Today I read Alma 53 where the 2000 sons of the people of Ammon, commonly referred to as the Stripling Warriors are first introduced. You know, it's actually kind of hard to find something new to talk about in these war chapters and as I go further into the Book of Mormon we keep running into the same concepts over and over again.
But in a way that is comforting. The Gospel is really at its roots, very simple. And it's nice to know that as we read the Book of Mormon and the scriptures that we are not finding earth shattering new doctrine, that we've actually pretty much heard it all before already.
This chapter is more of what we have already been talking about in all the war chapters. The Nephites prosper when they obey the commandments and are stirred up to remembrance by the Lamanites when they are not obedient. With the introduction of the 2000 warriors however we do have some new things to talk about.
One thing Elder Bednar said to us when he came to our Stake Conference is that, especially in the scriptures, language matters. I bring this up because of the description Mormon gives of the 2000 warriors at the end of chapter 53. He calls them "men of truth and soberness". I have noticed that is a word that is used quite often in the scriptures, soberness, and I've often wondered why that is. Like Elder Bednar, I believe that the language used in the scriptures is significant.
I also don't think it is a coincidence that they are using the word to describe the opposite of drunkeness. The first time I was old enough to kind of realize the significance of that, I started doing a mental checklist in my mind of the difference between drukenness and sober people. Especially in a scriptoral sense I think the main difference is the control one has on their emotions. A drunk generally speaking does not have much control over what they say or do. They do what feels good and what feels right because that's what they want.
A sober man/woman is also in control of their faculties and are able to think clearly and discern the promptings of the Spirit. However, I truly do believe that they are also speaking in terms of not getting drunk. I do not believe that the 2000 young men were men prone to drink alcohol at all, let alone to excess. But I think the truer sense of that word, sober, is the fact that they were always in complete control of themselves and were men that were true and can be trusted. Would you trust a drunkard with anything of importance? I sure would not.
As we refrain from alcohol due to our religion and our personal convitions, it is not enough to just not drink alcohol. We must remain in control and do what we are counselled to do at all times. That is what it truly means to be sober, in my opinion. Until tomorrow.
Good thoughts about soberness. I hadn't quite ever thought of it that way before that it could mean complete control over self and emotions.
ReplyDeleteI think too that soberness could also mean that they were serious and steady. You know how there are some people that you can't really talk to about serious subjects or important matters or the feelings of your heart because they always seem to make a joke out of it and they seem incapable (or unwilling) to think seriously? I think that the stripling warriors were the type who could be serious when it was time to be serious and so they could look at threats straight on and make courageous decisions because of it.