I try to spend some time each day studying scripture. Last year, between the riots and the election (but I repeat myself), I decided to study anger as addressed in The Book of Mormon, one of the texts in my religion’s canon along with The Bible and several other works. In the course of my study I also added “fury” and “wrath” as synonymous to “anger/angry.” I can’t say that I was entirely surprised by what I learned, but if nothing else, it was beneficial to reach some formal conclusions. Here are a few of them.
God gets angry – God is often threatening wrath, fury, and anger if people don’t behave. That said, He’s usually quite slow to deliver on that threat. He really would rather people straighten themselves out so He doesn’t have to. Smiting doesn’t usually happen until the people have been given plenty of warning and a few salvos across the bow, so to speak.
Even then, God doesn’t spend His time angry. He pours out his wrath and then He’s done. He doesn’t keep smiting a few more times for good measure. He delivers justice grudgingly and mercy liberally.
People do stupid things when angry – The Book of Mormon is full of accounts of individuals who get angry. Most of the time it’s the wicked who are getting angry, but there are several examples of otherwise righteous people getting angry as well. One of them is Captain Moroni, a believer who is generally revered as an awesome dude in our church. We’re told, for example, that if everyone was like him, Satan would have no power over mankind.
And yet Moroni, I’ve come to realize, is something of a hot-head. Not unjustifiably, mind you, but there are plenty of other examples who manage a much higher degree of patience in the very same situations. Let me give you an example. Moroni is the leader of the Nephite army, tasked with protecting his country against the Lamanites, a people descended from the same ancestors but, due to a nasty split centuries earlier and a long-standing tradition of hatred, determined to subjugate or eradicate the Nephites.
At one point, while the Nephites are caught up in internal strife, the Lamanites invade and succeed in conquering large swaths of Nephite territory. Moroni and his sub-commanders (which includes the prophet and leader of the Christian church) are engaged in a prolonged struggle to fend off further Lamanite assaults and, if possible, regain their lost cities.
One day the Lamanite king sends Moroni a letter offering to exchange prisoners. Moroni decides this is a good opportunity, and sets out to secure an agreement wherein the Lamanites will exchange a Nephite man and his family for every Lamanite warrior. But he lets his anger get the best of him once he starts writing a reply:
5 Behold, Ammoron, I have written unto you somewhat concerning this war which ye have waged against my people, or rather which thy abrother hath waged against them, and which ye are still determined to carry on after his death.
6 Behold, I would tell you somewhat concerning the ajustice of God, and the sword of his almighty wrath, which doth hang over you except ye repent and withdraw your armies into your own lands, or the land of your possessions, which is the land of Nephi.
7 Yea, I would tell you these things if ye were capable of hearkening unto them; yea, I would tell you concerning that awful ahell that awaits to receive such bmurderers as thou and thy brother have been, except ye repent and withdraw your murderous purposes, and return with your armies to your own lands.
Alma 54: 5-7, 11
11 But behold, it supposeth me that I talk to you concerning these things in vain; or it supposeth me that thou art a achild of hell; therefore I will close my epistle by telling you that I will not exchange prisoners, save it be on conditions that ye will deliver up a man and his wife and his children, for one prisoner; if this be the case that ye will do it, I will exchange.
It goes on, but you get the idea. Their exchange of letters devolves into a flame war and nothing is accomplished. Ultimately Moroni refuses to exchange prisoners. Once he cools down he starts thinking of other ways to rescue the Nephite prisoners, and ultimately succeeds in capturing the city where they are being held without taking a single Lamanite life. He really can be a merciful guy when he’s not angry. We overlook his temper because he succeeds, but a thorough study of what are referred to as the “War Chapters” reveals that things might have gone better for the Nephites in the long run had he not let his anger get the better of him on several occasions.
Another example comes near the end of The Book of Mormon when two kings of opposing peoples are locked in a bitter war that has laid waste to the land and most of the people. The two sides are so locked into anger and hatred that they can no longer think rationally. One of the kings comes to his senses enough to see where things are headed and actually offers to surrender the kingdom and put a stop to the war. But at that point the other king is so blinded by anger that he refuses. They continue their fight until they are the last two left alive. The former kills the latter, and then there is nothing left.
People manipulate others through anger – For a large part of The Book of Mormon (in pages, not in years covered) the Nephites establish a democracy, and it works fairly well for them. But there are regularly some who, seeking power, try to overthrow that democracy by either getting the people to vote for changes to the law (bringing back kings) or by outright revolution–or both. When things go badly for them they and their followers usually defect to the Lamanites, who invariably think defectors are cool and give them a measure of power.
On several occasions these defectors get the Lamanites angry at the Nephites and fan that anger until they are willing to go to war. The defectors are hoping the Lamanites will conquer the Nephites and appoint them to rule over them, and they don’t care how many Lamanites die to pull this off.
At one point in time the Lamanites have recently suffered a terrible defeat in one such war and were only allowed to return home safely if they promise not to attack the Nephites again. A few years later some of these defectors show up and try to convince them to go to war with the Nephites again. The Lamanites refuse, as they don’t want to break their promise or, for that matter, die. But rather than give up, settle down and live peacefully among the Lamanites, these defectors start spreading propaganda and lies in an attempt to get the Lamanites angry at the Nephites. In time it works, and they finally get so angry they put together an army and invade the Nephites. Again. And get their butts kicked. Again.
They knew it would happen. But they allowed other people to get them angry, and at that point their better judgment failed them. This happens again and again. The example related above, in which Captain Moroni led the Nephites against the Lamanites, was another case of this. In this instance the war dragged on for years, long enough for many of the Lamanite soldiers to forget their anger and why they were fighting. Toward the end they had no heart for it any more, and would surrender en masse, begging to be allowed to live among the Nephites rather than go back home where they would likely be used for cannon fodder all over again in a few more years.
The righteous resist anger– It’s as simple as that. Oh, I know, it’s not that simple. Heaven knows it’s not that simple. But it’s something they continually work at. And through their belief in Christ, the Prince of Peace, they are granted the peace to overcome anger. Consider this meditation by Nephi (the original Nephite):
27 And why should I ayield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to btemptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my cpeace and afflict my soul? Why am I dangry because of mine enemy?
28 Awake, my soul! No longer adroop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the benemy of my soul.
29 Do not aanger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.
30 Rejoice, O my aheart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the brock of my salvation.
31 O Lord, wilt thou aredeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of bsin?
2 Nephi 4: 27-31
Nephi’s “enemies” were his own brothers, seeking to kill him. He had lived with their anger for many years. They had tried on several previous occasions to kill him. He knew the power of anger, and he knew what it would do to him if he indulged in it. I’m sure he slipped from time to time. But he knew it was to be avoided.
Centuries later a prophet named Alma would be forced to watch as all the righteous women and children in a city were thrown into a fire by their wicked leaders. He and his companion, Amulek, were thrown into prison, beaten, stripped naked, and starved for days afterward. However they managed it, they didn’t get angry–at their captors, or at God. They left the anger to God who, through Alma and Amulek, had warned the city of its impending doom if they didn’t repent. When God’s anger came, it came with both pinpoint accuracy (destroying the prison and the wicked leaders come to torment them, while sparing them alive) and swift thoroughness (Lamanites attacked the city and destroyed everyone still there).
Decades after that a Nephite leader named Pahoran found himself on the receiving end of one of Captain Moroni’s angry rants when the military leader thought Pahoran was the reason why the armies weren’t getting the support they needed in the middle of the war. Pahoran refused to be angry and instead drew courage from the letter to do something had been reluctant to do–go to battle against a Nephite faction who had seized the capital and was sabotaging the war effort.
In Short – Only God is perfect enough to wield anger appropriately. For all of us, His children, anger is something to be avoided. Nothing positive comes from anger–certainly nothing that couldn’t be accomplished at least as well, if not better, with calm, rational effort. Anger may feel good in the moment, and the resulting power of intimidation may be heady, but any short term gains invariably undermine long-term success.
Furthermore, we should be aware and wary of attempts by others to get us angry. At best they are trying to get us into a state where we won’t think clearly. At worst they are trying to manipulate us into action that invariably benefits them–and usually only them. It can feel frighteningly good to be part of an angry crowd, but as the Lamanites found quite often, it goes wrong rather quickly, and it’s usually not those who are stirring you up to anger who pay the price.
Anger, however, doesn’t have to rule us. We can, by conscious effort, master our anger and free our minds from its tyranny. We can avoid falling prey to those who would use our anger for their own ends.
What a wonderfully insightful and relevant post! Thank you.