What is the appeal of someone like Amlici? How could one person influence so many to do evil, risk their lives, turn against their country? It happens over and over again in history and quite frankly baffles me. I don't think myself all that wise or discerning, but so many of these instances seem so completely transparent that I have a hard time imagining people who get sucked into such a vortex of sin and destruction.
Surely Amlici told them what they wanted to hear and made them promises that appealed to their baser instincts, but is that sufficient to blind a person? I guess it is.
I count it a great blessing that, though I was drafted during the Vietnam era, I never had to see combat. It can never be a desirable experience. I love though, that Alma led his people in battle. How would it be if these days our leaders had to go into battle. Perhaps there'd be less war. Perhaps, inspired by such courageous leadership outcomes would be different. Then again, that was the way, in Book of Mormon times and it doesn't seem to have detered the frequency of war at all. I can imagine taking up arms to defend my family, but I can't imagine being persuaded to follow and unrighteous agressor. Pardon my musings today, the more I think about it the more baffled I become.
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Seeing so many -- what I consider to be unrightous leaders -- with great multitudes of followers in all countries of the world today -- including our own -- it is not so hard for me to fathom how such situations occur. Once people become totally focused upon "what they can receive from a leader or a government" rather than "what they can give" the end result is pretty clear.
I'm reminded of an ancedote about an elementary class election. There were two candidates. One, a young boy, gave a well prepared speech in which he promised to provide good leadership, etc., (I'm condensing things here). The other, a young woman, simply promised lavish treats for the whole class. She gave no information as to how those treats would be provided, but her promise was enough to sway the class. She won the election for class president by a landslide.
Unfortunately, many of us are like that gulible elementary class.
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