If Ye Are Prepared

In Mormon’s account of the first attack of the Lamanites on the Nephites under the leadership of Amalickiah, he emphasized the preparedness of Moroni and his people. The Lamanites themselves had prepared more than they ever had before: “Now the leaders of the Lamanites had supposed, because of the greatness of their numbers, yea, they supposed that they should be privileged to come upon them as they had hitherto done; yea, and they had also prepared themselves with shields, and with breastplates; and they had also prepared themselves with garments of skins, yea, very thick garments to cover their nakedness. And being thus prepared they supposed that they should easily overpower and subject their brethren to the yoke of bondage.” They had prepared themselves to the level of the Nephites in the previous battle. But the Nephites had far exceeded that original level of preparedness. Here is what Mormon said about the Nephites preparation: “Now at this time the chief captains of the Lamanites were astonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of the Nephites in preparing their places of security…. But behold, to their uttermost astonishment, they were prepared for them, in a manner which never had been known among the children of Lehi. Now they were prepared for the Lamanites, to battle after the manner of the instructions of Moroni. And it came to pass that the Lamanites, or the Amalickiahites, were exceedingly astonished at their manner of preparation for war.” After describing the Lamanites reaction at Ammonihah and then Noah, Mormon again emphasized the Nephite preparedness: “And thus were the Nephites prepared…. Thus they were prepared, yea, a body of their strongest men, with their swords and their slings, to smite down all who should attempt to come into their place of security by the place of entrance; and thus were they prepared to defend themselves against the Lamanites.” He highlighted that “Moroni had kept the commandments of God in preparing for the safety of his people” (Alma 49:5-9, 19-20, 27). The Nephites won the day because they had prepared for war in the time of peace. They could not have built the protections around their cities after they saw the Lamanites coming; it took months of preparation when there was no sign of Lamanites anywhere. Just as Noah started building his boat when it wasn’t raining, they prepared well before the danger was upon them.

                This reminds me of a quote that President Monson liked. He said this in three different general conference addresses, referring to it as an old adage: “When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past.” In one of those he made the remark in the context of his first meeting he attended with the First Presidency and Twelve as the newest member among them. President David O. McKay announced, “Before we partake of the sacrament, I would like to ask our newest member of this body, Brother Monson, if he would instruct the First Presidency and Twelve on the atoning sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Of course, he was prepared for that opportunity, and his messages are a reminder than in times of figurative peace we need to prepare for the days ahead. The pressure we may be under could be far more important than saying the right thing in a meeting. In a well-known verse in modern revelation the Lord said, “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” I think it is important to understand the context. The Lord was speaking about the signs of the times and gave this counsel: “Ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land. I tell you these things because of your prayers; Wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:29-30). In our day we hear those loud voices all over that seek to pull us off the covenant path. The way to overcome them, according to this verse, is to treasure up wisdom in our bosoms. The Lord put it this way in another scripture: “And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived” (JSM 1:37). We must never stop treasuring up His word if we want to be prepared to resist the evil and the many voices of the world seeking to lead us away from the Savior. And we have to make that preparation early, before the figurative Lamanites are on the horizon. Those symbolic Lamanites in our day are prepared, just as the ones described in Alma 49 were. And so, like the Nephites, we have to be more so, treasuring up the word of the Lord constantly so that like Moroni it can be said of us: “If all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men” (Alma 48:17).