Weapons of rebellion

Quick, Book of Mormon scholars, what kinds of weapons did the Anti-Nephi-Lehies lay down, as described in Alma 23? Well, most people would think, “I don’t know, swords, spears, shields, weapons of war in general.” That is of course what I thought.

But that’s not what Alma 23:7 says. It says they laid down their “weapons of rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren.”

So, it appears that the primary weapons that these now pacific people laid down were the weapons that separated them from God.

What kinds of weapons of rebellion do you need to lay down?

This is not an original thought. We had an extraordinary meeting during the third hour of ward conference yesterday in which our stake president addressed the adults. He asked us to concentrate this year on three things:

1)Get your homes in order in terms of your budgets, getting out of debt and preparing food storage (but he emphasized that getting out of debt was more important than preparing food storage for many people — in other words, don’t go into debt to order food storage).
2)Lay down your “weapons of rebellion,” which he described as the actions that even the most righteous people have that separate them from God. He asked us to pray in a sincere way that we would know what our weapons of rebellion are.
3)Continue going to the temple as much as is practical. (For those who may be interested, our stake in northern Colorado had a signature year for temple attendance in 2008, with a much larger percentage of people attending than was expected.)

Our stake president pointed out that for many people weapons of rebellion may be simple things like not doing our callings the way we should or not being as helpful around the house as we should be. We might choose to ignore others’ failings rather than concentrate on them, so we avoid contention.

So this week I will be praying to get a better idea of what my personal weapons of rebellion are. I have some ideas but I’m pretty sure if I pray about it I will get more clarity.

It seems to me this advice is excellent for everybody, not just members of my stake. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

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About Geoff B.

Geoff B graduated from Stanford University (class of 1985) and worked in journalism for several years until about 1992, when he took up his second career in telecommunications sales. He has held many callings in the Church, but his favorite calling is father and husband. Geoff is active in martial arts and loves hiking and skiing. Geoff has five children and lives in Colorado.

4 thoughts on “Weapons of rebellion

  1. Alma 24:12–18 identifies the weapons they buried as “swords, and [other] weapons which were used for the shedding of man’s blood.”

    But I still like the personal application for us as 21st century Latter-day Saints. Thanks for sharing that.

  2. you may want to consider the story is about actual weapons. Im pretty sure it wasnt imaginary weapons of rebellion they buried. Im fine with using scriptural stories to make other faith promoting analogies but only so long as we dont forget what the text actually says and means.

    I think you are right that the primary weapons they laid down were weapons that separated them from God and in their case it was actual weapons

  3. A good reminder to “liken the scriptures” and examine our own weapons of rebellion.

    Last Sunday at my Ward Conference, our stake president talked about the need for men to spend more time with their families and help their wives. He mentioned several women who came to his office, in tears, complaining that their husbands come home, demand dinner and then retreat to sports, video games and other activities outside of the home.

    Thank you for sharing this reminder to give up our own weapons of rebellion.

  4. Mike and J. Madson, of course there were real weapons involved. The scriptures make that clear (and of course my post should have as well). But the first mention says “weapons of rebellion…against God.” I find that very interesting. It seems to say to me (and of course my very wise stake president) that there is something else going on here that we should consider.

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