Alma 45-46 - A Nation at the Crossroads -- Amalikiah and the Title of Liberty

interesting that when a really bad guy shows up, God provides a good guy to counter him. Things get interesting when the people then choose which guy they want to follow. In our own history we had Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan (apologies to all who liked Carter). More recently we had Obama and Romney. In the current election cycle we have Trump, Cruz, Sanders and Clinton. The Nephites had Amalikiah and Captain Moroni.

It was events like this which prove the prescient warnings Mosiah II gave when he set up judges. He warned when the voice of the people chose evil over good, the judgements of God would begin to be poured out upon them. In my life, I’ve seen the warning validated by events. In 1980, America chose Reagan. Most of you may be to young to remember, but I remember the boom years of the ’80’s and 90’s brought on by “Reaganomics.” I also remember America’s unquestioned world leadership at the time.

Now, we have a nation morally adrift and an economy and presence in the world which is not much more than a shadow of what it was. While we can blame Obama, it was the voice of the American people who chose him over Romney. We made that choice. Now we’ve chosen Trump and Hillary over Cruz. Is there any question the coming four to eight years will be more of the same? (Yeah, it’s kind of a sour pickle day for me.)

We can see from this passage in the Book of Mormon what happens when the voice of the people make the hard right choice over the easy one. They made the right call supporting Captain Moroni’s Title of Liberty. While Amalikiah’s avarice and ambition lead to a war. Mormon observes these people were the happiest in all Nephite history up to the time after the Savior appeared to them.

1 Nephi 17-18 - Into the Winds of Adversity

If you haven't figured it out yet, by the end of these two chapters you should know with great clarity that while God helps us to our respective Promised Lands, the journey there is never easy nor without travail and adversity. He has to help us because the trip is overwhelmingly daunting otherwise. And that's by divine design.

In chapter seventeen, Nephi is trying to build a boat. His labor pool consists of his brothers and Ishmael's sons. Laman and Lemuel think the idea is ridiculous and fight him. Only divine intervention saves Nephi's life and gets them to help.

Then, in the boat, they forget all the miracles and mutiny, wresting control of the boat from Nephi and Lehi. It's not until they face certain death in the face of a terrible storm, do they relent. Only when they come face to face with the reality that there is much in their lives over which they have no control that they finally get it.

So it is with us. God grants us agency, the ability to choose what we do and think. But we are not in control of our lives and environment. Death, illness, accidents, the actions of others near and far can destroy our world in an instant. The only thing we really control is how we choose to respond.

We see from these two stories, the correct choice is to be grateful to God and acknowledge He is in control and do our best within that context.

3 Nephi 14 - The Scariest Scripture... Ever

3 Nephi 14, is the Savior's continuation of the "Sermon on the Mount" which He gave to the Nephites. It's loaded with inspiring counsel and teachings, but standing above all the content of this passage is the dire promise of verse two: "For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

This theme shows up elsewhere in the scriptures: Mosiah 4:17 (the warning to not judge the poor and using that to withhold your help), and Matt 18:24-35, where we should forgive all men of their trespasses against us.

There is a certain tension between this verse and Moroni 7:15, about judging good from evil. The simple act of choosing to do good requires judging what is good or evil. So, how to deal with the warning? When you must decide if something is good or evil, Moroni's counsel is indispensable. It's when you interact with another human being, the warning of this verse comes into play.


I've always tried to reconcile the tension by helping others based upon need. Determination of worthiness should never be an issue in these cases. It's how God treats me. Since I'd like that to continue and because He's not afraid to apply tough love on me when I get full of myself, I don't want to rock that boat.