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Friday, August 30, 2024

Don't duel with the devil

You're smart, you're even exceptional, but you're not that smart. You are not resilient enough to tangle with the adversary. You can never match his cunning or his talent for deception and diversion. He will outsmart, outmaneuver and outlast you every time you willingly consent to a duel.
- Sherry Dew
Alma chapter 47, when Amalakiah was trying to stir up the Lamanites to fight the Nephites, the majority of the Lamanite army refused. They went up to the top of a hill, which was easily defensible, and appointed Lehonti to be their leader. Amalakiah then tried three times to get Lehonti to come down to meet with him. Each time Lehonti refused. Then Amalakiah went up near to the camp of Lehonti and asked him to only come down a little ways and to bring his guards. Amalakiah did everything he could to get Lehonti to come down from his place of security. All Amalakiah needed was just one opening.
Lehonti did not see what was coming. He thought the danger was of Amalakiah attacking him, so he thought he would be safe near his camp with all his guards. But the real danger came later when Amalakiah poisoned him. Lehonti thought he could meet up with Amalakiah and that the meeting would be under Lehonti's control. The control was an illusion.
We should never leave our places of spiritual security.
Source: Sister Sherry Dew BYU Devotional - Living on the Lord's Side of the Line
Alma 47

Monday, August 12, 2024

Between stimulus and response is our agency

Stephen Covey said he found this quotation in a book in Hawaii.
Between stimulus and response, there is a space. And in that space lies our freedom to choose our response. And in that space lies our growth and our happiness.
We are agents for ourselves. When something acts on us, we have received a stimulus of some kind. We are free to choose our response to that stimulus. Growth comes as we overcome our natural insticts, which are usually a negative response. By overcoming the "natural man" we achieve growth. This self-mastery gives us true freedom and lasting happiness.

Source: Follow Him podcast