In the Book of Mormon we read that the army of the King returned to him and reported that they could not find the people of God to destroy them. There began to be a great contention among the King's people, and a division among them. Gideon, a strong man who was an enemy to the King, contended with him and was about to slay him when the King ran upon a tower. From there he told Gideon that he could see the enemy was about to come and destroy his people and begged him to spare his life so he could help his people. Actually, he wasn't so concerned about his people as he was for his own life. But Gideon did spare him. Mosiah 19:1-8 "And it came to pass that the army of the king returned, having searched in vain for the people of the Lord. And now behold, the forces of the king were small, having been reduced, and there began to be a division among the remainder of the people. And the lesser part began to breathe out threatenings against the king, and there began to be a great contention among them. And now there was a man among them whose name was Gideon, and he being a strong man and an enemy to the king, therefore he drew his sword, and swore in his wrath that he would slay the king. And it came to pass that he fought with the king; and when the king saw that he was about to overpower him, he fled and ran and got upon the tower which was near the temple. And Gideon pursued after him and was about to get upon the tower to slay the king, and the king cast his eyes round about towards the land of Shemlon, and behold, the army of the Lamanites were within the borders of the land. And now the king cried out in the anguish of his soul, saying: Gideon, spare me, for the Lamanites are upon us, and they will destroy us; yea, they will destroy my people. And now the king was not so much concerned about his people as he was about his own life; nevertheless, Gideon did spare his life."
In the Old Testament we read that the Lord is near to all who call upon Him and He preserves those who love Him. However, He will destroy the wicked. Psalms 145:17-20 "The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy."
In some verses with a thought booklet we read the story of how Jesus was brought before Pilot who had to decide if He was to be crucified or not. Pilot knew that Jesus was innocent and wanted to release Him, but was under great pressure to have Him killed. He wanted to remain popular with the crowds and didn't have the courage to stand up for what he knew to be right. He thought maybe he could get out of making this decision by turning it over to the people, asking them to decide between releasing Jesus or releasing a murderer, Barabbas. He thought surely they wouldn't want a murderer released. But he was wrong. The crowds chose wrong. And he was too cowardly to stand up against them. Do we have the courage to stand up for what is right, even when all those around us are shouting out for us to do what we know is wrong? Are we able to stand up against peer pressure and do the right thing? Matthew 27:15-28 "Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe."
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