Faith in the Face of Violence - Alma 48:14-16

... and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword ..., except it were to preserve their lives. And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger; And also, that God would make it known unto them whither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them;

 So as disciples of Christ, we are never to go on the offensive, we must have faith that He will preserve us if we follow this rule. This rules out the "preemptive counter attack". Looking at the history of Israel and the people of the Book of Mormon, it is clear that those who instigate war are usually the ones who get into trouble, and fall into their own trap...

But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed. (Mormon 4:5)

There are actually a few schools of thought on what the righteous can do when they are faced with the possibility of being attacked. But in every case, the only prerogative is to first seek the will of the Lord. Once we've ascertained His will, we can act with utmost confidence.

In some cases, the Lord commands His people to defend themselves. This is the case in the lasting war that we read about in the late chapters of Alma. God commanded His people to defend themselves against those who hated them. The Nephites prepared themselves, and the Lord strengthened them and preserved them. This was also the case for Israel in the days of King David, the days of King Ahaz, and the days of King Hezekiah.

In some cases,  the Lord commands His people to flee. This was the case of the Israelites from Egypt, for Lehi from Jerusalem, Nephi from his brothers, and Jacob from Esau. In these cases, the Lord provides for His people so that they lack not. It is actually a more courageous action to flee than to fight in many circumstances - it shows the humility of the people who choose to become refugees.

There are also cases when the Lord commands us to just allow our enemies to do their worst. Jesus said:

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5:39)

This is the mantra taken up by Tolstoy, Ghandi and others. It is a philosophy of total rejection of violence. This is a manful doctrine, not for the weak or faint of heart. This philosophy takes real guts and real faith; faith that God will intervene - or not - that if it's the will of God for us to suffer oppression, privation or death, so be it. There are some examples of this in the scriptures.

The people of Alma in the Land of Helam were commanded to submit to their enemies. In spite of the rough treatment they received, they had faith and submitted to the demands of their captors. They prayed continually, and God strengthened them in their afflictions that they could not feel them. Later, God delivered them from their captors, allowing the righteous to escape while delaying their captors' pursuit. (Mosiah 23-24)

Enoch's Zion relied on the Lord to fight their battles - and He did:

And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch... (Moses 7:13)

And it shall be said among the wicked: Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand. (D&C 45:70)

So what is the correct response to threats of violence? The answer may be fight, flee or submit - the key is to rely upon the guidance of the Spirit.

Faith unto Repentance - Alma 34:14-17

...This is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal. And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.
And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption. Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;

Alma points out the intent for which the Jews kept the law of Moses - it was to point them to Christ. Paul tells us the same:

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:23-26)

I have discussed this concept at length in a previous post. Suffice it to say, the intent of the law, and I might generalize - the entire Old Testament - is anticipation of the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus the performance of sacrifices and the minutia of performances and ordinances has given way to the Law of the Lord. Our sacrifice is not to be a lamb or heifer, but ourselves in the form of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law is fulfilled. (3 Nephi 12:19)

The law was fulfilled, meaning that the demands of Justice were met by our Savior, so it is now up to us to humble ourselves and repent, with an offering of a broken heart and contrite spirit - a humble deference to His grace. It occurs to me that our sacrifice is not so different as them of old, since in making their offering, they were giving up their means of survival - sustenance and other material possessions in the form of a sacrifice. It still required faith on their part that in spite of their offering, they would not lack nor suffer any privation. In other words, it took faith.

On our part the law is greater, since there are not so strict rules about what and when to sacrifice. In fact, we're told to be willing to sacrifice anything and everything. To the ancient, their sacrifice meant a trust in the Lord to keep them going in spite of their giving up things vital to their survival, and to bless them generally. To us, sacrifices of all kinds are required, up to and including everything we possess, our own will, and our life if necessary. It is a fact that many a Christian died a martyr in deference to His will.

It is this type of humility and sacrifice that He requires, and it is this type of humility and sacrifice that can only be achieved through faith. The ancients did it in anticipation of Him, we do it in remembrance of Him. Thus true repentance comes when we truly strive for perfection and complete submission through faith and real intent, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

Without His sacrifice, any faith or sacrifice on our part would be in vain since there would be no grace available requisite for our assistance. Thus our faith must be centered in Jesus Christ or it will not work for our improvement nor salvation. Of this I testify - that it is only in and through the name of Jesus Christ that we can be saved, if we have faith.