Do I really want to be a fireman?

Lately I have been watching PBS documentaries, a favorite pastime of mine. I now have a greater appreciation for fire fighters who risk all, face the the enemy head on, and battle the scorching elements - all out of a true sense of duty. I wish I could say I had the same kind of motivation in my job. Now something very interesting came to mind as I watched the show. A lead fire fighter spoke about the occasional use of planned burns in order to "choke" the onslaught of the approaching blaze. This sacrifice of charred timber and brush would later serve to shield the fire from advancing any further out of control and into surrounding communities. Just at the moment it was as if a light switched on in my head and a passage from the Book of Mormon suddenly came to mind. In the 4th chapter of 1 Nephi the young obedient son of the prophet Lehi, Nephi, is given a commandment to obtain the plates of brass which contain the word of God from the wicked man Laban. To summarize Nephi comes upon a drunken Laban outside of his house and is then commanded by the voice of the Spirit to slay him with the following counsel found in verse 13: "Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief." This may sound drastic to the reader as I am comparing Laban to a controlled burn practice, however, it suffices me to say that by this single event a nation has been preserved with a greater knowledge of their God. How do I know this? The Book of Mormon. Pondering over this chapter it has become more clear to me that the Lord God knows and loves each of us intimately - without bias or reservation - and will deliver us from the flames of affliction we experience in this life according to our faith in Him.