Remembrance

Last week I wrote about the theme of deliverance. So many wonderful things happened to the Nephites in approximately a five-year span: King Benjamin's speech, the discovery and deliverance of the people of Limhi, the deliverance of the people of Alma, and their reunion in the land of Zarahemla. Yet only a generation later they were dealing with the unbelievers persecuting the members of the church.

Remembrance is a key theme in the Book of Mormon. As Alma the Younger would later ask the people as he ministered among them: "Have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?" (Alma 5:6)

We discussed in gospel study the importance of remembering the difficult circumstances of those that have gone before us. As the old saying goes, "those that don't study history are doomed to repeat it." We should study the scriptures, world history, American history, church history, and our family history so that we might not have to suffer as previous generations did due to poor choices or disobedience. Alma the Younger didn't learn from his father's experiences, and so he had to learn firsthand.

My wife pointed out that it is interesting that the lesson falls on the same weekend as Memorial Day, as we remember the sacrifices make for our freedom. The liberty that was granted to us by God and preserved by those sacrifices is not unassailable. If we don't recognize it, value it, and fight for it, we could lose it. Although America isn't perfect, we are blessed to live in a land free of the oppression and tyranny that infests so many other nations. Remembrance of this becomes more important with each passing year as those who experienced firsthand events such as World War II dwindle in numbers.