Alma 45

(April 21, 2014)
I couldn’t help but think of Mormon, writing the words of Alma into the Book of Mormon at the close of the Nephite era.  What must it have been like to have seen with your own eyes the events prophesied, and to know that the end result must be the destruction of all you held dear?  Mormon likely must have known that there was no hope for his people at that point, because a prophet had foreseen his day, and prophesied of their destruction.

But, to me, the greatest lesson of this is that Mormon continued to work in diligence and righteousness.  I don’t think he slackened or abandoned his responsibilities to testify or call to repentance.  And that makes sense, because while the ultimate course of the conflict was never in doubt, the casualties along the way could be changed.  If he helped to convert a single soul, then that alone was of infinite worth – even though the war was lost.  Likewise, we know the ultimate course of the War in Heaven, but we must engage in the battle we know we will win with all of our hearts, because we doubt know what casualties we too might be able to avert.