16 And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.
This, I am convinced, is where the expression “bury the hatchet”, referring to an act of peace and forgiveness, comes from. This act almost two millennia ago, surely was passed down through Lamanite history and survived through them to our day and was preserved in our culture. But who would have thought that burying the hatchet stemmed from such an unbelievable act of love and sacrifice!
Oh, this wonderful king, for suggesting that they not only refrain from taking up arms against their brethren, but actually bury them deep in the earth so as to not even be tempted to use them, and as a token of their covenant. What commitment! This is the type of commitment we should all be striving for. Words backed up by actions, meaningful actions. Commitments and actions that actually hurt.
And what faith! That if they were killed, their God would save them by taking them unto himself, to there real home. To the only place and state that ultimately matters.
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