Alma 17:2

Alma 17:2

. . . for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.

This one sentence describing the sons of Mosiah holds a promise that all of us can find "sound understanding" as we search the scriptures.  We can find wise and reliable advice about how to live our lives and it can be found throughout all of our books of scripture.

Sometimes we will learn from the good examples of people like King Benjamin or Ruth or Esther. Sometimes we will learn from the bad examples of people like a king who murdered to cover his adultery or a scripture writer who portrays God as vengeful.

But in between all the stories of the full gamut of human love and depravity are verses that lift and inspire and encourage us to be better people. And throughout all we have the voices of deity beckoning us to follow and learn, to remember who we are, to find joy in God's promise redemption, to love as they love, to seek Jesus, to be fishers of men.

Some passages will lift us - The Lord is my shepherd...

Some will give comfort - Come unto me, all ye who are weary and heavy-laden...

Some will bring hope - Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst...

It would take a whole book for me to share the scriptures that have guided my life. My minutes and hours of time spent here have hopefully made me a better person, a devoted disciple of Jesus.

Alma 16:18

In this particular verse, the priests are out among the people and are preaching against:

Lyings

Deceiving - to make someone believe what is false

Envyings

Strifes - a condition of enmity often arriving out of rivalry; April long struggle for power or superiority

Malice - the will to do harm to another

Revilings - to use abusive language to or about

Stealing

Robbing

Plundering - to strip a person or place of goods by force

Murdering

Adultery

All manner of lasciviousness - marked by or expressing sexual lust

. . .Crying that these things ought not to be.

I could not read this verse and not think of the condition of our present world.

In politics we have a president who lies all the time. Never have we had to work so hard to "fact check" what a leader has said.

We also see this tendency to lie and to misrepresent truth on the internet where anybody can say anything. Websites like Snopes and factcheck.org have become invaluable in helping us to wade through the streams of lies.

But worse than the lies is the deceit - the actual presentation of lies told in a way to make us believe them. It is said that if you hear a lie often enough you will believe it. This is  called the Illusory Truth Effect.  It is know that if you hear something often enough, familiarity overcomes rationality. Teams of trained advertisers and PR people work to do this. Politics is muddy water indeed.

Strife is the #1 game in politics. Leaders have become so partisan that they do not lead. They are too absorbed in their own self-interest. Examples abound as we watch a congress incapable of negotiation and compromise.

Malice - the will to do harm to another is at the root of racism, police brutality and murder. We have been watching the videos over the past weeks and it is disturbing. But then you add the looting and the destruction that have been the byproduct of the legal protest - stealing, robbing and plundering are there before us on the daily news.

And the reviling!! Our ears have been stunned by a president whose  discourse is filled with abusive remarks about anyone who disagrees with him. He sets a poor example of moral leadership and has no right to complain when others do the same. The blind cannot lead the blind. But we have become numb to such abuse. There could be entire dictionary just for words used in today's world to inflict abuse and hurt. What a sad commentary.

And finally we come to adultery and lust - sex without love and without responsibility. I won't even go there. It deserves a whole book!

Lynn and I have been watching a series by Jerry Skinner on YouTube. He tells brief biographies of famous people. I'm not a fan of western movies so I had not heard of Ben Johnson before but I was impressed by this man who had such a sense of honor.

At one point John Ford asked him to play a supporting role in the movie, The Last Picture Show but Ben Johnson refused because of the bad language in the movie. Ford put some pressure on him and he finally accepted the role with the condition that he would remove all the swear words from his own part in the script. It was this movie that won him an academy award as best supporting actor. Do we even have such a person in today's world?

I'm sure that we have priests (and bishops and rabbis and imams, monks, etc  ) just as in Alma's day, that preach against all these societal ills. But they are preaching to the choir. What we need are moral leaders who will use their roles in government to model moral and ethical behavior and who will call upon the American people to be their better selves.

Alma 15:18

Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord.

I found this to be just such a sweet and tender moment in this story. Just think about Amulek and how much he needed strengthening.

He had suffered great loss.  Here's what we know about him. He was a man of no small reputation. He had many friends and kindred. He had been industrious and was a wealthy man.

Then he befriends Alma and is taken before the chief judge with Alma and cast into prison where the two of them are abused daily. He's forced to witness the death of the women and children who had believed their teachings. He leaves everything - his family, home, and welath to go with Alma. He is rejected by those who had been his friends and by his father and his family. And with all this he stays true to his testimony.

I have not felt well for about a week now. My sinuses are filled and my ears are all plugged. Every morning I've had nausea. I just want to sleep, I am so tired.

I believe this social distancing is getting to me. I feel depressed and worn. I need "strengthening in the Lord." I have to figure out how to take care of my emotional and spiritual needs so that I can survive this pandemic. I long for company, for my family, for hugs and laughter and games and picnics and summer activities.

I look at pictures of people having fun on social media and want to cry. I am as worn as Amulek and I long for rejuvenation.

Fortunately, I know what I need to do to get myself centered again. I learned many years ago from Pat Holland. Her talk is in the October 1987 Ensign magazine (One Thing is Needful). I sat and read it again this morning. After all these years it's still speaks to me.

"How do we as women make that quantum leap from being troubled and worried too being women of even greater faith?"

"Our loving Father in Heaven seemed to be whispering to me, “You don’t have to worry over so many things. The one thing that is needful—the only thing that is truly needful—is to keep your eyes toward the sun—my Son.” Suddenly I had true peace. I knew that my life had always been in his hands—from the very beginning! The sea lying peacefully before my eyes had been tempest-tossed and dangerous—many, many times. All I needed to do was to renew my faith, and get a firm grasp on his hand—and together we could walk on the water."

Alma 14:8-11

This is a difficult story. Alma and Amulek have been preaching in Ammonihah and have quite a following. They personally have been arrested by the leaders and put in prison. Zeezrom, who is now convinced they are men of God, is pleading their cause but he and those with him are cast out and have stones thrown at them.

The people of Ammonihah are riotous at this point and they take all the women and children of the believers along with their records and scriptures and destroy them by fire.

This is the first time we are allowed to see the degradation of Ammonihah. They are indeed evil at this point.

Amulek and Alma are dragged out to watch the massacre. Amulek pleads with Alma to call forth the power to save them. Alma replies that the spirit constrains him; that their deaths will stand as a witness of those evil people at the Judgment Day.

I cannot imagine having the power to stop evil and having the "spirit constraineth." Alma has to live with that decision, not me.   What we need in today's world is people who do everything they can to root out evil and it causes.

We see evil around us all the time and it shall ever be so. Agency allows man to choose to do terrible things. I would like to think that we would never walk away from a chance to confront the evil.  What we need so badly in today's world is people who do everything they can to root out evil and it causes.

I find great hope in the Black Lives Matter movement. America's streets have been filled with demonstrations - people protesting the murder of George Floyd by a police officer. They saw evil and spoke up.  It takes courage to face evil, to name it and to speak up against it.

I was watching a PBS special about Maya Angelou the American poet and activist. She shared a story of a young rap singer she met who used so much vulgar language. She was fearless in confronting him and letting him see how derogatory that language is.

Another time a young woman meeting her for the first time called her by her first name, Maya. She stopped the girl flat and said, "Young lady, you have not lived long enough and experienced enough life to call me by my first name. You may call me Miss Angelou."

Speaking up for decent language and respect for elders is not the same as speaking out against systemic racism or misogyny. But if we are afraid to confront the small stuff how will we ever be courageous enough to face the big stuff?

Here are some quotes by Maya Angelou that I found inspiring.

Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. 

We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous or honest.

Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, 

but has not solved one yet.

Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself 

and then stand up for someone else.

Only equals can become friends.

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.

The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. 

The desire to reach hearts is wise.

Alma 12:13-18

Alma has been explaining Amulek's words to Zeerom who at this point is sincere in his desire to understand.

I have to remind myself that the people of Ammonihha are described as wicked. It is not just that they rejected Alma - but that's they are living contrary to the commandments. This story never describes their exact sins. It just says:

1. Satan had gotten great hold on their hearts (8:9)
2. They hardened their hearts (8:11)
3. They had forgotten their history (9:8)
4. They were a lost and fallen people
5. They were living in iniquity (9:11)
6. Their government was corrupt (10:27)

And now Alma is speaking about the consequences of those who choose to live unrighteously. His description is gruesome. He begins by speaking in the first person. . .

• Our state will be awful
• We shall be condemned
• Our words and works will condemn us
• Our thoughts will condemn us
• We will not dare look at God
• We will wish the mountains would hide us

And now switching to the third person he says,

• Such a person dies as pertaining to all things righteous
• There will be a torment like unto a lake of fire
• They are chained to everlasting destruction
• They cannot be redeemed for they will not repent

Finally in verses 33 and 34 he preaches Christ the Redeemer and the promise of mercy. And then he follows with (God speaking) "and whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold I swear in my wrath he shall not enter my rest."

Among all this verbiage there are some truths but I fear there is a misrepresentation of the nature of God also. The truths are that God does have a plan of redemption for us. He placed us on the earth with agency and there are consequences to every choice.  But I reject the idea that God will respond in his "wrath" to our choices.  

That model of God became the model of leadership and parenting during my lifetime. I am grateful to have lived long enough to see how the study of social sciences has improved much of how we interact with others, how we parent, and how we view others. Here are some examples:

When I taught at a school in Nebraska back in the late '60s, the high school principal disciplined the boys by chasing them around the track with a belt. If he caught them they got it whipping.

When we lived in Tennessee my oldest daughter forgot her homework one day and was spanked in front of her entire class. I was at the school early the next morning to let them know that no one would ever touch a child of mine again.

From then to the present things have changed mightily! Teachers today learn classroom management techniques focused on preventing problems. My school was a wonderful place where all children were valued and safe. When corporal punishment was outlawed and removed as an option, only then were we forced to learn better ways.  

Parenting has changed so much. My own dad would use his belt to discipline if he felt it was needed. Thank goodness that the world has come to grips with corporeal punishment.  I believed what he did was wrong but I was so unsure of what to do myself.  There was no model to follow.

I have watched my own children parent with love and understanding that has been a powerful learning experience for me. If your focus is on behavior; here are the rules - don't break them - then it is so easy to just become the disciplinarian.

But when your focus is on knowing and understanding your children - then conversation,  talking, listening, loving and supporting - a whole new type of parenting develops. I wish I had been taught to be that kind of parent.

Another point:  It is so easy to get caught in viewing those who are different than us"wrong". That happens all the time in politics. But it is worse when it comes to religion where right vs wrong gives us a vision of a world filled with good people vs bad people and it is easy to look with condescension on others. 

If we" seek to understand" all others as Stephen Covey taught us, we have a good chance to not only love the person but to love their beliefs as well. A friend shared that he had always thought the process of cleansing the house of all leavening for Passover was seemingly unnecessary until a Jewish man he met at an interfaith group explained that the leavening symbolized pride. It was a time to cleanse your life of pride. All of a sudden his understanding changed and his appreciation for something he had misunderstood.

I have also learned over the course of my years that humans are motivated the most by love. "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar."

The prophet Joseph Smith's said, "When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, oh what power it has over my mind, while the opposite course has a tendency to harrow up all the harsh feelings and depress the human mind."

So I read Alma's words and I ask,  "Where is the love? Where is your love for the people of Ammonihah and where is God's love in your message? Am I really to believe that when I err, God will send down his wrath upon me?"

Here are two quotes I found in The Christ Who Heals by Terryl and Fiona Givens:

Nikolai Berdyaev in his Destiny of Man said so beautifully "The 'good' do not condemn the 'wicked' to hell and enjoy their own triumph, but descend with Christ into hell in order to free them". (London; Geoffrey Bles, 1937 p. 69)

In a beautiful rendering of Alma 7, Tyler Johnson wrote: "I saw, in my mind's eye, how in every particular, he suffers with me: each pain, each sorrow. He willingly stays for the duration, feeling each lash in door with flesh every bit as sensitive as mine. He stays with me, he cries with me, he suffers with me, and, by the end, his empathy for me glows -- perfect and complete." (Empathy and the Atonement BYU Studies 55:4 2016 p. 119, 117)

This is the love that draws me to the Christ, God made man, and makes me want to follow Him.  3rd Nephi 27:14     Love is the better way.  

I always go back to a favorite scripture: John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Isaiah 55:1-3 is another great example of God's loving invitation:

Come, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

God does not respond to our sinfulness with wrath but with love.  He invites, invites, invites.  We may choose to respond or not but God's work and glory is to give us immortality and eternal life.

Rescue

Lauren Daigle

You are not hidden

There's never been a moment

You were forgotten

You are not hopeless

Though you have been broken

Your innocence stolen

I hear you whisper underneath your breath

I hear your SOS, your SOS

I will send out an army to find you

In the middle of the darkest night

It's true, I will rescue you

There is no distance

That cannot be covered

Over and over

You're not defenseless

I'll be your shelter

I'll be your armor

I hear you whisper underneath your breath

I hear your SOS, your SOS

I will send out an army to find you

In the middle of the darkest night

It's true, I will rescue you

I will never stop marching to reach you

In the middle of the hardest fight

It's true, I will rescue you

I hear the whisper underneath your breath

I hear you whisper, you have nothing left

I will send out an army to find you

In the middle of the darkest night

It's true, I will rescue you

I will never stop marching to reach you

In the middle of the hardest fight

It's true, I will rescue you

Oh, I will rescue you

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Jason Ingram / Paul Mabury / Lauren Daigle

Rescue lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group

Alma 10: 13, 19, 27, 32

In this chapter Alma has returned to Ammonihah and now with Amulek, they have gone out to preach. In these particular verses, Amulek is speaking. This is his community and he knows well the corruption that will destroy them if they do not repent and make some serious changes.

Verse 13: Nevertheless, there were some among them who thought to question them, that by their cunning devices they might catch them in their words, that they might find witness against them, that they might deliver them to their judges that they might be judged according to the law, and that they might be slain or cast into prison, according to the crime which they could make appear or witness against them.

Verse 19: Yea, well did Mosiah say, who was our last king, when he was about to deliver up the kingdom, having no one to confer it upon, causing that this people should be governed by their own voices -yea,  well did he say that if the time should come that the voice of this people should choose iniquity, that is, if the time should come that this people should fall into transgression, they would be ripe for destruction.

Verse 27: And now behold, I say unto you, that the foundation of the destruction of this people is beginning to be laid by the unrighteousness of your lawyers and your judges.

Verse 32: Now the object of these lawyers was to get gain; and they got gain according to their employ.

All four of these verses address the problem of corruption in government. It is sad when we cannot trust those in authority to do the right thing.

This week my husband and I watched the movie "Just Mercy". It is the true story of a black attorney from Baltimore who goes to Alabama to work for a nonprofit whose goal is to help people on death row.  The attorney discovers the corruption of the legal system in that community where whites used their position of power to keep blacks "in their place". The gain they sought was not monetary - it was the power to support their racism.

Oh, that our world would live by the principles we read in D&C 121!

No power or influence can or ought to be maintained . . . only by persuasion, by long-suffering, gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge, which will greatly enlarged the soul without hypocrisy and without guile. . .

Oh, that every leader was a king Benjamin who lived to serve his people!  Mosiah 2: 17-18

And behold, I tell you these things that you may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not yet to labor to serve one another?

Today's scripture story takes place in 82 BC and tells about corruption in government.  "Just Mercy" tells a similar story only it is 1988! Are we ever destined to repeat the same sins over and over? Will mankind never learn lessons from the past?

Oh, that the principles that Jesus taught could govern the world and bring the "peace on earth, goodwill to men" that His gospel promises!  

But the Lord can't do it for us. The hearts of men must change before God's peace can never be found on Earth. 

"The more we allow the love of God to govern our minds and emotions—the more we allow our love for our Heavenly Father to swell within our hearts—the easier it is to love others with the pure love of Christ. As we open our hearts to the glowing dawn of the love of God, the darkness and cold of animosity and envy will eventually fade.". Deiter F. Uchtdorf, "The Merciful Obtain Mercy" April 2012

Alma 10:6

Alma 10:6 (Amulek speaking) I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know.

Amulek is sharing his own story and is talking about his own unwillingness to follow God. But it is not only in matters of religion that people harden their hearts.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines that phrase this: to stop having kind or friendly feelings for someone or caring about something.

Amulek had stopped caring about church, about living the commandments, about God. Why did he change? Because an angel came to him.

I find it interesting in my own life to think about when perhaps I was offered an opportunity to hear, to change and grow and like Amulek I would not hear.

Growth means change and it usually involves facing my own faults and weaknesses. Sometimes I am ready for those moments and sometimes I'm not.

Our country is in one of those moments where we are being called upon to listen and to change. The coronavirus has forced us to change - at least the shutdown has forced many changes upon us. Schools closed. Businesses closed. We had "stay-at-home" orders and most followed these guidelines.

Now as we are beginning to reopen, you begin to see that many "do not hear".  We are advised by health organizations and by government leaders that we can move forward if we all observe social distancing meaning six feet apart and the wearing of masks.

But as you go to the stores and parks or anywhere that is now open it is obvious that the guidelines, although followed by a majority,  are ignored by a large minority. They do not see a need. The virus is still here but they "harden their hearts" to the warnings.

Are we all gamblers at heart? My husband always says that when the weather report says 40% chance of rain we should remember that it also means 60% chance of no rain. The odds are in our favor.

If, say for example, one in eight Americans is infected with a virus, we see ourselves as one of the seven. The odds are in our favor. Of course, one in eight are not getting the virus. In fact, most people don't know anyone personally who has had it. And when something doesn't affect you personally you don't much care about whatever issue is at hand.

Therefore, we see the lack of social distancing in communities around the country. In particular, we are now seeing the lack of social distancing as protests all across the country are demanding change in behalf of our black citizens. Health experts warn that there will be a spike in covid-19 is as a result. And yet the protests continued because the risk of getting Covid has been set aside for a cause that matters so much that the risk is worth it.

A nation, that for too long had "hardened their hearts" to the cries of its black citizens, has decided to listen, to hear, and to know.

Amulek would understand exactly what is taking place in the hearts of many right now.

Alma 9:3

In the middle of Alma verse 3 are these 4 little words, "for they knew not". 

These four words are essential to this story and to our own quest for understanding. I found this quote on Book of Mormon Central this morning. "Legitimate questions are not necessarily attacks on the faith but opportunities to explain divine understanding."

Every mother remembers the "why stage" when that young child wants to know the whys of everything. Humans have this built-in built desire to learn and to grow. It will continue as long as it is not squelched by the adults in their lives

Why would we expect it to be different in the realm of religion. Sometimes we act as if questioning anything about church is an attack. But legitimate questions always are appropriate. Asking questions is how we learn.

In November of 2001 Cecil O Samuelson gave this address at BYU: The Importance of Asking Questions.  You can read the whole address since I put the link in but here are just a few key points.

"One of the key ways that we learn—not only here at BYU but throughout life—is by asking questions. I am sure that your parents can attest to the fact that you have been asking questions—some of them difficult to answer—since your first capacity to utter coherent sentences. Your questions have continued, as they should, and even your professors learn about you by asking you questions.

There are three great questions which in life we have over and over again to answer. Is it right or wrong? Is it true or false? Is it beautiful or ugly? Our education ought to help us to answer these questions. [Sir John Lubbock, The Use of Life (1894; reprint, Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1972), 102–3]

Had Sir John Lubbock known, perhaps he might have best said, “Our education at BYU especially ought to help us answer these questions.”

Some seem to believe that faith and questions are antithetical. Such could not be further from the truth. The Restoration itself was unfolded by the proper and necessary melding of both. The Prophet Joseph Smith had both faith and questions. Indeed, the passage of scripture that led Joseph to the Sacred Grove experience includes both a question and the promise of an answer based on the asker’s faith.

May we be thoughtful and wise in framing the questions we ask and, as we ask, always express appropriate gratitude for the privilege of not only asking questions both great and small but also receiving necessary and wonderful answers from Him who knows all that we really need to know. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Alma 9:8-10

These three verses in Alma chapter 9 read as follows:

Behold, O ye wicked and perverse generation, how have you forgotten the tradition of your father's; yea, how soon you have forgotten the commandments of God.

Do ye not remember our father, Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the hand of God? Do ye not remember that they were all led by him through the wilderness?

And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he delivered our fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from being destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren?

Alma is justifiably concerned that his people remember their traditions, their religious experiences, their struggles and their relief from those struggles. He sees how those memories would affect the choices they are making in the present.

Memory is a strange thing. We remember the oddest things but try to remember an important event and can't. I can sing hundreds of silly songs but I'm foggy about some of the most significant events of my life.

The process of transcribing my mother's letters to our Aunt Mildred has reminded me of that. Time and time again she shares something that I just don't remember at all.

Perhaps we all should keep a diary of the events of each day. All too soon it is just lost.

Alma 8

In a two sentence summary Alma chapter 8 shares this story: Alma goes to Amonihah to preach and is unsuccessful. The Lord sends him back and he discovers a friend who makes all the difference.

There are times when people are put in your path just when you need them. I am grateful for such moments.

Our family moved to Kansas in 1979. It was those precious years of raising a young family. My kids were 8, 6, 6, 4 and 2. We lived a few miles outside of Topeka on a 3-acre lot and loved that place.

It was there that I met Sandy. She was a bright and happy person and we shared that experience of having young children and husbands just getting started in their careers. Those were lean years where we learn new skills to help us achieve our goals. Let me share three examples.

Sandy and I both sewed clothes for our kids. We'd always look for sales on cloth and let each other know. And we ventured into new projects. Stretch fabrics were new so we decided to learn how to make t-shirts. We headed to the store together and found some cotton stretch t-shirt fabric and bought a bolt since it was on sale. Our kids all ended up with the same matching t-shirts in two styles - girls and boys. The kids actually thought it was fun!

Then my husband and I decided to add an addition onto our small home. Sandy and her husband had built their home and she was handy with just about anything. So she offered to show me how easy it was to spray paint instead of using a roller.

I bought my paint and prepped the room. Sandy brought her sprayer and we began. I was excited to watch this process. But as she began, red splotches covered my ceiling! Oops! We learn quickly the importance of cleaning the spray thoroughly when changing colors. I remembered the frustration we both felt as we sat on the floor crying!

Our next big project was landscaping. It's so hard to have a vision of what you'd like your yard to look like and not be able to afford the materials. We just wanted landscape timbers to surround our flower beds and set them off. And then we heard that the railroad was redoing one of the tracks that ran north of Topeka. They left the old railroad ties in piles here and there and you could help yourself if you could find them.

Sandy and I got a county map that showed every little road that crossed the rail line and our adventure began. We'd get the kids off to school in the morning and begin our search. We certainly got to know the back roads in our area. It was a delightful ride, a scavenger hunt. We'd find the spots and mark the map. Our husbands would go and get the railroad ties the following weekend.

What fun it is to have such a friend. Sandy and I shared so much during our short stay in Kansas. We moved on to Tennessee and they ended up in California. But for those two years in Topeka she was a godsend, a special friend who blessed my life.

Alma 7:23-24

23 And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

24 And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

The words in these verses inspire God-like qualities.  People of goodwill everywhere aspire to such ideals.  Life itself has a way of encouraging us to grow in these qualities.

HUMBLE:  Courteously respectful, unpretentious, doesn't believe they are better than others.

A proud man is always looking down on things and people/ and , of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.  

C S Lewis

It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom.  

Mahatma Gandhi

Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues.  

Confucius

A great man is always willing to be little.  

Ralph Waldo Emerson

SUBMISSIVE:  1.  Patient when there is much you cannot change.  2. To obey without arguing.  For example, your doctor says you must stop smoking.  it is destroying your lungs.  He wants you to be submissive and follow his instructions.

The submission of one's will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to 

place on God's altar.  The many other things we "give" are actually 

the things He has already given or loaned to us.  

Neal A. Maxwell

Submission does not mean being weak or passive. It leads to neither fatalism nor capitulation. Just the opposite. True power resides in submission. A power that comes from within. Those who submit to the divine essence of life will live in unperturbed tranquility and peace even when the whole wide world goes through turbulence after turbulence.

Elif Shafak

GENTLE: kind, amiable, mild, calm and controlled

I'd like to be remembered for being a good, kind, loving, gentle man who 

attempted to live wisely and who cared a lot.

Leo Buscaglia

Being gentle is being brave and kindness is a

battle without weapons.

Banjaara Baadal

In a gentle way, you can shake the world,

Mahatma Gandhi

Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: 

to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.

Robert Kennedy

EASY TO BE ENTREATED: Entreat - to ask earnestly, implore , to ask politely and seriously

There is also an older meaning - willing to enter negotiations; to be willing to discuss and seek peace.

LONG-SUFFERING:  enduring injury, trouble, or provocation long and patiently.

Strength is born in the deep silence of long-suffering hearts; not amid joy.

Felicia Hemans

Long-suffering is love enduring

Dwight L. Moody

TEMPERATE: Moderate or self-restrained, level headed, even-tempered, calm, steady

A man cannot serve God and Mammon, nor be "temperate and furious" at the same time.

Mahatma Gandhi

Temperate, sincere, and intelligent inquiry and discussion are only to be dreaded by the advocates of error.  The truth need not fear them. . .

Benjamin Rush

DILIGENT:  constant in effort to do something; persistent.  A diligent person works hard in a careful and thorough way.

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.

Abigail Adams

Diligence is the mother of good luck.

Benjamin Franklin

Without expecting reward, do work diligently.

Javanese Proverb

Be diligent and even those who do not know you will trust you.

GRATEFUL:  deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; disposed to repay favors bestowed.  Being thankful is a feeling, being grateful is an action.

Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions.  The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.

Zig Ziglar

Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude.  Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness.  Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.

Henri Frederic Amiel

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; 

and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.

G.K. Chesterton

FAITH:  confidence and trust in God; assurance of His goodness.  Faith is being able to cleave to the power of goodness appealing to our high and real self.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

Martin Luther King, Jr

Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.

Rabindranath Tagore

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light. 

Helen Keller

Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof. 

Khalil Gibran

My faith helps me understand that circumstances don’t dictate 

my happiness, my inner peace. 

– Denzel Washington

HOPE:  The feeling that what is wanted can be had, that events will turn out for the best.

Hope sustains us through despair.  Hope teaches that there is reason 

to rejoice even when all seems dark around us.

Deter F. Uchtdorf

If we were not for hopes, the heart would break.  

Thomas Fuller

Hope beckons all of us to come home where a glow

reflects the Light of the World.

Neal A. Maxwell

Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.

Robert Schuller

CHARITY:  generous, kind, lenient in judging others; Christian love in its highest and broadest form.  Inclined to impute favorable motives to others.

The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, 

but in active charity and in willing service.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Charity is the pure love of Christ.

Moroni: 7:47

Charity is refusing to take advantage of another's weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us.  Charity is expecting the best of each other.

Bonnie D. Parkin

Alma 6:3

Everything written in the books we call scriptures is not a doctrinal truth.  Often the statements are more a reflection of the people and times they lived in.  We are reading "their stories".  But if looked at, examined, and discussed all of these stories can help us on our journeys to understand who God is and His great and constant love for us.

Verse 3 in Alma chapter 6 reads, "and it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to the church that did not repent of their wickedness and humble themselves before God - I mean those who were lifted up in the pride of their hearts - the same were rejected, and their names were blotted out, that their names were not numbered among those of the righteous."

I personally seen no reasoning in this philosophy. If the members of the church here are calling themselves "the righteous" and you don't belong to us if you aren't also "righteous" then aren't they just like the Zoramites in chapter 31 who said "... and thou hast elected us that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are elected to be cast by the wrath down to hell..."?

Let's look in Matthew 9:9-13 and read the Savior's words in this story of his encounter with Matthew. 

"And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, why eateth your master with publicans and sinners?

But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

This is an ideal I can aspire to.  I liken it to King Benjamin's words, "Are we not all beggars?"

Elder Jeffrey R Holland in the October 2017 conference gave a talk entitled "Be Ye Therefore Perfect - Eventually".  He shares a story by Leo Tolstoy.

"In that regard, Leo Tolstoy wrote once of a priest who was criticized by one of his congregants for not living as resolutely as he should, the critic concluding that the principles the erring preacher taught must therefore also be erroneous.

In response to that criticism, the priest says: “Look at my life now and compare it to my former life. You will see that I am trying to live out the truth I proclaim.” Unable to live up to the high ideals he taught, the priest admits he has failed. But he cries:

“Attack me, [if you wish,] I do this myself, but [don’t] attack … the path I follow. … If I know the way home [but] am walking along it drunkenly, is it any less the right way simply because I am staggering from side to side?

“… Do not gleefully shout, ‘Look at him! … There he is crawling into a bog!’ No, do not gloat, but give … your help [to anyone trying to walk the road back to God.]”"  (The New Way,” Leo Tolstoy: Spiritual Writings, sel. Charles E. Moore (2006), 81–82.)

He concludes by testifying of the Savior's love: "I testify that in this and every hour He is, with nail-scarred hands, extending to us that same grace, holding on to us and encouraging us, refusing to let us go until we are safely home in the embrace of Heavenly Parents."  That is the love that we must all hang on to and the same love that will allow us to welcome all into our lives and into our meetings.

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Another great reference is Elder Dale G. Renlund talk in conference in April of 2015. (Latter-day Saints Keep on Trying)  The first paragraph tells a story about Nelson Mandela.

My dear brothers and sisters, in December 2013 the world mourned the death of Nelson Mandela. After 27 years of imprisonment for his role in the anti apartheid struggle, Mandela was the first democratically elected president of South Africa. His forgiveness of those who had imprisoned him was remarkable. He received widespread acclaim and praise.  Mandela frequently deflected accolades by saying, “I’m no saint—that is, unless you think a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.”

He also says:  "We must not only be tolerant while others work on their individual illnesses; we must also be kind, patient, supportive, and understanding. As God encourages us to keep on trying, He expects us to also allow others the space to do the same, at their own pace. The Atonement will come into our lives in even greater measure. We will then recognize that regardless of perceived differences, all of us are in need of the same infinite Atonement."

And lastly, "My invitation to all of us is to evaluate our lives, repent, and keep on trying. If we don’t try, we’re just latter-day sinners; if we don’t persevere, we’re latter-day quitters; and if we don’t allow others to try, we’re just latter-day hypocrites.  As we try, persevere, and help others to do the same, we are true Latter-day Saints."

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Another equally thoughtful reference I would give you is from LDS Living Magazine, November 12th 2018. The article is, "Church is for Sinners", written by Jason F. Wright who you might know from his book, Christmas Jars.

"Our responsibility is to love each person who summons up the courage to walk through the church doors. If we find this challenging, or if we wonder why we’re surrounded by so many sinners, we might recall that no matter how well we think we’re doing, every morning when we look in the mirror, we find an imperfect person there, too.

So, are you a sinner?

Awesome! So are we! Come join us on Sunday. We’ll save you a seat."

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I'll just end by saying that yes, we LDS people call ourselves saints, not sinners. And yet we find great joy and comfort in singing the hymn, "I Stand All Amazed". This hymn reminds us that Jesus offers His love and redemptive power to each of us, "that for me a sinner, he suffered and bled and died."  

Times change and we in the church today are hopefully are more accepting of all our brothers and sisters no matter what and would never tell another person they didn't belong.  And if we did find such a congregation that felt they were so righteous that they were excluding others, it would mean that that congregation really needs to read these words from verse 3, "I mean those who were lifted up in the pride of their hearts"!

Alma 7: 11-12

I am very fond of these verses of scripture.

"And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains in the sicknesses of his people. 

And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take 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."

I remember a day that I was in a therapy session and it was after my divorce.  My counselor asked me, "Don't you know anyone who has already gone through this? They could be such a great help to you".  But the truth was I didn't personally know any other person who was divorced.

Her words stuck with me though and I kept thinking about it and then I thought about this scripture. If I understood it correctly what it was saying to me was that the Lord suffered all our pains and He understands us. No matter what is going on in our life, He understands what it is and what it is doing to us. Therefore He can help us. I didn't have to have another person who was divorced to help me. I had the Savior who understood all my pain.

From that point on in my life, my prayers were a lot more real than they had. I know that I had prayed and poured out my heart before. But when I wasn't in terrible pain I reverted to "saying" prayers. I don't think I ever shared with the Lord everything that was going on inside. From this point forward He became my safe place, the person with whom I could share everything. It was so wonderful to have such a friend.

I think that's why I have always loved the hymn, "What a Friend we Have in Jesus". That hymn is just so personal.

What a friend we have in Jesus

All our sins and griefs to bear

And what a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer.

Oh, what peace we often forfeit

Oh, what needless pain we bear

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

I wrote this poem after that experience. I would wish for everyone that they could learn to make the Lord their best friend.

Only God Knows Me 

I am so grateful to know 

I have a loving Heavenly Father 

who knows me personally. 

There is so much of my 

inward life that only He knows. 

I would not want to share 

this part of me with others .

And yet I have the need to talk, 

To admit my weaknesses 

To confess my sins 

To look at the childish mistakes of my past 

To see the growth over years 

To celebrate that growth 

To acknowledge the One 

who has touched my life 

and softened my heart 

And bestowed gifts upon me. 

Forgiveness, Charity, 

Trust and Faith 

I am filled with joy 

Just to know He is there.