A Great Example to Me

I have been reading about the Anti-Nephi-Lehies with my kids and today I was lucky to teach the 4 year olds in church about them. This chapter is one of my favorites.

I was thinking of the swords and how they are symbols for our countenances. These evil people repented and made their "swords bright" when they were baptized. They promised Heavenly Father they would never raise their sword to another person. So now, the bad men are coming to get them and their lives are in jeopardy. Isn't it right to defend yourselves and your family? That's the logical thing to do. They made a promise to Heavenly Father. They could have easily justified it and tried to protect themselves but they stayed faithful to those promises. They had a knowledge of the atonement and did not want to jeopardize their salvation. They cared more for their salvation than their lives. They buried those swords to show Heavenly Father they were faithful to their promises. Even when one thousand people were killed, they stayed true to their promise.

Now this story is an example to me that I should be looking at my salvation before I make other decisions in this life. I want my sword to be bright and clean before Jesus Christ. That is amazing faith that I need to work hard to gain. I know I have faith but do I have enough faith that I would bury my only protection when men are coming to take away my life and my children's life? It's a little different when it is my children's lives. I hope I would do the right thing. If I was focused on how happy I want to be after I die, I would do the right thing. In these bodies, we lose sight of that. So I need to make sure I'm reminded of the happiness I feel when I feel the Spirit every day. That is how I want to feel after I die.

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