He's got your six

The oldest son of two of our cohort members was killed in combat yesterday (4/12/14) in Afghanistan. I didn't know their son but I'm being deeply affected by it because of BYU-I. The term "I've got your six" is a military term. Where 12 o'clock is straight ahead, 6 o'clock is directly behind you, so "I've got your six" is the military version of "I've got your back." We learned about this in our class 2 weeks ago when the soldier's father taught our lesson, and I asked him about his 6 pin, which he was wearing to support his son. No phrase has taken on more meaning for me than this phrase did tonight for me when our cohort stayed 20 minutes late discussing what we can do for them.

So, I wanted to incorporate this into my post. (Originally a post for school)

When God told Samuel to return to the Lamanites he knew it would be dangerous. However, God had his six. When Samuel was upon the wall "they cast stones at him upon the wall, and also many shot arrows at him as he stood upon the wall; but the Spirit of the Lord was with him, insomuch that they could not hit him, insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones neither with their arrows." Hel 16:2

I think this is true for all of us when we do the Lord's will. I remember being in the MTC in 1999. One of our instructors was teaching us something in the Book of Mormon to teach to investigators. Just as I was going to sarcastically ask if she could just come with us to do our teaching, I heard, in my mind, "Why would you need her when you have me?" I immediately shut my mouth, and have since pondered that statement over and over. I'm starting to think that means that God has our back, in whatever way we need it. Whether to help us teach, or to protect us from harm, he's there for us. We just have to have the courage to do his will.

This doesn't mean that we will not come to harm, but if we do, we will have other blessings at his hand, and if we perish in his service, then he's got our six in the next life.

Our God, Our Deliverer

Mosiah 25:16 "And he did exhort the people of Limhi and his brethren, all those that had been delivered out of bondage, that they should remember that it was the Lord that did deliver them."

Remember that it is the Lord that delivers us from bondage, and once you are delivered from bondage, do not forget that it was the Lord who delivered you. This is true for temporal bondage, as well as spiritual bondage. This isn't to say that we don't have our own part to do. We need not only faith; we need to work. Doing our part to free ourselves from bondage, whether through repentance, making debt payments, finding appropriate representation, etc., is requisite to God doing his part to free us.

The gospel is a gospel of work, of us learning, and growing. We don't grow from being bailed out every single time we're in trouble. If we were we'd all be spoiled rotten brats. Our Heavenly Father will supplement our efforts with his efforts. He will give us peace and help us to find and use the tools he has provided to set us free.

That being said, there are situations that some are not freed from. Some of those are consequences of our own actions, and some are from circumstances beyond our control. Others are the result of tyranny, such as during the holocaust, the Rwandan genocides, or any number of horrible things that happen in our world. In those situations the Lord can provide peace to the heart and mind, and he will punish those tyrants for their sins against the people. Many times the peace the comes for people in those extremes is an end to suffering. I really don't want to go further into that right now. These situations are too painful, and unimaginable for me to ponder too deeply.

For those in other anguish, such as depression, and abuse remember that the Lord is the one who can, and will deliver you. Be sure to do your part, which is using the tools provided us, i.e. medication, therapy, friends, spiritual leaders, legal authority, etc. It may be a hard road, but remain faithful and you will find peace.