3
Nephi 2:17
Ready or Not
Ready or Not. The
battle is on. The enemy won’t wait. Now is the time to put on the
whole armor of God. (See Ephesians 6:11–18.) June 2010
What
17 And
it came to pass in the commencement of the fourteenth year, the war
between the robbers and the people of Nephi did continue and did
become exceedingly sore; nevertheless, the people of Nephi did gain
some advantage of the robbers, insomuch that they did drive them back
out of their lands into the mountains and into their secret places.
Why
When fighting for a
righteous cause we can win because the Lord is on our side.
Pattern
the Israelites
defeat Pharaoh by a miracle of the Red Sea
Joshua and the
battle of Jericho
David and Goliath
Mosiah 10:10
10
And it came to pass that we did go up to battleagainst
the Lamanites; and I, even I, in my old age, did go up
to battle against
the Lamanites. And it came to pass that we did go up in the strength
of the Lord to battle.
Doctrine and Covenants 98:37
37
And I, the Lord, would fight their battles,
and their children’s battles,
and their children’s children’s, until they had avenged
themselves on all their enemies, to the third and fourth generation.
JST, Psalms 24:7
7
Lift up your heads, O ye generations of Jacob; and be ye lifted up;
and the Lord strong and mighty; the Lord mighty in battle,
who is the king of glory, shall establish you forever.
War — The Guide to the Scriptures
A battle or
armed conflict; fighting with weapons. The Lord approves of war
only as a last means for his Saints to defend their families,
property, rights, privileges, and freedoms (Alma 43:9, 45–47).
Alma
43:9
9 And
now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their
houses, and their awives,
and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of
their enemies; and also that they might preserve their brights and
their privileges, yea, and also their cliberty,
that they might worship God according to their desires.
Christ
He
is our general. The battle started way back in the pre existence and
is still going on.
12
But, behold, they shall have wars,
and rumors of wars; and
when the day cometh that the Only Begotten of the Father, yea, even
the Father of heaven and
of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh, behold, they
will reject him, because of their iniquities, and the hardness of
their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks.
2
Kings 6
14 Therefore
sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came
by night, and compassed the city about.
15 And
when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth,
behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And
his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
17 And
Elisha prayed, and said, Lord,
I pray thee, open his aeyes,
that he may see. And the Lord opened
the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the
mountain was full
of horses and bchariots of
fire round about Elisha.
18 And
when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord,
and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with ablindness.
And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
19 ¶And
Elisha said unto them, This is not
the way, neither is this
the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek.
But he led them to Samaria.
20 And
it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha
said, Lord,
open the eyes of these men, that
they may see. And the Lordaopened their
eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they
were in
the midst of Samaria.
Joshua 24:15
15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord,
choose you this day whom ye will serve;
whether the gods which your fathers served that
were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in
whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord.
Conference
Gordon
B. Hinckley First
Counselor in the First Presidency
“And
there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the
dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
“And
the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil,
and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev.
12:7–9).
That
war, so bitter, so intense, has gone on, and it has never ceased. It
is the war between truth and error, between agency and compulsion,
between the followers of Christ and those who have denied Him. His
enemies have used every stratagem in that conflict. They’ve
indulged in lying and deceit. They’ve employed money and wealth.
They’ve tricked the minds of men. They’ve murdered and destroyed
and engaged in every other unholy and impure practice to thwart the
work of Christ.
...There
came a time of renaissance, with struggles for liberty—struggles
for which much of blood and sacrifice was paid. The Spirit of God
moved upon men to found a nation wherein freedom of worship and
freedom of expression and freedom of agency were protected. There
followed then the opening of the dispensation of the fulness of times
with a visit to earth of God the Eternal Father and His Beloved Son,
the Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. This glorious event was followed
by visits of angels restoring the ancient keys and priesthood.
But
the war was not over. It was renewed and redirected. There was
contempt. There was persecution. There were drivings from one place
to another. There was the murder of the young prophet of God and of
his beloved brother.
Our
people fled their homes, their comfortable homes, their farms, their
fields, their shops, their beautiful temple built at such tremendous
sacrifice. They came to these valleys, thousands of them dying along
the way. They came, as President Brigham Young said, to establish a
place where “the Devil can’t come and dig us out.”
But
the adversary has never stopped trying. Ninety years ago, in the
October conference of 1896, President Wilford Woodruff, then an aged
man, standing where I stand in this Tabernacle, said:
“There
are two powers on the earth and in the midst of the inhabitants of
the earth—the power of God and the power of the devil. In our
history we have had some very peculiar experiences. When God has had
a people on the earth, it matters not in what age, Lucifer, the son
of the morning, and the millions of fallen spirits that were cast out
of heaven, have warred against God, against Christ, against the work
of God, and against the people of God. And they are not backward in
doing it in our day and generation.
Whenever
the Lord set His hand to perform any work, those powers labored to
overthrow it” (Deseret
Evening News, 17
Oct. 1896).
President
Woodruff knew whereof he spoke. He had then only recently passed
through those difficult and perilous days when the government of the
nation had come against our people, determined to destroy them. The
buildings on this Temple Square, this tabernacle in which we meet
tonight and the temple then under construction, were escheated to the
federal government. Many citizens were disfranchised. But in faith
they moved forward. They kept going. They put their trust in the
Almighty, and He revealed unto them the path they should follow. In
faith they accepted that revelation and walked in obedience.
But
the war did not end. It abated somewhat, and we’re grateful for
that. Nonetheless, the adversary of truth has continued his struggle.
Notwithstanding
the present strength of the Church, it seems that we are constantly
under attack from one quarter or another. But we go on. We must go
on. We have gone forward, and we will continue to go forward. In some
seasons the issues are major. At other times they are only local
skirmishes. But they are all part of a pattern.
You
boys who are here, you deacons, teachers, and priests, are all a part
of this. The Lord has laid upon you in your priesthood offices the
duty to preach the gospel, to teach the truth, to encourage the weak
to be strong, to “invite all to come unto Christ” (D&C
20:59).
You
cannot afford to partake of things that will weaken your minds and
your bodies. These include cocaine, “crack,” alcohol, tobacco.
You cannot be involved in immoral activity. You cannot do these
things and be valiant as warriors in the cause of the Lord in the
great, everlasting contest that goes on for the souls of our Father’s
children.
You
men of the Melchizedek Priesthood, you cannot be unfaithful or untrue
to your wives, to your families, to your priesthood responsibilities
if you are to be valiant in moving the work of the Lord forward in
this great battle for truth and salvation. You cannot be dishonest
and unscrupulous in your business affairs without tarnishing your
armor.
...“Stand,
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the
breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace, which I have sent mine angels to commit unto
you;
“And
take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit, … and be
faithful until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye
shall be also” (D&C
27:15–18).
The
war goes on. It is waged across the world over the issues of agency
and compulsion. It is waged by an army of missionaries over the
issues of truth and error. It is waged in our own lives, day in and
day out, in our homes, in our work, in our school associations; it is
waged over questions of love and respect, of loyalty and fidelity, of
obedience and integrity. We are all involved in it—men and boys,
each of us. We are winning, and the future never looked brighter.
God
bless us, my beloved brethren of the priesthood, in the work that is
so clearly laid out before us. May we be faithful. May we be valiant.
May we have the courage to be true to the trust God has placed in
each of us. May we be unafraid. “For [to quote the words of Paul to
Timothy] God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and
of love, and of a sound mind.
Apply
Be
valiant in your testimony of Christ. Recognize that opposition is
here to stay and we must always be on our guard to stand up for the
right. We can win if we rely of our Savior to help us. If we could
see through the veil as Elisha did, we would see that angels do
attend us and help us through our battles if we are faithful.
I
love this scripture which brings me courage and peace and energy to
actively do what is right.
Doctrine and Covenants 84:88
88
And whoso receiveth you, there I will be
also, for I will go before your face.
I will be
on your right hand
and on your left,
and my Spirit shall be in your hearts,
and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.
Joshua
24:15 but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Hymns
239
choose the Right
260-Who's
On The Lord's side Who?
250-
We Are All Enlisted
Children
158-Dare
To Do Right
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