I
was assigned to speak in sacrament meeting in June on the topic of
how we live prepared for the last days. How do we make ourselves
ready; how do we keep steadfast when everything around us seems to
threaten our peace and safety?
There
are many scriptures describing the conditions and perils of our day —
many talks giving us counsel. What came immediately to mind was the
statement that in those days “men’s hearts shall fail
them,” and men will look for peace and not be able to find it.
Think
that it’s never been darker and more difficult than it is
today? You’re absolutely right. Think it’s as bad as it
can be? Unfortunately, not yet.
A
couple of things came to mind immediately, but I wondered and prayed
about what I should say. The answer came to me in the middle of the
night — three words: pick a hero.
If
the promises of the words of scripture seem too distant or abstract
to keep a grip on, right this desperate frantic minute, hang on to
the true story of a real, breathing, human being who wrestled,
feared, persevered, and made it through.
It’s
one of the purposes of having revelation put on record. The
scriptures are given to us to teach principles and doctrine, but they
are also given to offer us the stories of individuals whose lives
were tutored and transformed, and how it happened.
Pick
a hero — someone worthy, tested, and victorious. Their stories
are laid out before us so that we too can learn, and so that we too
can overcome.
I’ve
been thinking about that again this week. I used the examples of
Joseph Smith and Moroni in my talk. (Here is my record of that talk,
in my blog. http://eyeonsparrows.blogspot.com/2013/06/holding-on.html)
Those two stories are powerful.
But
I’ve had another story on my mind this week, the story of Alma
the Elder. A priest in King Noah’s court in the land of Nephi,
Alma was the only one whose heart was pricked by Abinadi’s
testimony. He alone stood up to the group and pleaded for Abinadi’s
life. He responded to truth and rejected the pattern of
unrighteousness.
That
only made him another object of wrath, and he was ordered thrown out
and the king’s servants were ordered to follow him and kill him
— out of the public eye. But they didn’t find him, and
as he stayed in hiding he wrote down everything that the prophet
Abinadi had said. Then he went about quietly, carefully, to spread
those teachings and bear witness of the power of the Atonement.
In
Mosiah 18 he gives one of the most beautiful delineations of what it
means to be the Lord’s people:
8....
and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be
called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens,
that they may be light;
9
Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort
those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God
at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in,
even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered
with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
10
Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have
you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness
before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye
will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his
Spirit more abundantly upon you?
11
And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their
hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.
Alma
and the people he gathered around him found a safe, lovely place to
live, far enough away from King Noah that they thought they would
have peace. Wouldn’t that be the fitting reward for his faith
and integrity?
No
such luck. The army of the Lamanites found them and took possession
of their new lands and put them under subjugation; then, to add
insult to injury, gave them to the malicious oversight of the wicked
runaway priests of the wicked court — those who had a personal
grudge.
Alma
did not react with bitterness or despair. He and his people turned
to God with prayer and they received help: the Lord gave them added
strength to bear their burdens, telling them that they would be
delivered — but not yet.
When
we have those kind of answers, isn’t it a temptation to argue
with them? If my life is acceptable before you, can’t I be
rescued now? But Alma waited and prepared, and continued to call
upon God with both faith and patience. Patience can be the sticking
point, but faith isn’t deep enough until patience joins it.
They
had no means at hand to effect their escape, so their taskmasters
were overcome with a deep sleep and they hurried away, outdistancing
their pursuers and led to Zarahemla, where their people had
originally come from.
There
was great joy. Alma was brought to the company of the Saints, if you
will, and two groups were bound together. All was well. He helped
organize the Church there, married and raised a perfect family, and
everything went smoothly — well, not so much.
We
don’t know if Alma had other children, but we know he had one
who broke his heart. We know him as Alma the Younger. We know he
was best buds with the four sons of King Mosiah, and we know that in
spite of all the testimony, legacy of experience, and love of both
fathers, they were unbelievers and active, persuasive dissenters.
How
much more compelling can a narrative of deliverance be, than young
Alma had from his father? But he rejected, even scorned, that
testimony.
Alma
had stood forth against the crowd, against the powerful, in his
integrity. He was not swayed by the prevailing attitudes of his peers
in King Noah’s court. He had followed the witness that the Holy
Ghost had given him, and brought it to others. He had been delivered
out of the most difficult circumstances, which he did not deserve, in
faith and he had lived in service. All of which makes him a hero
worthy of emulation, but the way he responded to his son’s
rebellious choices may have been his most important example.
He
didn’t give up and say, after all this, what more can I do? He
didn’t let his heart fail. According to the angel who stood in
the way of these young men heading out to do more harm, the prayers
of the people, and the particular prayers of Alma the Elder, were
constant and faith-filled that these wayward sons would be brought to
a knowledge of the truth. (See Mosiah 27:14)
The
angel declared to them that he was there because of their faith, to
answer those prayers. They were now up against one clear witness of
the truth and given one clear choice. They chose to turn around.
Alma
never lost hope, he never lost his faith. He understood that he
could not force his son to do what was right, or to accept anyone
else’s testimony. He had enough faith in his son’s heart
to believe that he could be reached. When his son was struck down in
his confrontation with his actions, Alma gathered all the leadership
of the Church to join him in fasting, for two days and nights. One
of the most powerful miracles of redemption followed.
The
darkness and strife of the world would lead us to despair. Only the
Lord’s light can overcome it. He promises that it will come.
For
he is our peace, Paul wrote the Ephesians (Eph. 2:14) There is no
other. When it’s hard to hang on, pick a hero, who persevered
and overcame, and take heart; for your Father in Heaven will protect
and lead you too.
Marian J. Stoddard was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in its Maryland suburbs. Her
father grew up in Carson City, Nevada, and her mother in Salt Lake City, so she was always
partly a Westerner at heart, and she ended up raising her family in Washington State. Her family
took road trips all over the United States and Canada, so there were lots of adventures.
The adventures of music, literature, and art were also valued and pursued. Playing tourist always
included the local museums as well as historical sites and places of natural beauty. Discussions
at home, around the dinner table or working in the kitchen, could cover politics, philosophy, or
poetry, with the perspective of the gospel underlying all. Words and ideas, and testimony and
service, were the family currency.
Marian graduated from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland, and attended the
University of Utah as the recipient of the Ralph Hardy Memorial Scholarship, where she was
graduated with honors, receiving a B.A. in English. She also met the love of her life, a law
student, three weeks after her arrival; she jokes that she had to marry him because her mother
always wanted a tenor in the family. (She sings second soprano.) They were married two years
later and have six children and six grandchildren (so far). She treasures her family, her friends,
and her opportunities to serve.
Visit Marian at her blog, greaterthansparrows. You can contact her at
bloggermarian@gmail.com.
Marian and her husband live in Tacoma, Washington. Together they teach those who are
preparing to go to the temple for the first time, and she also teaches a Stake Relief Society
Institute class.