“Burying Our Weapons of Rebellion”

Posted on by Mitch Peterson

Last updated on December 29th, 2024 at 09:02 am

General Conference Applied

S4 E10 – Sunday, December 22, 2024 | “Burying Our Weapons of Rebellion” by Elder D. Todd Christofferson; October 2024 General Conference

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Podcast Episode Outline

Introduction

Burying Our Weapons of Rebellion:

  • “The Book of Mormon records that approximately 90 years before the birth of Christ, the sons of King Mosiah began what would be a 14-year mission to the Lamanites. Unsuccessful efforts had been made over many generations to bring the Lamanite people to a belief in the doctrine of Christ. This time, however, through the miraculous interventions of the Holy Spirit, thousands of the Lamanites were converted and became disciples of Jesus Christ.

    “We read, ‘And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.’

    “The key to the enduring conversion of this people is stated in the next verse: ‘For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren.’

    “This reference to ‘weapons of rebellion’ was both literal and figurative. It meant their swords and other weapons of war but also their disobedience to God and His commandments.

    “The king of these converted Lamanites expressed it this way: ‘And now behold, my brethren, … it has been all that we could do … to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain.’

    “Note the king’s words—not only had their sincere repentance led to forgiveness of their sins, but God also took away the stain of those sins and even the desire to sin from their hearts. As you know, rather than risk any possible return to their prior state of rebellion against God, they buried their swords. And as they buried their physical weapons, with changed hearts, they also buried their disposition to sin. …

    “By the grace of Christ, God will forgive our sins and rebellions of the past and will take away the stain of those sins and rebellions from our hearts. In time, He will even take away any desire for evil, as He did with those Lamanite converts of the past. Thereafter, we too ‘never [will] fall away.’

    “Burying our weapons of rebellion leads to a unique joy. With all who have ever become converted to the Lord, we are ‘brought to sing [the song of] redeeming love.'”

Bio

  • “D. Todd Christofferson was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 5, 2008.

    “Born in American Fork, Utah, D. Todd Christofferson graduated from high school in New Jersey, earned his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, where he was an Edwin S. Hinckley Scholar, and his law degree from Duke University.

    “Among other callings, he has served the Church as a Regional Representative, stake president, and bishop. As a young man, he served as a missionary in Argentina.

    “D. Todd Christofferson and his wife, Katherine Jacob Christofferson, are parents of five children.

    “At the time of his call to the Quorum of the Twelve, he was serving in the Presidency of the Seventy. During his tenure in the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder Christofferson had supervisory responsibility for the North America West, Northwest, and Southeast Areas of the Church. He also served as Executive Director of the Family and Church History Department. Earlier, he was president of the Mexico South Area of the Church, resident in Mexico City.

    “Prior to his call to serve as a full-time General Authority of the Church, Elder Christofferson was associate general counsel of NationsBank Corporation (now Bank of America) in Charlotte, North Carolina. Previously, he was senior vice president and general counsel for Commerce Union Bank of Tennessee in Nashville where he was also active in community affairs and interfaith organizations. From 1975 to 1980, Elder Christofferson practiced law in Washington, D.C., after serving as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge John J. Sirica during the trials and other proceedings known as Watergate (1972-74).”
  • This was Elder Christofferson’s 40th general conference address. Here are his five most recent addresses:

What is the speaker inviting me to do, and how might I consider taking action?

Invitations

1: “We might ask ourselves what we could do to follow this pattern, to ‘lay down the weapons of [our] rebellion,’ whatever they may be, and become so ‘converted [to] the Lord’ that the stain of sin and the desire for sin are taken from our hearts and we never will fall away.”

  • Ask ourselves: What “weapons of rebellion” do I need to lay down in my life so that I can become more fully converted to the Lord?
  • Christlike Attribute: “When I pray, I ask for strength to resist temptation and to do what is right. (3 Nephi 18:15)” (Obedience)
  • This is the invitation, and then Elder Christofferson provides five directives in this address:
    • Active Rebellion:
      • Reject Religious Authority: “Rebellion can be active or passive. … The Book of Mormon’s unholy trio of anti-Christs—Sherem, Nehor, and Korihor—provide a classic study of active rebellion against God. … The anti-Christ rejects religious authority, characterizing ordinances and covenants as performances ‘laid down by ancient priests, to usurp power and authority.'” -Elder Christofferson
    • Passive Rebellion:
      • Ignoring God’s Will in our Lives: “Perhaps the more insidious form of rebellion against God, however, is the passive version—ignoring His will in our lives. Many who would never consider active rebellion may still oppose the will and word of God by pursuing their own path without regard to divine direction. I am reminded of the song made famous years ago by singer Frank Sinatra with the climactic line ‘I did it my way.’ Certainly in life there is plenty of room for personal preference and individual choice, but when it comes to matters of salvation and eternal life, our theme song ought to be ‘I did it God’s way,’ because truly there is no other way. … There is no ‘my way’ if we are to follow Christ’s example. Trying to find a different course to heaven is like the futility of working on the Tower of Babel rather than looking to Christ and His salvation. … In the end, burying our weapons of rebellion against God simply means yielding to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, putting off the natural man, and becoming ‘a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.’ It means putting the first commandment first in our lives. It means letting God prevail. If our love of God and our determination to serve Him with all our might, mind, and strength become the touchstone by which we judge all things and make all our decisions, we will have buried our weapons of rebellion.” -Elder Christofferson
      • Vulgar and Profane Speech: “There are things in our lives that may be neutral or even inherently good but that used in the wrong way become ‘weapons of rebellion.’ Our speech, for example, can edify or demean. … There is much in public and personal discourse today that is malicious and mean-spirited. There is much conversation that is vulgar and profane, even among youth. This sort of speech is a ‘weapon of rebellion’ against God, ‘full of deadly poison.'” -Elder Christofferson
      • Careers Becoming the Paramount Focus of One’s Life: “Consider another example of something that is essentially good but that could be turned against divine directives—a person’s career. One can find real satisfaction in a profession, vocation, or service, and all of us are benefited by what devoted and talented people in many fields of endeavor have accomplished and created. Still, it is possible that devotion to career can become the paramount focus of one’s life. Then all else becomes secondary, including any claim the Savior may make on one’s time and talent. For men, and for women as well, forgoing legitimate opportunities for marriage, failing to cleave to and lift one’s spouse, failing to nurture one’s children, or even intentionally avoiding the blessing and responsibility of child-rearing solely for the sake of career advancement can convert laudable achievement into a form of rebellion.” -Elder Christofferson
      • Worshipping God’s Gift (Our Physical Bodies) Instead of God: “Another example concerns our physical being. Paul reminds us that we are to glorify God in both body and spirit and that this body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, ‘which ye have of God, and ye are not your own.’ Thus, we have a legitimate interest in spending time caring for our bodies as best we can. … I believe it pleases our Creator when we do our best to care for His wonderful gift of a physical body. It would be a mark of rebellion to deface or defile one’s body, or abuse it, or fail to do what one can to pursue a healthy lifestyle. At the same time, vanity and becoming consumed with one’s physique, appearance, or dress can be a form of rebellion at the other extreme, leading one to worship God’s gift instead of God.” -Elder Christofferson
  • “Peacemakers Needed“, President Russell M. Nelson, April 2023 General Conference: “At this point you may be thinking that this message would really help someone you know. Perhaps you are hoping that it will help him or her to be nicer to you. I hope it will! But I also hope that you will look deeply into your heart to see if there are shards of pride or jealousy that prevent you from becoming a peacemaker.

    “If you are serious about helping to gather Israel and about building relationships that will last throughout the eternities, now is the time to lay aside bitterness. Now is the time to cease insisting that it is your way or no way. Now is the time to stop doing things that make others walk on eggshells for fear of upsetting you. Now is the time to bury your weapons of war. If your verbal arsenal is filled with insults and accusations, now is the time to put them away. You will arise as a spiritually strong man or woman of Christ.”
  • Consider King Lamoni’s father’s progress – give up half his kingdom, then his whole kingdom, and finally all his sins. In time, we can also come to recognize the most important “weapons of rebellion” that we need to bury in our lives.

    Alma 20:23 – [23] “Now the king, fearing he should lose his life, said: If thou wilt spare me I will grant unto thee whatsoever thou wilt ask, even to half of the kingdom.”

    Alma 22:15-18 – [15] “And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy. [16] But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest. [17] And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying: [18] O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day.”
  • Action:
    1. I will make time in the next two weeks (before the end of the day Sunday, January 5, 2025) to journal for at least 15 minutes on the following topic: “What ‘weapons of rebellion’ do I need to lay down in my life so that I can become more fully converted to the Lord?” I will also share my journal entry with my wife.

Take Action

How will you take action on the invitations extended in this General Conference address?

Conclusion

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Tags

Conversion | Obedience | Repentance

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