Two weeks ago, I went to conference with a group of friends. It was a great experience, especially participating in the solemn assembly in person. That's something that I had never done. The conference was wonderful. But I want to talk about something I realized about myself on the way home. My friends and I were driving back to California (never driving again, Jet Blue is just too great of a deal) and it was Sunday afternoon/evening. I know that people have different opinions about traveling no Sunday, but we had decided to come home that afternoon. Normally, I don't go to places of business on Sundays. Obviously, I had to change this because we needed gas. I also felt that since I had not planned ahead and I was going to be driving straight for the nine hours, I would also need some drinks and snacks to help me stay awake. Pretty soon, our group had all decided that we would stop at McDonald's for dinner. Now that we had already bought gas and snacks, McDonald's wasn't that much further from what we would normally accept as appropriate Sunday behavior. All except for one member of our group who simply said she wasn't hungry. I knew it was because it was Sunday that she did not want any McDonald's.

Now, you see the difference between me and this girl is that when I saw an excuse not to obey rules, I took it. Obviously you can see where my heart is. When she saw a need that kept us from obeying, she tried to do what she could to still observe the sacredness of the Sabbath. Her heart was on keeping the Sabbath holy. Mine was not. But even if my heart was not set on it, this is still behavior that I would normally not participate in. So how did I justify it so quickly?

Turn with me to Alma 49:13-17. Go ahead and read those four verses. In these verses we learn that the Lamanites had come upon the city of Ammonihah to attack but found that it had been strengthened and fortified beyond their own preparations. So, they swore they would attack the city of Noah, which they knew from previous experience was a weak city. Now in vs 14, we see that they were really surprised because the city of Noah was actually stronger than they had expected, and it had Lehi, a great commander, as the chief captain over the city. The Lamanites were afraid. Under normal circumstances, they would not have attacked this city. But here they found themselves, already in enemy territory and already having passed up one city. From that point, it isn't hard to justify their attack in which they know many will die (In economics we call this a problem of sunk costs, but that's for another discussion).

So, basically they had found themselves on a slippery slope, just as I had. This is called cognitive dissonance. This happens anytime we find ourselves justifying action that normally would have found inappropriate. When I was standing in front of McDonald's (or before), I had a choice. Do I realize that my actions are not what I want them to be and try and fix it or do I justify my actions so that I feel okay doing what I'm about to do? The chief captains of the Lamanite armies had the same choice when they came upon the city of Noah. Do we realize that our actions (swearing an oath to destroy the people of Noah) are not what I want them to be and try and mend it or do I justify my actions so that I feel okay doing what I'm about to do? I realize that there is a difference in the reason for action. I had not sworn an oath to get food no matter what, but in the end, both I and the chief captains where in a situation that we would not have normally chosen and we decided to move forward anyways. I bought a cheeseburger and "they were slain with an immense slaughter." So, when you are faced with such a decision, don't worry about what you've already come through. Don't think about the past few experiences. Base your decision on what you know is right and wrong, not what you're feeling at the moment. Don't be a slaughtered chief captain.