Day 238 Moroni's Fortifications: Guarding Against Temptation

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. Welcome to day 238 on our 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon together.

Today, you're going to be reading Alma 52:27-40 and Alma 53:1-7, continuing the wars and battles, this time against a man named Jacob. They have quite a vicious battle with Moroni and Lehi and Teancum and Jacob. It gets pretty aggressive, and Moroni ends up with a large group of Lamanites as prisoners and he puts them to work in Alma 53.

And then there's kind of a lull in the battle and that takes us to our verse today, which is really kind of an interesting verse. It's in Alma 53, right at the tail end of our reading, verse 7. "And it came to pass that he did no more attempt a battle with the Lamanites in that year, but he did employ his men in preparing for war, yea, and in making fortifications to guard against the Lamanites; yea, and also delivering their women and their children from famine and affliction, and providing food for their armies." If you haven't got the message yet from Moroni, he is constantly preparing. He is preparing, he is reinforcing, he is fortifying constantly.

And earlier in this chapter, we see that he does so, so much so with the prisoners of the Lamanites that it makes the city of Bountiful a great fortification for generations to come. And I think it's worth us pausing and saying, if I'm not in the middle of a battle right now, what preparations and fortifications are you putting in place in your own life to guard against, right? To deliver your women and children, to deliver your families, to help them in famine and affliction and provide food for your armies.

These are all things that require preparation. And it took me down an interesting line of thinking. I found a talk from Elder Turley Sr. from 2001.

It's been a while here. In fact, inside of it, he uses the term electronic media, right? Basically talking about the digital age that we live in.

And back then, that's a little bit different terminology than we use now, but the electronic media, the age of the Internet, the age of AI, the age of digital life as we know it. And in his talk from 2001, I'll put a link here in the podcast episode. This is what he says about fortifications, and I love this advice, and I wanted to share it today. "Resisting the temptations of today's electronic media is not easy.

It takes focused courage and effort. In the small town where I grew up, one had to drive at least an hour to find trouble. But today, on the Internet, trouble is just a few clicks away.

To avoid such temptations, be like Captain Moroni of old. Set up fortifications to strengthen your places of weakness. The scriptures say: Instead of building walls of timbers and dirt to protect a vulnerable city, build fortifications in the form of personal ground rules to protect your priceless virtue.

When you're on a date, plan to be in groups and avoid being alone. I know men, young and old, who have simply determined not to turn on the TV or surf the Internet anytime when they're alone. Fathers, it is wise to keep computers and televisions in the family room or other high-traffic areas in your home, not in children's bedrooms.

I also know of fathers who, while on business trips, wisely choose not to turn on the hotel television. Remember, such fortifications are not a sign of weakness; on the contrary, they show strength. The scriptures tell us Captain Moroni was so strong that if all men would be like him, the very powers of hell would be shaken forever.

Remember, Moroni's strongholds were the key to his success. Creating your own strongholds will be the key to yours." I love that advice in our digital age. Social media use is at an all-time high.

People are literally plugged into their phones at all times. I go to athletic events at my daughter's school and I see students and teenagers go from the athletic event and the second they have downtime, they grab their phone and plug in. How can we make sure that we're putting strongholds and fortifications in place that will protect us in these times of battle and times of war?

I think a lesson can be learned from Moroni here, and it's a lesson that we can take individually in our lives. So while asking you, I'll ask myself, how can I better fortify and create strongholds in my life to make sure that the media that I'm using is media that uplifts and strengthens my testimony in Jesus Christ, rather than distracts me and opens the door to be metaphorically or literally affected.