Preparing is a Lifelong Process - or Practice

Alma 50:1

“And now it came to pass that Moroni did not stop making preparations for war, or to defend his people against the Lamanites; for he caused . . . that they should commence in digging up heaps of earth round about all the cities, throughout all the land which was possessed by the Nephites.”

Alma 49:5

“Now at this time the chief captains of the Lamanites were astonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of the Nephites in preparing their places of security.”

Moroni tirelessly prepared his people for war, we should learn from his example. While we may not be in physical or international wars, we are all engaged in a spiritual battle for our souls. Our daily efforts in maintaining our faith and preparing spiritually are our means of repenting and returning to the presence of God.

Three Ways Moroni Prepared His People

Moroni prepared his people to face the enemy and forces that would take away their liberty and put them into bondage. We should learn from that preparation and prepare ourselves as forces work to put us into spiritual bondage.

In October 2020, Russell M. Nelson talked about his preparation.

" . . . we can learn a lot from Captain Moroni. As commander of the Nephite armies, he faced opposing forces that were stronger, greater in number, and meaner. So, Moroni prepared his people in three essential ways.

"First, he helped them create areas where they would be safe—’places of security,’ he called them.

"Second, he prepared 'the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord.' And,

"Third, he never stopped preparing his people—physically or spiritually.

"Let us consider these three principles."

This was so successful that the Lamanites were "astonished exceedingly" by the wisdom they showed in this preparation. We must also prepare ourselves to stay safe in our personal battles and struggles.

Preparing is a Lifelong Practice

If we saw preparing as practice, this might help us maintain the daily effort. Practice is usually seen as a way to be ready to play in a sports match or to perform in an artistic or musical performance. If we don't practice and prepare, we will either lose or not perform to our ability.

In high school, I was asked to be in the orchestra for a community acting company. I was a pretty good trumpet player, and the musical pieces did not seem complicated. In my arrogance, I did not practice much and was definitely not prepared. I missed most of the musical cues in the performance, I sounded horrible, and I really messed up at one point when I was supposed to play a fan-fare that the actors responded to. I could not play the part, and the piano player had to cover for me with a single finger, plucking out the fanfare. I was horrified and still think about it almost daily. I did not prepare. I did not practice, and I failed horribly and publicly.

One of my heroes in life and a musician I listen to daily is Pat Metheny. He has made his life about practicing. He has more awards in more categories than any other musician, but he always feels he needs much more daily practice and preparation. He gave the commencement speech at Berklee College in 1996; one of my favorite quotes comes from it.

"In the process of putting this speech together, it has forced me to really examine a few details about what has been particularly significant for me, as an individual, in this life that I have been having as a musician. And the results of this self-examination process getting ready for this speech, were interesting to me. Because for as much as I can stand here and claim to be a successful player, with Grammy awards and winning polls and now honorary degrees and all that stuff; one very fundamental thing has not changed, and I realized that it will never change, and that is this—that the main thing in my life, even as I stand here right now, right this second, is that I really need to go home and practice.

"Saying this, of course, is obvious. We all need to practice and improve, and we will all need to practice and improve. But I do think that when I was younger, there would be a day when I would sort of 'get it', and that everything would be cool, and I would have arrived at that promised land of being a great musician and I would just be. And I can see now, that that is never going to happen."

As Pat says, we don’t ever “get it,” and we never arrive at perfect faith in this life, as we can learn from Moroni. Spiritual preparation is an ongoing process, and we need the same motivation to do it as Pat - who has to go home and practice.