Life is a War
So, I had a lot more time this Sunday than I normally do so I thought I'd spend it working on something that has bothered me for a long time. Whenever the Book of Mormon is taught or read there always comes a point where you go through 19 chapters about war (Alma 43-62). For a book about Christ and the Gospel of Peace this causes a lot of people serious boredom and they tend to skip it or think it is just for entertainment. How does this apply to us today and the Gospel of Peace? Life is a War. We are in a grand war of attrition against the Father of Lies and his fiery darts
The greatest thing about the War between the Nephites and Lamanites is how it reflects our spiritual war - its almost completely defensive. Spiritually we don't need anything the World has to offer because our All-Powerful Father in Heaven has offered us everything. Occasionally we need to go on the offensive like the Nephites to reclaim lost lands/strongholds (our homes, families, or lives) or to help free prisoners (people who are not living free of sin through the atonement)
However, when the war chapters are taught the discussion focuses on the 'Armor of God', 'Fortifying our Lives', and maybe sometimes the importance of 'The Title of Liberty'. Great stuff (and I plan to write about those in other posts later) but those take a grand total of 5 chapters. So this is the part that bugs me: why does everyone ignore the other 14 chapters?
I think people ignore these chapters because no one really stops to think what they are teaching. The first 5 chapters of the war chapters are dedicated to how we protect ourselves with armor and fortifications. The next 14 are dedicated to strategies used to kill people in fortifications and wearing armor.
To quote Captain Moroni when he was just a little upset: (Alma 60:11-12)
11 Behold, could ye suppose that ye could sit upon your [fortified] thrones, and because of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you? Behold, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain.
12 Do ye suppose that, because so many of your brethren have been killed it is because of their wickedness? I say unto you, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain; for I say unto you, there are many who have fallen by the sword;
Or in other words, the armor and forts aren't enough on their own and you are mistaken if you think you are safe just because you insulate yourself,\ or if you think everyone who falls away from God does so because they were going to from the beginning.
So without further ado I present the ways we can be defeated despite wearing the Armor of God and Fortifying our Lives. This post will later be followed by some additional defensive strategies taught in the war chapters.
Three Ways to Defeat a Fortified Armored Opponent
Ok just for starters so we are clear. Nephites aren't the good guys and Lamanites aren't the bad guys in this whole deal. Both use armor and both have fortifications that need to be defeated. The strategies are the important point
Also armor, no matter how good, is not impenetrable. In Alma 43:44 is reads:
44 And they were inspired by the Zoramites and the Amalekites, who were their chief captains and leaders, and by Zerahemnah, who was their chief captain, or their chief leader and commander; yea, they did fight like dragons, and many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, yea, for they did smite in two many of their head-plates, and they did pierce many of their breastplates, and they did smite off many of their arms; and thus the Lamanites did smite in their fierce anger.
The Lamanites still lost and the armor is great but no one wants to be the person who falls, which is why fortifications were built. A careful study of the war chapters will show there are three main ways to defeat a fortified opponent; draw them out, defeat them from within, or cut their support. Of course combinations can be used and there are examples of that too. I am going to try to give a comprehensive explanation of every tactic used in the war chapter supporting each of these categories.
It should be noted that every situation I propose can be applied to your life personally only, to your life in relation to friends and family, or to a church unit as a whole. Also my examples and interpretations are no where near absolute.
Draw Them Out
So there are four ways fortresses are described as being taken by luring the enemy out.
1. The first is the city of Mulek in Alma 52:21-31. The Nephites send a small army that could easily be defeated. The Lamanites rush out to defeat the army, chase it forever, and while they are gone the city is taken by another small army and then they are pinned between two armies that are bigger than expected.
In our own lives this can be seen as the easy to avoid temptation we decide to flirt with just because we can. A good example of easily an defeated sin I can think of is going to watch an inappropriate movie. However when we do this our place of retreat is vulnerable without our strength; our families may now encounter the same threat without us and may not be prepared for it. Or lets do an example of working just a little longer and then a little longer still to finish that annoying task and letting it lead us on so we don't return to our families or let it interrupt the habits we used to fortify our lives making us vulnerable. Or you go to a bar knowing you won't drink but suddenly find yourself surrounded by porn, which happens to be a big weakness, and suddenly you are confronting a much larger threat then expected.
2. The second city defeated by drawing them out was Antiparah in Alma 56 & 57. In this scenario the Nephites created a threat to lure them out by appearing to be a small force going to reinforce another city. Again the Lamanites chase them until they are trapped between the two armies and defeated. Though in this case however the Lamanites left a large enough army behind to protect the city but the people in it fled after the main army was destroyed.
In our own lives this could be an example of having a dear friend or family member who seems to have someone being a bad influence on them or perhaps a temptation in our own life is getting support. So we try to stomp it out - often in a more controlling, desperate and forceful way than we should. Not being careful we may easily find in the attempt that we have left the habits and patterns in our lives that allow us to be safe and close to the spirit. In the end we may find we had no good effect, that our family has fled from us, and we ourselves are more vulnerable as a result than we'd like.
3. The third city defeated was Manti in Alma 58. In this case the threat was increased still more. A large army of the Nephites moved close to the city and acted like they were going to cut the city off from support. In response the Lamanites charged out with everything and chased the Nephites when they retreated. They were so desperate they didn't notice the small threats on either side hiding. When the army returned it found its fortification captured and turned against them.
In our own life this is again a situation where we see a threat to ourself - a job trying to have us work on Sunday, we run out of money, someone scamming us, our life is in danger - and us throwing everything we have in desperation to protect ourselves without thinking about what compromises and little sins we are making along the way. We may well find when the dust settles that we lost far more than we thought we would.
There are many motives we may have to flee our fortifications. Fear being the one most commonly used in the Book of Mormon. It is very easy to think you can run from your problems by leaving your fortress and the war behind. Don't be deceived, you are only safe until the enemy has made sure your fortress no longer is able to support you before it resumes the battle and you find yourself exposed.
Something important to remember in all of these examples, the threat is real and the war won't let you just stay holed up in your fortress. In every example given the best solution may not be to avoid or ignore the problem. Many need to be confronted. These scriptures are here to show us the dangers and to help us avoid them. The important thing is to not let yourself be lured out too far or leave your defenses abandoned.
Defeat Them From Within
The stories of how people were defeated from within are far more varied than the lures used previously. I will try to describe them as best I can starting from an internal and progressing to a more and more external angle.
1.To start the easiest example is how dangerous fatigue and exhaustion are. In Alma 51:33-34 and in Alma 62:36 the Lamanites armies were exhausted from marching very fast and fighting. As a result they were not able to be as vigilant as they should have and Teancum snuck in and killed their leaders. Further in Alma 56:51 the army of Antipus was nearly wiped out because they were exhausted from marching through the night.
In our own lives this is the exact same principle. When we are tired we are not as alert and let our guard down. We are more prone to sin and to losing the habits and actions that fortify our lives. This is a particular vicious tactic since all of us will often find ourselves sleep deprived. In these cases it is important to make sure we keep someone rested around who can help us.
2. Similar to the previous example is the case of the fall of Nephihah in Alma 62. In this case the city was well fortified but no one was guarding the back and so the Nephites using ladders climbed over the walls while the Lamanites slept.
Again here is an example of not being sufficiently vigilant and letting our guard down because we are tired. A good example of this in our own life is having the little sin we like to ignore and not noticing as it invites more and more bad habits into our lives until things are out of control.
3. The next method is by feigning friendship. The first example of this is Lehonti and Amalickiah in Alma 47. Lehonti was well fortified and safe but Amalickiah convinced him to leave his fort and then take Amalickiah back with him as a friend, where he then slowly poisoned Lehonti to death over time. The next example is the fall of the city of Gid in Alma 55, where the Nephites sent a lamanite descendent to get the guards drunk so the Nephites could then arm the prisoners inside.
Besides the obvious issues of getting poisoned and drunk these examples show how we can be deceived by people who appear to convert or who once were converted and gain our trust but in truth do not share our values at all and will by degrees either bring us down to their level (slowly poisoned) or will desensitize us and surround us with others like them (wine and prisoners) before we realize the path we have taken.
4. By far the most effective method of destroying the fortresses from within was contention. In Alma 51: 16 it says:
16 For it was his first care to put an end to such contentions and dissensions among the people; for behold, this had been hitherto a cause of all their destruction.
and again in Alma 51:22-23
22 Behold, it came to pass that while Moroni was thus breaking down the wars and contentions among his own people, and subjecting them to peace and civilization, and making regulations to prepare for war against the Lamanites, behold, the Lamanites had come into the land of Moroni, which was in the borders by the seashore.
23 And it came to pass that the Nephites were not sufficiently strong in the city of Moroni; therefore Amalickiah did drive them, slaying many. And it came to pass that Amalickiah took possession of the city, yea, possession of all their fortifications.
and that continues on for the next several versus to describe the loss of several more cities. In fact there are several wars and uncounted occurrences of the Nephites having contentions and dissenters throughout the Book of Mormon and it always resulted in more death and destruction.
It is the same in our own lives. If we let anger and contention into our lives we will lose the spirit and all our efforts to fortify our lives will be useless. Not to mention the damage we will cause to other lives close to and around us as well.
5. The next method is to destroy the leadership which the war chapters give a few ways to happen. One is in Alma 56:51 the Army of Antipus not only was exhausted but they were confused because all their leaders were dead. In Alma 60:14-15 Moroni discusses how slothful and selfish leaders can destroy them. Finally in Alma 61:3-5 we read about a rebellion that overthrew the government thru flattering others, stealing the hearts (loyalty) of the people from their leaders, daunting their opponents (peer-pressure), withholding their support from the government, and finally driving the leader out.
6. The last method of causing internal damage is to make use of the "prisoners". The Nephites used prisoners of war to fortify and strength themselves. In Alma 57:13-14 the Nephites ended up with too many prisoners so that it was taking all their efforts to control them and the prisoners were constantly rebelling and killing people along the way. In versus 20-32 it reaches a climax when the prisoners here of a potential danger and rebel in mass.
Cut Off Their Support
The last method of defeating a fortified position is the classic siege and it is very clear that this is by far the most dangerous threat to he Nephites at all times. At least every chapter, normally before or after every battle, there is something said along the lines of 'they continued to bring supplies provisions, reinforcements, and fortify their position. It was said far too many times to bother recording the versus. Similarly there was constant fear of being surrounded because then their support and retreats would be cut off.
The best example of all of this is the capture of Cumeni in Alma 57:8-12. The Nephites surrounded the city and captured the supplies. After several days the city surrendered. Likewise we can read in Alma 58:7-9 we here of the Nephites when the rebellion overtook the government and all support stopped being sent.
7 And it came to pass that we did wait in these difficult circumstances for the space of many months, even until we were about to perish for the want of food.
8 But it came to pass that we did receive food, which was guarded to us by an army of two thousand men to our assistance; and this is all the assistance which we did receive, to defend ourselves and our country from falling into the hands of our enemies, yea, to contend with an enemy which was innumerable.
9 And now the cause of these our embarrassments, or the cause why they did not send more strength unto us, we knew not; therefore we were grieved and also filled with fear, lest by any means the judgments of God should come upon our land, to our overthrow and utter destruction.
In Alma 50 we also can read about the desperate race to stop Morianton from escaping to the north and leaving the Nephites surrounded. In chapter 52:9 we read about how important securing that northern passage was to keep them from being surrounded. Finally we can read about how the Lamanites feared to advance further in Alma 56:22-26 because they feared leaving enemies behind them and being surrounded.
In our own lives we can not think to go alone. If we allow ourselves to be surrounded completely with those of lower standards we WILL fall no matter how fortified we are. This is a constant through all the scriptures. The only exceptions are the occasional prophet who is the last righteous person in the population, and they almost always gets extra support from visitations of angels and even Christ himself. That is why God has established his church and organized it so that we can have support and help. The greatest danger to use is if we allow ourselves to be cut off from spiritual support. This can happen because we stop going to church, we feel anti-social and so stop talking to good people, our jobs keep us from church or religious activities, and more ways than I can count. It was the single most important thing to the Nephites in their war and it should be of equal importance to us.
Conclusion
Well I hope you enjoyed my little research project. I have had these ideas floating in my head for years but never did a comprehensive study of it till today. I think if we all were to work as hard on applying these strategies to our personal, family, and church lives that our efforts to fortify our lives against the fiery darts of the adversary will be much more effective. I plan to write another post about the other defensive advice in the War chapters as well, including the ways to fortify our lives, the armor of god, and the importance of remembering our cause/title of liberty. Hopefully it won't take all day like this one did. If I missed any or you have better examples I'd love to hear them.
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