The Battle Raging for Our Minds

I had some amazing insights today that I wanted to quickly write. So this post is a bit hurried and not as polished as I usually like, but posting it will help me remember. And if you happen to read it, I hope you gain something from it as well. From my scripture journal: Amazing insights today! I read Alma chapter 47 and into chapter 48 today, and discovered something I had not seen before. Chapter 47 details how Amalikiah becomes king of the Lamanites. Specifically, I learned from the part about how he tricks Lehonti into giving him a position as second in command of the Lamanite armies, and then poisons Lehonti. We talk over and over about how Amalikiah lures Lehonti away from his stronghold and his fixed determination not to join with the rest of the Lamanite armies and fight the Nephites. And all those things are true. But like so many stories in the BOM, it has a counterpart. Lehonti’s fixed determination wasn’t enough. If he had such a fixed determination to not join with Amalikiah, why did he falter? And what story is the counterpart, illustrating the principle by demonstrating the opposite (in this case, a successful fixed determination)? Before we see the counter example, the enemy’s tactics are spelled out very plainly: he hardens hearts, blinds minds, and stirs up to anger. We see this every day! Hearts are hardened as our identity as children of God is attacked incessantly. Minds are blinded when we are given the agenda-driven interpretation of events past or present, such that we cannot see facts and interpret them on our own (see the example in Alma 47:20-28). And when we have forgotten who and whose we are, when we can only see what we have been told to see, it is easy to get stirred up to anger. Anger is bondage. We cannot see things clearly, and we are in no position to make good decisions while we are angry. The world is so full of angry people right now, and the adversary is doing everything in his power to spread that anger. So what is the defense? In the next chapter we are introduced to Captain Moroni’s preparations. Too often we focus solely on the Title of Liberty and the raising up of an army to fight the enemy. If we only focus on the fight, then we aren’t prepared, and indeed we may be missing the point. Remember how in the Savior’s day the Jews at Jerusalem were looking for a military leader to deliver them from Roman rule? That is not what Jesus was. That was not the deliverance he brought. In Alma 48:7, we read, “Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.” The real battle we are fighting is a battle for souls. It is a battle for our minds. What did Moroni, this man of perfect understanding (Alma 48:11) teach his people to prepare their minds? He taught them about God and the true nature of our relationship with Him. He taught them the truths of the gospel. He taught freedom, according to natural law. He taught them the true nature of families. And he taught them peace instead of anger (Alma 46:12). With those truths firmly entrenched in Moroni’s mind and in the minds of the Nephites, they were ready to prepare according to divine inspiration for whatever the enemy had in store for them. And they prepared in ways that had never been utilized or seen among the people of Lehi. He got new ideas! Not the old take-it-to-the-battlefield ideas. Entirely new ideas that in many instances eliminated the need to fight all together. If we are preparing for a fight, then we are probably in anger, which is easily manipulated by the adversary. We need to focus on preparing our minds, learning our true identity, and staying true to Jesus Christ and His gospel. It is only with minds firmly focused on Him that the battle can be won.