A Shift in Battle: Part 2

Shift in Battle

A Latter-day Saint Perspective on Pornography Warfare

Part II: The Tables Turn

written by: Vincent Grosso, CPC

April 2015

For your convenience, this article is color coded as follows:

red text = Direct quote (emphasis added)

green text = Paraphrasing

Before continuing, be sure you have read Part I: Prepare for War

The Tables Turn

As we continue to read through the next few verses we see that the Lamanites are terrified and flee from Lehi’s men. They are pursued by Lehi until the banks of  the river Sidon.  As the Lamanites cross the river they are met by Moroni’s men. After more slaughter, they flee yet again. The Nephites catch up to the Lamanites and once more there is much bloodshed (vv 39-42). But this time, something changes. we start to see the change. Let’s see if you can pick up on it. Pay close attention and try to figure out exactly what it is that changes the course of this battle.

Now in this case the Lamanites did fight exceedingly; yea, never had the Lamanites been known to fight with such exceedingly great strength and courage, no, not even from the beginning.

...yea, they did fight like dragons, and many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, yea, for they did smite in two many of their head-plates, and they did pierce many of their breastplates, and they did smite off many of their arms; and thus the Lamanites did smite in their fierce anger (vv 43-44).

Did you get it? What changed? Why did the advantage in this battle shift from the Nephites to the Lamanites? How were the tables turned?

• Did the Nephites take off their armor?
• No, it says the Lamanites were now piercing through the armor, dashing their helmets in two. Same armor.
• Did the Lamanite army join forces with another army to make them stronger?
• Nope, it is the same Lamanite army led by Zerahemna throughout this entire battle. Same enemy.
• Did the Lamanites sharpen their weapons?
• There was no timeout, no halftime, no lunch break when they would have had time to do anything...they were just fighting and running all day. Same weapons.
• Did the Nephites lose faith?
• It doesn’t say that either, and in fact, we’ll see a couple verses later that the Nephites were still praying to God and He does hear their prayer, so I don’t think they lost favor in the sight of the Lord. Same faith.
• So then, what happened? What did the Nephites do to lose the upper hand in this battle and become more vulnerable?
• Nothing.

The Nephites did not let their guard down. The Lamanites did not get stronger or sharpen their weapons...but they did become desperate. They were cornered and became more fierce. More angry. More determined. They gave everything they had, more than ever before. The Lamanites had NEVER been known to fight with such strength. And because the Nephites did NOTHING different, they started to lose a battle that they previously had been winning. As the enemy becomes more desperate, our battle plan must become more sophisticated, our weapons sharper, our armor stronger.

Our Battle

I believe that Elder Featherstone saw what was going on in our modern battle and could see that something was about to change. There was going to be a shift in the battle...just like what happened between the Nephites and Lamanites. In Elder Featherstone’s foresight, I do not believe he was accusing any of us of taking off our spiritual armor or losing our faith. He simply could see that the enemy was getting desperate and would be fighting more valiantly than ever in history. He knew that the spiritual breastplates and helmets that were able to withstand the blows of the enemy before would now be pierced and dashed to pieces.  The same enemy is attacking us with the same weapons--only this time with more desperation, determination and efficiency; penetrating more homes, wounding more families, killing more spirits.

Keep in mind that in 1975, to access pornography a person actually had to go out to a store and purchase pornographic literature, or go to an adult theater in a sketchy part of town, pay for a ticket, go inside and watch an X rated movie. If that were all we are talking about, I am fairly confident that virtually no one reading this would have their name on the list that Elder Featherstone talks about.

But today, how can pornography be accessed? It’s as easy as pulling out your smartphone. Nowadays most of pornography consumers do not pay for it, there is plenty of free stuff out there. Viewing it is anonymous, no one will see you walk out of the adult bookstore or theater.

Now, at this point in the battle, things are not looking too good for the Nephites--or for us. At first, this may be discouraging to many. Some may want to give up and give in. Others refuse to accept the truth, they want to ignore reality and go on pretending like everything is okay. Many use disillusioning thoughts such as “I am so glad this is not effecting my family.” The truth is, the enemy’s weapon of pornography is now piercing the spiritual armor of EVERY family in the church.

We, as a church, have not lost faith. We have not stopped praying. We have not stopped reading scriptures. We have not stopped attending church and the temple. Yet, the enemy is starting to destroy us.

Continue reading in the next article Shift in Battle Part III: On to Victory