In two separate instances, the people of Limhi show how much they value life.
The first instance is typical. When confronted with the immediate danger of an invading army, these people fought "like dragons" to preserve the lives of the innocent (v. 11).
More interesting to me is the second instance which occurs when the king of the invading army has fallen into Limhi's hands. Gideon counsels Limhi to humble himself before the invading king and establish peace again. Not only is it admirable that Limhi refrains from vengeful execution, especially after the Lamanites broke the peace treaty without warning and killed many of Limhi's people, but it is also admirable how Gideon explains the preeminence of preserving life above most else.
"And now let us pacify the king, and we fulfil the oath which we have made unto him; for it is better that we should be in bondage than that we should lose our lives; therefore, let us put a stop to the shedding of so much blood" (v. 22).
Gideon displays a wisdom that counterbalances his anger in chapter 19. Life is more precious than glory, pride, or wealth. It is more important than honors, revenge, or satisfaction. Life is the moment in which, as Amulek will teach the next generation of Nephites, we prepare to meet god. Snuffing our or other's lives out prematurely in the pursuit of some moral high ground or global hegemony is a most serious crime, for we cut our brothers' and sisters' precious time short.
Keeping in mind that any ideological bent can find phrasing in scripture to support a particular world view, I have to make the point here that verses like this confirm my belief in pacifism. I abhor the amount of blood shed by my country to prove a point that, so far, remains unproven, chasing a shadow enemy across the lives, livelihoods, and souls of both innocent and guilty. It sickens and worries me, for we know what happens to those who live by the sword.
We are not even close to being in bondage, and yet we rain fire from the sky, and if children die, at least we can say they were within the limits of acceptable collatoral damage. I'll cut my rant short by posting a paragraph from a June 1976 talk by President Spencer W. Kimball. You can read the full text of his remarks here.
The first instance is typical. When confronted with the immediate danger of an invading army, these people fought "like dragons" to preserve the lives of the innocent (v. 11).
More interesting to me is the second instance which occurs when the king of the invading army has fallen into Limhi's hands. Gideon counsels Limhi to humble himself before the invading king and establish peace again. Not only is it admirable that Limhi refrains from vengeful execution, especially after the Lamanites broke the peace treaty without warning and killed many of Limhi's people, but it is also admirable how Gideon explains the preeminence of preserving life above most else.
"And now let us pacify the king, and we fulfil the oath which we have made unto him; for it is better that we should be in bondage than that we should lose our lives; therefore, let us put a stop to the shedding of so much blood" (v. 22).
Gideon displays a wisdom that counterbalances his anger in chapter 19. Life is more precious than glory, pride, or wealth. It is more important than honors, revenge, or satisfaction. Life is the moment in which, as Amulek will teach the next generation of Nephites, we prepare to meet god. Snuffing our or other's lives out prematurely in the pursuit of some moral high ground or global hegemony is a most serious crime, for we cut our brothers' and sisters' precious time short.
Keeping in mind that any ideological bent can find phrasing in scripture to support a particular world view, I have to make the point here that verses like this confirm my belief in pacifism. I abhor the amount of blood shed by my country to prove a point that, so far, remains unproven, chasing a shadow enemy across the lives, livelihoods, and souls of both innocent and guilty. It sickens and worries me, for we know what happens to those who live by the sword.
We are not even close to being in bondage, and yet we rain fire from the sky, and if children die, at least we can say they were within the limits of acceptable collatoral damage. I'll cut my rant short by posting a paragraph from a June 1976 talk by President Spencer W. Kimball. You can read the full text of his remarks here.
We are a
warlike people, easily distracted from our assignment of preparing for
the coming of the Lord. When enemies rise up, we commit vast resources
to the fabrication of gods of stone and steel—ships, planes, missiles,
fortifications—and depend on them for protection and deliverance. When
threatened, we become antienemy instead of pro-kingdom of God; we train a
man in the art of war and call him a patriot, thus, in the manner of
Satan’s counterfeit of true patriotism, perverting the Savior’s
teaching:
“Love
your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:44–45.)
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