Sunday School 33 - Alma 53-63

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Brothers and sisters, 

Alma 53 through 63 are chapters about a country at war.  Moroni is gone. Alma is gone. Heleman, Lehi, and Nephi were in charge of the church and government. The people were getting farther and farther from peace. The Ammonites, who would have given their lives for their God and covenant, were getting to a point where they wanted to sacrifice their covenant for the cause of freedom. Their freedom was one thing, but when their countryman was suffering for freedom too, it seems that prayer and fasting were not cutting it from one point of view. 

In steps their young, strippling young men, all of them, with no war experience, wanting to defend their homes, their parents, their peace, and their freedom. When they made a covenant for liberty, I am sure that those widowed mothers and fatherless sisters said no. They knew the venom of the Lamanites. Despite this, they let these guys go. They wanted the joy of freedom for the women and children in their homes. 

President Nielsen once said...

"The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives."

Those men had a focus. They wanted freedom. Their love of family, God, and country was enough. No fight took them because they felt the Spirit and knew the prayers of their mothers. They also knew virtue and strength through covenant. 

A covenant with God should mean everything. How we approach it is special to God, and the paths we make, no matter the faith, should strengthen and edify. The conflicts of Zarahemla are here today, and as a world, we are desperately attempting to make and keep promises with God. We are trying to tie ourselves to our Maker at a time when the world would love to destroy our covenants and promises like a small tare that just grows and grows until it's not recognized anymore. 

My wife told me of a show where good saints slowly destroyed themselves. Starting as a covenant keeping people to couples excommunicated because of the grievous sins that they committed. The focus of the war in Zarahemla went from external to internal and the war here is no different. Morales are threatened, Kingman wants to rule us, and the world says good is bad, and bad is good. What's next is the secret combinations as society keeps drinking the Kool-Aid. The lines are getting blurred. There are no borders; the law is being chased out and replaced by anarchy.

Yet, brothers and sisters, the gospel is growing fast, and people are finding joy in Christ. The world may be crazy, but Christ is in charge. God has given us fantastic children who want to help us keep our covenants and make solemn covenants of their own when they are old enough. They want to teach the gospel; they want to teach and lead us, and when they do, it inspires us in our callings as their leaders. God has given us choice spirits for this war of the heart; our hearts. Take heart to this trial. Your children are your strength. They watch us pray to a loving Father in Heaven. They have watched us plead for mercy and forgiveness. That encouraged them to do the same. 

Pray and watch always. God is listening. Remember sometimes He calms the storm and other times, the sailor. Keep in mind these words from Jon Silver to the young Jim Hawkins the cabin boy in the film Treasure Planet...

"You got the makings of greatness in you, but you gotta take the helm and chart your own course! Stick to it, no matter the squalls! And when the time comes, you'll get the chance to really test the cut of your sails and show what you're made of! And... well, I hope I'm there, catching some of the light coming off you that day."

God and Jesus say these words to us regularly when we pray, knowing He is with us and the Holy Ghost is a whisper away. Have a great week. Love you all.