one step at a time

This week in class, we talked about the war chapters in the Book of Alma. In these chapters, the Lamanites and Nephites are constantly going up to battle against the other. In chapter 51, Amalickiah, a wicked man who became king of the Lamanites, decided to march his men up the coast and took over many Nephite cities. With so many of their cities taken, Captain Moroni took a wise approach. Instead of trying to tackle everything at once, he focused on one city, the city of Mulek, and made plans to take it back. Through much planning and effort, the Nephite army managed to reclaim the city of Mulek (Alma 52:24-26). After the Nephites took back the city of Mulek, they then focused on the next city, and then the next, until the Nephite army once again secured all of their cities.

Captain Moroni’s approach to that situation can parallel our own lives. I can’t begin to imagine the stress and worry he was feeling as he heard that six Nephite cities had fallen to the Lamanites. He realized that he had a huge task ahead of him and knew it couldn’t be fixed all at once. In the midst of this stress, Captain Moroni decided to take it one step at a time. By focusing on one city first and reclaiming it before worrying about the next, he was able to help retake all the Nephties cities that had been conquered.

With the semester in full swing, I have been feeling stressed and worried about all the things that I need to get done. There don’t seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything, and my to-do lists seem to only get longer. However, when we are stressed, we all can follow the example of Captain Moroni and take on challenges one at a time. When we start by focusing on one thing at a time, we will be able to accomplish everything that needs to be done. The Lord wants us to succeed, and He will guide us as we rely on Him and focus on one task at a time.