Well, I haven't written here for a while. Mostly been at work doing work, and I mostly write from work. That's not the only reason that I haven't written of course. I wonder sometimes whether this blog exists for my own self-agrandizement or if it exists for a good reason. I hope that it is here for a good reason, but chances are it's more the prior than the latter. Whatever the case, I desire to continue to blog my thoughts on the Book of Mormon, not for anyone else's reading, and it appears that I'm the only person that I've shared this blog with, who wants to share their thoughts on this. I suppose that's as it should be.

Another reason for not writing, is that I have blown through the remainder of the Book of Mormon again and am just finishing up the Words of Mormon today. I often don't write my feelings in the end of the Book of Mormon because it's so darn depressing. It tells of the fall of a people blessed by God and how God took away His Spirit from among them, leaving them to curse God and die. Often when I think too hard about these passages I mourn for the Nephites. I cry. In fact, it often ruins my day.

I think it is because I struggle with the cruelty of man and the justice of God. I struggle with the notion that I cannot rejoice in my sins. I cannot pursue pleasure and exclude the commands of God, and get away spiritually (or physically) unscaythed. I think most folks want to do right when it is convenient, but we also have our pet foibles. We have those acts that we rationalize away and think to ourselves, well, I don't have to change now. Sooner or later, though it all catches up with us. What we claim doesn't hurt anyone, often hurts everyone.

I am left wondering, am I like the Nephites? Have I justified my pride? How do my selfish actions hurt those around me? Am I doing enough?

Often the answer is an upleasant reminder that I have a long way to go before I am awarded the medallion of perfection. It is also hard not to see the mistakes of the society in which I live. I love America, but it has so many problems. Americans are so selfish, and so is the rest of the world, and because of it, we're at constant odds with pretty much everyone.

I find it amusing the hurdles we go through to justify our consumption. God tends to solve the fixations of nations, the same way that I solve the Binki problem with my two year old. She is dependent upon a binki, to the extent that she has allowed its use to impede her speech. Instead of speaking she mumbles. So my solution is to take away the Binki. She makes mom and dad's life miserable. She wants a binki, all day long, she wants a binki, and she reminds us, she wants a binki, a binki. She moans and groans, cries and throws tantrums. Often mom submits to her, which is probably the worst thing she could do, because now she knows that if she complains to some random level she can push us to give her one. To make matters worse she can see that her baby sister has a binki. It reminds her of the binki that she doesn't have. Her solution is to try to steal her sister's binki. Americans are like two year olds with Binkies. If anyone dares suggest that Americans go without all their oil, or privilege, then that's aking to a parent threatening to take away that Binki. Wo to the parent that does such things! God is such a parent. Eventually we will have to find alternatives to a lot of things, including our privilege, riches and what not. Can we live happily without it? Well that depends on where your heart is centered.

What we don't realize is that if we could just give up some of these privileges freely, we might find greater depth and ability was waiting just around the bend. If my daughter gives up her Binki, she will learn to speak more clearly. She will be able to be happy without the need of a plastic nipple in her mouth. She will be better off without it. How like my daughter am I, when God takes away my Binkies...

--Ray

Today I'm entrenched in the war chapters of Alma. Considered a "sandbar" by many, it is always the area where I start to ask myself deep questions. Especially questions like, "Did these people REALLY exist"? It's at these chapters that I start to think that I'd like to make a map someday and start mapping out the land, perhaps do a demographic survey from the book too. It's a tough study, because the information isn't provided to prove they existed. It's presented completely haphazardly, and matter of factly, like "We existed, we know we did, cuz we're here, and it should be obvious." I don't think Moroni and Mormon (assuming they existed, which is the context through which I always judge these things, being a believer... duh.) didn't realize just how deeply their civilization would be forgotten, obliterated and completely wiped out. It's as if they know they've received the Lord's Promise that someday their existence would be made known to their seed and that such was good enough, that the rest of it, the proving of it all, was circumstantial.

And truthfully it is. Still a part of me--probably because I'm such a visual learner--really wants to go to the land of the Nephites, and see Captain Moroni atop a wall, or Pahoran stirring up the people of the countryside to take back Zarahemla from the Kingmen, or the land of Jershon and the Ammonites, or the 2000 sons of Helaman fighting with perfect obedience. I think the wars do that, because Moroni was so filled with passion for his cause. There are curiosities about the battles that don't make much sense to me, mostly because Mormon doesn't take the time to explain them. Like the "intrigues among the Nephites" that causes Amalikiah's armies to gain such power over the Nephites and capture many of their cities. We know that the Kingmen were a big pain in this time, but it doesn't really say that this was the cause for the borderland battles, they were predominant in Zarahemla. Another thing I've wondered about (in Alma 55) is why did Moroni sneak into the city and arm the prisoners and then leave the city and just surround the Lamanite army and waited until they were no longer drunken? Why not take the drunken lamanites by force? Mormon kind of explains that Moroni didn't delight in bloodshed, and so he didn't just slay the drunken lamanites. That makes sense, but if they were so wasted (as to be asleep, as the account claims) then why not take them and bind them, or something like that?

Of course these questions miss the point of these accounts. I think it is significant that there is a large portion of the Book of Mormon dedicated to detailing the wars of the Lamanites and Nephites. First I think it something we need to remember in this age. We dream of a world free from war, but it just seems awfully unlikely as long as there is money, pride and class distinction among the people. When people are intent upon being so different that they will kill, or when another people insists that everyone be just like them, then there's gonna be war. As long as we esteem each other as less than ourselves, and embrace selfishness, there will be war. Moroni established peace by being ready for war, sure, but also he did so by being righteous, by covenanting with God that they would remain righteous or God should exercise his justice upon our people.

It is interesting (to me) that in response to the Kingmen, Moroni sets into motion a political movement that while it eliminates the kingmen's political ambitions for a while, actually drives those intent upon being wicked to secret combinations, a problem that rears its ugly head in the following generation about the time that Pahoran and Moroni die. Because the people didn't feel free to dissent publicly, in particular in regards to treason and the establishing of the privileged as kings, the wealthy resorted to secret combinations. It was in direct response to Paanchi's rebellion, because of the tough laws set in motion by Moroni's insistence that you fight for the liberty of your people or you die. I guess it goes to show that evil finds a way, regardless of how many laws you set in place. Kind of a depressing message, I suppose, but then considering what happens to the Nephites in the end, this is just a little foreshadowing.

I'll save my reflections upon the Justice of God and the 2000 warriors to another post. I do think it's an interesting story in and of itself, but again it leaves me with questions. By the way, just because I have questions doesn't mean I am paralyzed with fear, or dying of doubt. I love this Book of Mormon. I know it is true because of how it has changed my life. I think it would be ridiculous NOT to have questions about the Book of Mormon, because there are so many details that have been left to be inferred or to be answered by the Spirit in quiet moments of the mind. It is why I write here, because I want to explore possibilities. I love the questions because they open my mind to possibilities that God has been active in my life and I need to look for the answers. Anyone who reads this book, or the Bible and doesn't have questions is, in my opinion, not really reading it. We should ask how these lessons apply to us. Often there are many answers, and they come at different times and in different ways and that's the value of scripture. It isn't a rigid guidebook, take ten paces here, ten paces there, you will see this and that, and you will not do this, blah blah blah, leaving one no place for exploration, rather scriptures mark significant spiritual landmarks and you're expected to make the journey through life, exploring, discovering, and learning. You learn of yourself, you learn of others, and you grow. Anyhow those are a few thoughts, best regards, --Ray

As far as I've been able to tell, the Book of Mormon isn't a very sympathetic book when it comes to rationalizations and human error. It's pretty cut and dry. If you try to rationalize away the miracles of God you're in a state of doubt. However, sometimes it does present the points of doubt that unbelievers had, quite well. For example, when Zerahemna attacks the Nephites, Moroni claims that God has delivered the Lamanites into their hands, while Zerahemna claims it is because the Lamanites didn't have body armor and the Nephites did. Likewise when Amalikiah brings his armies into the lands of the Nephites he is repelled by Moroni's fortifications of earth, even though he's got an army equipped with body armor. And no doubt he doesn't see this as God's protection, but rather just a cunning man, named Moroni, hence Amalikiah vows to drink his blood.

I like to think of this in terms of modern terms. Do we view the technological advances that have preserve this nation's freedom through financial strength and independence as blessings from God? Or do we just see them as a natural biological process that occurs when some people get together and evolve over aeons of war and barbarism? I personally believe God has blessed many nations with the means to eliminate hunger and help others. It is sad what we've done with those means, but surely God has been generous to us, especially to Americans. Makes you wonder how long it will last. Are we ripe for destruction, swollen with pride, filled with our own self-agrandizing dreams of "Look what we did"? What does it take to make us remember God in this age? The Book of Mormon seems to suggest that the cycle of pride will eventually lead to a strong reminder of who created us, and sadly, that usually comes in the form of destruction. --Ray

I'm hoping this one will be short. First my mind is drawn to a passage in Alma by Alma the Younger given to his son Shiblon. He states in Chapter 38, a method of teaching the Gospel which I think is a good reminder to me. I get the privilege of teaching sometimes, and here I post my thoughts as though I were presenting ideas that I hope one might learn from. In verse 10, Alma states that he hopes his son will continue to teach the Gospel, being diligent and temperate in all things. In verse 11 and the proceeding verses he warns against pride, that Shiblon be careful that he not boast in his own wisdom or strength, being bold but not overbearing. He advocates personal worthiness, that Shiblon "bridle his passions", filled with love and work hard (refrain from idleness). He advocates humility, unlike the Zoramite religion's claim to be better than others, Alma suggests that his son plead to God for forgiveness for unworthiness. He concludes with, "Be sober".

Here's a list of virtues in summary:

• diligence

Persistence, patience, tenacity, keep with it, despite all odds...



• temperance

Be tolerant and warm. So what if there are a few strange notions out there, you don't have to get all sanctimonious and call down the fires of heavens on the heathens. Just take all things in stride.



• beware of pride - Humility/Repentance

- Classic warning, goes for all people and in so many cases. In the case of teaching, it's a valuable thing to avoid taking things too personally, getting into wars over being right, and losing oneself to distractions. Heh, many of my college professors could've benefited from this advice. I don't know how many were involved in petty power struggles that didn't mean anything outside the university, but to them it was the world. Happens all over the place, I suppose.



• boast not in one's own wisdom

- There's a proverb that goes something like, "Lean not unto thy own understanding, but in all things take counsel with the Lord." In teaching this is crucial. Much of teaching isn't dispensing what you know to others, but the process of learning to others. If you can teach people to find out what you know and beyond, you become a much better teacher than one who dispenses disposable trivia. Of course there's always this danger in teaching that comes when an instructor starts thinking, "I'm the teacher, you're the student." If a teacher is unwilling to learn, then he loses the ability to teach by example, which is one of the most effective ways of teaching.



• Bridle passions

- I like this terminology. It doesn't say deny your passions, or amputate your feelings. It says, "Bridle". Meaning that one controls one's passions and makes them work for you. Great advice because we are entitled to feel passion about the things we care about, but we must not let them overwhelm our sense of right and wrong.



• Love

- Love is the key connecting force in any meaningful exchange of intelligence. Through trust and love we come to appreciate the minds of others, to empathize and listen to them. We want to hear what others have to offer, because we recognize their value. Love makes it okay to try and fail. Love takes away the sting of failure and inspire the courage to keep trying until it's mastered.



• Work

- The exact wording was "Refrain from Idleness," which is probably a whole huge lecture to myself, but I'll refrain. Teaching is work. It is hard to do right, and much of it may be viewed as mindless repetition of facts if there is no willingess to love and work.



• Be Sober

A fool may amuse others, but ultimately is despised by all, and is never taken seriously. That's not helpful if one has something worthwhile to say, because people have a hard time distinguishing what is truth and what is just the fool being a fool. I don't think this means one must be morose or humorless. Humor can be an effective teacher, but it must be done intelligently. Sometimes I think our society resorts to humor too quickly. It makes fun of things before it understands it. I know that in my own life I have often stumbled in this regard. I want to crack the atmosphere, calm nerves, and in so doing, I fear that sometimes I come across as cruel. Definitely something to think about, be sober. Take the Gospel seriously.

All in all, I think Alma gave his son some pretty good advice! --Ray

Rameumptom - The Religion of Division.

President Hinckley has warned LDS:

We do not need to wear our religion on our sleeves. We certainly do not need to be boastful about it or to be arrogant in any way. Such becomes a negation of the Spirit of the Christ whom we ought to try to emulate. That Spirit finds expression in the heart and the soul, in the quiet and unboastful manner of our lives.

Can it be that we need to guard against the religion of the Zoramites? Of course, my question is rhetorical, for all people fall victim to that monster, PRIDE, in our lives, and it is one of the common human weaknesses that we must all stand ready to reject.

The Zoramites crafted themselves a religion epitomizing all the worst elements of organized religious zeal. They evidently could work themselves into a religious fervor, but did so by denigrating their fellows. They prayed the same sanctimonious prayer (in Alma 31:15-18):

15 Holy, holy God; we believe that thou art God, and we believe that thou art holy, and that thou wast a spirit, and that thou art a spirit, and that thou wilt be a spirit forever.
16 Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us from our brethren; and we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren, which was handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers; but we believe that thou hast elected us to be thy holy children; and also thou hast made it known unto us that there shall be no Christ.
17 But thou art the same yesterday, today, and forever; and thou hast aelected us that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are elected to be cast by thy wrath down to hell; for the which holiness, O God, we thank thee; and we also thank thee that thou hast elected us, that we may not be led away after the foolish traditions of our brethren, which doth bbind them down to a belief of Christ, which doth lead their hearts to wander far from thee, our God.
18 And again we thank thee, O God, that we are a chosen and a holy people. Amen

Clearly it was important to the Zoramites that they distinguish themselves from their brethren, the Nephites, who had prophets claiming that this being called Christ would come and that he would redeem the world. They refused to believe in the Law of Moses, prefering to go to church but once a week, speaking of their God only on that day.

We also learn in Alma 32 that this religion was materialistic. While it was okay for the poor to build the building that housed the great Rameumptum it was not okay for them to worship God therein. Because they could not afford fine apparel they were cast out of the synagogues of the Zoramites.

We know this because of the amusing consequences of Alma and his missionary friends, who convert all the poor. They convince they poor that they don't need to worship in a synagogue, but that they can pray and worship their god whereever they are. This beautiful notion apparently leaves the Zoramites in a bind, because no longer do the poor envy them for their grand show of religiosity. The Book of Mormon explains that the preaching of the Word "destroyed the craft of the Zoramites". It's amusing terminology. The Zoramites throw the poor out of their community, thus seperating themselves from the only righteous folk among them. Then they get mad at the people of Ammon who live in the land of Jershon, which bordered the land of the Zoramites, because the Ammonites help the poor refugees, administering to their physical and spiritual needs with great compassion. This really torks the Zoramites off, and they end up joining with the Lamanites and causing some large number of battles and wars with the Nephites. The whole people of Ammon in the land of Jershon actually relocate at this time, because they have made a covenant never to take up the sword against anyone, and we hear no more of this religion of Rameumptom.

It's kinda sad and makes me wonder why this sort of thing happens. Why do people desire so much to be different from each other? Sure, there are many ways to do good things, but why must one's desires to be seperate lead so many to misery and pride, to judgement of others. Why is it that we feel better about ourselves by debasing those around us? What is it about us that makes us believe that if we can cast our brother into a pit, that we are somehow better than them?

So I guess Pres. Hinckley's warning is appropriate, for we LDS believe in one true church. It's a tough line to follow at times. We want to love and accept, and be tolerant of others, especially of their faith, but at the same time we believe in a single source of divine priesthood authority. It has been noted that the early saints had a problem with pride, that when they arrived in Missouri, part of the reason they were ostracized by their neighbors, causing them to rise up in violence and cast out the early-Mormon settlers, was because the Mormons treated their neighbors as second class people. The non-elect. They were apostates. They were not a part of Zion and didn't need to be included. Do we run the risk of doing the same? Are we so busy with our callings and church meetings that we don't have time for those around us? Do we have time to be neighborly, to create a community, and just do good with others of different faiths?

Dare I ask this question? How many times do we turn the Testimony pulpit into a Rameumptom? Something to think about... as always the Book of Mormon warns us of the trap of taking religious strength from pride, rather than from the quiet promptings of the Holy Ghost. Best regards,

--Ray

The Story of Korihor is very interesting to me (Alma Chapter 30) because I think of all the arguments presented against the pursuit of the religious in this day, the arguments of Korihor, the anti-Christ, come to be the most popular. Korihor, who sported a Jaredite name (an interesting detail in and of itself), is an atheist (a very popular religion in this age). He claimed that God was something made up, that the feelings of joy and peace, the "spirit" was "the effects of a frenzied mind". Unfortunately today, the atheists that come among us are more or less always there, constantly bombarding us with their cynical view that the belief in God is a childish, superstition. Obnoxious missionaries of some god of the void, they love to throw up geological evidences that Bible thumpers didn't take into consideration as proof positive that they might be able to dismiss all religious thought as false. I suppose, as with Korihor, it starts with part truths, and just enough unprovable assertions to make a good mix of doubt. And because there is doubt, folks believe they can justify their most perverse desires as permissible.

Why is it that we listen to the Korihors of the world? Why is it that because one person claims some completely evil notion as permissible, do people suddenly abandon their consciences and what they know to be right and sensible and follow thereafter. Sure we all have appetites which try us and push us to desire to do naughty things, but how are they suddenly permissible just because someone says they are?

It is a strange notion. A strange sense of faith, that we place our faith in some false prophet who says, "Do what you feel like doing, you feel it, it's natural, thus do it." And how quickly we jump on that. If it is shown to us enough, we embrace it as normal. We call black white and white black, good evil and evil good. We demand a sign in order to believe in God, but have no sign that following after our carnal appetites will bring us anything other than misery and regret, with passing pleasure as the only possible enticement.

And yet Korihor's fate is about the same as all who seek the world over God. Korihor is striken dumb by the power of God, and because he can no longer con folks out of their money, he is left to beg door to door for survival. (Heaven forbid he do work for a living, but apparently the inability to speak has also affected his physical strength.) And in the end, Korihor is trampled to death by a group of dissenters from the Nephites known as Zoramites, those who built the Rameumptom.

Perhaps this is where Korihor got his start? Among the Zoramites, their religion had become corrupt, and the gist of their religion was election. The notion that they were saved while all the world was going to burn in hell. I can imagine that Korihor, if he had grown up with this bunch that he might have been sickened by the religious folk of his day. But the people of Ammon, the people of Gideon were true-believers, who took Korihor and cast him out.

Personally I also think that it would be cool to be able to condemn people with the power of God to be dumb. Or like Moses, call down curses upon the wicked. Somehow, though I think I'd be a bit like Jonah, in that I'd be disappointed when the Lord chose not to smite them in my timeframe. This thing of punishment of the wicked, is one of those things that has always kind of made me think. There's an interesting scripture in Malachi chapter 3 verse 15 that states,

"And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered."

I think this scripture pretty much sums up this generation. We see folks abandoning sense, tradition, family and all that is right and good. They throw away their consciences for a Playstation 2 and a copy of Grand Theft Auto 2, and know it's wrong but it's just too darn fun to give up. And because they aren't immediately punished, and may even gain noteriety and friends who likewise want to come over to their house and play said video game, they prosper in what they know to be wrong. And believers watch and think, gee, why didn't God smite them? Heh. It's #sin# envy. The one watching the other sin and thinking, Gee, I wish I could sin like them, but I'm trying to be good. We don't do it, but we do it in our hearts.

And yet the evidence of God is all around us. As Alma states to Korihor, everything testifies that there is a God. The very order of the universe is no accident, it is a gloriously ordered event, that out of all this chaos, on the edge of it all is this grand miracle, upon miracle, upon miracle. Founded for a purpose, our world is great and good and the blessings of God are ample to those who look to Him. And when that Playstation 2 is just another Atari game of Pong, and kids have moved on to the next compulsion, will all the hours that such and such spent on being the best computer thug have paid anything in the long run? Nah... like Korihor it will be trampled down by the next hot-rod chariot, left to its own.

--Ray

The Story of Ammon has always been one of those over-popularized in LDS circles, and yet the story itself is so great that I find that often the best points of the story are missed. It has been told in summary so many times, that it used to annoy me, until I really began to study it in detail. It is in the details that one really comes to appreciate the subtleties of Ammon as a man, and the type of servant of God he was, and how God works with his missionaries, and how merciful God is to us. I have a few thoughts on the story which I find to be interesting.

The following are a few thoughts:


• The Daughter of King Lamoni



It is a common interpretation to assume that the reason Ammon didn't marry the King's daughter was because she was ugly. Once in rendering little action figure cutouts for a lesson, I was drawing the figures of the Book of Mormon, and being a huge fan of comicbooks, I drew a big busty, voluptuous woman as the daughter of King Lamoni. Then I thought on this. I like this interpretation better. What if King Lamoni's daughter was a hotty? (Or as the Book of Mormon might phrase it: "exceedingly fair".) This would actually make the story more interesting. Here's Ammon turning down every man's desire in womankind because he knows that if he marries the girl he isn't going to be a good influence on anyone, and he's gonna have no desire to serve the Lord because he's gonna be awfully distracted by this beautiful girl. It is a fitting possibility for young Elders heading out on their missions, to, as I think it was Spencer W. Kimball suggested, "Lock your heart." Also, the girl was not a member of the church nor a believer at the time Ammon met her, and to marry her could've caused serious stress in their relationship. Ammon must have known that for he knew that God had deliberately seperated his people and the Lamanites that they might not mix due to the curse that comes upon people who intermarry people with lesser moral standards. Finally once Lamoni and his household is converted, and Ammon has done his work among the Lamanites, who is to say that he didn't marry King Lamoni's daughter? There's no indication that he didn't. I actually find it quite plausible, because it does note that when Korihor comes into the land, much later in the story, after the people of Ammon have seperated themselves from the Lamanites and have sought refuge among the Nephites in the land of Jershon, that Ammon was the high priest among them, still living with that people. He never left them, and it seems reasonable to believe that he ended up marrying among them, once they became believers. I think it would be romantic, and probably make for a great fictional story to suppose that the daughter of King Lamoni who was at first spurned or turned down (all completely subjective based upon her perspective)_didn't do her best to catch Ammon and woo him... and who's to say Ammon wasn't attracted to her but exerted self discipline for the sake of a higher mission, in the first place?



• Ammon at the waters of Sebus

It is interesting to note that Ammon's intent upon slaying the men who attacked him and the fellow servants of the King, was to show forth his power in the Lord to the servants. He didn't expect to convert the King. I think this is interesting because sometimes I think missionaries think, in order to be successful, they have to convert a king, or president, some one of great importance, or the next branch president. This type of thinking is so foreign to Christ. He spoke to all people, and shared his message with every person, including lepers, children and women (all of whom were considered lesser in the society in which he lived, not that I think they are...). Ammon looked on these servants of the king, who were probably not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed, just because the job they were given was notorious for getting oneself killed, but Ammon looked upon them with love and considered them his brethren. Sometimes we get distracted by the "manliness" of Ammon, imagining Rambo, and we forget that he was a loving person, who didn't delight in destruction or death, but he delighted in Christ. He would not have slain the robbers that came to destroy him, were they not intent upon destroying him and his friends. Ammon knew first hand that God had the power to destroy him, for he was nearly destroyed by an angel of God. He also knew of God's great mercy and love for him, the vilest of sinners given a second chance. Why else would he go preach the Gospel to the Lamanites in the first place?



• The Great Spirit

I think it is fascinating that King Lamoni believed in a Great Spirit. I find the description of the Lamanite beliefs about the Great Spirit to be very very interesting. It is one of those areas that really underlines the great depth of this story. It very succinctly details human worship. I love how the King believed in a Great Spirit, but believed he could do anything he wanted. How the people knew that there was a Great Spirit and that it often favored the Nephites. I love how this Great Spirit is characterized has being capricious, cursing them and punishing them, because they knew right from wrong. Also I like how Ammon built upon the belief in a Great Spirit. Rather than tearing down Lamoni's beliefs he started in a place where they could both relate. Christ's spirit is a Great Spirit. It was the Spirit which formed the earth and the heavens, and this was Ammon's teachings. God comes in many forms and names, but God is God. Ammon knew this, and so did the people, and Ammon was a great teacher because he could draw together the beliefs though they may have come from other sources. Sometimes I think LDS want to denounce every idea as apostate when in truth much of what others believe are founded in truth and inspired of God. I try to be very sensitive to these beliefs because anything that comes of the Holy Ghost is sacred, and who am I to condemn another man's experience with God and tell them it is not divine? I have not the power nor the authority to judge such a thing. Nor would I like to face my Creator having been responsible for crushing the faith of another because I planted seeds of doubt rather than faith in the life of one of his children.



• Faith of Lamoni and King Laman

I find it heartening to read of the faith of King Lamoni and later of King Lamoni's father King Laman. (Btw, I think that King Laman renamed his son probably because his name was Laman, and he wanted to give his son an honorable name, because he was ashamed of that name, due to Laman's rebellion against God. The Book of Mormon doesn't tell us what Anti-Nephi-Lehi's name was prior to King Laman giving his son a new name. But it does say that the Lamanites who converted to the Lord didn't desire to be known as Lamanites after they had come to be converted to the Lord. They wanted a new name, so they took upon the name Anti-Nephi-Lehi, or became known among the Nephites as the people of Ammon.) I like how King Laman puts it when he hears of the word of the Lord from Aaron, that he will "give up all my sins" to know God. This always causes me much reflection. I love the faith of Lamoni and his wife. The part about Abish is a great example of how well-meaning folk can cause great problems, because of the flawed perspectives of us all.



• Lay down your life for the Word

I am always amazed by the collective faith of the people of Ammon when they decide rather than to defend their lives, because they were the vilest of sinners rejoicing in murder and plunder, rather than risking to lose their souls and return to that murderous way, they would lay down their lives and die before their angered brethren. What an amazing tale!? I cannot help but wonder what the world would be like if the vast majority of us just refused to fight with our neighbors. Willing to take abuse for abuse, and truly turn the other cheek to them. Would God save us, allow us all to be destroyed, or would He send his Angels to protect us and deliver us from evil? I think it would depend upon our faith, but certainly there would be great loss of innocent life--not that they would be lost unto God. I also think it is a very powerful example of how we should approach our own personal weaknesses. When we come to repent and turn away from our sins, we should rather lay down our lives than return to the situations that might tempt us into those traps again. We should forego the "needs" and suffer the consequences rather than risk being drawn back into iniquity.



• Imprisoned in the Land of Midoni

I always think of my mission when I read the story of Aaron, Muloki and others who were fated to preach to the harder Lamanites, those who were tainted by the bitterness and cynicism of the Nephite dissenters, the Amulonites and Amlicites (sp?). Some missionaries have great success in the lands they are called to preach while others must suffer through very tough missions. The Book of Mormon states that it was their "lot" to face the more hardened people. I served a rather tough mission in Rome, Italy. I look back and am so glad I went. I consider myself lucky to have been chosen to go, but while I was there, I must confess that things were pretty tough when it came to missionary work. It was easy to get frustrated, and distracted, because the people were content to remain godless, for the most part, believing in their traditions mostly as a cultural flavor, rather than being genuinely converted to the Lord. The saints there were strong, and very devoted, but they were sparse. We worked hard as missionaries to try to get to know people, and meet people, but it was not like the stories we heard of other areas of the world where men and women would join the church in hordes. Perhaps we had unreasonable expectation, or perhaps it was simply our "lot" to serve in a more hardened part of the world. I suppose that's up to God to judge. And yet Ammon and Aaron both listened and lived by the Spirit of the Lord. When confronted with the contentious ways of the Amlicites, Aaron and his brethren moved on. Also Ammon didn't seek to convert King Lamoni's father, but instead allowed Aaron to go there, he followed the Spirit and served in his own area. Sometimes LDS missionaries compete for numbers, or converts. Such a spirit is incompatible with that of a true missionary of God, as is amply clear by Ammon's example. Ammon didn't tour the King circuit, he was content to stay within his own zone of influence, and teach where he was called, trusting in his brethren to teach by the Spirit elsewhere.



• They knew how to work

Perhaps it is just something I need, but Ammon was a very hard worker. He was dilligent among the flocks, with the horses (or whatever animal these folks applied to mean "horse") and chariots. The people of Ammon worked hard too. Aaron and the other brothers worked hard, and suffered great hardships. They seemed to expect it. The Ammonites were willing to submit themselves to slavery, if it was the will of God. I guess when I complain about my lot in life, it often revolves around this issue. Ammon was a good example to me, because he did what he had to. He accomplished the will of the Lord through hard work. I suppose I can go that extra mile too...

There are so many fascinating parts of the story of Ammon and his fellow missionaries and the remarkable people he brings to know of their need to repent and change. I don't have time to comment on it all here, but I love this story and enjoy hearing it often. It's one of those stories that really engages my heart and mind. I don't fully understand why, nor has it always been the case, but I do know that it has made my life better and I am stronger in my faith because of it. It is by this evidence that I know it to be true.

Best regards, --Ray