What Are They Among So Many?

 I’ve recently been listening to the book by Timothy Ballard called Slave Stealers about slavery both in the 1800s and today.  It has been somewhat overwhelming to contemplate the magnitude of the problem today—with millions of victims of a horrendous secret combination built upon the abuse of others—and it is unfathomable to understand how such cruelty could exist among us.  What I struggle with in my mind is how I should respond to the knowledge of such suffering and cruelty—what could I possibly do to improve the situation?  Hearing of the magnitude of misery in the world, I feel a bit like the “lad” that had “five barley loaves and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” (John 6:9)  One verse of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day also encapsulates the way I feel when I consider untold suffering of so many across the world because of the evil of others: “And in despair I bowed my head; There is no peace on earth, I said; For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"  Mormon must have felt something like this when he wrote amidst the downfall of his people: “O the depravity of my people! They are without order and without mercy. Behold, I am but a man, and I have but the strength of a man” (Moroni 9:18).       

               So what are decent people to do to fight against the immensity of evil in the world?  Certainly the Lord doesn’t want us to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem and then do nothing.  The Prophet Joseph said, “A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.”  Ultimately, what we have to do to fight evil is to show love—and love is shown one by one to the people we come across, starting with those closest to us.  Mother Teresa, who certainly knew about helping with human suffering, said, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”  I think it is really remarkable that it was Mormon, he who lived among such wickedness that he stated “my heart has been filled with sorrow because of their wickedness, all my days,” could leave us such a marvelous discourse about love and charity found in Moroni 7 (Mormon 2:19).  Surely the best way to fight against the wickedness of the world is to do as he invited: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ” (Moroni 7:48).  And when we are discouraged by the enormity of the task and the overwhelming size of the enemy, his counsel to us is the same as it was to Moroni: “And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God” (Moroni 9:6).  Ultimately it is the Savior, not us as individuals, who will right the wrongs and return to the earth to cleanse it from all iniquity.  He was the one to miraculously multiply the loaves and feed the thousands.  But we can seek today to love our neighbor and whoever we pass by on our road to Jericho.  And then we can sing with hope in His power to help us all: “Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men."