We Must Have Faith - Moses 7:47

Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying: The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world; and through faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me.

We must never forget that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel. There is good reason for that. It is so easy to lose sight of what's really important. Many of us are so sorely tried and busy that our priorities and perspectives get sidetracked on a constant and daily basis. If we forget that through Him all things will be made right, it can be very difficult to keep going.

The "good news" of the gospel is that there is never need to despair as long as we keep His commandments. There is a popular movement at this time. It is a practice called "mindfulness". It is based on Buddhist meditation practices. Its core is centered around the concept of watching your thoughts as they occur and rejecting anything negative.

I think this is a very good practice. In fact, it is something I discovered for myself when I was younger. The fact is, negative thoughts have no good consequences. They tend to lead us to negative feelings and attitudes such as hatred and despair. Of course there are a lot of types of thoughts that are negative. Some are about others, some are about ourselves, some are about other things. We can't indulge in any of them. We have to catch ourselves and correct those thoughts - it is a constant process.

But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not. (Mosiah 4:30)

Here's the kicker: Your thoughts define you. Thus it is imperative that we discipline not only our actions, but our thoughts as well. There is great good in this practice of mindfulness. However, it falls short in one major area. It does not center itself in Christ. Indeed, Buddhism - and the world - tend to believe that death is the end of the individual. This is the ultimate unhappy thought. But as believers in Christ, we do not anticipate and end with death, instead, we anticipate a better world:

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God. (Ether 12:4)

By faith Abraham, ... sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. ... These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:8-10,13-16)

A common trait among the happy faithful, is that they have hope for the future, that "better world" and the mansion that is prepared for them.

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2)

Let not your hearts be troubled; for in my Father’s house are many mansions, and I have prepared a place for you; and where my Father and I am, there ye shall be also. (D&C 98:18)

And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the mansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent hope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared. (Ether 12:32)

Thinking "happy thoughts" is part of repentance. We must accept the atonement and the happy rewards He has in store for us, or we have not had the change of heart associated with repentance. This sort of change must start with faith in Christ, or it will not occur at all.

... Consider the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it. (Mosiah 2:41)

Faith and War - Moses 7:13

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, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him.

It is common practice among the nations to trust in armaments and war machines. However, if we look at the pattern of ancient Israel, the only time they were truly safe was when they were focused on keeping the commandments of God. The secret to winning a war is not in powerful armaments nor tactics, but in the righteousness of the people.

Consider Balaam's advice to the wicked king of Moab. Because Israel was righteous, they could not be overthrown and so instead of a military assult, they sent idol worshippers and whores among them to seduce them. This was the most effective strategy because it made them lose the favor and protection of God. However, when the unrighteous were destroyed from among them, Israel overran Moab.

In the Old Testament, He is called the "Lord of Hosts" for a reason. It means God of war. But His warfare is different than that of the world. He uses the vices of the wicked against them. Indeed "it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished" (Mormon 4:5)

Except in special circumstances, such as under Joshua and Moses, God's children are not commanded to go to war, but instead to rely on the arm of the Lord. Such was the situation of Zion in Enoch's day and such is our situation, though we are permitted to defend ourselves (Alma 43:46). God protects his saints in other ways.

When the armies of Assyria had encamped with hundreds of thousands against Israel, the people feared, but Isaiah the prophet told King Hezekiah:

Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. (Isaiah 37:33)

And the Lord delivered on His promise:

Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. (Isaiah 37:36,37)

Thus the best defense and the surest form of safety is not in armaments, missile silos, war ships, bombs and airplanes, it is simply to have faith and to keep the commandments of God.