Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Ready or Not-3 Nephi 2:17

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

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?
 16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
 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
OCTOBER 1986 The War We Are Winning
Gordon B. Hinckley First Counselor in the First Presidency

But there is another war that has gone on since before the world was created and which is likely to continue for a long time yet to come. John the Revelator speaks of that struggle:
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
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.
In our meetings, we occasionally sing an old hymn:
Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?
Now is the time to show.
We ask it fearlessly:
Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?
We wage no common war,
Cope with no common foe.
The enemy’s awake;
Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?
(Hymns, 1985, no. 260).
...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;
Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked;
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.
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord” (2 Tim. 1:7–8).
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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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