Cleave Unto the Lord

About 18 years after the Nephites defeated the Lamanites in the great war described in the latter chapters of Alma, the Lamanites came again to battle against the Nephites and “succeeded in obtaining possession of the land of Zarahemla; yea, and also all the lands, even unto the land which was near the land Bountiful” (Helaman 5:4). The Nephites, led by Moronihah—the righteous son of Captain Moroni—were able to regain some of their possessions but were eventually stopped because of the sheer number of Lamanites. Mormon described the wickedness that had come upon the Nephites, including their pride and “murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery, rising up in great contentions, and deserting away into the land of Nephi, among the Lamanites.” He then connected this with their current state of affairs: “And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites” (Helaman 4:12-13). As Moronihah and others preached to the people, they began to realize this: “ that they had become weak, like unto their brethren, the Lamanites, and that the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples—Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief and awful wickedness.” They realized how much they needed the Lord’s help and power now that they saw that it was taken from them: “They saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more numerous than they, and except they should cleave unto the Lord their God they must unavoidably perish” (Helaman 4:24-25). I love that final phrase for it is a lesson we must all learn as we come up against our weaknesses and shortcomings in life and realize we amount to very little on our own. We too must learn to cleave unto the Lord our God to have His strength to overcome the challenges we face.

               Many other scriptures similarly encourage us with powerful invitations to cleave to the Lord. Jacob implored us, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you” (Jacob 6:5). Barnabas in the New Testament exhorted the people “that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord” (Acts 11:23). The Lord invited Hyrum Smith in our dispensation, “Yea, cleave unto me with all your heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 11:19). Surely he did just that throughout his life. In the Law of Moses the children of Israel were invited with these words: “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name” (Deuteronomy 10:20). Another passage from the law helps us to understand exactly what that means: “Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him” (Deuteronomy 13:4). As we seek to keep His commandments and serve Him, striving to obey His voice, we are cleaving to Him and will have His strength and help to be with us. We must live so that we never have to face the challenges and uncertainties of the world alone as the Nephites did in their time of wickedness. As we cleave to the Lord His promise is that He will cleave unto us, and He will help us triumph over all our struggles.