Day 220 Leadership: Hatred vs. Preservation

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from, thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. You know, John Maxwell has once said, everything rises and falls on leadership. That's what we're going to take a look at today.

Welcome to day 220 on our 365 day journey through the Book of Mormon together. Today, you're going to be reading Alma chapter 43, verses 1 through 20. And although the very beginning of the Book of Mormon says that there was other preaching that occurred, really the focus now turns to the war chapters here between the Nephites and the Lamanites.

And the verse for today actually is going to be contrasted by another verse as well. So let's take a look at it. In fact, I'll let you know those two verses even though we're only going to read one of them here on Savory Salt.

We're going to read Alma 43:7. And then I'd like you to spend some time contrasting that with verses 18, 19, and 20 as well. But for the sake of this episode, we're going to look at verse 7.

We find out before verse 7 that there is a leader of the Lamanites. His name is Zarahemna. He has made sure that he puts Amalekites and Zoramites in charge of the Lamanites.

And we get his reasoning for doing so here in verse 7. It says, "Now this he did that he might preserve their hatred towards the Nephites, that he might bring them into subjection to the accomplishment of his designs." You know, this is really interesting because Zarahemna knows that if he can keep leaders over the people that will preserve their hatred towards the Nephites, then he gets to keep them in subjection to accomplish his own goals. Now, remember, you're going to contrast this to a leader that we're going to be introduced to on the Nephite side, and his name is going to be known as Captain Moroni.

And you're going to read verses 18, 19, and 20 and kind of look at what Moroni is doing there with his leadership capacity. It's interesting to me that when it comes to leadership, if you have an opportunity wherever you're listening in the world to this episode, if you have an opportunity to choose your leaders, you should understand that when you choose the leaders, you also choose the path that those. Zarahemna was choosing a path of destruction and hatred, and Moroni was choosing a path of preservation of his people.

It's interesting when you look at leadership that truly everything does rise and fall on leadership. The people of the Lamanites were driven and kept in a state of perpetual hatred simply to accomplish the designs that Zarahemna had. One President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, among other local leaders as well, and leaders in my own family that I can turn to and trust that they will be spiritual leaders in my life.

Because when I choose those leaders, I also choose the path that those leaders are walking. Be aware of the leaders in your life and be aware of the leadership positions that you take because the leaders you pick, you will also be picking the path that they have chosen. That's all for today, my friends.

Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small, keep it simple and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow and I hope you are too.