48:1 - "...and now it came to pass that, as soon as Amalickiah had obtained the kingdom he began to inspire the hearts of the Lamanites against the people of Nephi; yea, he did appoint men to speak unto the Lamanites from their towers, against the Nephites..."
This shows a contrast to Alma 46:36 - here the Lamanites are speaking from the towers against the Nephites, while the Nephites hoisted the Title of Liberty on their towers.
This appears to be the "Media" of the time - much like our Television, Internet, etc. What are we hearing all the time? It it focusing on God, and Family, or on attacking others or other evils? There is always opposition in all things.
48:7 - "...now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God..."
This is another good contrast - and a good question to ask ourselves: Are we trying to gain power or working to help others to be faithful unto God?
48:15 - "...And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger..."
This is a great promise, but it does require faithful action on our part. We have to keep the commandments, and when we do, we can have assurance that the Lord will guide us to where we need to be and prosper us!
48:17-19 - "...Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, 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. Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God. Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni; for they did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto their words..."
If we can be like unto Moroni, or Ammon, or the sons of Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, or really any of the other spiritually powerful people throughout time, we would be doing really well.
We must be examples like they were, and do what they did.
48:23-24 - "...Now, they were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites, because they did not delight in the shedding of blood; yea, and this was not all—they were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their brethren out of this world into an eternal world, unprepared to meet their God..."
War is not a happy thing. Nevertheless, the Nephites could not suffer to lay down their lives and their wives and children. There are certain things you must do and people you must defend.
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