A Pattern for Conquering Enemies

The story that had the most impact on me this week was that of King Hezekiah and the actions that he took when his city (Jerusalem) was under attack. The Assyrian army had overtaken the Northern Kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 18:9-11) and continued moving south conquering cities in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. (2 Kings 18:13). The Assyrian armies last target was the capital city of Jerusalem and Hezekiah knew they were coming for him (2 Kings 18:17-18).

Preceding the attack on Jerusalem, a group of Assyrian messengers come to the outskirts of the city and started mocking and taunting the people by saying things that might have them question their faith in their king. Things like "who do you trust?", "If you surrender, the king of Assyria will bring you gifts.", "Hezekiah is deceiving you, he doesn't have the power to save you.", "No god has saved any city from the king of Assyria, what makes you any different?" 2 Kings 18:19-35)

As Hezekiah's servants return to him and report about what is going on "outside", Hezekiah shows us a great pattern of what we can do when we find our faith or our families under attack:

1. Go to the house of the Lord (2 Kings 19:1)
2. Seek the prophets guidance (2 Kings 19:2)
3. Go back to the house of the Lord (2 Kings 19:14)
4. Pray to the Lord (2 Kings 19:15)
5. Trust in the Lord's promises (2 Kings 19:32-35)

I love this story that Pres. Nelson told about a mother who followed these steps when she found her son under enemy attack. He states, "In our worldwide youth devotional last June, I spoke about a young man whose life changed when his parents exchanged his smartphone for a flip phone. This young man’s mother is a fearless woman of faith. She saw her son drifting toward choices that could prevent him from serving a mission. She took her pleadings to the temple to know how best to help her son. Then she followed through with every impression. She said: “I felt the Spirit guiding me to check my son’s phone at specific times to catch specific things. I don’t know how to navigate these smartphones, but the Spirit guided me through all the social media that I don’t even use! I know the Spirit helps parents who are seeking guidance to protect their children." (Sisters' Participation in the Gathering of Israel)

We all have to decide what voice we’re going to listen to and who’s voice we're going to trust. The enemy has a very powerful and persuasive voice. But our prophet, Pres. Nelson has said that as we spend time in the temple we will be better able to hear the voice of the Lord (Hear Him), and His voice will provide us with the inspiration that we need to conquer our enemies.