The Dangers of Priestcraft and Wickedness

Today I read Mosiah 29 and Alma 1.  Mosiah 29 is perhaps the greatest scripture on the dangers of having a king ever.  Mosiah does a great job of reminding his people that a wicked king causes much heartache and cannot be removed except by the shedding of much blood.  This is also the chapter that Mosiah teaches the important principle that the people generally will desire that which is right and if it ever comes a time when the people desire that which is wrong that is when they are ripe for destruction.  I fear greatly for our country for this very reason.  I see the vast majority doing that which is wrong a lot these days.  I take comfort in the fact that it seems to me that the majority of the people are still doing what is right and desiring the things of God, it is just that those that do not desire what is right are getting louder so they seem to be more than they are.

Alma 1 is of course the story of Nehor.  I have often wondered about Nehor, a man who preaches that which is contrary to the will of God and has no hold whatsoever on his temper.  Nehor kills Gideon, not because Gideon attacks him or does anything to him, but rather because Gideon exposes his lies using the scriptures.  Nehor gets upset by this and kills him in front of a crowd.  I can hardly imagine a man who has less control on his emotions.  Now, I have seen a lot of people get upset over religion in my time here on the earth and I have even seen some people come to blows over it, but to outright kill someone in cold blood?  That is almost beyond belief.  And yet, I can picture it happening today.  We hear stories of people killing each other for no other reason than they were rude to one another while driving their car.  Is it really so big a leap to think a person would harm or kill another person over religion?  Alma says in this chapter that priestcraft would prove the entire destruction of the Nephite people, and it did.  I worry about what priestcraft is doing to our society today, because it is certainly alive and well in the world.  Will it prove to be our entire destruction?  Until tomorrow.