Divide and Conquer

Alma 58 – Helaman, Gid and Teomner take the city of Manti with a small army but with faith in the Lord that He would bless them.

Bless them He did!  It was a simple strategy they used – “divide and conquer”.  In dividing their army into thirds, they were able to lead the Lamanites out of the city and retake the city.  No bloodshed!

Many times in our every-day lives we can become overwhelmed with the tasks at hand.  Most frequently they are in the affairs of raising our families and meeting the needs of each one.  This is one place where “divide and conquer” is used frequently in “intact families”.  We have a father who takes a child to a Back-to-School night while the mother takes another child and the little ones to a lesson or recital.  We see this happen all the time.  We also see it in church callings.  The father will have a load that is tremendous and the wife will pull up the slack and mind the fires at home.  These are the most obvious examples of “divde and conquer” that immediately come to mind.

However, as I am currently serving in a Stake Relief Society presidency, I am impressed at how this same strategy works in our presidency.  Yesterday at our PPI with our stake president, we were given some assignments – or challenges rather – that were daunting to me.  I had faith as we were accepting these challenges that we’d figure out how to do them.  As my presidency visited during our hour without a meeting, my second counselor said, “I think this particular concern goes well with what I’m presenting to our sisters at Leadership Training.  I’ll take it.”  It was a pretty big piece of the challenge.  I was thrilled.  As we visited more and started batting the second concern around, it felt right for me to take it and incorporate into my assignment as well.  I too have great faith that the Lord will show me how to do this.  Do I call this courage?  Maybe.  I know I have a “. . . fixed determination to conquer our enemies, and to maintain. . .”  (v12)  As I pour out my soul in prayer for guidance and strength, I have experienced it enough times to know I will be blessed.  I know this is His work I’m doing and he has a vested interest in its outcome.  I need to put myself in the position – as did Teomner and Gid – to be guided by the Spirit. 

And that is why I’m up so early this morning.  My scripture study has been whittled down to a chapter a day and then moving on to the next task.  I know this is not the way to receive inspiration.  It is interesting how this lesson needs to be learned over and over again.  Sometimes I let life get in the way of those things that matter most, and it is then that I develop weakness in my defenses. 

So what are my marching orders today?  I need to be more prayerful “. . . pour out [my] soul in prayer to God. . .”(v10) for my needs.  I also need to listen to the spirit guide my thoughts and search for the means to accomplish what it is I’ve been assigned. 

Love is the answer

Alma 43

The beginning of the war chapters.  These chapters took on an entirely new meaning when I attended a class that suggested it is not talking war as much as it is talking about protecting our homes and families from the evil war that is being waged against us by Satan. 

There are key players in this particular war.  We have the Nephites who are followers of God (The Lord’s people) and then we have the Lamanites who were raised on the lies of their fathers.  They were raised to hate the Nephites.  The other groups of people are the Almalakites and the Zoramites.  These were apostates – people who at one time believed in God.  (These three groups are Satan’s warriors.)  It is made clear in v7 that the apostates’ hatred toward the Nephites was even worse than that of the Lamanites.  This is something to be reckoned with in our day.  We have good people who fall away from the church for whatever reason.  Some of them are angry for perceived injustices or blessings they feel they have been denied.  They will do anything to make the church look bad in the eyes of the rest of the world.  They will go to extreme lengths to fight Satan’s war against the powers of heaven.  This is why we need to guard carefully the membership of our people – especially our own homes. 

One thing that stands out to me and is almost humorous is the stupidity of those who fight against the Lord.  They don’t use common sense. The Nephites used strategy and counseled with a prophet for guidance on how to fight this war that was being waged against them.  Alma, a prophet of the Lord, knew their plan through revelation and gave sound advice.  There were fearful moments and some were lost, but they stayed true to their cause and cornered their enemy.  They could have obliterated the entire group of dissenters; but instead, they tried to talk sense.  You really can’t talk sense to a dissenter.  They have their ideas, and in their distorted minds, they are truth.

What does this tell me about my life today?  Well, certainly the only way to deal with anyone is through the power of love.  Love is a language that we all understand though it is unfamiliar to some.  Acceptance is another key.  We all need to feel accepted for who we are.  Find common ground and work from that common ground.  It’s easier said than done, but if it wasn’t doable, I don’t believe the Lord would have commanded us to love one another.