If life were devoid of sudden reversals, unexpected challenges, and the unpredictable onslaught of stealthy intruders, then it would not be the mortality we are all used to. Such events, though taxing, present opportunities for the manifestation of leadership that is circumspect and calm.
The crisis in Helam occasioned by the attack of the Lamanites is an example of how calm leadership can carry the day. Alma is approached by frantic citizens upon the invasion by the enemy. The citizens have rushed from their farms to seek guidance from Alma, their high priest. Note what transpires: He invokes the principle of trusting in the Lord. Therefore they hush their fears and begin to cry unto the Lord that He will soften the hearts of the Lamanites, that they might spare them, and their wives, and their children. “And it came to pass that the Lord did soften the hearts of the Lamanites” (Mosiah 23:29). As a result of this prudent and steady leadership, the community is spared bloodshed. They are eventually led by the Lord out of bondage and are able to join the main body of the Nephites in the capital Zarahemla.
This incident reminds me of the deportment of the Prophet Joseph when he had been unjustly accused of the attempted murder of Missouri’s ex-governor, Lilburn W. Boggs. In May 1842, a would-be assassin wounded Boggs in Missouri, and local authorities and apostate John C. Bennett accused Joseph Smith of complicity in the crime. As a result, a second attempt was made to extradite the Prophet to Missouri for a sham trial, causing Joseph to flee into hiding on a Mississippi River island to elude his enemies and protect his life. Rumors began to multiply in Nauvoo regarding possible attacks from the militia, mob violence, writs, etc., so that when some of the brethren (including his brother Hyrum) hastened to the Prophet on Monday, August 15, 1842, to warn him of all sorts of real or imagined dangers, they had worked themselves into somewhat of a frenzy. Joseph calmly evaluated the situation, recalling: “I discovered a degree of excitement and agitation manifested in those who brought the report, and I took occasion to gently reprove all present for letting report excite them, and advised them not to suffer themselves to be wrought upon by any report, but to maintain an even, undaunted mind. Each one began to gather courage, and all fears were soon subsided, and the greatest union and good feeling prevailed amongst all present. Various subjects were then conversed upon, and counsel given which was felt to be most seasonable and salutary” (HC 5:97–98).
By this we see the wisdom of cultivating composure under stress, of carefully separating fact from fiction when making judgments, and, above all, of continually maintaining faith in the guidance of the Lord. (Richard J. Allen)