Alma ends his counsel to Helaman about secret combinations,
he tells him to teach the people to have “an everlasting hatred against sin and
iniquity” (Alma 37:32). We will see this
wickedness rear its ugly head in the leadership of a Nephite apostate leading
the Lamanites in war. “And now, as the Amalekites
were of a more wicked and murderous disposition than the Lamanites were, in and
of themselves, therefore, Zerahemnah appointed chief captains over the
Lamanites, and they were all Amalekites and Zoramites. Now this he did that he
might preserve their hatred towards the Nephites, that he might bring them into
subjection to the accomplishment of his designs” (Alma 43:6-7).
It is better to put our faith in the Lord. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and
lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he
shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
“O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul?
Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the
appearance of sin?” (2 Nephi 4:31).
He advises him to preach repentance and faith in the
Savior. Teach them to be humble, meek,
and lowly in heart. This will allow them
to withstand the devil’s best efforts and keep their faith in Christ.
Tell the people to never weary of good works. Be meek and lowly in heart to find rest to
their souls. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and
I will give you crest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek [GR gentle and humble] and lowly
in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew
11:28-30).
Learn wisdom in youth, learn to keep the commandments of
God. “REMEMBER now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days
come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in
them” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). “It is
good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth” (Lamentations 3:27).
Cry to God for support.
“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he
shall hear my voice” (Psalms 55:17).
“The LORD is far
from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous” (Proverbs 15:29).
“Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall
find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (3 Nephi 14:7).
“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the
spirit indeed is willing, but the
flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).
Helaman was told to let everything he does, wherever he
goes, all this thoughts and affection be direct to the Lord.
“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee
the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him;
and he shall bring it to pass. And he
shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the
noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because
of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked
devices to pass” (Psalms 37:4-7).
Helaman is admonished to counsel with the Lord in all
things. “I sought the LORD, and he heard
me, and delivered me from all my fears … This poor man cried, and the LORD
heard him, and saved him out of all
his troubles … The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek
the LORD shall not want any good thing.”
(Psalms 34:4, 6, 10).
“The LORD is good
unto them that wait for him, to the soul that
seeketh him” (Lamentations 3:25).
“But without faith it
is impossible to please him: for
he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
“Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to
take counsel from his hand. For behold,
ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great
mercy, over all his works” (Jacob 4:10).
“For although a man may have many arevelations, and have power to do many mighty works,
yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God,
and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall
and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him” (D&C 3:4).
In the original text of the Book of
Mormon we have two cases where the verb counsel is used without the expected
preposition with: “counsel the Lord in all thy doings” (Alma 37:37) and “take
it upon you to counsel your elder brothers in your undertakings” (Alma 39:10).
In the first case, Alma is speaking to Helaman; in the second, to Corianton,
the wayward missionary son. In no way is Alma advocating that Helaman counsel
the Lord or that Corianton counsel his two righteous brothers. The editors for
the 1920 LDS edition recognized that the preposition with was necessary in
those two passages so that readers would not misinterpret the language; thus in
both cases counsel was emended to counsel with. One could assume that somehow
the preposition with was accidentally lost during the early transmission of
these two passages. Yet the OED, under definition 4, lists the now obsolete
meaning ‘to ask counsel of; to consult’ for the verb counsel. Citations date
from 1382 to 1547, the last one coming from John Hooper: “Moses . . .
counselled the Lord and thereupon advised his subjects what was to be done.” Clearly,
Moses is counseling with the Lord, not giving counsel to the Lord.[1]
The Lord will direct hi for good. At night, pray to the Lord He will watch over
you in your sleep; express your thanks in the morning.
“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning
will I direct my prayer unto thee,
and will look up” (Psalms 5:3).
“And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother
of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord
all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the
Lord” (Ether 6:9).
“And ye must give thanks unto God in the Spirit for
whatsoever blessing ye are blessed with” (D&C 46:32).
During the course of the day, we
keep a prayer in our heart for continued assistance and guidance—even as Alma
suggested: “Let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord” (Alma 37:36).
We notice during this particular
day that there are occasions where normally we would have a tendency to speak
harshly, and we do not; or we might be inclined to anger, but we are not. We
discern heavenly help and strength and humbly recognize answers to our prayer.
Even in that moment of recognition, we offer a silent prayer of gratitude.
At the end of our day, we kneel
again and report back to our Father. We review the events of the day and
express heartfelt thanks for the blessings and the help we received. We repent
and, with the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord, identify ways we can do and
become better tomorrow. Thus our evening prayer builds upon and is a
continuation of our morning prayer. And our evening prayer also is a
preparation for meaningful morning prayer.
Morning and evening prayers—and all
of the prayers in between—are not unrelated, discrete events; rather, they are
linked together each day and across days, weeks, months, and even years. This
is in part how we fulfill the scriptural admonition to “pray always” (Luke
21:36; 3 Nephi 18:15, 18; D&C 31:12). Such meaningful prayers are
instrumental in obtaining the highest blessings God holds in store for His
faithful children.[2]
[1] The
Archaic Vocabulary of the Book of Mormon, Royal Skousen, Insights, Volume
25, Number 5, 2005, pg. 3.
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