"And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of these sayings, and all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man’s blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth.
And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands."
Alma 24:17-18
I love the determination here to be good... to give rather than take, to work and contribute rather than just letting things slide. Seems like something that we can all learn from.
Sometimes when we read this story we might think that this oath was a mistake, since the Nephites have to protect them from being killed during a later war. And certainly we aren't all sinners in exactly the way that these Lamanites were sinners. However, we can probably all do better at recognizing the worth of others, giving rather than taking, being kind rather than hostile, and contributing to the welfare of those around us.
I also see value in the idea of being willing to die rather than harm others. Our lives aren't worthless and I'm not advocating becoming doormats, but the idea of being that strongly against hurting others is powerful to me. Perhaps considering this scripture can help us think a lot harder about the small cruelties that we so easily let fly at one another daily, and maybe even help us make better decisions when we seem to face a choice of hurting someone else or allowing ourselves to be hurt. Hopefully many of those are false choices and God can show us another way, but when we are faced with that choice, accepting the blame and absorbing that emotional impact rather than directing it to another can often resolve the situation in a better way.
Today, let's give rather than take, and heal rather than harm. Let's stand up for what is right with a firm determination to work for and to be good, through and through.
And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands."
Alma 24:17-18
I love the determination here to be good... to give rather than take, to work and contribute rather than just letting things slide. Seems like something that we can all learn from.
Sometimes when we read this story we might think that this oath was a mistake, since the Nephites have to protect them from being killed during a later war. And certainly we aren't all sinners in exactly the way that these Lamanites were sinners. However, we can probably all do better at recognizing the worth of others, giving rather than taking, being kind rather than hostile, and contributing to the welfare of those around us.
I also see value in the idea of being willing to die rather than harm others. Our lives aren't worthless and I'm not advocating becoming doormats, but the idea of being that strongly against hurting others is powerful to me. Perhaps considering this scripture can help us think a lot harder about the small cruelties that we so easily let fly at one another daily, and maybe even help us make better decisions when we seem to face a choice of hurting someone else or allowing ourselves to be hurt. Hopefully many of those are false choices and God can show us another way, but when we are faced with that choice, accepting the blame and absorbing that emotional impact rather than directing it to another can often resolve the situation in a better way.
Today, let's give rather than take, and heal rather than harm. Let's stand up for what is right with a firm determination to work for and to be good, through and through.
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