hello there my name is Tyler Griffin and this is scripture study insights by scripture Central today Elma 43 through 52 now many of you when you hear those particular chapters mentioned you think to yourself oh no the the war chapters begin the reality is that this book was written for our day by a man Mormon who happened to be assigned as the chief captain of the the armies of the Layman of the Nephites when he was only 15 years old and his whole life from that point on was spent defending to one degree or another the people in a military sense so instead of being frustrated by the war and the contentions and the violent uh descriptions going on here perhaps we could step back from the page a foot or two and Ponder the reality that second Nephi chap 31 verse3 teaches a powerful truth that is now coming to into play this is Nephi speaking for the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding for he speaketh unto men according to their language and unto their understanding so it shouldn't shock us that there's so much Warfare and so much description of this uh uh these difficult settings in the Book of Mormon that's one of the ways that the Lord is communicating with the the chief editor of this record named Mormon is through his own life experience and be because of that we can now liken all scriptures unto us as Nephi invited back in first Nephi 19 verse 23 so that the scriptures can be for our profit and our learning if we allow the Holy Ghost to fulfill his role as the ultimate teacher and if we go into these chapters with an open heart a soft heart and a mind that is focused heavenward to say teach me principles that would help me in my own life today because the reality is is most of you didn't wake up this morning worrying that the lamanites encamped against you were going to overthrow your city but we are in battles we are in a war whether we like it or not there is a war going on so if you look at the chapter heading of Revelation 12 in the Bible John the Beloved John the Revelator says and and here is the summary of what he's teaching in chapter 12 of the that great Revelation it says John sees the imminent apostasy of the church he also sees the war in heaven in the beginning when Satan was cast out he sees the continuation of that war on Earth so whether we like it or not there is a war going on we are involved in that war and we have to learn principles of how to appropriately fight in that war it's a very real War uh against the devil and those that follow him it's a war for the Eternal welfare of not only our own soul but for those all around us so if you now look at chapter 43 through 52 through the lens of I am I am going to have this Handbook of how to liken the scriptures to my life to my story then I'm going to see principles of how to survive and thrive in this very very real war that we're battling those lamanites and those weapons they have a totally different look and feel today than they did in the Book of Mormon but they're very real and in the process we're going to find that there are three layers of things that we can learn among others there if this analogy doesn't work for you toss it out and find one that does and make your serious study of these chapters more meaningful using whatever other method or overlay or lifelong learning principle you want to employ this is just one one consideration is to look for what I can learn about Jesus Christ about myself in this war and about the adversary the opposition because what's happening is there is a war going on for my soul there's a war going on for the soul of all of you and all of your loved ones and it's it's this battle between Christ and the devil and we're we're deciding how we're going to respond to both of those efforts so using that overlay we're going to dive in and look at chapter 43 initially through those symbolic lenses so as it begins it sets up this contrast the beginning of the war down in antum in the land of the zoramites they've invited the lonite Army in which is we find out twice the size of the Nephi Army under Captain Moroni so we have in this analogy through this lens we have Captain Moroni who is going to form this land through which we can see attributes of Jesus Christ and zemna on the other hand is going to provide this lens through which we can see attributes and techniques and tactics of the devil and what he's doing against us today so for starters let's apply this this lens and go to verse seven and8 which when you read this going back to the Revelation 12 heading should cast our minds back to the premortal council and the initiation of that war in heaven that war that was started not by God not by the Lord Jesus Christ but by the Devil by Lucifer so zerna has appointed some captains that really hate the Nephites to be in charge of that lonite Army now this he did that he might preserve their hatred towards the Nephites that he might bring them into subjection to the accomplishment of his designs you'll notice there that it's not the accomplishment of their designs it's not to help them Reach their goals or to fulfill their Divine potential it's none of that he's using them to keep them in subjection to his designs to carry out his will and his desires which are going to benefit him with some promises that he will share in the spoils with them look at verse eight for behold his designs were to stir up the L lamanites to anger against the Nephites this he did that he might usurp great power over them he's not trying to increase their agency he's not trying to give them freedom and more Liberty he's even trying to bind his own people who are doing his will to fulfill his designs and then it goes on to say also that he might gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into bondage everything in the devil's plan everything in his motivation and in his tactics is to bind and bring into bondage it's to destroy the agency of man we learned in the pr price this is everything that he's doing is to take away the agency of man now thank heaven for this incredible Prophet Mormon who is able to interpose and interweave the Glorious message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and these types and shadows of Christ that we can see not only what the devil is trying to do but we can see the Glorious response and these t uh Christlike symbols that that point us heavenward so look at verse n in contrast to the devil over in verse 7 and 8 Captain Moroni however says now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands and their houses and their wives and their children that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies look at those two action words those verbs the design of the Nephites was to support so that they can preserve so here's the intent it's to support and preserve not just themselves not just their own lives but to support and preserve their loved ones their people it's all about agency Liberty Freedom then it goes on to say that uh Moroni in verse 17 is only 25 years old when he took command of the of the armies he becomes the chief Captain over the armies of the Nephites which is this beautiful Connecting Point between Mormon in the the 4th Century ad. with Captain Moroni here near 400 years before him and Moroni Captain Moroni is clearly Mormon's hero even to the point where he spends so much time talking about him but he also names his own son Moroni seems to be naming him after his his hero Captain morona who was put in charge of the army when he was 25 whereas Mormon was put in charge of the knites when he was 15 so let's look now at this other contrast how does Mormon feel about his soldiers his people how does he what are what are his underlying uh feelings regarding them and how do we know look at how he prepared them look at Verse 18 and 19 it says it came to pass that he met the lamanites in the borders of jerson and as people were armed with now notice if you're marking your scriptures you could just simply Mark these and recognize that there is symbolism here because you and I probably aren't going to leave our homes today armed the way these people were armed but in a spiritual sense if we liken the scripture to us we absolutely can spend time helping our children our youth our loved ones leave any interaction with us armed in a symbolically spiritual way as described here they're armed with swords with simmers and all manner of weapons of war we're not leaving them uh only with defensive uh armor we're arming them with the ability to go out and appropriately fight in the spiritual warfare that uh that we're all in involved in to one degree or another verse 19 when the armies of the lamanites saw that the people of Nephi or that Moroni had prepared his people with now watch the defensive armor breastplates arm Shields yay and also Shields to defend their heads and also they were dressed with thick clothing so they've got all of this defensive armor as well as the offensive Weaponry what do the lamanites have how does how does zerna feel about his people and how do we know look at the preparation they got and and the way they were treated by zerna and the leaders of his army it says now the army of zerna was not prepared with any such thing they had only their swords and their simers and their bows and their arrows their stones and their slings and they were naked save it were a skin which was girded about their loins y all were naked save it were the zoramites and the amalekites if you look at that list carefully there is only offensive Weaponry that is listed there there's no thick clothing there's no Shield there's no breast plates or head plates there's nothing to protect these people they are only armed in a way to go out as minions to destroy and to scatter death but nothing to protect themselves it tells you something about the way God feels about his servants in contrast to the way the devil feels about those who he gets to follow him so to make sense of this next part of the story we we turn to the map for a minute so if we zoom in on the map you see that the action is all going to be centered on these attacks coming to the land of zarahemla from the land of Nephi from the lamanites in the South there are four entry points coming in so if we if if we use this color let me let me do this so if we show here's the first entry point that is mentioned it's antum let me make this a little bit bigger a little thicker there's the first one the second entry point is into the land of man the third is into the land of antipara and the fourth that is mentioned in the Book of Mormon is into amanah there are other possible entry points but those are the four that we see in the story throughout the book Mormon this one happens to be taking place down here in the land of antum which is in the land Eastward near the narrow strip of wilderness that goes from the Sea West to the sea east that's where the zoramites live and that's where this story unfolds you have the Nephites here in jerson facing the lamanites in the land of antum and the lamanites Outnumber the Nephites more than 2 to one they're they're more than double in size and yet because of the preparation of these nephite Soldiers the lamanites are scared and don't dare fight so they Retreat Into the Wilderness and let's uh clear the screen here they come into the Wilderness and work their way west to then come in entry point number two which is near the land of Manti near the head of the river siden Captain Moroni is we'll we'll change the color here Captain Moroni sends word to the prophet to find out where to go and he tells the Army where to meet the lamanites so they come in advance must have had an easier route getting here they get there first and hide around the hill Ripa and thus unfolds this this battle there in the land of Manti where the Nephites are able to to Prevail in a in a beautiful way so check out verse TW if if you want to see some incredible defensive kinds of verbs things uh causes worth fighting for um fighting appropriately then you can look in verse 26 verse 30 verse 45 47 48 49 50 there are all of these verbs in those various uh parts of chapter 43 so whether you like these chapters or not the reality is is up in heaven in the war in heaven this is our story this is what we fought in the War in heaven along with Michael the Archangel and all the other angels and with the Lord Jesus Christ this is what we were fighting for is to defend freedoms and Liberty and agency and so now they in this battle in chapter 44 they are overpowering the the lamanites because of their their armor and thick clothing and Moroni stops the battle and they they have this little interaction where he asks zerim if he's willing to enter into a covenant not to come and fight against any he fights anymore and I'll let you go home and he won't do it and so he Moroni Returns the sword he tries zerna tries to kill Moroni and one of moroni's servants breaks his sword cuts off the scalp of zerna and holds it up as a sign and thus the lamanites start fighting again and they keep fighting keep fighting until it gets to the point where zerna in verse 19 of chapter 44 says yeah this is this is not going to end well for me which tells you he's probably put himself somewhat surrounded by his people to defend until he realizes they're they're all going to die and I'm going to die so he then says okay stop and they take the oath and the lamanites now go home to Nephi but Captain Moroni knows something he knows that just because you won a battle doesn't mean that the devil's going to give up doesn't mean that the lamanites are going to stop trying to overtake the Nephites and take away their freedom and bring them into bondage and slave them and so he also knows that next time the lamanites come to fight it will no longer be a surprise or a shock to them to see the Nephites dressed in thick clothing and extensive armor to protect them on a physical personal level so they're probably going to come equally prepared so Captain Moroni is going to do the next level up which is to not rest and relax not take a vacation but rather go to each of his cities and cast up dirt and protect the the people more more uh collectively rather than just individual armor because he knows the lamanites are going to come again and if we're going to liken these scriptures unto ourselves that it can be for our profit and our learning we can say hm one way I could approach this is to stop and analyze what are some of the personal armor and weaponry items that I could have uh more fully developed for myself begin with yourself in in this spiritual warfare and once you have that in place then you start turning outward and trying to protect loved ones around you and others around you who maybe aren't capable of putting on a shield and picking up a sword and defending themselves so you defend them in a different way it's this idea of always staying ahead of The Temptations before they come and the best time to build those fortifications are not when you see the lonite Army coming into your lands the best time to build up spiritual fortifications is long before the battle begins I love the way our prophets Sears and revelators do that very thing with the church prophetically they see things coming and they make preparations long before there's a a seeming need the principle being that in my personal life or in my family life or in my church calling if it's if everything seems to be going well that's not a time to just relax in my discipleship it's not a time to let down my defense that's actually the best time to build up the defense the the worst time to build a barn is in the middle of a tornado the best time is when it's beautiful weather and there is no tornado there is no battle there is no earthquake so that's what he's going to end up doing in the subsequent chapters here in the meantime chapter 45 is this little insert chapter between the zemna conflict and the conflict that is yet to come here Elma passes on the records and the prophetic mantle to his son Helman in chapter 45 and Helman and his Brethren began to establish the church and preach among all the land of the Nephites the problem is there's major opposition to that preaching and this time the opposition doesn't come in the form of lamanites or soldiers it comes in the form of Nephites and probably some mikit living in zarahemla living in the very land you're trying to defend from lamanites so what we see in as we open up chapter 46 is a group of people who are exceedingly wroth with Helman and his Brethren and all those who are trying to build up the church and they were determined to slay them this sounds a lot like the devil in the premortal council you you don't get your way by diplomacy or by a sharing of ideas then you start to enforce your ideas or your will using the the power of of war and so it says verse three the leader of those who were wroth against their Brethren was a large and a strong man and his name was a malakiah so now am malakiah is going to take on that uh devilish side of of symbolic attributes we see him being desirous to be a king that's everything the devil wanted in the premortal council and those people who were Roth were also desires that he should be their King and they were the greater part of them the lower judges of the land and they were seeking for power they want Power they don't want to give freedom Liberty to people and so there's this this struggle that is brewing this this internal Civil War that is getting set up and Captain Moroni sees it happening and in verse 12 it tells us that he took his coat and he rent the coat and he took a piece thereof and wrote upon it in memory of our God our religion and freedom and our peace our WI and our children and he fastened it upon the end of a pole many people read this verse and think wow the title of Liberty that's a great list of of random good things but I see much more than just a random list of good things there I see an an ordered list I see a prioritized list these are things worth fighting for these are things worth defending these are things worth building up to the to the greatest degree possible with our loved ones in memory of our God put God first in your life and if you do that we will have religion the word religion comes from the re and then legare this this Connecting Point same root as ligament so it's this reconnection with God so in memory of our God and reconnecting with God and with each other that the essence of religion true religion and freedom God and religion bring the consequence of freedom and if I have God that helps me that helps give me religion which then gives me Freedom what comes next and our peace with that freedom comes peace I I don't have to be filled with anxiety about my my existence or my survival there's peace that comes there and it's peace in God peace in Christ and then he says our wives and our children you can have family outside of God and religion and freedom and peace but it's not the kind of family situation that will last forever it's not the kind of family situation where those relationships become more eternally significant so it's this beautiful list on this Banner the rent part of his cloak that he raises up to encourage everybody to come and join in the fight to defend those things that's what you're fighting for you're not fighting to suppress the lamanites or to bring them into bondage you're fighting to defend your freedoms your rights your Liberties and in this case it's against some some of your neighbors it's the am malakiah and those lower judges that are following him that we now fighting against using these things on the banner and you get this band of Christians as they're called who flock to this Banner they're calling them Christians and were more than 70 years away from the Savior even being born halfway across the world it's beautiful to Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation that they're already focused on Christ who shall come who is the solution to their problems in that day and they cut this Covenant or they rip their clothes in verse 21 as a sign or a token that's the way they make covenants back in the Old Testament times they rip their clothes and they do it very symbolically saying that the Lord if they should transgress the Commandments of God or fall into transgression and be ashamed to take upon them the name of Christ the lord should Ren them even as they had rent their garments brothers and sisters we in in our world today the the concept of Covenant and Covenants and entering into these these uh powerful agreements it's seen as a little less significant perhaps than it was in the Old Testament times they were serious about this they ripped their shirts their close as a sign or a token we want God to do this to us if we break this Covenant I love that our prophets are now emphasizing more than I think ever before in in the latter days this concept of covenants in fact if you go back and look at the April 2024 General Conference and review all of those talks and do a word search for the word covenant some of you may be surprised how often and how broadly and deeply the word covenant and the concept of these covenants is discussed in that conference dozens and dozens and dozens of times the Lord is bringing these covenants and their importance to the foreground now more than ever before because the battle is deepening the the the enemy is more combined than ever before and the safety is only going to be found in our covenants spiritually speaking and in some cases physically speaking so you turn the page over to verse 22 and it says now this was the Covenant which they made and they cast their garments at the feet of Moroni saying we Covenant with our God that we shall be dest destroyed even as our brethren in the land northward if we shall fall into transgression that's powerful to go into a covenant relationship with God this Covenant connection with the Lord to say I'm all in I would rather die before I will break this Covenant and just because a person makes the Covenant doesn't mean that life from that point forward is going to be easy these very soldiers they're going to wake up many times out there in the battlefields they're going to be sore they're going to be wounded they're they're not going to be able to to be with their family the food's probably going to be subpar they're probably going to be parched for water at times their feet are going to be blistered from long marches it's going to be miserable but at the outset as they're initiating this Covenant connection with the lord they're saying we're all in and to finish off verse 22 they say yay he meaning the Lord May cast us at the feet of our enemies even as we have cast our garments at thy feet to be trodden underfoot if we shall fall into transgression that is durable discipleship that is lasting conversion to the Lord that's what we want for all of us not this kind that is walk walking on eggshells kinds of conversion where if somebody says something or doesn't say something or somebody offends us then we abandon those covenants we've made with God it's important to note here that every Covenant you make on The Covenant path is between you and God and there's only one Covenant in that in that line of covenants that is made with another mortal and that is across an altar of the temple as a husband and wife are sealed for time and for all of eternity that's the only other time that Immortal is involved in other words when you go to church if you're being offended by people that's a very real thing that's a real part of our our battles and and the war of life in general but don't base your Covenant on what people do or don't do don't base your commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ on people even if that person is a spouse who has been not true or faithful to those covenants that were made in the temple stay true and faithful to God who is the perfect keeper of Covenant at all costs as these people are showing this pattern here so now they they fight against am malakiah and his soldiers and they're they're winning they're clearly going to win this battle and am malakiah knows so it's as if he has cast out this symbol of of the devil leaving a symbolic representation of Heaven in in this lens of likening and am malakiah now flees from the land of zarahemla down to the land of Nephi or up to it's down south but it's up in elevation in the book of Mormon so chapter 47 is an incredibly painful chapter that shows you step after step after step of a malakiah employing devilish techniques tactics and teachings and ideals in order to rise to power he lies he's going to cheat he's going to murder he's going to deceive and he ends up as the king of the lamanites marrying the queen of this newly killed King of the lamanites and you would think to yourself well there you go he he wanted the throne which is all the devil wanted in the premortal council now he got his throne he's the king of the lamanites and it's it's a kingdom that is twice as big as the kingdom of the Nephites there's a problem when is enough enough when a person has has turned their heart and their mind over to the devil when when have they arrived when do they have enough and the answer is never because the devil's Doctrine is a doctrine of discontent with what you have it's always coveting it's always looking in Pride at what others have and wanting more more more than whatever it is that I have and so we see that happening in chapter 48 amalak AA in this new power sends the lonite Army to fight against the Nephites to bring them under his bondage so that his domain his Dominion if you will can increase and he can bring those Nephites into subjection to his will and so he sends them off and we get this beautiful description of Captain Moroni in the middle of this part of the story in chapter 40 8:1 17 it says coming from the stylus of Mormon y 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 yay the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men if only everybody could be as firm and steadfast and immovable in the faith as Mor as Captain Moroni then the devil would never have power well in this case not everybody is like Captain Moroni and so am malakiah sends this this invading Army and we turn over to chapter 49 and they come this way the last time the lamanites went to antum it didn't end well they fled and came over to Manti and that didn't end well so am malakiah sends them through the back door because you're remember the last time that a lonite army went all the way up to amanah they were able to destroy the entire city in one day it was one of the most successful battles for lamanites in the entire history if not the most successful in throughout time up to that point so he sends them there but he sends them there with thick clothing and with armor and with offensive Weaponry not because he loves his people but because he wants to subject the Nephites to bondage and he knows he has to protect his soldiers in order to do that so you come over to to uh chapter 49 and in verse 6 it describes how they came and when they come out of the Wilderness and see the city of amanah and notice that there is a beautiful new feature around that city of a deep trench and the Dirt cast up into a mound on the other side of the trench so if you were looking at it from a side view it would be level ground deep trench and the dirt is Now cast up there with the city inside here that's a pretty defensible position for all of these people inside of those cities and so they go back into the Wilderness Mormon gives you an indication of motivation again at the bottom of verse 10 he says King am Malachi didn't come with the soldiers because if he had he would have told him go and attack anyway I don't care because you're Expendable and it tells you at the bottom of verse 10 for behold he did not care for the blood of his people there's something ironic about that because they're not really his people they're the lamanites people that he has stolen the ruling from their King but he's now claiming them as His People very similar to what the devil's trying to do with us and our loved ones today and so they make this oath we're going to go and attack the city of Noah and they swear they're going to attack it regardless of what it looks like and in verse 23 it says thus the Nephites had all power over their enemies because when they come to the city of Noah it turns out that that city is more fortified than amanah was Captain Moroni anticipated this and so the battle count ends up being more than a thousand of the lamanites were slain while on the other hand there was not a single soul of the Nephites which was slain worst battle in the history of the Nephites and lamanites right there as far as Lites are concerned a thousand plus to zero so now these lamanites come home with their uh heads drooping and they're sad they've Left Behind over a thousand of their fellow soldiers and when they get home you would expect a malakiah to show a little bit of human kindness and compassion for these people who he sent off to be killed but instead what you get is a devilish response verse 26 it came to pass that he was exceedingly angry with his people why because he had not obtained his desire over the Nephites he had not subjected them to the Yoke of bondage yay he was exceedingly wroth and he did curse God and also Moroni swearing with an oath that he would drink his blood and this because Moroni had kept the Commandments of God in preparing for the safety of his people you don't need to fear the devil you just need to have faith in the Lord and in what he will do not in what the devil threatens to do which is what's going on here with with am malakiah now you're thinking okay well there's another battle that we've overcome so we can clear the uh the the markings here and we're good to go you you're never good to go you're never good to relax in this battle because Captain r i knows they're going to come again so in chapter 50 he now goes back to those those Ridges of of Earth that were cast up and in verse two he caused works of Timbers to be built and on top of the works of Timbers a frame of pickets and on top of those Towers to be erected to overlook the pickets and then over in verse 11 he fortified the line between the Nephites and Lites so he strengthens the Border he's doing everything he possibly can now the problem is Captain could have defended the Nephites against the lamanites for for ever it seems but the real enemy it turns out wasn't South of the Border the Real Enemy was living next door to some of these people the Real Enemy was within and in chapter 51 we see this Real Enemy being the kingmen now before we get to those kingmen we have to cover one verse in chapter 50 that is so beautiful so this is in the middle of descrip describing all this terrible Warfare and all these people dying and Mormon throws in this verse but behold there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi since the days of Nephi than in the days of Moroni y even at this time in the 20 and1st year of the reign of the judges brothers and sisters you might have incredible battles on your hand you might have relationship struggles in your family in your marriage with your children with siblings with parents with with uh other relatives you might have struggles at work you might have conflicts all around you and what we're learning from this chapter and from Mormon's perspective here is that you don't base your happiness on the ease of life and the Peace of your surroundings you base your happiness on the degree to which you're Covenant connected with Christ and you're making appropriate separations to be able to defend appropriately Freedom Liberty agency and to help people around you to be able to stand in the face of intense opposition whatever form that opposition may take this verse 23 reminds me of one of my favorite alltime quotes comes from president russem Nelson when he said the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstance of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives so here these Nephites in the midst of the most terrible War they faced since coming over to the new world and yet there never was a happier time because they're not focused on the enemy they're focused on their Covenant connection with Christ they're focused on God and they're preparing not only themselves but they're defending people around them and that focus of their lives is bringing them true Joy now you come to the kingmen in chapter 51 and it says that they they wanted King a King instead of a chief judge so there was a vote taken they lost the vote and what are you going to do if you lose the vote and you turn your heart and your mind to the devil's Temptations well you start a war a warm dispute turns into a war so what happens is a malakiah from without and the King men from within are now fighting against these Liberties and freedoms this agency of the people and so while this this battle starts to to wage in a civil war setting it opens the door now for King am malakiah to bring his soldiers up an entire Army and he comes with them this time and notice what happens as we go up the Sea Coast in chapter 51 verse 26 thus he went on so he comes in and takes first the city of Moroni and then he went on to nefa and the City of Lehi and the City of Mor Anon and the City of Omar and the City of GID and the City of muik all all of which were on the East borders by the seashore so we've lost our entire seafront and he's working his way toward Bountiful because now if he can hem in the Nephites he has way more control over them Captain moronai knows that this is happening in the middle of his Civil War he sends tanum to head off the army Army of am malakiah before they get to Bountiful so tanum does that and they have this fierce battle here and that night tian's men go to sleep in the borders of land Bountiful and am Malachi's men go and camp on the seashore and they're exhausted because of the Heat and the labors of the day it tells us in verse 33 and you would think to yourself wow it must be in the middle of the Sun summer in reality it's that night that happens to be their nephite calendar New Year's Eve because the next day when they wake up they're going to find their King am malakiah dead in his tent now what happened that night is tanum with a servant steals out of his Camp goes in secretly to the camp of am malakiah finds him and puts a javel in his heart and kills him remember his oath remember his curse that he would drink moroni's blood and Mormon who's writing the story told you that he had made that that curse in vain that that it wasn't going to be able to happen tanum is the one who prevents that from happening he's the instrument in the hands of the Lord it it's a reminder that you don't need to worry or fear about what the devil can do you just need to have faith in what the Lord is going to do and make sure we're on his side as we move forward so chapter 52 happy New years's the the lonite Army wakes up in the 26th year on the first morning of the first month and they find their King dead in his tent terrible way to begin the year and now we've lost all of these cities to the lamanites and and amaron his brother takes over the charge of the soldiers and the lamanites in this part of the land isn't it interesting to note that that which used to be an absolute strength for the Nephites has now become a weakness it's become a terrible enemy to them and we find out in chapter 53 that they've also lost the four cities on the Sou South so you've lost your entire seafront on the East and you've lost all of your major cities on the south it would be a an easy temptation to give into to throw up one's hands and say I give up there's just too much I can't do this anymore and some of you watching probably are looking at your life uh situation feeling very much like the Nephites in this setting thinking wow I've lost all of that part and all of that part of my life I I don't know if I can go on what would happen if we looked at the entire Book of Mormon uh set of Wars here through this lens what if we consider that the land of zarahemla is nothing more nothing less than a a a symbolic representation of me and you and God is working with us to help us keep those efforts of the devil from getting root in our soul those Temptations those weakness uh elements of the flesh that we are able to resist those Temptations and keep them out of our life if we look at Chapters 43- 51 through that lens you basically have a symbolic Handbook of how to prevent Sin from taking root in our life how to keep addictions and these these struggles at Bay but then as we saw in chapter 51 you lost all of that Eastern and Southern uh set of cities so at that point we now shift gears to where the Book of Mormon Bec comes an incredibly helpful handbook on how to repent how to get evil that has taken root in us how to get it out of our soul so next week as we go through these lessons we'll see ways to approach life in general in this war in which we're engaged in a manner that would help us turn to the Lord in order to uproot evil that has taken place and that has uh set in so in closing it's my testimony that our God could take away all conflict could take away all opposition could prevent all temptation from ever reaching your mind or your heart that our God could prevent all doubts all fears all anxieties all diseases of any kind from occurring but for a purpose known to him a wise purpose known to him he doesn't usually take away all those things he allows those Nephites and he allows us to have to go through these incredibly difficult circumstances of life as an opportunity and a means to exercise more faith in him to learn more about him to learn more about ourselves and our loved ones and those around us and to learn more about the opposition that is seeking to destroy us so that we can distinguish between the two and more fully Embrace and turn to the Lord God who gave us life and who promises to Deliver Us from all evil in the end I know he lives I know he is mighty and Powerful to save the question is to what degree can I turn my life to him in order to spend my energy in not just making but keeping Everlasting covenants with him that can bind me to him and that is my prayer for me my family and for all of us in the sacred name of Jesus Christ amen know that you're loved [Music] [Music]