Alma War Chapters - Maybe they are worth something after all! - Part Three: Go Back the Way You Came

The first time I ever sat down to really read from the Book of Mormon was at a church campout years back. They challenged us to read Alma chapters 43 through 63. This covers a whole series of battles between two ancient American people. At the time, I was a high schooler and was just pleased that the scriptures actually had some cool action. In these chapters, I learned that there were some people who were both God fearing and still pretty cool. In high school, that was about all I needed to know.

Later, I started loving doctrine. Therefore, I started dreading the war chapters of Alma. I wanted to learn, not just be entertained. 

This time through the Book of Mormon, though, I'm realizing how silly I am.

In the next few posts, I want to discuss some real doctrines and lessons that I have learned by applying the stories of the Alma War Chapters into my life.

For Part One of this series, click here.

Go Back the Way You Came

This one I'm going to go a little unorthodox. We are going to be the Lamanites. I know that isn't what you aspired to become in Primary, but go with it just this once.

In Alma 58, Helaman leads a little chess match. He is strongly outnumbered in a battle that he knows he can't avoid. (In fact, that's another great lesson... I might do that for my next post!!) After he receives comfort from the Lord, he gets together with Gid and Teomner and they come up with a strategy to lure the Lamanites out of their strongholds. While Gid and Teomner are hiding in the woods, Helaman takes a small army towards the Lamanite city Manti. The Lamanites, seeing that the Nephites "were not strong, according to [their] numbers," (Alma 58:15) thought it well to leave their fortresses and attack.

See that? The Lamanites left their fortresses. They left the place where they were strongest. Now, we could
use the analogy that that is leaving the Church. That would be detrimental. But I want to focus on more subtle abandonment of safe-places. When we lower our standards just a bit, we lose the Holy Ghost and are left largely alone. We leave the spiritual protection that has held us up. I could apply any number of commandments here, be it chastity, Word of Wisdom, Sabbath Day observance, the law of tithing, honoring our parents, raising an eternal family, pornography, backbiting, murmuring, and on and on and on. The principal is the same.

As you probably could foresee, Helaman calls for his army to retreat, right into the woods where Gid and Teomner are waiting with backup. Rather than just attacking the Lamanite force, though, the Nephites did even more. Gid and Teomner killed a few important stragglers in the army, then went right for the heart. Rather than paying any attention to the army now chasing Helaman, they went and overtook the entire city of Manti. Verse 22 explains this wonderfully:

"Now this was done because the Lamanites did suffer their whole army, save a few guards only, to be led away into the wilderness."

"Led away." Alma had used that same phrase when counselling his son, Corianton. In Alma 39:11, Alma says, "Suffer not yourself to be led away by any vain or foolish things; suffer not the devil to lead away your heart."

Satan likes to lure us out of our fortresses by making the armies seem small.

"Everyone else is doing it."



"It's just this once."

"I won't actually participate, I'll just be there."

"Sometimes, we need to be a little more tolerant and not stuck in our little bubble."

In the end, we get surprised by how overwhelming the opposition really is, especially without our former protection. Perhaps, in the end, our protection is ruined. Our testimony could be destroyed after we entrench ourselves deeper and deeper, chasing after what seemed a very weak foe. We broke sacred covenants, and are no longer promised the Spirit's guidance. These consequences are not because God forgot us, but because we temporarily forgot God.

Eventually, the Lamanites realized they were being lead to a major Nephite city and decided to turn around and go back home. I love the phrasing of verse 24:

"Therefore they began to retreat into the wilderness again, yea, even back by the same way which they had come."

When we repent, we have to go back the way we came. I heard an analogy once comparing repentance to a math equation. When you come out with the wrong answer, you don't get to just erase the incorrect answer and replace it with the correct one. You have to work backwards. You go back, step by step, until you find where you made your error. You, like the Lamanites, have to go back by the same way which you had come.

The Atonement is real and forgiveness is available, but this chapter teaches us two very valuable lessons: First, don't leave your fortress. Second, if and when you do, just go back the way you came.