Alma 51 A Plea for Unity

 

The happy times among the Nephites were interrupted by a group of people who wanted to change the law to have a king rather than a chief judge rule the people.  The people voted to keep the country self-governed.  The “kingmen” as they called themselves refused to defend their country.  In their weakened state, the Nephites were invaded by the Lamanites and many cities were captured.  The “freemen” headed by Moroni were determined to reclaim their cities.  One brave warrior, Teancum, was able to kill the king of the Lamanites, Amalickiah, by sneaking into his tent and driving a javelin through his heart. 

When we argue among ourselves, we become vulnerable to our adversaries.  Unity is a precious state of being for families, communities, states, and nations.  We can see in our country a growing divide between those who want to redistribute the wealth and those who want to allow for free enterprise.  At their extremes, both of these ways of thinking are destructive.  Surely, there must be a balance of government run programs and the need for free markets to determine our courses.  There must be a willingness to listen, communicate freely, look diligently for best practices, and strive for unity.  Certainly, we need women and men of courage and skill to represent us in our political systems.

Please God, let us be united in our families.  Let us talk to each other in loving and kind tones.  If we feel our needs are not getting met, we must look within ourselves (and to God) for more strength while communicating our needs in a gentle tone of encouragement not demands.  When something our spouse is doing bugs us, we must first remove the beam from our own eye before we criticize the speck in their eye.  The best way to change others is to change ourselves.  The excuse, “That’s the way I am,” just does not cut it.  We have the power to change.  The 3^rd Article of Faith states: “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be changed (saved) by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”  I make a plea for unity in our family.  Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me.