He was firm and steadfast in staying with his armies at the top of the mountain.

He knew the only way Amalakiah would win was for Lehonti to move.

And so he refused to move.

He kept the high road.

But then… Amalakiah realized Lehonti was going to need to meet him halfway.

(Figuratively and literally.)

Lehonti agreed to come halfway down the mountain to meet with Amalickiah, struck up a deal, and soon after, Lehonti had been poisoned by degrees, and Amalakiah was in charge of the entire army.

What’s urging you to come just halfway down the mountain right now?

What might be poisoning you in small degrees?

What’s taking you even one step away from the top of the mountain?

You know what mountains are often symbols for throughout scripture?

Temples.

And this is our answer.

The Lord taught saints living thousands of years later this same lesson:

“Stand ye in holy places, and BE NOT MOVED.” D&C 87:8

Don’t come down the mountain for anything.

Not any Facebook argument, not any TV show, not any friend, not any pleasure.

Stay in the holy places (and the cool thing is, we can CREATE places that are holy), and then don’t come down the mountain.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Stand ye in holy places first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

During the final approach in the dark of the night, the pilots noticed that a small green light had stopped working. This light indicated if the landing gear had extended successfully.

The pilots called off the landing and circled around for a bit, completely focused on this little green light.

Gradually, the plane circled lower and lower.

But the pilots didn’t notice.

They were still focused on the green light.

When a crew member realized how close they were to the swamplands, it was too late, and over 100 people tragically died as they crashed to the ground.

After recovery crews found the airplane, they discovered that the landing gear was working perfectly.

The little green light was the only thing that had malfunctioned.

The accident happened because the pilots turned their attention to something that seemed to matter a lot in the moment.

But they lost sight of what actually mattered the most.

Lehonti and his people were firm and steadfast in staying at the top of their mountain.

Until Amalakiah became really annoying and really persistent.

Imagine if Lehonti had refused to move even after the 4th request, and stayed firm in his vision that the mountain would be his safety.

As Latter-day Saints, we have some pretty lofty and solid commitments to do what is right.

And then, everyone keeps talking about that TV show that you know wouldn’t be the best for you to watch…

And everyone keeps posting those types of articles and comments on social media…

And your friend keeps bringing that same subject up over and over…

They seem so important and so relevant. So persistent. Like a little green button, like an army leader requesting a meeting.

And often, they ARE important issues to address.

But when we put our whole focus there, we lose sight of what matters most: our relationship with our loving God and Savior.

So when we feel that urge to just take a step down the mountain, we can remember:

I am doing a great work. And I cannot come down.

(Story adapted from Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s talk in April 2009)

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Coming down the mountain first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.