"In the 47th chapter of Alma, a wicked man named Amalickiah desires to be king. Through fraud and deceit, he acquires an army and has a plan to be king over all the Lamanites. A large group of men, led by Lehonti, separated themselves from Amalickiah, for they did not want to take up arms and fight for this wicked man. They went to the top of mount Antipas and prepared to defend themselves if necessary. Amalickiah desired to have that group in his army, so he sent some of his men to the top of the mount with a message. They were to tell Lehonti that Amalickiah wanted him to come down the mount and speak with him. Of course, Lehonti said no. Amalickiah sent his men up a second time and third time, but received the same answer. The fourth time, Amalickiah himself went up the mount with some guards, almost to the top. This time, he sent his men up with a different message. They went to Lehonti and said something like, "Come down just a little bit. Bring your guards. He just wants to talk with you. Come down, just a little bit." Lehonti comes down and talks to Amalickia, making a deal to combine armies and put Lehonti first in command, while Amalickiah would be second in command. I imagine that Lehonti was feeling pretty good about himself. He now had a big army, which meant a lot of power. We read that one of Amalickiah's men poisoned Lehonti "by degrees" and Lehonti died. As scripture states, "Now it was custom among the Lamanites, if their chief leader was killed, to appoint the second leader to be their chief leader." Amalickiah then had control of the whole army, and he eventually became king of all the Lamanites. Lehonti was a valiant man, but he made a crucial mistake by coming down the mount to talk to Amalickiah. I would like to apply this story to the topic of this talk which is, "how do I stay clean in an unclean world?"
Like Lehonti and his men, we too are on a mount. Jesus Christ has raised the bar with standards and commandments, and we are expected to endure to the end as His disciples, defending the Church and giving our testimony of Him. We live a higher law than the rest of the world, and some might call our way of life, "politically incorrect." Keeping the commandments and living righteously keeps us on top of the mount, while the sins of the world bring us down. Lehonti's fatal decision was when he decided to heed Amalickiah's temptation of coming down just a little bit. Lehonti justified that he would be safe with his guards, and it wasn't a big deal. After all, he wasn't that far away from his men, right? How do we make similar mistakes today, and justify our sins? We may convince ourselves that, "it's just one day of not reading the scriptures, I'll just read double tomorrow" or "I don't need the sacrament this week, I'll just go next week." Referring to sins and temptations, John Bytheway once said, "if you don't do it once, you'll never do it twice." Staying clean and worthy of the Spirit is the result of small, righteous decisions that we make each and every day. Once we start justifying our sins, we unknowingly start coming down the mount, a little bit at a time. When Lehonti was poisoned, it was "by degrees." When he died, he had no idea it was happening. Likewise, we find ourselves heading down a steep and slippery slope. Before we know it, we've fallen to the bottom. The key to staying clean is to stand tall on our moral high ground, and NEVER come down. Not even a little bit. Satan will NEVER be on top of the mount, but rather tempting us from a little below. His only goal is to bring us down, so that we may be as miserable as he is. Do not allow him to convince you that it's worth your time to come down the mount. STAY ON TOP. Read your scriptures daily, have a heart to heart talk with your Heavenly Father each day and night, make somebody smile every day, and don't let each other go down the mount. As we strive to stay on top of the mount, we will be protected by the Holy Spirit. We will recognize God's hand in our life. And we will have a better remembrance of the things that we should thank our Father in Heaven for. Brothers and Sisters, the power of the Book of Mormon is imperative in our quest to stay on top. I echo the words of Elder Holland when he said, "I want it absolutely clear when I stand before the judgement bar of God that I declared to the world that the Book of Mormon is true." Paul wrote to the Romans, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true and living church upon the face of the earth. Being able to serve in this church is an eternal blessing. I bear witness that Jesus Christ lives, for this is His church. I know that He is my Lord, my Savior, and my Redeemer. I love Him, and I need Him. I pray that as we remember Him daily, we will be able to stay of top of the mount. Supporting each other into the eternities. If we rely on Him, we CANNOT fall. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
While it's essential to stay on top of the mount, all of us will fall at least several times in our life. It is important to remember that when we fall, Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to return to the top. Jesus Christ himself said, "Behold, He who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more." (Doctrine and Covenants 58:42)
In baseball, we can't take a single pitch off. We can't lose focus, because the ball will be hit to us as soon as we do. We will miss an opportunity to make a big play, and we will be reprimanded for it. It doesn't matter what position we play, even if we are on the bench, we must be 100% focused on the game each pitch. We never know when our moment to shine will come.
In life, don't take a day off! Again, endure to the end OF EACH DAY. Satan is always below us and is tempting us in every way possible. Some of us may fall for his temptations and go all the way down the mount, while others go half way down to meet him. In either scenario, we are equally being fooled by him. His promises are empty, and he only wishes that we may be miserable like he is.
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