Sitting on thrones in thoughtless stupor

I was reading Captain Moroni’s letter to Pahoran this morning in my personal studies and, for the second time in my life, the question he asks Pahoran had a powerful impact.

The first time was shortly after returning from my mission. I was sitting in Sunday School waiting for the Gospel Doctrine teacher to appear. Time passed. No one approached the front of the room to teach the class. No teacher. No substitute. Not even a brave member from class. For twenty minutes the ward members were content to visit quietly with each other.

I felt the Spirit nagging me to get up and start the lesson but I didn’t. After all, I didn't have a manual, wasn't called to teach, was just 21 years old, and had only been home a couple of weeks from my mission. Who wants to hear from a naive, inexperienced teacher barely out of her teenage years?

So I chickened out. I opened my scriptures intent on immersing myself in them and ignoring the situation around me.

They literally fell open to Alma 60:11, which reads. “Behold, could ye suppose that ye could sit upon your thrones, and because of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you?”

That’s all the further I read. I shut the scriptures, stood up and took over the lesson.

This morning while, once again, reading in Alma 60 I was struck by the irony of verse 7 which says, “Can you think to sit upon your thrones in a state of thoughtless stupor, while your enemies are spreading the work of death around you? Yea, while they are murdering thousands of your brethren—“

You see, as I was reading that verse two members of my family were sitting within my view…in a state of thoughtless stupor on their phones. They were checking their Facebook page, watching videos, snapchatting, and they'd been doing it most of the morning.

You know what I'm talking about. You’ve seen it in your own homes.

Maybe you've even been guilty of it, yourself!

Hours and hours and HOURS wasted on chasing useless facts, entertainment and worldly validation on the internet.

And I was struck how Satan is using the internet to spiritually murder thousands of members of the church while we do nothing to stop it. We are too busy surfing the internet, scrolling through feeds, and liking and approving posts with just a sentence or two, to "be up and doing" real good on the internet.

Moroni had it right when he said, “I fear exceedingly that the judgments of God will come upon this people, because of their exceeding slothfulness” (vs. 14).

This people…the members.

All the while we waste our time on the internet, Satan is making incredible use of his time. He is using the internet to spread the work of destruction against the Church, destroy virtue, throw temptations in front of every user, and numb our souls with a continual onslaught of foul language, innuendos, attacks and rants.

Are you aware that Captain Moroni said, "We could have withstood our enemies...had it not been for the war which broke out among ourselves" (vs. 15-16). On the internet right now there are typed battles going on, hurt being spread, friendships being destroyed--even among the members. Satan's use of the internet actually encourages us to give battle without a face, to post caustic thoughts and then wait for the "Likes" to pour in. No need for self-control when people give a "thumbs up" to our rants.

And that is exactly what Satan wants. The internet is his favorite weapon of attack.

So, our we posting defenses against those attacks?

Are we fortifying ourselves, our families and our homes against those attacks because we are willing to step forward on the internet and go to work? Are we willing to battle Satan on the internet (where the battle is taking place) in preserving our liberty, our lands, our wives and our children, and our rights of worship?

Remember, we don't sit on the internet, alone. Oh, no. We're caught up in it along with thousands and thousands of others--all of whom are subject to the same attacks by Satan, whether they are members or not. Again, Captain Moroni asks Paharon (and all of us), “Will ye sit in idleness while ye are surrounded with thousands of those, yea, and tens of thousands, who do also sit in idleness?”

“Do ye suppose that the Lord will still deliver us, while we sit upon our thrones and do not make use of the means which the Lord has provided for us?”

And the Lord has provided us with the internet!

Yes, the internet is Satan's greatest weapon but remember...it God's greatest tool.

The difference is this: weapons destroy, tools build.

Let us make sure that we are using the internet as a tool for good…that we are building truths and not wasting our time in idleness on it. Rather let us find ways to strengthen and build others, defend good with kindness, and stand for righteousness.

Then let us not stay on the internet longer than necessary. When we have done what the Lord wants us to do--when we have done GOOD, let us turn off the internet and embrace our families and friends in real time, with real face-to-face interactions.

Who is a Modern-day Captain Moroni?

They say the Book of Mormon was written for our day. I believe that. Take a look at this event recorded in Alma 45 and 46.

“For behold, because of their wars with the Lamanites and the many little dissensions and disturbances which had been among the people, it became expedient that the word of God should be declared among them, yea, and that a regulation should be made throughout the church” (Alma 45:21).

Oh, my gosh. That sure sounds like our current situation in the church with the new regulation or guideline. It was sent out for a reason…because of "wars" with the world and little dissensions and disturbances throughout the church.

So I kept reading with increased interest. Then it gets really interesting. I won’t quote the verses in their entirety but, briefly put, “there arose a dissension among them (the members) and they would not give heed to the words….and they were exceedingly wroth.”

Some of the members of the ancient church did not like the new regulation. Sound familiar? According to the Book of Mormon, some of the members began listening to the words of others and the upset members gathered together to express their disapproval.

To try and resolve the issue, Helaman and his brethren began to reteach them the doctrine—which is exactly what the church has done. Yet, “Notwithstanding the preaching of Helaman and his brethren, yea, notwithstanding their exceedingly great care over the church…there were many in the church who ….dissented even from the church.”

And we have seen that very thing recently...but that is not the part I want to dwell on. I want to share with you what happened next.

A young active member, who was only about 26 at the time, rent his coat “and wrote upon it—‘In the memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.” Young Captain Moroni chose to stand with the prophet and the brethren in trying remind the people of a greater purpose. This young leader used his words to remind everyone why we are doing this whole gospel thing--for God and eternal families.

Today the men and women of the Church—especially the young members—have power at their fingertips to be like a modern Captain Moroni. They can use the internet to write powerful words like Captain Moroni reminding others of why we do the things we do. Our posts are not to satisfy our own egos and beliefs, nor defend our own monocular vision. We should be showing the Lord that we know His standards and we are willing to stand by them even if the rest of the world (which may include some of our own family members), have forgotten the purpose of our existence or have been misled by the words of others.

And the scriptures record that because of Moroni's words, “the people came running together with their armor girded about their loins, rending their garments in token, or as a covenant.”

In ancient Israeli tradition, clothes were tied to the character of your soul. To rend another’s clothes was the ultimate insult. To rend your own, the ultimate voice.

So, led by young Captain Moroni's example, the members joined together to defend their lifestyle before the world. It wasn’t easy, for the scriptures tell us those dissenters had joined the Lamanites and “they became more hardened and impenitent than the Lamanites.” Remember, these were not faceless dissenters. They were loved family members and friends. What a heartbreak the members must have felt yet they held firm to the truths they knew.

And Moroni held firm as well, even though some of those dissenters must have been known and very dear to him, too. He heard their words and their accusations yet, instead, he focused on “preparing the minds of the people to be faith unto the Lord their God.” He helped the members fortify their weakest areas so that they could “support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God.”

Again, those with the internet at their fingertips can and should do that. They should turn their words and their efforts to fortifying, not destroying. (The hidden power of the internet is in what it says about the writer! What we write about, what we say in our posts and our comments leaves a trail that tells people more about us than the topic we select.)

Interestingly, Paul understood that youth could be powerful influences for good when he wrote to young Timothy, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (I Timothy 4:12). It is not a coincidence that this advice was given while Paul was teaching the young man about the last days! Even today, as the last days darken around us, the youthful bloggers and writers on the internet can be powerful influences for good.

Young Captain Moroni changed the outcome of an entire nation by the words he chose to write—by the stand with the Lord he chose to make. Then comes the most powerful tribute to a mortal man ever given in all of scripture. “And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

“Yea, 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, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of is blood…

“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 of the hearts of the children of men” (Alma 48:11-13 and 17).

How grateful I am for the young men and women who choose to stand by the Lord in the face of dissension. It is hard for them, I know, but if even one person says of them what Mormon said of Captain Moroni, their courage and voice has been heard and the powers of hell have been shaken.

Prophets Foresaw the Effects of the Internet

After reading Ezekiel 37:15-17, which talks about the stick of Judah and the stick of Ephraim becoming “one in thine hand”, a sister in Sunday School shared this thought. She held up her smart phone and commented, “They truly are one in my hand. I can hold the scriptures right here--in one hand. That prophecy is being fulfilled."

Another prophecy being fulfilled in our day is found in Isaiah. “And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness” (Isaiah 29:18). Thanks to modern advancements in science, medicine and technology many of the deaf and blind are able to see and hear the truth for themselves.

But the prophets also foresaw other events in our days that are not as wonderful. They warned us that in the last days even the very elect will be deceived. And how will they be deceived? Paul may have been on to something when he wrote his second letter to Timothy.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good; Having a form of godliness but deny the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses and lead captive silly women (and men) laden with sins…ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1-7).

He foresaw a day when these “despisers of those that are good” will “creep into houses” and lead people astray. What better scriptural description do we have of the internet than that!

Everything on the internet is free to "creep" into our house at any time and lead us into spiritual captivity. Where we go on the internet and what we choose to study and learn may lump us into that group which Paul said was “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Do we use our time on the internet to feast on the truth or graze on what the world has to say?

Even earlier than Paul the prophet Amos testified, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it” (Amos 8:11-12).

Daniel also testified in the last days that “many shall run to and fro” in their search for knowledge (Daniel 12:4). Yes, the internet truly allows us to run to and fro, from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east without leaving our homes; yet this ability, Amos, said would leave us famished for the word of the Lord…not because it isn’t on the internet but because we are looking in all the wrong places.

Paul again taught the youthful Timothy (which is apropos for our youth), “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned onto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

With this easy access to knowledge in the palm of our hands we can be ‘turned onto fables’; we can get caught up in media frenzies and internet firestorms. It takes a wise man, indeed, to know where not to go and what not to read.

Not all knowledge or sources are equal. Having over 30 years of journalism experience I know the value of checking my sources. I have also learned this powerful truth: the source and the substance will tell me the motive.

Any source or any substance that tears down the belief of another person or shakes their faith should be avoided. Some people, however, think it is their obligation to share with others the negative they have ‘discovered’ about a religion in an effort to save other people from it. Their attitude just goes back to what Paul said about some being "lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud…” They obviously love their own intelligence enough to they think they are doing a stranger a great service by sharing the negative and shaking that person’s faith. These "accusers", as Paul called them are, in truth, fulfilling prophecy. “And their word will eat as doeth a canker….and overthrow the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:17-18).

We also know that in the last days grievous wolves shall enter among the Lord's Church, “not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30).

Hosea prophesied more specifically about what would happen to the tribe of Ephraim. He foresaw that there would be members of the Church who “have made ready their heart like an oven…they are all hot as an oven and have devoured their judges” (Hosea 7:6-7). He saw our day--when members would be ready to criticize and condemn the Church and its leaders and they are doing it now--in church hallways, on blogs and internet forums, to friends and strangers and anyone who will click on their link.

Hosea explained why the members would become this way. “Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people…strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not….they do no return to the Lord their God….(instead) they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria” (Hosea 7:8-9 and 11).

When the call comes to follow the Lord God, these members check out what the internet is saying first. They check out the headlines. They align themselves with the clamor of world who cry ‘that is not what the Savior would do!’

Does the world, bathed in sin, really know what the Savior would do?

“Woe unto them!” Hosea proclaimed. “For they have fled from me: destruction unto them! Because they have transgressed against me; though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. And they have not cried unto me with their heart…. Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me….their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue” (Hosea 7:13-14 and 16).

What a perfect description of members on the internet who rage with their keyboard tongues…who repeat the lies they have heard others speak…who have imagined mischief by the Church and its leaders. They have not cried long enough unto God with their hearts. Instead, they have found their quick ‘answers’ on the internet. They would rather return to the flesh pots of Egypt than to eat the unchanging manna of the Lord’s truth. They think, as does the world, that the Lord should change His commandments to keep up with the times.

Hosea warned, “They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria….Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them.”

Thankfully, Paul told us what we need to do to stay strong during these times. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings; for they will increase unto more ungodliness.”

We do need to study…the scriptures and the words of the prophets. We need to rightly divide the word of truth from the sullied version of the world, and we need to avoid anything that would shake our faith. So, in a vast internet world, how do we decide what to study?

Indeed, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul…If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”

We need to drink deep from the fountain of pure light and truth. We need to speak kindness and love even if we disagree. Above all, we are not here to offend others with a word or a blog. We are not to destroy or weaken someone's faith as a means of saving them or helping them 'see' what we believe is the truth.

We also need to make sure that the sites we visit are full of light and truth, are speaking kindness and love and are not attempting to destroy anyone's faith or are speaking poorly about someone's religion or their leaders. What we post and what we view reveals our motive and our spirit.

Above all, we need to remember that negativity is a trait of Satan.

Edification is a trait of God.