Make That Change!

Within The Book of Mormon, there are many different groups of people that readers encounter. However, two of the most notable groups are the Lamanites and the Nephites--long-time enemies of each other. Very early on within The Book of Mormon, the Nephites flee their homeland as instructed by the Lord, and the Lamanites then proceed to inhabit the land of Nephi. Later on, though, a group of Nephites led by a man named Zeniff decide that they would like to go live back in the land of Nephi if the Lamanites will let them. The Lamanites surprisingly do go for this with the implicit agreement that they will allow the Zeniff's people to live there peacefully. However, later on the Lamanites attack and while they are initially repulsed, we learn that predictably, the Lamanites agreed to these terms in hopes of enslaving Zeniff's people.

As a kid I can remember reading this story and thinking "Oh man! Bad idea to intentionally surround yourself with your enemies". Despite my skepticism of this move, I have still always tried to draw inspiration from Zeniff's people's ability to at least still stay strong in the faith even when surrounded by those who opposed their faith as long as they did. However, this time as a I read, I could not help but think about how strange it is that even once Zeniff realizes the Lamanites are not actually interested in being friends but are rather interested in enslaving His people that he doesn't pack up and lead his people to safety. Rather, Zeniff's response to realizing the Lamanites are likely to attack again is only to "set guards round about the land, that the Lamanites might not come upon us again unawares and destroy us" (Mosiah 10:2).

 I believe that his answer to this threat reveals perhaps a human flaw that when we are able to successfully survive something, we feel as though we can survive anything on our own power. As anyone who has read the next few verses and chapters knows, Zeniff's people are eventually enslaved despite his efforts to keep them safe. I think the principle this teaches is that we are not actually invincible. If we place ourselves in terrible places in our lives and do not get out of them once realizing that we are in a terrible place, we will likely fall. I think the truth "pride cometh before the fall" is really at the heart of this principle.

I know that at times I have been guilty of believing I can take on the world and not falter, but I think the truth is that only one has been able to do so successfully. I also think we have a tendency to blame God once we are enslaved after staying our bad places. For me personally, I feel as though God has always given me strength to get out of my bad places when  I have accepted that it is a bad place. I think for us, we need to be realistic in our expectations of our ability to not be influenced by others around us and recognize when we need to move to safer ground. This can mean changing friend groups, changing jobs, or just making large personal changes. While I know change is hard, I think in the long run, changing early can save us from greater pain. May we all recognize when we have been blessed with a chance to right our lives and take those chances as God gives them!