THEY DO PLOT TO DESTROY THY LIBERTY

Does anyone else sometimes struggle because they see in the Book of Mormon types and shadows for things that are happening today?  I do, and it can sometimes feel painful. We, in America today, are still held accountable under the original American Covenant, first with the Jaradites and then with the Nephites.  George Washington knew it; so did Abraham Lincoln. It takes great effort and often bloody war to achieve liberty and it is so easy for it to be destroyed.  The only thing a people have to do is to turn away from the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ.

In the scriptures, there have been examples of entire cities that were destroyed and left desolate because their sins threatened the lives and liberty of those around them.  Sodom and Gomorrah were two such cites when God used natural forces to wipe them off the face of the earth. In the Book of 1 Samuel, we read about God's orders to King Saul to utterly destroy the Amalakites because they were such a city. Even their cattle and sheep were to be destroyed.  Saul followed his own will and kept the flocks alive as well as the Amalakite King, Agag.  One of Agag's descendants was the Agagite, Hamman, in the Book of Esther.  Agatha Christie used to say, "Old sins have long shadows."

God's promise to destroy Ammonihah if they wouldn't repent was prompted by more than their obvious apostasy.  Alma tells us that the people had a hidden agenda and that God knew about it.  The angel he sent to tell Alma to return to the city said this: For behold, they do study at this time that they may destroy the liberty of they people, (for thus saith the Lord) which is contrary to the statutes, and judgments, and commandments which he has given unto his people. (Alma 8:17) There was a conspiracy in Ammonihah that, if left unchecked, would have spilled over to other Nephite settlements in the area.

Both Alma and Amulek knew the hearts of these evil men.  Amulek told them that he perceived their thoughts, and he said unto them: O ye wicked and perverse generation . . . ye are laying the foundations of the devil; for ye are laying traps and snares to catch the holy ones of God. Ye are laying plans to pervert the ways of the righteous, and to bring down the wrath of God upon your heads, even to the utter destruction of this people. . . . Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the prayers of the righteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now be visited with utter destruction. But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye are spared; now, therefore, if ye will cast out the righteous from among you then will not the Lord from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand; but in his fierce anger he will come out against you; then ye shall be smitten . . . (Alma 10: 17-18, 22-23)
Political Implications in the Destruction of Ammonihah

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I see so many parallels to our day.  Conspiracies abound.  Just as the Gadiantons were elected to hold seats as judges, so, too, are wicked men and woman sitting in high places as seeking the destruction our nation, people, liberty, and religious freedom.  Elder John A. Widsoe made this remark during my lifetime, post-WWII America.  He died when I was 8 years old.  His wise advice is still applicable today, perhaps even more so.  We need to study both the issues and the character of those who seek election.  We must pray (and I do believe it is only the prayers of the righteous that have kept this nation from utter destruction already!) and make wise choices when we vote. We must stand up for God in all times and in all places.

I pray for our nation. I pray for our President and those who serve with him.  I pray for our first responders and all those who stand up against tyranny and anarchy.  I pray for my family.  I pray for all of you, my friends.  God bless us.

© June 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson