Alma 8-16

Alma 8:18 says that Alma “returned speedily” when the Lord commanded him to return to Ammonihah, the place he had just come from where they had, “reviled him, and spit upon him, and caused that he should be cast out of their city.” Not a place I would want to go back to let alone “speedily.”

Elder Henry B Eyring said “however much faith to obey God we now have, we will need to strengthen it continually and keep it refreshed constantly. We can do that by deciding now to be more quick to obey and more determined to endure….

“We must decide to obey and then do it. We build the faith to pass the tests of obedience over time and through our daily choices. We can decide now to do quickly whatever God asks of us. And we can decide to be steady in the small tests of obedience which build the faith to carry us through the great tests, which will surely come.”

I love the examples of God’s mercy in the Scriptures such as with Zeezrom. No matter what we have done there is an example of someone who has repented of a similar sin and been forgiven. This gives us hope for ourselves, and patterns to follow in our own repentant journey.

Alma 12:32 “Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption.”

God gave them the why before the how. Do you have your why? Is it strong enough to withhold the temptations of the world? The feeling in my why gets stronger the more time I spend with the Scriptures.

Alma 14 contains a horrific story, it’s hard to even read, but it’s inclusion in our record is beautiful. We all see and hear horrible things that happen in life. It’s easy to wonder, and many do, how a loving God could allow such things. Along with the horrible story we have Alma’s response, “But Alma said unto him: The spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth my hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.” (Alma 14:11) 

Alma knew it was but a fraction of a moment that would be well worth the Eternal Life to come. God will more than compensate for all our pain and suffering but He must allow people to make their own choices, to prove whom they will follow and how far they will go.

President Spencer W. Kimball speaks of pain and sorrow in this life in his book Faith precedes the Miracle, 97-100. It’s a long quote but I just couldn’t pair it down any more, it’s too important for us to understand amid all the turmoil in our world.

“If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.

“Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?

“If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.

“If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil—all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls.

“Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our selfish desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood.

‘For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things … righteousness … wickedness … holiness … misery … good … bad. …’ (2 Nephi 2:11.)

“Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we were to close the doors upon sorrow and distress, we might be excluding our greatest friends and benefactors. Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery. …

I love the verse of ‘How Firm a Foundation’—

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o’erflow

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

[See Hymns, no. 5]

“And Elder James E. Talmage wrote: ‘No pang that is suffered by man or woman upon the earth will be without its compensating effect … if it be met with patience.’

“The power of the priesthood is limitless but God has wisely placed upon each of us certain limitations. I may develop priesthood power as I perfect my life, yet I am grateful that even through the priesthood I cannot heal all the sick. I might heal people who should die. I might relieve people of suffering who should suffer. I fear I would frustrate the purposes of God….

“With such uncontrolled power, I surely would have felt to protect Christ from the agony in Gethsemane.... I might have saved him from suffering and death, and lost to the world his atoning sacrifice.

“I would not dare to take the responsibility of bringing back to life my loved ones. Christ himself acknowledged the difference between his will and the Father’s when he prayed that the cup of suffering be taken from him; yet he added, ‘Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.’ [Luke 22:42.]^”

Alma 16:16 “And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming”

Does this make you think of any counsel we have received in our day? To immerse ourselves in the scriptures daily and study the conference talks throughout the 6 months but most especially just before conference, putting ourselves in situations for the Lord to pour out His spirit on us, to prepare our hearts and our minds for His word for us. It may be that we are also preparing our hearts and minds for the return of the saviour. We are surely preparing our hearts and minds for our return to Him.

Mosiah 25 – Alma 7

“Remember”

One theme throughout the Book of Mormon is that we must remember. Remember what the Lord has done for you, for you personally and for His people. Remember that Christ paid for your sins, died and was resurrected so that we may be also. Remember that while there will be hard times He will ALWAYS be there for you to strengthen you, to guide you, to deliver you as He has in the past and we have many stories of that in the scriptures. When the light turns on every time you flip the switch enough times you come to believe that it will continue to do so. Light bulbs burnout, God does not. The more times we see and remember His goodness the more sure we can be it will continue.

Mosiah 27:28-29

“28 Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulation repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God.

“29 My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more.”

God will forgive. It can be easy to think we can sin now and repent later because God is so merciful, and He is. The world tells us this is not only true but preferred. Reading these verses, does it sound easier to repent? “nigh unto death” “gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity” “darkest abyss” “eternal torment” These words do not describe experiences I would willingly want to put myself through for a bit of what the world sees as “fun”.

Now we move from Mosiah to Alma. Have we talked about what was on the plates and what was added later and how we know which is which? They made it really easy. Italics is added, that’s it. At least when it comes to book and chapter headings and summaries. The summaries at the beginning of chapter in italics are added to aid us in our study, the intros at the beginning of the book of Alma and before some of the chapters that are NOT in italics were translated from the plates.

Definitions

Ignominious (from Alma 1:15): Very shameful; reproachful; dishonorable; infamous.

Wonderful contention (from Alma 2:5): According to Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary, another word for “wonderful” is “astonishing.” That makes more sense. We know the meaning of words can change over time. It doesn’t seem like it has been long enough to change that much but some words have and referencing a dictionary from the time of translation can improve our understanding when words don’t seem to fit. Thankfully my Book of Mormon study guide has done that for me.

Comments from the Book of Mormon Study Guide 

On Alma 1:23-33

“How can we be strong even when others harden their hearts and withdraw from the Church? Unlike some Nephites who ‘withdrew themselves’ from the Church, others did ‘stand fast.” “How do you remain ‘steadfast and immovable’ during a trial of faith? You immerse yourself in the very things that helped build your core of faith: you exercise faith in Christ, you pray, you ponder the scriptures, you repent, you keep the commandments, and you serve others.

“’When faced with a trial of faith—whatever you do, you don’t step away from the Church! Distancing yourself from the kingdom of God during a trial of faith is like leaving the safety of a secure storm cellar just as the tornado comes into view’ (Neil L. Andersen, “Trial of Your Faith,” 40)”

I thought that was fitting for Oklahoma, an analogy we can relate to right? It’s so important to remember, it’s okay to be unsure, it’s okay to have questions, it’s okay not to have all the answers, it wouldn’t be faith if we did. When you do, don’t abandon what you know. The confirmations you’ve felt in your heart of things that are true. How you feel when you pray, read and study the scriptures and the words of the prophets. Let that carry you through.

In Alma 3 we learn that the Amlicites began to mark themselves to distinguish themselves from the Nephites. We all mark ourselves in some way. The way we dress, act and talk all shows others what we stand for. How do you mark yourselves? As a believer and follower of Christ or the world?

Alma 3:19 Is an important scripture to know.

“19 Now I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the curse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation.”

What is this curse? Separation from God. No one else can cause us to be separated from God, not our friends, not our ancestors, only by our own actions. Along the same lines, Alma 3:26

“…that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad on.”

We may see negative consequences in our life that come from the actions of others, in this life. All eternal consequences are based on our choices and ours alone.

And this comment on Alma 4:15 “….nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him”

“We live in troubled times—very troubled times. We hope, we pray, for better days. But that is not to be. The prophecies tell us that. We will not as a people, as families, or as individuals be exempt from the trials to come. No one will be spared the trials common to home and family, work, disappointment, grief, health, aging, ultimately death…”

That sounds pretty scary. Here’s the good part though.

“We need not live in fear of the future. We have every reason to rejoice and little reason to fear. If we follow the promptings of the Spirit, we will be safe, whatever the future holds. We will be shown what to do’ (Boyd K. Packer, “Cloven Tongues of Fire,” 8)”

Alma 5:7, 12, 13

“7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God.”

“12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart.”

“13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts,”

Notice a theme?

“Webster says… that conversion is ‘a spiritual and moral change attending a change of belief with conviction’. As used in the scriptures, converted generally implies not merely mental acceptance of Jesus and his teachings, but also a motivating faith in him and in his gospel, a faith which works a transformation, an actual change in one’s understanding of life’s meaning and in one’s allegiance to God—in interest, in thought, and in conduct. While conversion may be accomplished in stages, one is not really converted in the full sense of the term unless and until he is at heart a new person” (Marion G. Romney, “According to the Covenants,” 71)

Alma 5 is full of questions. It’s sort of a self-evaluation. Someone put in a nice list if you want to look at just the questions and see where you are at with them.

http://toadland.net/read/alma5_50questions.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2lYuhLPGBVdGuJPM8bm3bLE52P0FZVuoWMT0Hq24NPpZl6qjw5mnlML9k

A few that stood out to me.

Alma 5:30 “And again I say unto you, is there one among you that doth make a mock of his brother, or that heapeth upon him persecutions?”

How do we treat others? From the popular kids to those seen by some as losers to the homeless?

Elder Quentin L. Cook said: “We are all equal before God. His doctrine is clear. In the Book of Mormon, we read, ‘All are alike unto God,’ including ‘black and white, bond and free, male and female’ (2 Nephi 26:33). Accordingly, all are invited to come to the Lord” (“The Eternal Everyday,” 51)

ALL!

Do you ever wish you could see an angel? Remember with greater knowledge come greater responsibility and not necessarily conversion. Laman and Lemuel saw angels and yet were never converted. Alma saw and angel but does not attribute his conversion to the angel alone.

Alma 5:46 “Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself.”

The angel may have been a wake up call but was not enough for conversion.

Joseph Fielding Smith said, “Christ has himself declared that the manifestations we might have of the Spirit of Christ, or from a visitation of an angel, a tangible resurrected being, would not leave the impression and would not convince us and place within us that something which we cannot get away from which we receive through a manifestation of the Holy Ghost. Personal visitations might become dim as time goes on, but this guidance of the Holy Ghost is renewed and continued, day after day, year after year, if we live to be worthy of it.”

Alma 7:10 “And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers…”

Wait a minute…. Jerusalem? Wasn’t Christ born in Bethlehem?

Take a breath, both are correct. It doesn’t say Christ was born IN Jerusalem. This would be like if you asked where I’m from I’d tell you Portland, OR or the Portland area. I actually lived 45 minutes from Portland but if I told you I’m from Vernonia would you have any idea where in Oregon that was? But many people have some idea where Portland is. Bethlehem was a small town 5-6 miles from Jerusalem, a lot closer than I ever lived to Portland, and they were a lot further away from either than we are from Oregon.

Alma 7:11-12

“11… he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people."

"12… and he will wake upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”

We all know Christ died and was resurrected so that we can be too and that he suffered for our sins so that we can return to God if we repent and strive to follow Him. Sometimes we miss that he also felt all our pains and sorrows, not like someone who went through something similar but exactly as you feel them. Not so that he can say, I know how you feel it’s not so bad, buck up buttercup. So that he could “succor his people”. What does Succor mean? “Succor is used often in the scriptures to describe Christ’s care for and attention to us. It means literally ‘to run to.’ What a magnificent way to describe the Savior’s urgent effort in our behalf. Even as he calls us to come to him and follow him, he is unfailingly running to help us?” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Come unto Me,” 22)

Mosiah 7-17

As I thought about how to share my thoughts with you I kept coming back to a blog with a short text from it so you can choose how much you want. Read just the text, read a portion of the blog or all of it, it’s your choice. I hope you are finding time to study on your own and with your family. There is such peace in the scriptures, in the spirit that accompanies them and the words themselves, the stories of the past where there was trouble and the Lord was there for His people.

I already had a blog set up that I’ve never really used so I’m going to just use this space as hopefully this is a temporary thing. As always, please share your thoughts here or in our group text, we really do love to hear from you.

Last week and this week are the story of Zeniff’s people. This is where I start to get my stories mixed up. Anybody with me? Here we have King Noah and Abinadi and Alma, but wait, I thought Alma was with Mosiah wasn’t he? Yep, you are right, but how does he get there? Mosiah contains the records of 2 other people (all Nephites but in different areas) that were all happening at the same time. There are a lot of timelines and maps available but in my short search I didn’t find the setup I really wanted. So, I created my own. Sometimes there is so much great doctrine mixed in to the stories we lose track of the story by the time we get back to it and sometimes as we study doctrine found in the Book of Mormon we jump around in the stories and that can make it a little confusing, so hopefully this clarifies things. Once you have the story straight you can get lost in the wonderful doctrine and know where you are in the story.

Now on to the doctrine!

One thing to think about as you read the story of Noah and Abinadi, who are the Noah’s and Abinadi’s in your life? Who is influencing you to do wickedly and who is encouraging repentance and righteousness? And who are you going to listen to?

Another thing that I hadn’t realized is, this people hadn’t been wicked for generations as we might assume from how wicked they sound at the time of Noah, they were a righteous people not long ago. Zeniff, King Noah’s father, was a righteous king. When King Noah took over and replaced the righteous priests with his buddies that were, “lifted up in the pride of their hearts.” (Mosiah 11:5) and “did speak flattering things unto them.” (Mosiah 11:7) the people listened to them and “became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests” (Mosiah 11:7) 

How much those around us can change us and how important is it to surround ourselves with people who respect our values and choices rather than ridicule our beliefs and try to push us to disobey the Lord. Are there those in your life that “speak flattering things” to try and get you to disobey? “It doesn’t really matter what you do,” “Your parents just want to control you,” “It’s more fun to….” Have you heard any of these? Have you listened? Sometimes we do listen, we think it does sound fun. Like Alma we can always choose to listen again to the Abinadi’s in our life. The last chapter in this study section we learn, “But there was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the words which Abinadi had testified against them; therefore he began to plead with the King that he would not be angry with Abinadi, but suffer that he might depart.”

Another part of this story that I love to pull examples from for my life is when Limhi’s people try to find Zarahemla again. They came from Zarahemla 2 generations ago, but it must have been very hard to travel this area because people were always getting lost and finding other lands. So King Limhi sends 43 people out to find Zarahemla that they, “might appeal unto our brethren to deliver us out of bondage.” They wander in the wilderness for many days and hard as they might try they never find it. Instead they find a land, “covered with bones of men, and of beasts, and was also covered with ruins of buildings of every kind, having discovered a land which had been peopled with a people who were as numerous as the hosts of Israel.” There they also found a record of those people and brought it back with them. We learn later this was the land of the Jaredites and their record is included in the Book of Mormon as the Book of Ether, named for the last Jaredite prophet, abridged by Moroni.

In The Book of Mormon Study Guide general editor Thomas R. Valletta it says of this story, “It is quite probable that those forty-three men returned to King Limhi thinking they had failed because they had not accomplished their intended mission, which was finding Zarahemla. It is also quite possible, however, that the Lord had a very different mission in mind, finding the Jaredite record, and in that they were very successful. Have there been times in your life when, despite your best efforts, everything seemed to go wrong? Is it possible that the Lord had a different direction in mind for you, or other lessons He wanted you to learn, that would bless your life or the lives of others more than what you had in mind would do?” (344)

To that I would like to add. Their goal was not lost in the Lord. He knew Ammon was coming.

Now my favorite point of the gospel, the changing of hearts!

Mosiah 13:11 “And now I read unto you the remainder of the commandments of God, for I perceive that they are not written in your hearts;”

Mosiah 13:27 “And now ye have said that salvation cometh by the law of Moses. I say unto you that it is expedient that ye should keep the law of Moses as yet; but I say unto you, that the time shall come when it shall no more be expedient to keep the law of Moses.”

Mosiah 13:28 “And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses.”

Mosiah 13:32 “And now, did they understand the law? I say unto you, Nay, they did not understand the law; and this because of the hardness of their hearts; for they understood not that there could not any man be saved except it were through the redemption of God.”

“The ordinances and performances were teaching instruments of the law” and “It was to help them to get a handle on their lives so they could begin to focus on the basic fundamentals that would lead them to Christ.” (Brandt, “The Law of Moses and the Law of Christ,” 136).

Are the commandments “written in your hearts?” Are you following the law but not understanding the purpose of the law? Are you allowing your actions in following the law to change your heart? Is your focus on the things that will lead you to Christ?

One more quick point, because this confused me.

Mosiah 15 Those first few verses sound a lot like the trinity don’t they? But we know Heavenly Father and Jesus are separate, so what’s this talking about?

My Book of Mormon Study Guide says, “Which member of the Godhead was Abinadi referencing? (15:1) Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Testament and was known as Jehovah. When Abinadi taught that ‘God himself shall come down among the children of men,’ he was referring to Jehovah and His mortal ministry (see 1 Nephi 11:16-33, 19:10).

“What does it mean that the Savior subjected the flesh to the will of the Father? (15:2) This phrase means that ‘the will of the Son was swallowed up in the will of the Father. That is, the flesh became subject to the Spirit, the mortal subject to the immortal. ‘I seek not mine own will,’ Jesus explained, ‘but the will of the Father which hath sent me’ (John 5:30). Further, ‘I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me’ (John 6:38)…. Jesus did what Elohim would have him to do: he carried out to the full extent the terms and conditions of the plan of the Father’ (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary, 2:229-30)” (370)

That clears things up, no wonder people are so confused. I’m so grateful for the restored gospel and a living prophet along with the spirit so we do not have to rely on our own understanding.

Cheap easy shades for kids glasses

I had a crazy moment of inspiration sitting in the optometrist waiting room the other day. I had been thinking about how to make toddler size clip on sunglasses for a few days. A young boy walked out with the cheep shades they give you when they dilate your eyes and I had an idea. Originally it was to add those little hair elastics to the sides and slip the sides of the frames into them. I thought I would need to cut the shade down to the size of the glasses. The wonderful optician gave me a few to play with. When I got home I realized the paper earpieces just slid out and there was the perfect slot for the sides of the frames. It might be hard to get some frames in them but for Samantha's it was perfect. The size of the sades she gave us are a really good size for her too. The one problem left, they wouldn't stay in place, so I took a bobby pin and slid it over the nose pieces in the middle. The bobby pin was a little long so I cut it and put a dab of hot glue on the ends to cover the points. I put the bumpy side on the inside to accommodate the bar from the glasses. She leaves them on better than the sunglasses we bought with the strap.

Rocking Wave Maker

This is 2 bottles of hair gel from the dollar store. I used the gel in a sensory bag project. Fill one with water to weigh it down for the bottom and the other 3/4 with water and the rest with oil. Add water soluble color, like food coloring. You can use an oil soluble color if you want just reverse the water to oil ratio so the color is the majority of the bottle. Glue lids closed well. Glue together perpendicular so the color one sits on it's side and rocks on the other. It looked pretty cool, till it started leaking because I didn't get the lids glued well enough.

Latex Free Sensory Gloves

 This was not my idea but I don't remember where I got it. I had seen sensory balloons before but Samantha is allergic to Latex so that wasn't an option. Then I saw sensory gloves, they are perfect because we use lots of gloves that really don't get dirty so they are perfect for using again, like this.

Just take your glove (or balloon) and fill with anything you want. I used salt, garbanzo beans, water, lentils, flour and then a few with 2 different things like garbanzo beans and salt. Tie the open end and have fun. I labeled mine so I could remember what was in them but for older kids you could leave the label off and see if they can guess what's in it. Or use transparent gloves and fill with something colorful. She wasn't too into them but I liked playing with them! :)

iPad stand

The iPad stand is on it's side here.

My daughter LOVES her iPad but she also likes to push it on the floor and pull it down on her head. So, I made this iPad stand. It's kind of hard to explain. I traced the iPad to get the size. To make the screen hole I traced the screen on a piece of paper, it was easy to see through with the screen on, like a light table. It's 2 pieces. Originally I made it 2 pieces so I could slide the bottom of the screen piece in the side of her crib when she woke up really early and I was really tired from a long night. We didn't use it that way very much though so I have since glued it into the bottom part, which is just a box with a slot big enough for the top. The bottom part has rice to weight it down. It worked really well for a while but she's strong enough now to pull it over anyway. Better than nothing still.