3 Nephi 4:31-33

"And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies.
Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.
And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction."
3 Nephi 4:31-33


I absolutely love that first image of a huge crowd/city/fort/army full of people just breaking into song all at once. I totally want to see the musical. :) In this chapter the Nephites defeat the Gadianton Robbers, which is... huge. So, they are pleased, and rejoice. The cool part is that they recognize that they never could have done it without God, and certain actions on their part... specifically repentance and humility. And maybe those are the things that it takes in our lives as well, to be saved from our enemies or our impending destruction as well. The Gadianton Robbers were massacring the people, and in the end, some of the robbers were destroyed, and some of them repented. But unless the Nephites had all gathered together, helping each other and working together, they couldn't have triumphed. I think we all have things in our own lives that threaten to destroy us as well. Maybe addictions, maybe pride, maybe the idolatry of valuing one thing or person in our lives more than we value the Lord. ...Whatever it is, the salvation that the Nephites sought is also available to us, through the same means. We need to be humble and recognize that we need God's help... and humble enough to repent and give up what he asks, and change our behavior as he asks. Just as with the Nephites, an army or any kind of force isn't enough to overcome destruction. Unity, purity, and goodness are the only things that are really going to make a difference, because those are the things that keep God and us on the same side. Anger and contention certainly won't... resentment, passion... no matter how strongly we feel or how badly we want whatever it is, we have to chill, and let all of those feelings go that are tearing us up. Let's channel that wasted mental energy into changing our attitudes and revising the way we see and treat other people. ... Be good and salvation will follow. Maybe not in exactly the way we envisioned, with us at the very top and our enemies below, crying... but salvation nevertheless, resulting in a better future for everyone.... Maybe then we could all spontaneously burst into song. Awesome. :)