27 And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people. Indeed the Lord does work “in many ways” to save his children. Now, this comment seems to imply that the Lord had a hand in how this all panned out. Now, to be clear, the Lord certainly did not have a hand in the hearts of those men who wanted to kill their brethren. That’s was Satan’s hand. But perhaps the Lord’s hand was in the very unique and unusual way the people handled the attack. Perhaps His hand was in why they handled this attack in a most unusual way! Most unusual. Perhaps unprecedented. I don’t know of any parallel in all of scripture of a people who were being attacked by their enemy, hell bent on destroying them from off the face of the earth, and who: 1. Refused to fight in self defense 2. Did not flee from their enemies 3. Went out to meet their enemy, refusing to take up arms and defend themselves in any way 4. Prostrated themselves to the earth before their enemies, relying completely upon the mercy of their enemies and on God for their very lives 5. Prayed and praised God in the act of being slaughtered. ... Actually, I believe there is one scriptural precedent— 1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. 2 And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. 3 Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? 5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. 6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. 7 Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. 8 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: The Savior is the precedent. He is the one who sacrificed his life rather than to take a life when he had the ultimate power to do so. He didn’t run away from his enemies who sought to kill him, but submitted himself, relying wholly upon the will of his Father. And it was through the Savior’s sacrifice that others were saved. Even all the children of men. Saved from physical death. And saved from spiritual death. Everyone, except the Sons of Perdition. But wait, you say, Christ doesn’t save all men from spiritual death, only those who believe in and obey him. I say, for it appears to me, this is only partially true. For every one of God’s children will receive a Kingdom of Glory. And even in the lowest kingdom they will be ministered to by the Holy Ghost, a member of the Godhead. So are they completely cast off? It seems not. Only by degree. They will have joy and redemption commensurate with their works and the desires of their hearts, and in the sphere in which they are most comfortable. 1. Refused to fight in self defense 2. Did not flee from their enemies 3. Went out to meet their enemy, refusing to take up arms and defend themselves in any way 4. Prostrated themselves to the earth before their enemies, relying completely upon the mercy of their enemies and on God for their very lives 5. Prayed and praised God in the act of being slaughtered. It can be said that Savior did all of these things. 1. He refused to defend himself against his arrest, even though he knew it would surely lead to his suffering and death. 2. He did not flee from his enemies. In fact, when his enemies asked who was Jesus of Nazareth, he said, :Here am I!" When Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of the Centurion, He rebuked Peter and healed the man. And of course this brings up a glaring question. How could those men, after witnessing that act, and the many other miracles of Jesus, especially healing the ear of the soldier, still take him to his death? Is it not because they were possessed with the hate and envy of the enemy of all righteousness? Jesus did not run away. Even to his suffering and death he succored us by "running to our aid", and not running away. 3. While Jesus did not physically go out to meet his enemy that night in Gethsemane, he went out to and among his enemies every single day even tough they sought to kill him, and taught in their synagogues, etc. And that not to kill, but to save. And on that fateful night, surely he knew he would be arrested, and yet went out to meet them in the sense that he knew what would happen, and did not run and hide. 4. Jesus had just prostrated himself, literally, in the garden in subjection to the will of the Father. And he also subjected himself to these wicked men who sought to kill him, in essence prostrating himself on the earth, bowing down before them, relying wholly upon their mercies. Mercies which never came! Even though a scape goat was provided I Barabas. 5. Jesus prayed and praised his Father and God in the very act of suffering pain and death at the hands of his enemies. And we can add another number to the list-
6. By sacrificing his life, he saved the lives of others. This was also a precedent followed by the Anti-Nephi-Lehis. Yes. Jesus was the precedent. The Precedent of all precedents! He paved the way for all of us. And he set the example that these Lamanite converts were inspired by God to follow. I am convinced that the reason and motivation for their unusual behavior and choices during this attack (aside from fearing to offend God and lose their salvation) was because they were inspired to do what they did. It was God’s will, part of God's plan to save as many of his children as possible, and thus he placed in their hearts the thought and desire to perform “their strange act”. There is absolutely no other explanation. It was the Lord workIng ”in many ways to the salvation of his people.” Yes. The Lord’s hand was in all of it, to the salvation and exaltation of his children. And what do we learn from this? That God might want us to do strange and seemingly illogical things to be an instrument in his hands in “performing his strange act”. We must be prepared for whatever that is, and have faith to do whatever is asked of us.
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