If All Men Would Be Like Unto...

"Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men..."  Alma 48:17

I have a confession to make.  It has been over a month since my last post, and I have not been in the frame of mind to write for fear of expressing feelings I might regret having shared.  My heart has been broken over some recent events that have taken place-- events which have caused our family's temporal security & livelihood to be compromised.  Things have taken place that were out of our control, as often in this life we become affected by the agency & agendas of others.  The confession I wish to make is that it seems as though the Adversary has been knocking down my door to tempt me to harden my heart in anger & resentment.  I have yielded to this temptation.  Even though it may seem completely justifiable to people looking from the outside in and knowing the circumstances of recent events, I know that it has done nothing but hinder MY ability to feel the presence of The Holy Ghost.  It has been a poison for which I have partaken thinking it's effects would only come upon the other party.  But in reality, the venom only caused degeneration to the tissues of  MY spirit.

This past Sunday a friend of mine shared the above scripture about Moroni in her sacrament meeting talk.  For some reason, it hit me like a punching glove to the face.  What was it about Moroni that caused the powers of Satan to have no hold upon him?  I started listing the possible reasons in my mind.  I know that Moroni believed in the liberty of men and was willing to defend it, even with his own blood.  He was a master of warfare when war was unavoidable... capable of building a defense that could not be penetrated and would protect the majority of his men.  However, the thing that is most striking to me is his perfect understanding that without COMPLETE obedience to the Lord's commandments and COMPLETE faith & trust in Him, no amount of physical fortification would protect his people from their enemies.  It was only through disobedience that the powers of evil could have any hold.  So Moroni dedicated the greatest deal of his efforts in seeing that his people were exercising righteousness and faith in God.

"But behold, there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni..." 

"And it came to pass that in the commencement of the twenty and fourth year of the reign of the judges, there would also have been peace among the people of Nephi had it not been for a contention which took place among them..."  

CONTENTION.  What a cunning and useful tool for the Adversary to use for the demise of the children of God.  Even more, contention among their own people.  No amount of power can bring down a group of people if they are united in love, faith, and a common purpose.  But to break them apart and divide them... that is when they then become susceptible.  I have allowed this to take place within me and am seeing it take place among many others in my area.  The contention is a cancer that is continually growing, and unless it is radiated, we stand to be sorely chastened or completely cut off.  The Lord said, "if ye are not one, ye are not mine."

I have born fervent testimony on several occasions of the divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the saving, healing power of His Atonement.  Over these past few weeks, however, I have acted as though His sacrifice was not good enough to overcome in my heart the trespasses I had felt were made against my family and many others who preceded us.  I felt justified in my anger.  As I was reminded on Sunday of the spiritual strength of Captain Moroni and his ability to keep Satan from entering his heart and the hearts of his people for so many years, my thoughts then turned to The One who experienced the greatest pain of them all... and yet He loved those who despitefully used, persecuted, slandered, and finally crucified Him.  Not only did He love them, He prayed unto God to forgive them for what they had done.  In their day of judgement, He will stand as THEIR advocate.  If I cannot put His Atonement into action in my own life, where do I stand to be in the day of judgement?  If I cannot be merciful to those who persecute me, how can I expect to have the Lord be merciful to me, when heaven knows I am so very far from perfect?  The mending of hearts and the uniting of a people must start with me.

It is my prayer that all of us seek to know more fully the effects of the Atonement in our own lives.  May we all seek to forgive others and seek to make amends with those whom we have offended.  May we all strive to live our lives by treating those around us with the same love and compassion that the Savior did during his time on this earth.  I know that even though we may stray He is always seeking us.  No matter how far we walk from his path, the moment we turn around, He is there to welcome us with open arms.  Through the power of His Atonement and our efforts of repentance, we have the ability to become like Him someday and receive all of the blessings that our Father has for us.  May we come to understand and put this into practice as Captain Moroni did.