Committed to Keep Our Promise To God

During my studies today I read a really moving story in The Book Of Mormon. In Alma chapters 23-25 theres a story about a group of people who use to be very wicked but after feeling the spirit were converted. And on of them was the King, go figure, and he allowed his people to have freedom of religion. So these wicked people who were named the Lamenites didn't want the bad name so they changes there name to the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's and made a covenant (or promise) with God that they would never "stained [there] swords in the blood of [there] brethren" (Alma 24:15) So these people that we in the Thousands buried there weapons of war in the ground and vowed never to pick them up again. After a while the other people who were not happy that these people converted prepared for war. And the King told the people that they would not fight back but they would be faithful to the Covenant they made when they promised never to "shed blood" again.


"Now when the people saw that they were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword. And thus...they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God. Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword...Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done." (Alma 24:21-24)


If you have never read this story I would encourage you to, but I would like to take a minute and relate this story to our lives. So often in our lives the same things happen to us, but not in so much of a literal killing. When we become converted to the Lord we are blessed tremendously for exercising our Faith in Christ in following His perfect example. And we are giving the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide our lives. But Satan, or the Devil, is always out there. So often he sends armies of Trials, Temptations, Challenges, and even Good People after us to try and tear down our Faith in Christ. And he tries to get us to "let go of the iron rod." 


He wants us to doubt and be discouraging about the choices we make to be Christ like. BUT, he can only prevail if we let him. If these people would have made any other choose other then the one they did, they would have ether denied there faith or broken a covenant with God. But because they chose to stand for what they knew was right "those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved." (Alma 24:26) As we endure the trials we face we will have no reason to doubt that we can be saved when our time comes because we were faithful in obeying the commandments of God.