I live in Orem, Utah, just a couple of miles from Utah Valley University where a good man named Charlie Kirk was assassinated last week. I’ve seen an amazing amount of love and positivity from the people around me in response to that devastating attack, and it inspired me to write about it. I would like to share a story from the past and find some parallels to this time of tragedy and hope.

A Mighty Change of Heart

There once lived a people on this land who (through no fault of their own) were taught to be bloodthirsty and evil by their first parents. They were told to hate everyone who believed in Jesus Christ. After hundreds of years of bitter rivalry between these two groups, some Christian missionaries came among the people who hated them and began to convert a large number of these people to the true faith. They had a mighty change of heart that led them to reject their old ways.

The ones who believed in Jesus Christ and were baptized unto repentance became a target for hatred by their brethren. Their wicked brethren plotted their demise, threatening to kill them all for their belief and goodness. They probably thought that those believers brought this fate upon their own heads by being so divisive and not believing in their wicked traditions.

The believers refused to take up arms against their brethren. They feared that if they should shed their enemies’ blood, they would lose their souls and not be able to repent again after suffering such severe consequences for their previous evil actions. So when their enemies rushed toward them with swords, the believers went out and bowed themselves upon the earth, praying unto God in the very moment that they were slaughtered. Facing no resistance, the wicked people murdered 1,005 of their brethren in a few minutes.

But when the attackers realized that the believers refused to fight back or defend themselves, they were pricked in their hearts. They knew that they had committed a terrible crime. More than a thousand of those soldiers threw down their weapons of war and joined their humble brethren, pleading for mercy from their attackers. Even though the people weren’t protected from murder, their deaths had a positive effect upon their enemies. The attackers stopped slaying them for a while, but their hatred soon returned. This forced the believers to leave them and live among the Christians.

And that’s not even the most amazing part. The next generation was taught by their mothers to believe so firmly that they could not be killed in battle. They volunteered to fight for the cause of Christianity, and they won several miraculous victories over more-powerful armies. These stories can be found in Alma 20 and Alma 56-58.

Parallels to Our Day

Yes, Charlie Kirk was killed in a most cruel manner, just like the believers who were slaughtered without putting up any defense. But he was received into heaven, just like all those believers before him. And his death has not been in vain. Witnessing a good man being gunned down in cold blood has stirred incredible feelings in many people.

I see a lot of positivity coming from this tragedy. No one has rioted in my hometown or become violent in response to this senseless violence. Rather, I’m seeing a great humbling of people and an awakening to previously wrong beliefs and traditions.

The full fruits of this event are yet to come. I hope that we will see more miracles come from this, just as those ancient believers saw. As we raise our children in love and righteousness, they can become so firm in their faith in Christ that they will be able to do even greater things than we have. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ seems to be very close, and we will likely see many miracles as it approaches.

I hope that those who caused and celebrated the death of Charlie Kirk will also have a mighty change of heart and begin to leave behind their old hatred and traditions. I want everyone to be happy, and the way to do that is by emulating Christ. Let us forgive and be humble. Let us pray for peace and for Christ to be put first in our society once more. Then Charlie Kirk’s murder will become a turning point that leads to a much better path than the one we’ve been going down.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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