just wanted to love God and their families. But there was also another problem if the Lamanites won, the Nephites "knew the extreme hatred of the Lamanites towards their brethren, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, who were called the people of Ammon- and they would not take up arms, yea, they had entered into a covenant and they would not break it- therefore, if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites they would be destroyed." So it wasn't just love for their own freedom or the freedom of the friends and family, it was love of another group of people who would suffer greatly if they lost, and that kind of devotion is priceless, not only in combat but to the spirit.
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