Day 346 A Warning Against Secret Combinations

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. Today, a word of warning for all of us. Welcome to day 346 on our 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon together.

Today, you're going to be reading Ether chapter 8, verses 16 through 26, and Ether chapter 9, verses 16 through 26. Waving the yellow flag, saying, "Please don't make me pick up the red flag and say that we are in red flag territory here." Our verse for today comes in Ether chapter 8, verse 23, where he says, "Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you." Now that seems like a very dire warning, and yet it's only one of the verses around all of what Moroni is painting here. He's talking, of course, about the secret combinations that are introduced.

We talked about them yesterday. And now that they're here, they're going to actually lead to the destruction of Jared, who's the one that dropped the bug in the ear of Akish to start it going in the first place. Fascinating how that comes full circle inside of the tail end of our reading today.

But it's worth us looking at this verse and saying, "What role can I play here?" Because it sounds like these are massive combinations, and they have so much power and control. And I think that there are two pieces inside of here worth us looking into. One, obviously, is our own repentance.

We spent time inside of that. "Know these things so that you can understand that you can repent of your sins." Okay, so there's a chance for us to work there. And then he says here, "suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you." You say, "Well, what does that mean?" Or, "What role can I play?" I know that every government has a... I'm going to speak to my government, knowing that there are those that live in other parts of the world and have different obligations and responsibilities in their government.

But as part of my government, I have a role to have my voice heard inside of elections. And those elections are not just presidential elections. Those elections can be local leaders.

Those can be community leaders. And then they can work their way up from there for me to city leaders and to state leaders and to national leaders. And here Moroni is trying to say, "Know what secret combinations look like, feel like, sound like.

Because if you identify them, you will do everything in your power to make sure that they don't get above you. If they do, you're standing on the brink of overthrow and destruction." That is a concerning piece for us to look at, not as a danger to our lives and say, "Oh my goodness, the house is on fire!" But as an awareness piece for us to pause and say, "What role can I play in my government? What role can I play in my government?" I'm going to take a moment in these verses today to know and see the signs of what these secret combinations look like.

Moroni is not saying they might show up. Moroni is saying, "I've seen your day, and they are here." It is worth our time and attention, my friends, to know them and to do everything we can to reject them so that they may not get power above us. That is a call to action from Moroni to us.

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.