EQUALITY

By the time we reach chapter 28 of the Book of Alma in The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ we are reading about one of history’s great ironical twists. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies who were descended from Lehi’s rebellious sons Laman and Lemuel were now the most righteous people in the Lands occupied by those who had followed Lehi’s righteous son Nephi, while the Lamanites were now sustained in their hatred of the Nephites by rebellious descendants of Nephi.

Alma describes this juxtaposition in these verses from the afore mentioned chapter which recounts a tremendous battle between those who at that point identified themselves as Lamanites and those who were counted among the Nephites.

Nephites

5 Yea, the cry of widows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and the daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard among all of them, mourning for their kindred who had been slain.

6 And now surely this was a sorrowful day; yea, a time of solemnity, and a time of much fasting and prayer.

12 While many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness.

Lamanites

13 And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men.
All of Heavenly Father’s Children while in this Telestial World

14 And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life.

It is important to note that all of Heavenly Father’s children while in mortality have the freedom to make choices which will lead them to follow the cunning plans of he who has devised to ensnare their hearts, or to choose paths which will further them along the way towards eventually dwelling on the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness.

It is interesting to note that Alma identifies that the root of all this bloodshed stemmed from the inequality of men because of their sin and transgression. Therefore, I don’t believe it is a very big stretch to say that anything which causes inequality between the mortal offspring of Heavenly Father can be labeled sin and transgression.

Choices which lead to inequality and eventual destruction:

Believing and proclaiming sentiments of superiority because of race, nationality or social status.

Using belittling and caustic words to demean others.

Acting on the belief that a difference of belief is a reason to hate others.

Acting on the belief that God has given you the blessings of privilege because of your obvious righteousness.

Acting on the belief that others are not blessed of God because of their obvious inferiority and unworthiness.

Acting on the belief that leaders are in positions which merit them the privilege of being served by others.

Acting on the belief in their superiority because of wealth, education or position of birth.

It must be noted that Alma believes the only way this sinful inequality among men will end is for those who received the call to labor diligently to bring the joy of the light of Christ into the lives of their brothers and sisters.

Choices which lead to experiencing the joy which comes from receiving the light of Christ:

Acting on the belief in the declaration of the Lord that all are alike unto him,

Acting on the belief that we should only speak about others in words which will edify, strengthen and build them.

Acting on the belief that all blessings which are received are but a means whereby we have the capacity to lift others.

Acting on the belief that any teachings which invite us to treat each other with greater degrees of equality are of God.

Acting on the belief when viewing the suffering of others, that ‘there but for the grace of God go I’ and put forth a hand to lift and sustain.

Acting on the belief that all positions of leadership in which one might find themselves, is a gift given to them to be able to magnify their service to others.

Acting on the belief that wealth, education and birth rights are blessings which should be used to better the conditions of others.

In no way do I consider these lists to be exhaustive, but hopefully they will stimulate moments of pondering upon how we might all become less involved in those beliefs and actions which lead to inequality and more involved in those beliefs and actions which move us along the path leading to the joy of the light of Christ.

I feel impressed to add a word of caution to those who would cast aside this Thought into the heap of Pollyanna-ish-ness, that it would be well to contemplate where continuing along the path of inequality, which caused thousands of widows to mourn for their husbands and thousands of fathers to mourn the death of their sons will bring us.

We have been given a warning voice from the ashes of those who perished 2093 years ago because of the fruits of the sins produced by rampant inequality. May the Lord bless us to be enveloped with His light and thereby partake of the fruits of His joy.

THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY

EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY

THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO + HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE + INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY = THE GOOD LIFE