This week started with chapters 60 and 61, which is the story about Moroni's letter to Pahoran. Moroni is frustrated with Pahoran for his neglect of Moroni and Helaman, so he writes Pahoran a very heated letter in chapter 60. In this letter Pahoran is accused of "sitting in idleness" in "thoughtless stupor" while "transgressing the laws of God" and "trampling them under [his] feet." Moroni even closes the epistle with a death threat, saying that "God will not suffer that [they] should perish with hunger" and lack of forces in 60:35. It was a very accusatory, heated letter, but in chapter 61 Pahoran responds with nothing but grace and humility. I am so incredibly inspired and grateful for his example. Pahoran explains that he hasn't been neglecting Moroni and Helaman, but he has actually been dealing with war of his own in Zarahemla. In verse 7 it says "And they have come unto us, insomuch that those who have risen up in rebellion against us are set at defiance." Pahoran has been in an incredibly dangerous situation himself, but rather than getting angry at Moroni, he is patient and understanding. In verse 9, he says "And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart." He goes onto say how much he hates war and fighting against his brethren, but that they would not fight them if they didn't rebel.
I love Pahoran's example of being humble and submissive, despite receiving such an offense, accusatory letter. This is such a good thing to remember when we are offended or hurt by someone. I think this story is extra personal for me because I've had a personal experience similar to it. When it happened, I referenced this story many times to understand and learn the best way to approach the situation and how to be Christlike like Pahoran was. I will always be thankful that he responded in the way he did.
A cool principle that we talked about in chapter 62 was how to purge yourself of evil and addictions. We all deal with sins and addictions, but there are ways to overcome them.
Step 1 starts in verse 3, where Moroni takes a "small number of men," or in our case, sins. We should focus and zero in on the sin(s) we're trying to overcome.
Step 2 in verse 4 says "he did raise the standard of liberty." After zeroing in on our sins, we should set specific, high standards for ourselves that we will live by.
Step 3 in verse 5, it says thousands did flock unto his standard, and did take up their swords in the defence of their freedom, that they might not come into bondage." This tells us that it's wise to surround ourselves with like-minded people who have the same goals to help support us in our efforts.
Then Step 4 in verse 9 talks about going out and executing the things that keep you from the gospel and the presence of the Holy Ghost. We have to remove everything from our lives that doesn't allow us to feel the spirit or to live by our standards.
Finally, Step 5 in verse 10, we're encouraged to live by the laws we've set for ourselves while striving for freedom. The gospel grants us freedom by living our standards and doing what's right.
In the beginning of the book of Helaman, Brother Griffin told us that Satan makes two major shifts in his tactics--first, he gets more subtle and sneaky as far as temptations within, but he becomes more bold/daring/brazen on the outside.
One of the main points we talked about was in chapter 2, verse 8. Satan's "secret plan" is to "murder, and to rob, and to gain power." Those have been his techniques from the beginning, and they remain that way today. While the Savior's plan was to present us with a way to choose right from wrong, Satan's plan was an attempt to rob us of our agency, murder us and our free will and in the end, receive all the glory. However, Satan's plan was unacceptable. We, as human beings, can't do a thing about sin or death. We needed someone who could do both, and Jehovah offered willingly.
Finally, last of all we compared chapter 1 with chapter 2. In chapter 1, Pahoran was murdered by Kishkumen. In chapter 2, however, Helaman was saved from being murdered by his servant who was aware of Kishkumen's plan. Brother Griffin used this example to compare why some people die young and why others have a long life. This was especially applicable to me, because a boy from my high school passed away yesterday, and my friend Madie passed away a few months ago. The truth is, we don't know why some people are required to have shorter lives than others. It's hard, and it hurts, but ultimately he quoted Joseph Fielding Smith who said "No righteous man is ever taken before his time." That gave me so much comfort as I contemplated Madeline's life and Parker, the boy from my high school. I didn't know Parker, but I'd been around him enough times to realize the type of boy he was. He was, indeed, a "righteous man" who was making good choices and had a certain light about him. I did know Madie, and I also knew that she was an incredible girl. Madie had the light of Christ in her eyes and was a beautiful person, inside and out. She was the definition of a "righteous [wo]man" and that quote rang so true with me. It gave me joy to know that it was her time, and that everything is according to His plan. The spirit confirmed that truth to me, and I really appreciated that.
That's all for today :)
Kelsey
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