Work, Discord and Covenants

 Alma 53

The Lamanite prisoners are put to work.  There is some dissension among the Nephites which causes the Lamanites to have some advantage over them.  And this is where Helaman’s warriors save the day.

I love the things taught in this chapter.

• Put the enemy to work for you.  When they’re working, they can’t be causing trouble.
• When there is discord within any group of people be it a nation or a family, they are making themselves vulnerable to the adversary.
• A covenant is a serious thing and must not be broken.

I learned as a young mother that although my children weren’t the enemy, they still needed to be watched over or they would get out of control.  The best way I found to deal with uprisings of any sort was to put them to work.  Whenever they became bored enough to start contending with one another, that is when I found odd jobs for them to complete.  Two things happened: 1) They miraculously started being friends again.  I still don’t understand that, but I recognize as an active participant in the church, we become friends with whom we have been working side-by-side.  2) My children accomplished mundane tasks I rarely found time to do on my own.  This was a win-win as far as I was concerned.

I have watched how discord affects my family as a whole.  When one of us is not on the same page as the rest of the family, we begin to unravel as a family.  This is a very sad truth that we are constantly battling.

As we covenant with the Lord each week during the sacrament, we renew all the covenants we have made.  Why would we think for one minute our covenants are any less important than those of the Nephites?  A broken covenant makes us vulnerable to Satan’s attacks against us individually and as a group.  We would be wise to remember the people of Ammon and their devotion to their covenants and embrace this same devotion.