Alma 51:16

In context (verses 14-16)

And it came to pass that when Moroni saw this, and also saw that the Lamanites were coming into the borders of the land, he was exceedingly wroth because of the stubbornness of those people whom he had labored with so much diligence to preserve; yea, he was exceedingly wroth; his soul was filled with anger against them.
And it came to pass that he sent a petition, with the voice of the people, unto the governor of the land, desiring that he should read it, and give him (Moroni) power to compel those dissenters to defend their country or to put them to death.
For it was his first care to put an end to such contentions and dissensions among the people; for behold, this had been hitherto a cause of all their destruction. And it came to pass that it was granted according to the voice of the people.

I usually don't get very much out of the war chapters in the Book of Mormon. I don't skip them when reading straight through, but I don't put in a lot of effort trying to apply them to my life. But these verses caught my eye when I was skimming through the book recently, and I thought they make a great example for the importance of being united. As we are told, "If ye are not one, ye are not mine." Or "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

It Actually Happened

I checked the hits on this site and I have had a visitor. Welcome, visitor. And if you come back, can you let me know how you came across this?

And I'd just decided that nobody would come by unless I started giving out my address, and was about to end the experiment.

Mark 9:24

And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

This has really resonated with me for quite a while because of its paradoxicalness (is that an actual word or did I just make it up?) that somehow matches my experience. In more than one instance, I have known that something can be done, some sort of miracle can be achieved, if I believe. So in that way, I believe. But at the same time, I can not convince myself that it actually will happen. So in that way, I do not believe. So that is also my cry: I believe. But help thou my unbelief.

Alma 29:1-3

O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.
But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

I really like the whole 29th chapter of Alma and the thought progression it shows. And I may do a separate post about that progression sometime. But when I read here this last week, there was something more that hit me in these first three verses.

Basically, no matter how good what you want may look, it is wrong if it goes against God's plan. I guess a sin is basically anything that leads you away from Him. And if your desires are not in line with His desires, then you are not drawing near unto Him.

Enos 1:17

And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest.

This scripture shows a great example of what faith should be like. In my life, I worry about things. I worry about whether I will be able to get a fulfilling job, or if I can be accepted into grad school, or if I will ever find a boyfriend or get married. And even when I have been promised something, even though I know intellectually that it will happen, I still get anxious about how and when things will work out.

But when Enos is given his promise, he rests. To know that the Lord is in control is enough.