Joseph Smith taught an important principle as he issued a call to action in a letter to the Church in 1842:
Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory!
Doctrine and Covenants 128:22
The principle is this: We can overcome significant roadblocks, resistance, and even personal failures when we know that we are building something important. The greatness of the cause can motivate us to carry on.
Mormon teaches the same principle as he describes a battle between the Nephites under Captain Moroni and the Lamanites under Zerahemnah. He foreshadows the outcome of the battle by contrasting the motives of the two armies:
The Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.
Alma 43:45
Even though Moroni’s army was outnumbered, they had the advantage because of what they were fighting for. When they saw the enemy, they were at first tempted to give way, but Moroni bolstered their courage by reminding them what was at stake:
When the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink and flee from them. And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and inspired their hearts with these thoughts—yea, the thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage.
And it came to pass that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they cried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their freedom from bondage.
And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the Lamanites began to flee before them;
Alma 43:48-50
Today I will make progress toward my most important goals. I will move forward and overcome obstacles, remembering the greatness of the causes that I am contributing to.
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