“God Will Support and Preserve Us,” Liahona, Aug. 2024.
God Will Support and Preserve Us
Like Captain Moroni, we can receive divine help and power for the battles we face in life.
Illustrations by Eric Chow
When I first read the Book of Mormon, I enjoyed the history of wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites. I was fascinated by the faith, ingenuity, and tactics used by Captain Moroni, a military commander who was appointed the leader of all the Nephite armies when he was only 25 years old. He was wise, strong, and shrewd. He was totally committed to the freedom and welfare of his people. (See Alma 48:11–12.)
Instead of crediting military success to himself, Moroni attributed the success to God and to the sacred support his armies received from noncombatant women and children. He told a defeated enemy leader: “The Lord … has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should understand that this is … because of our religion and our faith in Christ.” Moroni then shared this prophetic insight: “God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion” (Alma 44:3, 4).
Over time, I have come to realize that Moroni modeled principles that we can apply to help us meet the challenges of our modern lives. As we exercise faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, He will bless us with His power. But for Him to do so and for us to recognize His blessings, we need to understand our purpose, strategize for success, and prepare for the metaphorical battles we face, just as Moroni prepared for and faced the real battles in his life. As we do so, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will support and preserve us.
Understanding Our Purpose
Moroni repeatedly reminded the people who they were (inheritors of the Abrahamic covenant), whose they were (beloved children of God), and the cause for which they fought (family, faith, and freedom). Moroni taught his people that they were fighting for their very survival and for freedom from oppression and bondage. In contrast, their enemies fought for personal aggrandizement and power by subjugating others.
When some Nephites sought to usurp authority for personal gain, Moroni ripped his coat and wrote on a piece of it the core elements of his message: “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children.” He raised this flag, which he called “the title of liberty,” on the end of a pole and used it to remind the people what the fight was all about and to rally them to the cause. (See Alma 46:12–13, 19–20.)
In life’s spiritual battles, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against … rulers of the darkness … [and] against spiritual wickedness” (Ephesians 6:12). We, too, need to be reminded of what the fight is all about. Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004), a former member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, expressed this thought in an eloquent, albeit brief, conversation.
In 2004, I visited Elder Maxwell in his hospital room not long before he died. He was so kind to everyone who visited or helped him. Health-care workers went into his room and came out weeping. I said to him, “Elder Maxwell, this is really hard.” He chuckled and said, “Oh, Dale, we are eternal beings living in a mortal world. We are out of our element, like fish out of water. It is only when we have an eternal perspective that any of this will make any sense.”
We should never lose sight of the large composite of our divine nature and eternal destiny and the diabolical forces that oppose us. Correctly understanding Heavenly Father’s plan will motivate us to keep fighting for our eternal salvation and for our freedom from spiritual bondage.
Strategizing for Success
Throughout the battles his armies fought, Moroni strategized to ensure success. He used spies to discover the activities and intentions of his enemies. He sought direction from the prophet, Alma. Moroni then used that inspired input in his approach to battle. He deployed resources according to need, placing more soldiers in cities that were less fortified. He strategically set operational plans based on up-to-date information.
He thereby gained advantages over enemy armies. He was never content with past victories; rather, he continued to improve his and his armies’ capacities to deal with future challenges.
We can use similar approaches to deal with spiritual antagonists. We can start by recognizing what Satan is trying to do in our lives. He tries to distract us from our purpose. When faced with temptation, we should ask ourselves:
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How does this action on my part stack up against the revealed word of God?
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What are the consequences of taking this action?
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Will this action help me fulfill my purpose on earth?
We should also recognize the eventual outcome of yielding to even small temptations. As we yield to temptation, we consume “poison by degrees” (Alma 47:18), a most effective strategy used by the powers of wickedness that can lead to spiritually fatal results.
We can fortify ourselves against Satan’s temptations by following the direction we receive from our latter-day prophet. Doing so helps us keep an eternal perspective through which to evaluate our actions. Strategizing how we will face the temptations that arise in various areas of our lives will help us make the more correct choices in the moment. Preplanned strategies and approaches will help us defend against distractions from our eternal purpose.
An example is that of technology. Technology can be a double-edged sword, both useful and detrimental, depending on how we use it. To help us make wise choices about our devices, young and old can refer to “Taking Charge of Technology” and For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices. These remind us of our purpose, point us to Jesus Christ, and help us invite the Holy Ghost into our lives. Planning how, when, and where we will use technology will fortify us against baser, worldly tactics.
Preparing for Metaphorical Battles
Anticipating upcoming battles, Moroni prepared his people individually with breastplates, shields, helmets, and thick clothing. He prepared his people collectively by encircling cities with forts, throwing up banks of earth around them.
Spiritually, we prepare individually by keeping the commandments of God. We make and keep covenants with God that draw the power of Jesus Christ into our lives. We engage in personal, private acts of devotion, such as praying, fasting, and searching the scriptures. We also act in faith, responding to the spiritual direction we receive. We conscientiously prepare for and worthily partake of the sacrament. As we do so, the Savior becomes more real in our lives, just as He was real to Moroni, who was firm in his faith in Jesus Christ. Moroni knew he could rely on the Savior for direction and deliverance (see Alma 48:16). We, too, can rely on Jesus Christ for direction and deliverance.
We can further prepare by strengthening our families. Our Heavenly Father organized us into families to help us be happy and learn how to return to Him. Our families can be a source of help for us. We can all feel joy and love by remembering that we are part of God’s great family, regardless of the individual circumstances of our families.
We can collectively gain strength and prepare for our spiritual battles as we join in communities of Saints. Our stakes and districts provide such a place of refuge and defense. We can nourish each other spiritually, help each other to keep the commandments of God, and encourage each other to rely on Christ, always and especially in times of challenge. When we gather, we realize that we do not fight our battles alone. We have friends, teachers, and leaders who can help and protect us. We are all stronger when we prepare together.
Remarkably, Moroni attributed all the happiness of his people to being true to their faith in God and their religion. Like Moroni, we should realize that joy comes because of Heavenly Father and His plan and because of Jesus Christ and His Atonement. As we come to understand our purpose, strategize for success, and prepare for metaphorical battles, we receive divine help and power.
Like Moroni, I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ bring the ultimate freedom from bondage—freedom from death and sin. They bless us with Their power when we look to Them in all things.