No Bad Marks

Alma 2
King Mosiah has set up a new government of judges throughout the land.  He and Alma the elder have passed away and now it is in the charge of Alma the younger to lead out as the "chief judge and the governor of the people of Nephi" (v16) He had already successfully dealt with Nehor in Alma 1, the first anti-Christ who tried to lead the hearts of the people away from God's true gospel.  Now, in the fifth year of the reign of the judges, it is Amlici who has let Satan get hold of his heart to convince a lot of followers that he should be their king and they should separate themselves from Alma and the Nephites and God's true church when the voice of the people would not make him their king. When the dissenters made Amlici their king (vs10) his first order was to "take up arms against their brethren; so they could become subjects to him as well. There was a war, close to 19,000 people died, the Amlicites (their new name) joined the Lamanites and brought them to war against the Nephites.   Amlici died at the hand of Alma (vs31) and many Lamanites are slain with their bodies being cast into the river Sidon so as to create a crossing for the Nephites to pursue the fleeing Lamanites and Amlicites (vs34) as they are scattered into the wilderness.
Alma 3
The Amlicites put a mark upon themselves (vs4) to be "distinguished from the Nephites"

Dear Landro,

There have been several thoughts that came to my mind as I read this very sad story that Alma faced in his early years as leader of the Nephites.
There was a note that I wrote next to the verses about the Amlicites marking themselves, "no bad marks-Punchinello"
This is from the story You Are Special by Max Lucado.  In this story, Punchinello, a Wemmick,  judges his own worth based on the opinions and judgments of others.  Other Wemmicks would give you a sticker of a gold star on your body if you had good traits and dots if you had bad ones.  Eli, the maker of the wooden Wemmicks reminds him that He made him and it wasn't a mistake.
I do not think that Amlici truly knew that he was a child of God.  He allowed Satan to take over his heart and mind that he led others to follow him down to this worldly place of pride, contention, war, bloodshed, hate and destruction.  They were so convinced of their beliefs that they marked themselves to distinguish them from followers of God to followers of Satan.
In first Nephi when Laman and Lemuel separated themselves from Nephi, God put a mark upon them, "And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions." (Alma 3:8)
These people cursed themselves with their own marks so they could belong to the wrong group.  "They had come out in open rebellion against God;" (3:18)
It's easy to mark ourselves and let others do it as well. It is easy to divide ourselves from what can truly bring happiness in your life long term verses what is enjoyable for the moment.
Please know that you are a child of God, he made you to do something very special and unique in this world.  If you follow Him, you will do good in this world and you will help others to do this as well. You may not see it now, but the curses you put upon yourself are as subtle as caring more about the world thinks of you through your desires, words and actions.
Don't let the praises or criticisms of the world stick, so you can become the man that God and your mother know you can be.
"The stickers only stick if they matter to you.  The more you trust my love, the less you care about their stickers."

xomp

P.S. "A house divided against itself cannot stand...….It will become all one thing or all the other." Pres Abraham Lincoln  If you want our family, your future family to Stand Forever (Lawerence Corbridge Jan 2019) with God, choose the right side, the only winning side.

Teach them to Be Like Jesus

I love reading Helaman's loving and proud words about the stripling warriors towards the end of Alma.  My thoughts today went first to the 60 that joined the original 2000 and how we should join and "obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness;" Alma 57:21.  They were saved because of their strict obedience to the laws of there leader, we will be saved doing the same.  And then at the end of the verse, "their mothers had taught them."  How am I like those those mama's of those valiant soldiers?  How am I not?  There has to be at least a 1000 or more who took their duty seriously to raise men of God.  That is a powerful and great number of women who new their divine role and carried it out.  And they were saved.

Dear Stripling Mama's,

You were given the greatest compliment from your extraordinary sons, "We do not doubt our mothers knew it." Alma 56:48. The faith required going into battle allowed them to "not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives;"  You taught them to be like Jesus.  When he taught, healed and served, he did it for us, as he suffered, bled and died our salvation was made possible because He knew that if he did not doubt, God would deliver Him and US.
I know it, and I must be more diligent, faithful, loving, patient & humble.
My children are growing and they need to have a stronger testimony of God, of Christ and His gospel.  I pray for strength that you and I.
Thank you for your example, I look forward to meeting you all, because as Lucy Mack Smith said, we will all sit down in Heaven together.

xomp