24:7-19 - "...And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace..."
This is the attitude towards sin that we should have. This willingness to die rather than sin comes from a greater understanding and attitude, one that we should work on!
24:18 - "...And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands..."
Not only did the Anti-Nephi-Lehies make a covenant to not do things (not lift up their swords anymore) but also to do things (like labor abundantly rather than be idle). This is essential in covenants. We covenant to give up what is bad and replace it with what is good.
24:27 - "...thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people..."
Even allowing 1005 people to be slain in order that more would repent and come to a knowledge of God.
We should not questions the Lord's means, but rather learn from them while doing our best to follow His will.
24:30 - "...and thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things..."
The higher you go, the further you can fall. It takes constant vigilance in keeping the commandments to keep us from reaching this same fate.
Thanks for the insights.
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