Title of Liberty

In the Book of Mormon, in the book of Alma, there are a lot of wars that are going on between the people, it's not unlike what is going on in the world today.  There are so many things that you can say about war.  There are a lot of questions that you can ask.  Why is the war being fought, what benefits will the people gain after the war is won, is the war for a just cause, and the list can go on and on.  People are always quick to point fingers at each other as to who started it and why they had to retaliate.  I am not here to get into all of the politics that accompany a discussion that focuses on war. What I am asking is, what do you feel is worth defending?  What is your Title of Liberty? 

In Alma 46 there was a man, Amalickiah, that was making trouble in the land, he wanted to be king.  The chief commander of the armies of the Nephites was Moroni.  Although he was the leader of the army he was also a man of God, a man that believed there was more to fight for than just a position or a section of land.  When he learned of things that Amalickiah was doing he got angry.  The following verses in Alma 46 tells us what he did:

 11 And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these dissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah.

 12 And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.

Moroni was reminding them why they were fighting, what they were defending.  The rest of the chapter goes on to say that he went and took this Title of Liberty throughout the land to show and remind the people of all that they had promised to defend.  In verse 21 is states, 

"...the people came running together with their armor girded about their loins, rending their garments in token, or as a covenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their God..."

As stated above, what is your Title of Liberty?  What righteous thing are you fighting for?  I am not even really talking about an actual, physical war.  What are you standing up for or against?  My Title of Liberty would say something pretty close to Moroni's.  I go throughout my day trying to set the example to others that we need to make choices that will benefit, defend, and strengthen the things that we hold most dear.  As long as the cause is a righteous one, God will help us succeed in protecting that which is most dear.  I am not stating that life will be perfect or that nothing bad will happen.  I am just wanting everyone to know that we are not alone in this life here on Earth and that there are things that are worth fighting for and defending.  

Prayers Are Our Link To God

I am excited to have started another semester in the Pathway Program.  In my religion class we will now be covering the rest of the books of the Book of Mormon.  We will be going from Alma 30 - Moroni 10.  One of the topics that we covered in this week's class is prayer.  Prayer has always been one of my favorite topics to study and discuss.  I feel that there are so many people that don't understand what prayer is.

Prayer is a way that we communicate to God, it's our link to him.  Our Heavenly Father has always wanted us to communicate or talk to him.  He wants to know about everything that is going on in our lives.  My daughter, who is 8, has asked me, "Why do we need to talk to God and tell him about our day if he already knows everything that is going on?".  It is a good question. What I tell her is that it's like when I am watching her and her sisters playing outside through our kitchen window.  I have seen everything that has gone on.  I know that you have hit the ball over the fence, that you pushed your sister, or that you were laughing as you were yelling into the wind, but I want to hear from you what your favorite part of the day was.  What will you always remember about the afternoon outside? She understood what I was saying and she has actually wanted to say a prayer every night since that discussion.

I talk to Heavenly Father throughout the day. I am a stay at home mom and so it's easy for me to pray out loud, but when I am out and about I am holding full conversations in my head with Him.  I use respectful words to address him like "thee" and "thou", but I talk to him like he is right next to me.  I seek his counsel, I vent to him, I bring my heavy heart to him when I am burden with the weight of the world, and I sometimes just cry and am comforted in the knowledge that there is someone there with me as tears are rolling down my face.  We are taught in the Book of Mormon in Alma 34:27,  by a missionary, Amulek, when we should pray: 

 27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.

What I think is important for people to remember is that God is there when were are frustrated, stressed, mad, and going through a tough trail, but he is also there waiting for us to bring to him our joys and things that we are thankful for.

I thank him for a breeze that comes when I am mowing the lawn and I am dying because it's so hot.  I thank him for one of my favorite songs coming on the radio when I am cranky.  I thank him that many of the things on my grocery list are on sale on a week that the food budget is a bit tight.  God is mindful of all of us and of all that we are going through.  I hope that we all just remember that prayer is powerful, it works, God is listening.  All we need to do is to start talking to our Creator, our Father, and our Friend and he will be there listening and ready to respond.