Building up my defenses

I was reading the Book of Mormon this last week at work in the latter part of the book of Alma. Throughout this part of the book it talks continually about the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites. I've always known that the reason these wars were spoken of so frequently was to show us the Nephite cycle - the Nephites being humble being blessed by the Lord for it, then pride creeping in to destroy them and having to be humbled again. It's amazing to see it happen time after time.

I always love reading about Moroni and the Title of Liberty. While I was reading through it this time I noticed how much was made mention of how Moroni had defences built up around the cities. All the cities were fortified to protect those within. There were high towers built and mounds of dirt built up around their bases with sharp poles put throughout the dirt. The people in the high towers were shielded from the Lamanites stones and arrows. When the Lamanites went to war against the Nephites they were afraid because the Nephites had great body armor on to protect themselves, while the Lamanites only had loinclothes. During the battles thousands of Lamanites are killed and few Nephites are even injured, but they received injuries on their legs where (get this!) there was no protection. So why was there so much of this made mention?

There was an experience at school that helped me realize why. In one of my kindergarten classes I had one boy accidently swing his arm back into another kid's eye. I saw the whole thing happen and it was an accident. The one whose eye was hurt immediately thought it was done on purpose and the other kid didn't even realize he had done it. I called them both over to me and we talked about what had happened and the one who had accidently hit immediately apologized once I suggested it and even gave the other kid a hug. They went back to the other children and we had class. At the end of class I had the two of them line up together at the front of the line so I could make sure they were okay with each other. We stood there for a minute waiting for the teacher to come pick them up. As we were standing there the kids were talking about different things and somehow got the subject of one of the Chucky movies (the evil little doll). The kid that got hit in the eye started to talk about a scene in the movie that was really inappropriate because it was of a sexual nature. I stopped the conversation, but as I was stopping it the kid that apologized for hitting told the other one that what he was talking about was nasty and walked away.

Thinking back about that situation later on that day I realized that one of those children had parents that had put up some sort of defenses around their home for protection and the other had not. One had built up mounds of dirt and was keeping a watchful eye for what was coming their way and the other had left itself vulnerable to the evils set to attack. Simply put - one was prepared and protected, the other was not.

In Memphis over the last few weeks there has been raging debates over school security. Sadly in the last two weeks there have been two seperate shooting incidents that have worried a lot of people. Neither of the shootings took place anywhere near my school, but they could have. Security at our school is pretty good, but our principal told us this last week to step it up a notch. She said she wants to take a proactive approach to our school's security and not a reactive approach. That's exactly what Moroni did.

A lot of people are starting to blame parents for the shootings and suggest that they should be responsible for their children. Some people think that is an awful thought. I know through modern revelation that I am responsible for my children through the way that I raise them. And the manner in which I raise them MUST be proactive and not reactive. I can't wait until they hurt someone at school and then teach them that it is wrong. I can't wait until they've used drugs and then point out that it is not right. I have to address these issues before they ever arise and make sure that they know which direction to run when they are confronted with the evils that society deems as acceptable.

So now I am looking at ways to build up the defenses around our home. Where can we put our lookout tower? How wide should our moat be? We need body armor, but we need to make sure that every area of our bodies are covered and not left defenseless. To top off all my thoughts the last week about creating protection and defences I came across something in my patriarchal blessing last night. "Place upon yourself the armor of the priesthood that you will be protected from the fiery darts of Satan." I've even received a personal warning to protect myself and I'm sure it extends to my family.

It would seem that with as much protection as any home would need these days it would take a lifetime to build it. All it is, however, are the teachings of the Savior. It may not seem like much, but his teachings are armor that can never be pierced and defenses that can never be breached. We always ask Aleece when she is doing something she shouldn't if she thinks that Jesus would do what she was doing. She always answers no because she knows the right answer. I'm sure we will continue that tradition with Lainey and our next child and even the ones after that. It may seem simple. In many ways it is, but by simply following the teachings of the Savior we can obtain so much and the blessings that we receive for do so will bring all the fortification that we need in today's world.

I have a testimony of all of this and it has been strengthened a great deal this last week. The Savior's teachings are so simple and easy to follow and the blessings that I have received as I've strived to work harder in the last few weeks have been tremendous. I feel happier and stronger, not only physically, mentally and spiritually. It's amazing how quickly and easily it works. There is still a long way to go, but I am seeing some results in working on lengthing my stride and standing a little taller. I love the Savior and am grateful for the protection that his teachings provide me and my family with. And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.