I am the kind of guy who enjoys to ramble (You'll hopefully notice that the word 'ramble' is cleverly hidden in the web address of this here blog). Get me started on a subject I love to talk about, and I'll ramble for hours. A prime example of that: Legos. You can go ahead and mock me all you like, but Legos are legit! You can build the worlds, places, and characters that the box and instructions tell you to, but you also have the liberty to make entirely different and original creations as well. You have no idea how many times I've sat by myself on my bed and played with those things, crafting persons and castles and Army vehicles and pretty much any other thing that is Lego-ly possible on the planet :) Suffice it to say, I'm a Lego fan.
I believe that Legos have much more application to life than some might suspect. Yes, they are amazingly awesome toys; and yes, they hurt like the devil when you step on them in the middle of the night, without any protective footwear; but there is also a great truth behind them as well. You can build Legos any way you want - what you make is all up to you. However, sometimes Legos get stuck together, and are rather hard to pull apart; getting them unstuck can take a lot of manpower - but once you do, you can start rebuilding them in a new and better way.
The same can be said for life. You can 'build' your life in any way you want - what you make is all up to you. However, sometimes you make poor, careless, hurtful, and/or wrong decisions that get you metaphorically, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally 'stuck'. And yet, with a lot of manpower - and some divine guidance, comfort, and aid as well - you can get your life 'unstuck', and start rebuilding it in a new and better way.
Cool, huh?
Alma 49:2 is a scripture that perfectly reflects this principle:
"And behold, the city [Ammonihah] had been rebuilt..."
For those unfamiliar with the storyline of the Book of Mormon, the city of Ammonihah had once been a vile, wicked, and evil place, full of nasty, idolatrous, and unrepentant people. It had been destroyed by an invading enemy some years prior, but, thanks to the effort of a wise and strong leader, it had been rebuilt into something stronger that would be able to withstand any incoming attacks by his enemies. In other words, something that was once wicked and unclean had, through righteous efforts, been made strong.
We are all humans; we are all mortal; and we all make mistakes throughout our lives. There are times when we are strong, there are times when we are weak, there are times when we're something-in-between. There are times when we need help, and times when we need to help.
Our first and foremost source of strength and help is none other than God - His arms can encircle us about in everlasting love, healing, cleansing, and protecting us. But it is not simply enough to be healed by our Savior; it is not simply enough to become strengthened ourselves.
Yes, we have to become purified and made stronger through Him; and yes, He is the only One who can make us pure and strong; but after we repent, return to Him, and are cleansed, we must then go forth and show others that same light. Once we have our Legos 'unstuck' and remade into something better, we must go find our brothers and sisters whose Legos are 'stuck' as well. We must help them as best we can, primarily in showing them the light of the Gospel and helping them come unto Christ as well, so that the Redeemer of Israel can pull apart their 'stuck' Legos and help them to fashion their lives into something better as well.
I pray that we all may be able to get our own Legos 'unstuck', and then go forth and help others come to the realization that their personal Ammonihahs can be rebuilt, that their own Legos can be 'unstuck', in and through the atoning grace and power of Jesus Christ.
May God be with you till we meet again, my friends.
Sam
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