Alma 51:36 And he caused that his armies should stand in readiness, lest the Lamanites had awakened and should come upon them.
Are you Ready?
For what?
Are you ready for war? War on our freedoms, war on our religion, war on our families, and war on our faith. This war is a physical and spiritual war, we battle it in all areas of our lives. We must know what and who we stand for. “And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires.” (Alma 43:9) “Gather…together…to defend their country, their rights, and their liberties.” (Alma 43:26) “Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.” (Alma 43:45)
We need to protect ourselves with the armor of God. “Prepared his people with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing—“(Alma 43:19) “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places… having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. (Ephesians 6:10-18)
Today we need to do even a little more, we have be invited to join the Lord’s battalion. This means the numerous warriors on Satan’s side will fight to the bitter end with every successful tactic that they have developed over the last 6000 years. We need to fortify our minds, hearts, homes, and families in every possible way. We must be “strengthening…armies…erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies…building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land. And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites.” (Alma 48:8-9) Small forts could the temples, places of refuge to keep our minds clear. Walls of stone could be the spirit of discernment, so that we are aware of the enemies as they attempt to attack us. Building up dirt round about could be our daily routine of faith building—reading scripture, prayers, and seeing to put Christ at the center of our lives.
As we do these things we will be like Moroni who was able to deflect all of Satan’s attacks. “Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding…a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery…a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people. Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ…Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. (Alma 48: 11-17) His greatest secret was he never stopped preparing “Moroni did not stop making preparations for war.” (Alma 50:1) This allows him to have “all power over [his] enemies.” (Alma 49:23)
Let’s Stand In Readiness!
-written my Sherri Jorgensen
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