Alma 37

I love the spirit of this chapter. As I read, I feel my life vision being formed for there are so many words of wisdom and direction. My favorite thoughts from this chapter are:

Alma 37:6
...but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

By small things, are great things brought to pass. As we keep the commandments, the Lord creates miracles in our lives. I can think of several "small" things that bringeth forth great blessings. To name a few: personal progress, scripture study, prayer, service, fasting, paying tithing...all of these things are simple and small in an of themselves; however, as we commit ourselves to living these principles, our lives are changed. The Lord creates within us something greater than we are. By having the faith to do His will, we become His. This is the desire of my heart. More than anything I want to be His. I want to live as He wants me to live. I want to BE what he wants me to BE. 

Alma 37:37

Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou rises in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Prayer is our pathway to God. It is through prayer that we align our hearts with His. As we learn from Alma 33, that through prayer, "judgments are turned away" by the Son of God. As we plead our case before the Father, we must believe that the Savior as our advocate will lift us up at the last day.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "Let prayer, night and morning, as a family and as individuals, become a practice in which children grow while yet young. It will bless their lives forever. No parent in this Church can afford to neglect it" (Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, 466-7).

So, this is a call for not only my personal prayers, but also as a parent teaching my children. A prophet of God has declared that I cannot neglect this duty. It is my prayer that I will be more diligent in teaching my children, that I will remind them more often of this tool, and that I will be an example of this sacred duty.

Some thoughts I wrote on this passage in a talk:

In our world today, I have often felt worried, and I have desired for a sure way to protect myself and my family from the adversary. Our ultimate goal in this life is to live worthy to receive eternal life.  I love in the Book of Mormon when King Lamoni’s father asked, “What shall I do that I may have this eternal life?” I have often wondered similarly, and questioned—am I doing enough? What more can I do? There have been times when I have lamented to my husband that I wished I had my own personal Liahona. In the Book of Mormon, the Liahona was used by Lehi and his family. It was a brass ball that gave both spiritual counsel and directional instruction. However, the Liahona worked only according to the faith and diligence of Lehi’s family (1 Nephi 16: 28-29). I have told my husband that if I could only look into a ball, and be told exactly what to do, I would then do it. I would follow it exactly. These wistful thoughts were hinged on my desire for protection against the adversary, and my ultimate goal of eternal life. As I have prepared for this talk, I have realized that I do have a Liahona—it is the word of God, or in other words—the scriptures.

Alma 37: 44-45  illustrates how the scriptures are our personal Liahona’s. It states,

44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the ^aword of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass (the Liahona), which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

45 And now I say, is there not a ^atype in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise. [italicized added for explanation purposes]

We do have a Liahona in my life; We do have a crystal ball--it is the scriptures. God will guide us on our pathways. Right now in my life--I need that guidance. I need the power of the scriptures to sustain me through this trial. Satan is aware of me, and he works hard to discourage me from the path. However, as I read the scriptures, I am fortified daily in my decisions. 

There have been moments when I have made mistakes and wanted to quit, because I keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Yet, as I read the scriptures and study about enduring to the end, and the love of God. I feel a sense of reassurance that the atonement can work in my life too. 

Alma 31

What Matter's Most

In Alma 31:27, Alma describes the awful wickedness of the people when he said, Behold, O God, they cry unto thee, and yet their hearts are swallowed up in their pride. Behold, O God, they cry unto thee with their mouths, while they are puffed up, even to greatness, with the vain things of the world."

I wonder how often I allow the things of the world to overshadow the things that matter most. I think it is easy to see these people in the scriptures and think it was their sin, and not relate it back to our day; however, the scriptures for our day. I think the world is is in our lives more than we realize. As I look at my phone, am I crowding out the things that matter most? I often try to remind myself to stay off social media sites while my children are with me, so that I might give them my full attention, or to do the "most" important things prior to indulging in social media. Richard G. Scott said, "Don’t yield to Satan’s lie that you don’t have time to study the scriptures. Choose to take time to study them. Feasting on the word of God each day is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, video games, or social media. You may need to reorganize your priorities to provide time for the study of the word of God. If so, do it!" (Richard G. Scott, "Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority", General Conference 2014).

There are other things in the world that can overshadow the most important things. I think we have to be constantly diligent in putting God first in order to stay on the straight and narrow. I know that Satan is aware, and he will stop at nothing to tempt us away from the things that matter most. I don't think these people are much different from us. If we are not careful, we will find ourselves indulging in the same sins they found themselves.

At the end of this chapter, Alma offered a prayer on behalf of these people, and the scriptures say that it was "according to the prayer of Alma" (Alma 31:38). To have the faith of Alma, and to pray with such power is my ultimate goal in life. Because of Alma's faith, many of these hardened people came to the knowledge of God.