A Sufficient Number

Amid the description of King Noah’s great wickedness in the Book of Mormon, there’s a verse which I believe teaches a principle that gives cause for reflection.  As the Lamanites were starting to harass the Nephites and slay them, “king Noah sent guards round about the land to keep them off; but he did not send a sufficient number, and the Lamanites came upon them and killed them” (Mosiah 11:17). 

For this circumstance, it was not the thought that counted and it was not enough to send only a few guards to try to ward off the Lamanites.  Doing it halfway was just as bad as not doing it at all.  In a gospel context, there is often a temptation to do things halfheartedly with the belief that God will accept an incomplete sacrifice just as He will accept a full offering.  The story of Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament shows us that this is not the case.  They “sold a possession” and were expected, under their covenant of consecration, to give it all to the Lord.  But they “kept back part of the price” and it resulted in the death of both of them because they lied to God (Acts 5:1-2).  Doing it halfway was not only unacceptable to the Lord; it also led to their condemnation.  Oliver Cowdery learned a similar lesson when the Lord told him that he could not translate because he “did not continue as [he] commenced” (D&C 9:5).  He did not devote himself to the task originally as he should have.  We know that the Lord wants us either “cold or hot” and not “lukewarm” (Revelation 3:15-16).  The Lord knows that we are not perfect and will make many mistakes, but He wants us to give our all to the cause of Christ.  We must “send a sufficient number” in terms of our own energy and devotion to gospel habits and practices like studying the scriptures, prayer, and serving in the temple.  President Eyring recently suggested in a conference talk that simply “read[ing] a few lines or pages of scripture every day” will not be enough for us—we should be wholly dedicated to the study and searching of the scriptures (Serve With the Spirit, Oct. 2010).  In our lives as we try to live the gospel we will always have temptations to “keep back the price” or not continue as we have commenced.  If we have covenanted to serve the Lord, then we must seek to not be lukewarm and put sufficient energy into our worship of the Lord.