(October 19, 2015)
We
will, as we strive to live the Gospel in a pluralistic (and, increasingly,
unrighteous) society, fall into situations where it is necessary to take a
stand to defend not only our beliefs but also our rights to hold those beliefs. Just as Moroni realized that he needed to
take his sword and kill his enemy in order to preserve his right to worship God,
we too will ultimately find ourselves in conflict (hopefully not mortal
conflict, but that is largely outside of our control) to preserve this very
same right for us.
There
is much to learn about how we should respond in these situations from Moroni . First, he backed off when he had control of
the situation. He did not back off
before, when the issue was in doubt, nor did he continue to fight when the
situation was in control. He backed off
once he was certain of the victory.
At this
point, he gave his enemy an opportunity to escape the consequences of his own
unrighteous behavior. In all honesty,
this is somewhat amazing to me. He faced
an enemy that was seeking for power, who unjustly hated him and his people, who
had undoubtedly killed those he loved (and would have gladly killed him). And yet, despite all of this (and despite
perhaps his enemy ‘deserving’ destruction), he backed off at the moment he had
control of the situation rather than pursue justice or retribution.
Seeing
this, in my current situation, is really quite amazing to me and brings home
what kind of man Moroni
was. I aspire to that level of love for
those who intentionally work to hurt (or destroy) you, but I am not there yet.
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