Zenniff's reaction

 

He sees good among the Lamanites - but his austere and bloodthirsty captain wants to destroy them. Could Zenniff's stance - and his resultant desire to live among them - be a reaction to his captain?

I was reckless because I felt she was too careful. I did it for balance. I remember the phone call home after a pretty major concussion my first year at BYU where my intuitive mother explained that I was going to have to take full responsibility for taking care of myself now. To that point in my life, I had always pushed for "I'm fine" knowing that she would counter with something like "No, there's actually gravel stuck in your knee" and we'd settle somewhere in the middle. She explained that she was giving up the push back and I was going to have to be completely responsible going forward - it changed my thinking - I was going to have to be both voices.

There certainly was good among the Lamanites though. Jacob wrote that Lamanite fathers love their wives and children and are true to them. On the other hand, the prophet king Mosiah had been directed by God to forsake the lands of the Nephites first inheritance and to put some distance between the two peoples not too long ago. Initially, God had also instructed Nephi to separate from them. Maybe if Zenniff could have reasoned in full consideration of the whole picture he may have saved future generations from bondage and much bloodshed as they sought to reverse what he had done. I'd imagine it's pretty hard to examine the merit of your captain's position while he's seeking your life though. Maybe it's not even his position, but just weighing the whole thing carefully instead of reacting with the knee jerk. Could Zenniff have possibly sensed the evil designs of the Lamanite king he bargained with if he'd have been more open? His reactionary "overzealous" stance blinded him to things he really needed to see.

What of my stances? Stances on perhaps equally contentious topics like wearing masks, getting vaccinated, LGTBQ+ issues, racial equality, etc.. Am I prone to overzealous reactions? Certainly there are injustices and overblown and unbalanced stances in these arenas too. Are my stances a response to others stances either in agreement or disagreement. Elder Holland plead with us just last weekend: "Friends, in our present moment we find all manner of divisions and subdivisions, sets and subsets, digital tribes and political identities, with more than enough hostilities to go around. Might we ask ourselves if a 'higher and holier' life...is something we could seek?" With the volume, attractiveness, or repugnance of the surrounding arguments, will I react or consider carefully? Will I seek for and hearken to the voice of the Lord? My throbbing head of a couple decades ago and Zenniff's cautionary tale convince me it's worth the effort -- to carefully and prayerfully act instead of react.