Don’t Make Stupid Oaths!

“Don’t make stupid oaths!” Words of wisdom spoken by Brittney this morning.

What triggered that exclamation?

Well, there is an army that goes to capture a city. They get to the city and find out that it is surprisingly and unexpectedly well fortified and protected. The generals and officers realize they can’t attack and succeed, but to rally their troops they take an oath that they will attack the next city no matter what.

They get to the next city and are even more surprised. It’s better fortified than the first one. At this point Brittney exclaims “Don’t make stupid oaths!”

Well, they attacked rather than break their oath (they had to in order to maintain credibility) and suffered terrible causalities and deaths while inflicting no deaths on their enemies.

What more can be said than “don’t make stupid oaths”?

- Alma 49:12-17

Promises, Promises

Two very different ways to build a following:

1. Tell people what they want to hear and be tricky, hiding true intentions.
2. Tell people the truth and make true intentions known.

If someone resorts to the first method you can be assured they want to take away freedom. It’s the only way to get people to follow if your true intention is to control your followers for your personal lust for power.

In 73 B.C. a man named Amalickiah used method #1. He flattered the people and through his cunning got many people to follow. He promised wealth, security, and prosperity if they would give him power.

In 73 B.C. a man named Moroni used method #2. He wrote his message down in clear language, told the truth about his intentions, and without making any promises appealed to the people’s desire to preserve their freedom.

In fact Moroni was purposefully counteracting Amalickiah. One was trying to take away the people’s freedom, the other to preserve it.

If you notice anyone following method #1 and asking you to follow, simply don’t.

- Alma 46:4-7, 10, 12-13, 16, 19-21

Don’t Jump Off the Golden Gate Bridge

“Just because everyone is jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge you don’t need to.” Words my mom said when I wanted to follow the crowd. We lived 35 miles south of the bridge, I could have ridden my bike there.

Alma’s son Corianton had gone after a popular harlot. In Alma’s words: “she did steal away the hearts of many; but this was no excuse for thee, my son.” Don’t follow the crowd. Don’t jump off the bridge, even if everyone else is doing it!

- Alma 39:4

Student Bite-Size Beliefs

My students doing the teaching…

Logan: People are watching our actions and our behavior will influence others for either good or bad. Alma 39:12

Brittany: boasting and bragging about ourselves makes no sense. Our successes really come from the Lord and we should thank him. Alma 39:2

Sara: We live in a fortunate area where there is too much focus on riches. We need to be careful and set our hearts on the Lord, not on riches. Alma 39:14

Caitlin: These are powerful words: “murdereth against the light”. Rejecting the Holy Ghost is like murdering light and truth. Alma 39:6

Sarah: We can’t hide from God, we can’t progress if we hold to our sins inside. Once we repent let it go, don’t dwell on it. Alma 39:7

Julia: We can’t put the responsibility of our own choices on other people, we need to make right choices and don’t let others steal away our hearts. Alma 39:4

Mauricio: just because many people are seduced by something enticing but sinful doesn’t justify it. Alma 39:4

Andrew: If you devote your entire life to gaining power and money you will find that it is entirely temporary. You can lose it at any time, so why do it? Alma 39:14

Gavin: If we are as precious to God now as the people that lived before it shows how much value the Lord places in us. He clearly doesn’t want us to indulge in iniquity. Alma 39:17

Brooke: Not only will bad things we do be exposed but it will also come back to you like judgment you will be judged by. Alma 39:7-8

The Wonderful Girlfriend

One of my teen sons (name not disclosed, but here is a link to his picture from facebook if you are curious) is completely infatuated with his girlfriend. He thinks about her all the time and wants to be with her all the time. Everything he does is with part of his mind on her and how she will view what he does.

So when I read this morning what Alma said to his youthful son a strong correlation automatically came to mind. See if it does to yours:

“Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.”

Wow. If you could extend the same energy, focus, and affections of your heart to the Lord as my son does to his girlfriend there would be no question but that you would be living right.

- Alma 37:36-37

When God Doesn’t Give the Answer

When Alma says to his son “learn wisdom in thy youth” it’s like saying “go experience life and as you make mistakes learn wisdom from them.” That’s one of the ways wisdom is learned.

What if God told us the answer to every question we had? Our ability to learn wisdom would be stunted.

A master plumber recently told me that when he was just learning the trade it was so nice when his master plumber was around to answer questions. It took the responsibility off his own shoulders. But his confidence and wisdom only grew when he himself had to make decisions.

Now he sees his journeyman plumbers doing the same with him and he realizes that they can’t grow in confidence and wisdom if he is always telling them what to do and making decisions for them.

God answers our petitions in his own time, but he does answer them. Sometimes the answer may be that we need to make the decision using our own judgment. These are the times we progress and grow in wisdom. These are the times to anticipate because we’ll be better for them.

- Alma 37:35

The New Antifamily Target

Purveyors of personal destruction are targeting young women like never before. People like pornographers.

“The new target audience for those who create pornography is young women,” said Julie Beck.

She also said, “A lot of antifamily messages that you are hearing are targeting young women…those young women who create the bodies for the future generations and who should teach the families. They don’t even know what they’re being taught in the messages. It’s just seeping in, almost through their pores.”

Who is going to combat these antifamily messages? Again from Julie Beck, “This generation will be called upon to defend the doctrine of the family as never before in the history of the world.”

Let’s stand tall confidently and defend the family!

- Julie Beck, Teaching the Doctrine of the Family

The Bad Guy’s Team is Not a Team

Picture two high school football teams. One team is filled with cheaters, liars, and drug addicts (bad guys). The other team is filled with hard working, honest, health conscious players (good guys).

Joining the bad guys team is like joining no team at all. As soon as a drug test is administered your team is going to get disqualified. Plus with so many cheaters and liars how can you trust them enough to work together as a football team must?

In the competition between good and evil, joining the evil team is like joining no team at all. In fact Korihor found that out. After doing his team leader’s work for a while he was deserted and as Mormon put it, “the devil will not support his children at the last day but doth drag them speedily down to hell.”

Bad decision, Korihor. You thought you were joining up to a team where you’d get some support. Your problem is, you joined the wrong ‘team’.

-Alma 30:60