Parallels in our Day

Ether 8

The land is becoming exceedingly wicked. The daughter of Jared talks her father into letting her dance for Akish so that he wants to marry her. Deal - as long as Akish will agree to bring him the head of his very own father! Does it get any worse? Akish goes along with this requirement and gets his kinsfolk – isn’t that the same as relative? Anyway, he gets them to make an oath with him in this effort to overthrow the kingdom of his father.

As I read this entire chapter, I get way too anxious about the things that are happening in the world today. What seems like such a simple solution to some of this nation’s biggest problems is being made to look like a circus amongst the political powers. Are they really so dumb?

It doesn’t take much to convince me that the answer is no, they aren’t dumb. I believe there are secret combinations of varying kinds between some of the more evil politicians and they are corrupting the less evil politicians to come into their brotherhood. Before you go screaming at me that this is a conspiracy theory and fear mongering, let me ask one question. Why do you suppose Moroni warns of such things in the last days? Is it not so that we will be on the lookout for evil and abort it as best we can? Well, I feel like we’re doing a terrible job of aborting the infectious evil. It is growing at such a rapid rate that I don’t know if it is able to be stopped.

So what is my role in this? How can I stop it? I can’t. All I can do is pray. Alma 62:40 makes it quite clear: “And there had been murders, and contentions, and dissensions, and all manner of iniquity among the people of Nephi; nevertheless for the righteous’ sake, yea, because of the prayers of the righteous, they were spared.” Should we not all be praying for political leaders that they will seek guidance through prayer? Should we not be praying that those voting will be prayerful as well, and seek for righteous leaders? It would seem to be that living righteous lives and praying for help are our only defense against the evil that is infecting this land like a toxic virus.