Thoughts from Sunday School

I was sitting in Sunday school today feeling a bit miserable with a headache so I was having a hard time focusing on the lesson and on any thoughts I could share, other than the fact that I really really wanted to point out that our current political options reminded me a little bit too much of Hel 2:4-5 and I felt like our teacher was doing everything possible to avoid that conversation. Sometimes it frustrates me that we can't talk about truth and parallels in the scriptures, we live in a world of judges being killed on the judgment seat and of leaders lying and working in darkness, yet because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or create contention we just talk about the importance of praying, reading our scriptures and going to church and the importance of talking about things that bug us so they don't cause contention in our own hearts (that last one though I think is really important, the first chapters of Helaman show that when we let contention grow we become distracted from what is really important and we stop progressing, like the Nephites we let our guard down and a whole army of Lamanites come marching in with breast plates, head plates and shields. This struck me very powerfully because this was something new for the Lamanites, if we go back to the book of Alma we see Moroni introducing protective clothing to the Nephites, up to that point both Nephites and Lamanites just had loin clothes, battle meant bleeding to death or sun stroke from too much exposed skin. Yet as Moroni introduced this armor more and more Nephites survived battle and the Lamanites still wore their loin clothes and died in large numbers. Now in the Book of Helaman we have a huge army of Lamanites marching upon Zarahemla, the heart of Nephitedom with defensive shielding and the Nephites don't even have guards in the land to protect their city.

This parable shows us a couple things, first because the Nephites were distracted by contentions in the city, namely in-fighting trying to determine who should be the chief judge and judges being assasinated on the judgment seat they didn't think to keep an eye out for Lamanites, they were so distracted by their own little problems (little in the sense it was just a Nephite problem) they forgot there was a blood thirsty army camped on the borders of the land. Second because they were distracted they were not progressing, they let the fortifications fall into dis-repair, they forgot that their enemy the Lamanites were learning from previous battles and would be better prepared to fight. Instead of preparing for the next time they would have to fight the Lamanites and getting new techniques they succumbed to inner contention and opened the door for a war.

Satan does this to us all the time, he brings up little things for us to nit-pick about that we forget the bigger picture. He gets us so focused on inner battles that we forget he is still out there devising new strategies to discourage and tempt us. He encourages us to focus on where we are right now, we forget where we can be and where we are still needed. So this week was our first year anniversary and needless to say I've been looking forward to it for about a year. We didn't go on any trip, we didn't go to a hotel we just gave each other our undivided attention and it was a very good day. Yet somewhere during the next 12 hrs Satan tried to sour that precious day, he reminded me of the many people around me and all the cool things they did and all of a sudden I couldn't seem to remember all the beauty I had seen just hours before. Then he went one better (in his mind) the next day my husband disappeared emotionally and I was left wondering where he went and why. I spent the next days focusing on feeling like I was left high and dry and picked on and poor me and drawing closer and closer in on myself. Instead of addressing the problem I let it eat me alive. Then there was my husband again saying he loved me and spending time with me and saying it had been a hard couple days for him. Then all of a sudden I could look back and see how my selfish concerns and allowing the adversary to distract me took me from where I could be most useful, instead of being a help mete I had just been plain grumpy. I allowed myself to be taken away from my purpose and in stormed armored Lamanites with the intent to hurt my marriage. Instead of finding new ways to express my love and encouragement my silence became a tool the adversary could use against my spouse. The adversary loves using contention and pride to mess with our marriages and relationships, even when we tell ourselves we won't say anything about something that is bugging us he uses that too, because we let what is bugging us eat us alive. I am the first person to say don't say things in haste because then unwanted bitterness comes out, but at some point when you've thought things through you've got to share or you might just go nuts.

As I was sitting on the couch with my beloved yesterday I told him I was so glad I get to keep him for eternity and in that moment it hit me, it really hit me, a thousand years down the road we can still be together (dependent upon covenants of course), 10 thousand years we can still be together, an eternity. That is why marriage is so important, that is why taking time to find the right person is so important, why having the help and guidance of the Lord is so very extra important. You know those couples you see that just seem like power couples, they support each other and help each other do amazing things because they work together? Heavenly Father intends each of us to be those power couples He knows that we can do amazing things together, that is why Satan works so hard to separate and distract us, because if one power couple makes him tremble than an eternity full of them make him weep. We need to be willing to let distractions go, to find safety in the Lord and to always be working to progress instead of stagnate, life is too important to let Lamanites in armor take over what matters most to us. I know there are some circumstances outside of our control, there are things we wish could be different, Heavenly Father will work with those things in His time, in the mean time we seek His will and allow ourselves to find peace in the infinite power, strength and love of the Atonement.