Personal Covenants

One of things that I love about the gospel is how personal it is. Of course there are commandments that we all must keep, but at some point we become like the young rich man who asked Christ "What lack I yet?" --he was given the opportunity to make a covenant of righteousness that wasn't necessarily asked of anyone else. Immediately the gospel became intimate. I think there are many reasons why we make personal covenants. In the story of the Ammonites, their personal covenants came of repentance.

"And now behold, I have somewhat to say concerning the people of Ammon, who, in the beginning, were Lamanites; but ... they had been converted ... They had taken an oath that they never would shed blood more;" -Alma 53:10-11

The powerful, familiar story follows that they were willing to literally lay down and die to preserve the covenant. Here is what the Amonites considered worse than death:

"We have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders which we have committed. ... since it has been all that we could do ... to repent of all our sins ... and to get God to take them away from our hearts ... let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we should stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright" -Alma 24:9-13

(Emphasis mine) The amonites were raised as a violent and bloody people. They were warmongers and cruel, "bloodthirsty." It was a deep part of their culture and their identity. When they repented they abandoned all of that, and they could not return--at any cost. Even when the war was just and righteous, they could not participate. I think the reason is that if they did return to war, even with the right intentions, the habits and tendencies of the past would come back too strong and they would become lost to bloodlust and hatred.

Sometimes when we repent there are things that others can do that we can never do again. There may be movies that we cannot see, events that we cannot attend, or places that we cannot be. Situations that may otherwise be benign we must consider perilous. A former alcoholic is forever a "recovering" alcoholic because just a taste can recreate their addiction.

It must have been heartwrenching to see Nephites dying at the hands of their former brethren in their defense.

"But it came to pass that when they saw the danger, and the many afflictions and tribulations which the Nephites bore for them, they were moved with compassion and were desirous to take up arms in the defence of their country. ... And Helaman feared lest by so doing they should lose their souls" -Alma 53:13-15

The Nephites were willing to die so the Amonites wouldn't break their covenant. I'm afraid I fall far short of that. I realized that we have an obligation to support and help others keep, not just the formal covenants, but also personal covenants of righteousness. I think sometimes it is easy to think that someone is being self righteous, 'pious' or over zealous when their rules seem 'above and beyond' established doctrine. I can be opinionated and I fear I may have used my standard to determine the appropriateness of other peoples actions. I may have even tried to convince others to do something they are not comfortable with, because I am. I sorrow at the thought. The next time when someone has a higher standard of Sabbath Day obsevances, entertainment choices, dress standards, spending habits or whatever it may be, I hope they can count on me to be like the Nephites who said: "We will set our armies between ... that we may protect our brethren." -Alma 27/23

Protected by armor

Moroni has his troops wear armor into battle, when the lamanites wore none. The nephites were overwhelmingly protected. In theory that seems so obvious, however in practice, there would be cause for deep reservation. The armor would have been heavy, restrictive and hot. They would have fatigued much sooner, would have been slower, more awkward, and had difficulty maneuvering. The style of fighting at the time was unencumbered, it was what they were good at, and the lamanites could have litterally ran circles around them. It sounded good, but pragmatically it could have set them up for defeat.

The important thing was that their leader commanded it, they obeyed, and they were blessed.

On my mission there were many rules that sounded good, but had some practical limitations. For example we were asked to speak only the mission language. At first it seems obvious that speaking a language all the time will make you better, but in some cases, it could actually make it worse...Most of the missionaries in my mission were american. In many cases we reinforced our own bad accents and grammar--instead of hearing primarily natives speaking the language, when we were inundated with other people making the same mistakes we were prone to make, they started to sound correct. It also threw a huge burden on top of an already heavy load. It was really difficult to have two people trying to work together unable to effectively communicate because of an artificial limitation. It can be incredibly isolating, especially for new missionaries. And it is tiring because progress comes so slowly and there is virtually no repreive.

However, when our Mission president asked, I found myself saying "Esta bem" ("OK") To my suprise, my concerns, which I still think are valid seemed irrelevant, I just wanted to obey.

There are many things that we hear that sound good, but can be hard to embrace in practice. Food storage, Tithes and offerings, missionary work, family history etc. etc. I'm sure each one of us can think of several things we don't do as well as we should, and all of the reasons why.

Obviously we are blessed when we are obedient, and it is a worthy challenge to overcome all of our excuses, becoming more obedient. One thing I think is notable however is that at least two battles were avoided completely because of the nephites preparation. When the Lamanites first saw the armored nephites, they ran in fear. Later Moroni fortified a city and when the Lamanites arrived, they "Durst not attack,""therefore they retreated"

What if just because we have food storage, the devourer is rebuked, and we never need to use it.