At the end of Joshua’s life, he issued a stark warning against idolatry. He reminded his people that they were surrounded by idols, including the false gods Abraham’s father worshipped on the other side of “the flood” (the Euphrates River), the gods worshipped by their former captors in Egypt (across the Red Sea), and even the gods worshipped by the other inhabitants of Canaan, their promised land. Then, he issued this bold challenge:
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Joshua 24:15
The people responded almost with exasperation: “God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods” (v. 16). But Joshua questioned their commitment: “Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God” (v. 19). He wanted the people to understand the stakes, and he wanted to make sure they were fully committed. They said again, “Nay; but we will serve the Lord,” and Joshua replied, “Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him” (v. 21-22).
Joshua’s repetitive questioning of the people served not only to emphasize their agency but also to harden their commitment. He understood that they were generally disposed to serve God, but he also knew that they and their descendants would face powerful temptations in their new home. He wanted them to convert their inclination into an ironclad resolve.
Nephi’s descendants in the Book of Mormon knew this story and inferred an important lesson from it about agency. Joshua framed his challenge as a choice. He wasn’t compelling his people to believe. Even after everything they had been through and after everything God had done for them, no one could force them to worship the true God. They had to make that choice themselves.
This principle became a fundamental tenet of Nephite law:
Now there was no law against a man’s belief; for it was strictly contrary to the commands of God that there should be a law which should bring men on to unequal grounds.
Alma 30:7-9
For thus saith the scripture: Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve.
Now if a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; or rather, if he believed in God it was his privilege to serve him; but if he did not believe in him there was no law to punish him.
The very fact that Joshua framed his challenge as a choice formed the basis for a Nephite practice of religious liberty. But Joshua’s plea for fidelity also influenced this practice, as evidenced by Mormon’s self-correction at the end of this passage. “If a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege” may have sounded too open-ended to Mormon, as though any level of religious observance would suffice. In his correction, he adopted more of Joshua’s urgency: “If he believed in God it was his privilege to serve him.” Choose what you believe, but then act with integrity on that belief.
Today, I will recommit to love and serve God. I will avoid being flooded by distractions and will focus on acting in accordance with my belief.
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