Last Sunday

I had such a great experience Sunday that I wanted to share, and then I forgot to. I teach Gospel Doctrine at church (it is the adult Sunday School class) I have people in my class who taught me in my youth since I live in the ward I grew up in, so it hard sometimes to teach every other week those who, I feel, are more qualified than I. The topic was about the Anti-Nephi-Lehies who would one day be called the people of Ammon or the Ammonites. These Ammonites were converted Lamanites and were so very converted unto the Lord that they “never did fall away” (Alma 23:6). In an attempt to show devotion to God they buried their weapons of war and covenanted to never fight again in the flesh. (Alma 24:15-17)

But the point was made that in addition to burying their weapons of war, they likewise buried their weapons of rebellion: “For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren.” (Alma 23:7) The class started to talk about the various weapons of rebellion we face today. While these weapons are different for everyone (television, books, magazines, internet, etc) we all have them. The class then came up with a plan to recognize and bury them. Keep in mind that although I was the teacher, this discussion had a life of its own. I did not go into the lesson thinking that this was what I was going to teach. I knew I wanted to touch on it briefly, but it consumed the students and they took over as the teachers. Frankly it was awesome!!

So we decided the first step is to identify what our weapons of rebellion are; this is done by taking our life and giving it to the Lord. We decided that while we might know of glaringly obvious issues we might have as humans, the Lord can help us identify things that we might not know are weapons of rebellion. Second we must accept and admit that we have a problem with something contrary to the Lord’s will. Third we have to admit to the Lord we need His help through prayer; we need to humbly ask for help, strength, and guidance. Fourth, and very importantly, while it is imperative that we pray for help, we MUST act on what we know to be right. Like the Ammonites we need to act and rid ourselves of temptation. One guy said that if we have an issue with watching inappropriate things on the television it is one thing to turn it off, it is another to unplug it, and altogether a different thing to actually carry it out of the house (burying it, if you will.)

So I really started think about my life and what my weapons of rebellion are and how I might rid myself of them and bury them deep in the ground so I am not tempted any more. I came up with one, but do not know how to bury it in the ground. I guess I need to take it back to the Lord and see how He would have me change.