Alma 42:27

This is our most detailed description of the plan of salvation in all our scriptures. I would question Alma's reasoning on several points as he tries to explain every detail but it would be pointless.

I have access to more scriptures and to the writings of church leaders then he did. He was trying to figure this out on his own.

He had not yet been taught that man is divine by nature.

He didn't have the knowledge that man was given the gift of agency in the pre-existence - not as a result of the Fall.

He didn't have the understanding that the Light of Christ is given to every man - thus he sees fear of punishment as the only thing that would get men to repent.

But then look at verse 27 and how clearly this state's the condition of man:

Therefore, oh my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely, and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds.

Simply stated, as I read his words, it means:

• Man is completely free to choose his or her own destiny.
• God invites but never compels.
• There are consequences to all behaviors.
• How we end up in eternity will have been our choice.

Alma 42:4

This whole section of Alma is filled with so many doctrinal points and some that have been redefined over time or at least we look at things a little bit differently today. I find it challenging to read chapter 42 and not be filled with a lot of questions.

In verse 4 he says, And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto men to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.

I had to look up the word probation to see if there was some meaning that I was just unaware of. It means a trial, experiment, or test. It also means to prove as in testing of a person's conduct. 

If you wanted to get a job or join an organization a probation is a trial period during which your character and abilities are tested to see whether you are suitable for work or membership.

If you have been in trouble with the law a probation is a trial period during which you have time to redeem yourself.

A probation can also be a time of testing of a candidate for membership in a religious body or order - for example if somebody was going to become a nun or a priest and they were taking their holy orders, etc.

Sometimes I just have to listen to my inner feelings and see what something feels like to me. If I compare this verse to Moses 1:19 which says, This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, I feel like there is a dissonance.

Is this earth life a step on the road to becoming like God or is it a place where we weed out the ones who just aren't going to make it.

If it was presented to us in the pre-existence as a weeding out process, would we have shouted for joy?

If it is only about seeing if we will serve God, what about the billions who never even learn who he is?

In my mind I just had to do some defining and interpreting with this verse:

For this we see, that there was a time granted unto man to learn and grow to become like their Heavenly parents, yea, a time to exercise agency, to learn both from good choices and bad choices, a time to learn how to be in charge of your own life, to err and to repent or change all the while moving forward and learning which principles truly create a happy life. By so doing we become more and more like God.

When I find a scripture like this, one that just becomes a problem for me and it just doesn't feel right to me, I really am trying to understand. I want to find a way to understand the principles and not get caught in the language used to express those principles.

I like how Fiona and Terryl Givens address this in their book The Christ Who Heals. On page 121 we read the following:

However, the question may be asked:  is this life not the time for repentance? Of course this life is the time to repent, for at least three reasons. First, in premortal councils this was the time of probation agreed upon by us to occur between birth and death. Earth life is apparently deliberately constructed in terms of opposition and conditions most conducive to our spiritual formation. This is the time for which we planned, prepared, and waited. We will never again encounter this particular alignment of the stars, so propitious for our advancement toward godliness. Second, repentance deferred is repentance made more arduous. As the old man admonishes a stubborn Dr. Faustus, habit can become identity. Change is easier, he tells the magus, "if sin by custom grow not into nature." Repentance deliberately deferred, wrote Talmage, is postmortal repentance made more difficult. Third, "Wickedness never was happiness." If we "consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments," it is immediately clear why now is the time to let our hearts be remolded and our souls sanctified. No sin is without pain. Now is clearly the time to commence the abundant life, to strive to open ourselves to the joy and peace to which Christ invites us."

Isn't that a better way of saying what Alma clearly meant?  Why do these words inspire me while the previous do not?

Alma 41

I continue to wrestle with Alma's message, but there is truth here in chapter 41 that we should not ignore and also opportunities to examine our own beliefs and our own hearts.

Verse 5

The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, for good according to his desires of good; and the other two evil according to his desires for evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.

Verse 15

For that which you do send out shall return unto you again . . .

Alma is saying in fact what mothers have been saying to their children for years: "What goes around comes around." or "You reap what you sow."

Our agency allows us to choose what our lives will be. From the musical My Turn on Earth we read these words, "When you choose the very first step on the road, you also choose the last." There are consequences to every action.

The problem with consequences is that they are not always immediate. There is purpose there. If humans received an immediate reward for every good deed and, vice versa, an immediate punishment for each bad deed, we would make choices for the wrong reasons.

Our choices are meant to educate us and define us.  Eventually we become the choices we make and set the course of our destiny. We even find satisfaction in knowing that the person who has done us wrong will eventually get the consequences of his behavior even if it is not until he has to account to God.

And so I am happy as I picture Hitler and Stalin and drug lords and pimps in hell - where they experience the pain they caused others. The Buddhist would see them in their next life as the people they harmed, getting to know and understand the damage they did.  Perhaps that is hell - the stage of having to face every wrong act and those we harmed - to see how our actions play out in the lives of others. That is the message of a favorite movie, "An Inspector Calls".

But one question remains for me and that is - is this forever? Is hell eternal? Is there no chance to finally change, to at last become that child of God that we are? Are only some of divine by nature or is that the reality of every human being?

What if Hitler had to meet every single person he harmed and hear their story? What if he had to account to the Lord for what had made him so calloused that humans became pawns in a political game he played? What if the confrontations began to crack open a heart?

I like to believe in such what-ifs and eternal possibilities because a truth I know is this:  Adolf Hitler is a child of Heavenly Parents who love him as much as they love me. Those parents provided the plan whereby he could be saved.

Which brings us back to choice. But what if he chose to change? Could I ever let go of the deep disgusting feeling I have whenever I picture that man? Could I let go of my desire for him to burn in hell? Could I own that the very thought of that man causes hatred in my soul? And what if I can't let go of those feelings?

Scriptures like today's reading in Alma 41. that cause me to ask so many questions are good  for that very reason - they challenge us to figure out what we believe.  They lead to us search for truth.

We compare them to truths we know. We compare them to other scriptures. We search for the words of trusted leaders on these topics. We listen to what our hearts are saying.


We are forced to decide who God is and what He wants for His children.  We wonder at the far-reaching power of the Atonement. We confront the feelings in our own hearts.

Alma 40 - select phrases

Verse 11

. . . The spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil . . .

Verse 13

The spirits of the wicked, yes, who are evil, the spirit of the devil did enter into them and take possession of their house

These shall be cast out into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth

Verse 14

This is the state of the wicked, yeah, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them.

They remain in this state until the time of their Resurrection.

Verse 17 

The resurrection of the souls is a consignation to happiness or misery.

Verse 26

Behold, and awful death cometh upon the wicked; for they died as two things pertaining to things of righteousness, for they are unclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God, but they are cast out . . . And they drink the dregs of a bitter cup.

In 2002 we went to Italy to visit family who were stationed at a naval base there. before getting to their home we visited Rome and Florence and we especially were excited to visit some of the beautiful churches - St Peter's, Saint Paul's, the Duomo, and any other we found along our way.

I am not an art aficionado. I am just a Christian who enjoys being in sacred edifices where through the centuries Christ has been worshiped. I love the big cathedrals with their stained glass windows. It feels so good to sit in that environment and pray and ponder.

I was not prepared for artwork inside the churches with devils reaching out to grab people. I remember sitting on a pew looking up at a picture of a devil grabbing a man and thought, "What would it be like to be a child and look up at that photo? Why would they have such a piece of art in their chapel?" It was frightening.

I feel that same way when I read scriptures like these in Alma 40. What am I supposed to get from this passage describing eternal misery?

Are people really just either good or evil? Is the next life in fact heaven or hell? Are the degrees of Glory really degrees of Glory or is everything less than celestial just another name for hell?

my choice is to say as I have before that I believe that for too long mankind has believed you can frighten a person into being "good". Was Alma trying to frighten Corianton into changing his ways?

At the same time there is a portion of truth in these words. It is misery indeed to catch yourself being unfaithful to what you personally know to be good and true. But for most os us, that misery is the sorrow that precipitates change. We see it in Scrooge.

"Men's courses will foreshadow certain end, to which, if persevered in, they must lead." Said Scrooge. 'But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!"

I am not the only one who has struggled with passages like this and wondered about the eternal fate of those we call our brothers and sisters but who have departed from gospel paths.

And the November 1995 Ensign magazine "The Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness" Elder Boyd K. Packer wrote:

"Some years ago I was in Washington, D.C., with President Harold B. Lee. Early one morning he called me to come into his hotel room. He was sitting in his robe reading Gospel Doctrine, by President Joseph F. Smith, and he said, “Listen to this!

“‘Jesus had not finished his work when his body was slain, neither did he finish it after his resurrection from the dead; although he had accomplished the purpose for which he then came to the earth, he had not fulfilled all his work. And when will he? Not until he has redeemed and saved every son and daughter of our father Adam that have been or ever will be born upon this earth to the end of time, except the sons of perdition. That is his mission. We will not finish our work until we have saved ourselves, and then not until we shall have saved all depending upon us; for we are to become saviors upon Mount Zion, as well as Christ. We are called to this mission.’” (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1939, p. 442; emphasis added.)

“There is never a time,” the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “when the spirit is too old to approach God. All are within the reach of pardoning mercy, who have not committed the unpardonable sin.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 191; emphasis added.)

And so we pray, and we fast, and we plead, and we implore. We love those who wander, and we never give up hope."

I believe it is so. May we focus on glorious outcomes in store for all - recognizing that growth come step-by-step and is often one step forward two steps back for each of us. Let us love and encourage and believe in each other and cheer our efforts.

Quoting James E. Talmage on pages 420-421 of his book, The Articles of Faith

"Eternity is progressive; perfection is relative; the essential feature of God's living purpose is its associated power of eternal increase."

Alma 39

Alma is upset with his son Corianton who has been involved with a known harlot a prostitute. That was upset any of us for a good number of reasons, the health risks among them - but this is Alma, the head of the church. He pleads, "I can see how some might do that, but you knew better!"

And then he points out the seriousness:

This is an abomination to God

This is next only to murder

This is denying the spirit

it is not easy to get forgiveness when you've gone this far

"But behold, you cannot hide your crimes from God, and except you repent they will stand as a testimony against you at the last day." Alma pleads with his son to change his ways and reminds him he has been called to the ministry.

This is a sad story - every parent's nightmare - to see a child get into such a dangerous lifestyle and to fear for his life.

I just wanted to Alma to move past warnings and shame to love and promises. Everything Alma says was true - we tend to close ourselves off from our feelings when we are making choices contrary to who we are and what we know to be true.

Once we shut down our feelings, it is hard to hear the whisperings of the Spirit as he calls us back.

And since God allows us to choose our own destiny, we are in danger of long-lasting consequences when we have so "hardened our hearts".

But the verbiage of "crimes and guilt and judgment" are not helpful. I know. I said things like this to my own kids when I was frustrated by their choices.

Do we really believe that living the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings happiness? I testify that it does!

To those who abandon those principles and like Corianton choose a lifestyle that can only lead to grief, I would hope we would feel sorrow for their suffering and not anger at them for their mistakes.

At what point do we stop wishing them well? I hope that, like God, we are constantly standing firm, inviting them home - knowing that invitation implies a change of heart, a change of behavior.

"Come, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" is not a message to the worker in the field. It is a message to all of us who wander into a life where everything we do causes a terrible burden upon us and we don't know how to find joy anymore. And Jesus' answer is "Come home. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: (you do not need to fear me) and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

From Jeffrey R Holland April 2006 - Broken Things to Mend:

Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion and Atonement, I promise you He is not going to turn His back on us now. When He says to the poor in Spirit, "Come unto me", He means He knows the way out and He knows the way up. He knows it because He has walked it. He knows the way because He is the way.

If you are lonely, please know you can find comfort. If you are discouraged, please know you can find hope. If you are poor in spirit, please know you can be strengthened. If you feel broken, please know you can be mended.

In Nazareth, the narrow road

That tires the feet and steals the breath

Passes the place where once abode

The Carpenter of Nazareth.

And up and down the dusty way

The village folk would often wend;

And on bench, beside Him, lay

Their broken things for Him to mend.

The maiden with the doll she broke,

The woman with the broken chair,

The man with broken plough, or yoke,

Said, "Can you mend it, Carpenter?"

And each received the thing he sought,

In yoke, or plough, or chair, or doll;

The broken thing that each had brought

Returned again a perfect whole.

So, up the hill the long years through

With heavy step and wistful eye,

The burdened souls their way pursue,

Uttering each the plaintive cry:

"O, Carpenter of Nazareth,

This heart, that's broken past repair,

This life, that's shattered nigh to death,

Oh, can You mend them, Carpenter?"

And by His kind and ready hand,

His own sweet life is woven through

Our broken lives, until they stand

A new creation "all things new."

The shattered substance of the heart,

Desire, ambition, hope, and faith

Mould thou into the perfect part,

O, Carpenter of Nazareth!

The erring one may not be ready yet to return, but when he is ready, he will only come to the place that offered love and healing, not condemnation. That was the whole point of the beautiful story about the prodigal son.  

Alma 38:8

Alma38:8

. . . I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, (and I did) receive a remission of my sins. But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.

The second step of the 12-step program states, "Came to believe that the power of God can restore us to spiritual and emotional health."

From page 20 of the book Healing Through Christ we read:

"We begin to strengthen our spiritual health as we develop a deep trust that God's love and guidance will always sustain us through the challenges we are experiencing."

"Emotional health may be defined as learning to process our emotions in healthy ways, appropriately communicate our feelings and remain free from despair and helplessness. Learning to rely on the grace of Christ prevents our negative emotions from dominating and controlling our behaviors in a destructive way."

Take note of Alma's choice of words as he describes his experience. He cried for mercy.

This book - Healing Through Christ - then speaks about relying on grace.

Those two words are beautiful - Mercy and Grace. We ask for Mercy - we want to be understood in our struggles, to have compassion shown for our human weakness. We want desperately to know our feelings do not define us and that we can rise above our mistakes.

What we receive is Grace - the freely given and unmerited love of God with its forgiveness and healing.

I have experienced myself that incredible gift. At times when I knelt in prayer - seeking earnestly forgiveness for misdeeds - those are the times when I experienced God's love. Grace is the love of God given freely to us when we don't deserve it at all. It is our receiving that love that changes us and transforms us.

I don't believe we have to change and then God loves us. The opposite is true. We experienced His love when unworthy of it and then we know the power of pure, unconditional love. That love transforms us.

To find that love we have to approach "the mercy seat." We come seeking mercy, with a broken heart. That broken heart allows us to feel and receive the gift of grace, the love of the Father and the atonement of His son Jesus Christ.

In the book, The Christ Who Heals, by Terryl and Fiona Givens we read these words of an early Christian by the name of Macrina.

"Love is the life of God, and it cannot be otherwise, since perfect beauty is necessarily lovable to those who recognize it; and out of this recognition comes love. The insolence of satiety cannot touch this perfect beauty, nor can satiety ever put a stop to men's power to love what is entirely beautiful; and so the life of God consists in the eternal practice of love; and this life is holy, beautiful, possessed of a loving disposition toward beauty and never receiving any check in the practice of love. And because beauty is boundless, love shall never cease."

This is the love that we have the privilege every once in a while to feel. This is the love that transforms us. This is the love that we aspire to emulate. It is that which we seek as we cry out for mercy and it is that which we receive when we accept God's grace.

Alma 37:36-37

Alma 37:36-37
Yea, and cry unto God for all the support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all that thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

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 risest 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.

I feel the need to stay close to the Lord as my heart is turned to the social issues confronting our nation today. I want to be sure my heart and my motives are pure and based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I want to live those principles in all I do. I want my life to be appropriate for a disciple of Jesus Christ.

If there is one principle of the restored gospel that motivates me the most (aside from Jesus' role as our Savior which is central to all I believe) it is the fact that I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father and we are all His children - every - single - one- of - us.

Therefore I have a responsibility to speak out for justice and equality for my brothers and sisters in all circumstances. I will follow the words of Mosiah 18:9 “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death.”

President Russell M. Nelson's message on the 1st of June 2020 is a call to action for me.

We join with many throughout this nation and around the world who are deeply saddened at recent evidences of racism and a blatant disregard for human life. We abhor the reality that some would deny others respect and the most basic of freedoms because of the color of his or her skin.

We are also saddened when these assaults on human dignity lead to escalating violence and unrest.

The Creator of us all calls on each of us to abandon attitudes of prejudice against any group of God’s children. Any of us who has prejudice toward another race needs to repent!

During the Savior’s earthly mission, He constantly ministered to those who were excluded, marginalized, judged, overlooked, abused, and discounted. As His followers, can we do anything less? The answer is no! We believe in freedom, kindness, and fairness for all of God’s children!

Let us be clear. We are brothers and sisters, each of us the child of a loving Father in Heaven. His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, invites all to come unto Him—“black and white, bond and free, male and female,” (2 Nephi 26:33). It behooves each of us to do whatever we can in our spheres of influence to preserve the dignity and respect every son and daughter of God deserves.

Any nation can only be as great as its people. That requires citizens to cultivate a moral compass that helps them distinguish between right and wrong.

Illegal acts such as looting, defacing, or destroying public or private property cannot be tolerated. Never has one wrong been corrected by a second wrong. Evil has never been resolved by more evil.

We need to foster our faith in the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.

We need to foster a fundamental respect for the human dignity of every human soul, regardless of their color, creed, or cause.

And we need to work tirelessly to build bridges of understanding rather than creating walls of segregation.

I plead with us to work together for peace, for mutual respect, and for an outpouring of love for all of God’s children.

Alma 36

In this chapter Alma is sharing his own personal story of how he came to know the joy of the Gospel,.  He is speaking with his son Helaman. What I like here in this chapter is the stark contrast.

I was racked with eternal torment.

I could remember my pains no more.

My soul was racked with all my sins.

I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

I was tormented with the pains of hell.

What marvelous light I did behold.

I saw that I had rebelled against my God.

My soul was filled with joy.

Isn't life just like this? It is so filled with opposites and with extremes. I have friends who lost their 17 year old son to cancer. Oh, how they grieved! The grief remained deeply planted until their first grandchild was born. The excitement of that birth brought healing and joy into their lives once again.

Sometimes as in Alma's story the truth we need to know lies within us personally.  That truth is that we as humans can always change. We can learn from our mistakes and make better choices. When we do the past is gone, the pain is gone (I, the Lord, remember them no more) and we are free to experience joy.

But much pain and sorrow is not of our own doing. Survivors of horrendous deeds find joy again. How is it possible to survive a concentration camp and then laugh again? How can you be sexually abused and later have a wonderful and happy intimate relationship?

I have certain books that I return to over and over. One of those is called "The Faithful Gardener" by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. She shares her deepest belief that there is a faithful force that will rise from any tragedy if we will let it.

"Through the lives we lived, I learned the harshest gift-lesson to accept, and the most powerful I know - that is, knowledge, an absolute certainty that life repeats itself, renews itself, no matter how many times it's stabbed, stripped to the bone, hurled to the ground, hurt, ridiculed, ignored, scorned, looked down upon, tortured, or made helpless.

"I know that those who are in some ways and for some times shorn of belief in life itself - that they ultimately are the ones who will come to know best that Eden lies underneath the empty field, that the new seed goes first to the empty and open places - even when the open place is a grieving heart, a tortured mind, or a devastated spirit."

"I am certain that as we stand in the care of this faithful force, that what has seemed dead is dead no longer, what has seemed lost, is no longer lost, that which some have claimed impossible, is made clearly possible, and what ground is fallow is only resting - resting and waiting for the blessed seed to arrive on the wind with all Godspeed. And it will." (p. 74-75)

A Prayer

Refuse to fall down.

If you cannot refuse to fall down,

Refuse to stay down.

If you cannot refuse to stay down,

Lift your heart toward heaven,

And like a hungry beggar,

Ask that it be filled,

And it will be filled.

You may be pushed down,

You may be kept from rising,

But no one can keep you

from lifting your heart

Toward heaven -

Only you.

It is in the midst of misery

That so much becomes clear.

The one who says nothing good

Came of this,

It's not yet listening.

Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Related thoughts:  

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way."  Viktor Frankl

Psalms 30:5 says, “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

D&C 121: 7-8

My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;  And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

Alma 34:33-35

Alma 34:33-35
. . . If we do not improve our time while in this life, then comes the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God, nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that you go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.

Or behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his . . .

Amulek is speaking and he is trying to motivate the people to change and repent. He is correct in that

• life here on Earth is meant to be a time of great growth and change in us
• we don't automatically change into Heavenly beings when we die

I just personally have a major objection to using scare tactics to get people to change. His model would seem to fall back to a theory that life is a contest between God and Satan for our souls. Therefore he is saying beware. . .

Let's look at 1st John 4:18

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear has torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

This scripture suggest there are negative consequences of using fear as a motivator. Fear

• nourishes competition
• fosters short-term thinkin destroys trust
• erodes joy and pride in work
• stifles innovation
• distorts communication

I found a great article from the Regent University School of Business and Leadership called "Emerging Leadership Journeys" (Vol.7 Iss.1, pp. 27-33) The following are some thoughts from that article.

"Fear causes people to live in silence, afraid to talk about issues that need to be discussed."

"Fearful people are unable to do their best work since much of their time and energy are spent watching their backs, covering themselves, and playing it safe. People are unable to fulfill their potential, only able to give a fraction of what they could if they were not controlled by fear."

Compare that to a leader who inspires by love and trust.

". . .a leader who is humble, forgiving and loving is more authentic and it's more inspiring and effective as a leader. Vulnerability is power."

I can only say for myself that love is the thing that has motivated me throughout my whole life. I have always been so touched by the fact that Jesus came to show us how to love.

"The more I come to know my Heavenly Father, the more I see how He inspires and leads His children. He is not angry, vengeful, or retaliatory. His very purpose - His work and His glory - is to mentor us, exalt us, and lead us to His fullness.

"God described Himself to Moses as merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and Truth.

"Our Father in Heaven's love for us, His children, surpasses by far our ability to comprehend.

Does this mean that God condones or overlooks behaviors that run contrary to His commands, no, definitely not!

But he wants to change more than just our behaviors. He wants to change our very natures. He wants to change our hearts."  

Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear by Elder Deiter F Uchtdorf April 2017 Conference

Alma 34: 27-28

Yes, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn-out and pray unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.

And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose this is all; for after you have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart not of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need - I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is in vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as the hypocrites who do denied the faith.

This past week saw the passing of two of our nation's black leaders, men who fought their whole lives for the equal rights movement.

John Lewis was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. to follow in his footsteps and use the principles of nonviolent protest. He was the son of sharecroppers but lived to become a leader in the US Congress serving 17 terms. People called him the "conscience of the Congress". He was a deeply religious man who never preached but lived his religion.  Here are some quotes by Mr. Lewis.

"The Civil Rights movement was based on faith. Many of us who were participants in this movement saw our involvement as an extension of our faith. We saw ourselves doing the work of the Almighty. Segregation and racial discrimination were not in keeping with our faith, so we had to do something."

"We are one people with one family. We all live in the same house . . . and through books, through information, we must find a way to say to people that we must lay down 

the burden of hate. For hate is too heavy a burden to bear."

This week saw also the passing of the Reverend C. T. Vivian. He was an early civil rights activist and leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He was another disciplined advocate of nonviolence.

"Non-violence is the only honorable way of dealing with social change, 

because if we are wrong, nobody gets hurt."

"When a Christian church exists that doesn't want to accept anybody 

but white people, right, they've already denied the faith, all right?"

"Can you be a Christian and a racist at the same time?"

These men would understand exactly what Amulek was saying in verse 28. If you don't live the religion that you profess, "ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith." These two men are exceptional examples of people of deep faith who lived out that faith their entire lives. Their example challenges me to examine my own life and to see if I am doing the same.

Alma 32:28

I have always loved gardening so it is no wonder that I like Alma's words as he compares the word to a seed.  "Now, we will compare the word . . ."

The Savior did the same in Matthew 13:3 as he began, "Behold, a sower went forth to sow . . ."

You know, gardening is not easy. There are so many factors at play. I know because my garden suffers from my inexperience year after year.  So when I think of these two parables, I don't look at them so much as defining the "good guys" who do it right and the "bad guys" who do it wrong, but rather, they seem to be describing both my garden and me personally and all the stages of spiritual development I have been through.

Alma talks about such factors when he compares faith to a seed. The seed must be a good seed. When it sprouts you must nourish it. If you neglect it, the sun will scorch it and it will wither away. But in the end you will reap the rewards of your diligence and have fruit.

The Savior, in the parable of the sower, focuses on the ground that receives the seed. The field is the world while the sower is the apostles. The ground where the seed is sown is the condition of people's hearts.

First the seed falls on the wayside and the birds eat them. The wayside is the hard ground where people have been walking and the seeds just lay on top - easy for the birds to find. I have places in my garden like that where the ground is so hard it is hard to plant anything. I have had times in my life where my heart was that hard.  Protective walls prevent us from feeling God's love and His truths.

Sometimes seeds will fall in stony places, places where there is no soil for roots to grow in and so the plants just wither under the sun. We have such a place along our driveway where there is a long row of decorative rock. It does get a little bit of dirt in there and sometimes a weed will try to take root but the nice thing is that there's not enough soil for them to form deep roots and those weeds are so easy to pull out.  I think in my youth my testimony was like that.  It was shallow and more filled with words than knowledge.  It took some tribulation to force me to dig deep and get those roots down there.  But I could have gone the other way.  Sometimes adversity makes us bitter and we wither like the plants in the parable.

Next in the parable the Savior talked about thorny places.  That is something I really understand. These are the places where the weeds and the thorns grow so rapidly that they just choke out the plants. We decided to transform our backyard into a monarch way-station and so last fall we planted milkweed seed in some of our raised beds. This spring it was very difficult to tell what was weeds and what was milkweed. We had no idea what those little seedlings were going to look like so we had to just let it all grow until we could finally distinguish what was what. For whatever reason, this year those beds were full of purslane. It is an edible weed that grows quickly and it's like a succulent so it is also vigorous. We have had to fight like crazy to get our fragile little milkweed plants to grow and not be overwhelmed by this weed. Sometimes I think my life is like this garden with all the thorny places. It is so easy to let daily chores and care take over our lives. It could be something like just redecorating the house or a vacation or something like.  But they have the potential to distract us from taking time to read our scriptures to say our prayers or whatever. 

The Savior at last talked about the good ground the place that brings forth sufficient soil for deep roots and the fruit in the plants grow so well there.  We all know people who just grasp the gospel and they live it so completely and so fully they are such great examples to all of us.  But those people are rare.  Most of us fight through a battle of personal weaknesses on the way to becoming filled with testimony.  

I certainly am one who has had my own spiritual ups and downs and these two scriptures feel so true to my life. Faith does indeed need nourishing - especially in these modern days where the pace of life alone can rob you of time to even be quiet, to be still. We have to nurture ourselves spiritually as a part of our learning to take care of our self. Our spiritual life is so important in this secular climate that surrounds us, where life drags us down and we never feel like we have enough or that we are enough.

But even beyond what the world does to me, I have my own daily battles to fight. Some days there's just too much to do and I just don't have time. Some days I'm mad at the world or someone in particular and I don't feel like praying. Sometimes I feel like I have PMS and I just can't control my emotions. Sometimes I just need to go sleep it off. And sometimes even at my age I get caught up in the laundry or a good book and go all day without reading my scriptures.

And I feel the difference!  I think that's what Alma are the Savior were talking about. We're not victims of circumstance. We are to take charge of our lives and to watch for the thorny ground and nourish our little seed because life is best lived when we are connected to the Author of Life and we feel His love surrounding us. Alma reminds us in verse 42 the fruit of the tree is that 'which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet." He obviously had read Nephi's words defining that tree,"Yea, it is the love of God".

I've been watching the new video series called The Chosen.  The first episode ends with a scene where the Savior speaks to Mary Magdalene. I love watching that scene and hearing those words.  What I feel when I hear Him speak in that scene is what I believe it means to feel the love of God. I always want to have that feeling.  "But now the saith the Lord that created thee, and he that formed thee, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by name, thou art mine."  The Lord is always there, wanting us to know how much He loves us. We just have to be open and hear His message and then nourish it and help it to grow.

Alma 31:21

Alma 31:21
"Now the place was called by them Rameumpton, which being interpreted, is holy stand."

I can just see this scene in my mind.  Instead of Alma confronting the Zoramites it would be my mother.  Mom would be saying quite emphatically "Get off your high horse! and stop acting like you're better than everyone else."

Or she would have accused them of having a"holier than thou" attitude. She could never tolerate such an attitude which is always critical of others, filled with a sense of moral superiority. 

I like how Merriam-Webster dictionary puts it - "having the annoying attitude of people who believe that they are morally better than other people."

So beware if you hear me yelling, "Get off your Rameumpton!"  It just seems like the logical phrase for an LDS person to substitute. 

Alma 31:17

But thou art the same yesterday, today, and forever; and thou hast elected us that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are elected to be cast by the high brass down to hell; for the which Holiness, O God, we thank thee . . .

There is much in this verse to think about. What is the character of God? Can holiness and wrath both described him? Does he care for all his children? Does he choose some and bring his word to them alone?

And the biggest question of all - do we Latter-Day Saints see the world in such an us-versus-them mentality. "We" have the saving ordinances and "they" don't.

I have to admit that it is easy to get caught in that mindset about the restoration. Do we use what we have be given to condemn others?  "We have all the blessings of the restoration and those who don't accept "the gospel" can never be exalted."

I choose to look at all mankind with"Power of Yet" mindset. This includes Latter-Day Saints. 

None of us have reached our full potential yet. 

None of us knows all the truth yet. 

None of us is ready to live with God yet. 

None of us has conquered our human weaknesses yet.

Perhaps we should also remember that without Jesus' sanctifying and healing power none of us will ever become that perfected being that we want to be.

I also think we should add the "Power of Ever" (my phrase)

None of us should look down upon another human being - ever. 

None of us should think himself better than another - ever. 

And finally I add the "Power of What?"

As a Latter-day Saint I must always ask myself these questions: 

What does God expect of me? 

What do I do with the blessings I have been given? 

What is it about the gospel that has made a difference in my life? 

What is my responsibility to others?

If you want to learn more about the Growth Mindset, check out https://www.kitchentableclassroom.com/growth-mindset-quotes-for-kids-parents/

And ESPECIALLY if you find yourself caught in the trap of self condemnation and regret and you are not enjoying your life, check these out and think about what this all means.  Sometimes as Latter-day Saints we are so afraid of making mistakes.  We forget that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is a gift given to us so that we can learn how to become agents of our own destiny, make mistakes, and never be stopped from progressing because of those mistakes.  The Gospel should feel like a Latter-day Growth Mindset!  

Alma 32:2-4 Humility

Humility is an awareness of our dependency on God and on our fellow human beings and of our spiritual needs.

When my husband and I discussed this last evening, we both agreed that our own individual awareness of our personal inadequacies keeps us humble. Remembering our past is in itself a humbling experience.

I first came to understand how greatly my life has been blessed by others, indeed molded by the actions of others during the time my husband and I were serving a welfare project and we were studying the book "Bridges Out of Poverty".  One exercise helped me understand that the circumstances of my birth, the fact that I had a family that loved me, a community that provided me with a good education and access to a library, connections for a first real job, etc had a profound effect on my life.

It was through all these things that I became the person I am - not through sheer determination on my own. I am not self-made.  That realization humbled me and also made me less judgmental of others.

I had also written in my scriptures the following quote: "A sign of true humility is a hunger and thirst for truth and understanding as opposed to a 'know-it-all' attitude.

Those who are humble:

• Understand they are not more important than others
• Understand they are not less important than others

Being humble means accepting yourself and your many good qualities, as well as your limitations, and recognizing that others also have good qualities and are equally valuable.

What Alma is says to the poor Zoramites is an important lesson. Circumstances may give us a reason to be humble. The real trick is to be humble when circumstances don't force it.

Consider an employee who is just trying to figure out a new job. Humility comes from the circumstance. Then consider that same person 10 years later when he or she is now a senior among the staff. The more senior you get, the more likely you are to have people look at you for answers. In such circumstances we may begin to feel we have all the answers. 

How do we remain humble? Certainly it helps if we will just spend time listening to others. We can practice mindfulness and focus on the present. And we can exude gratitude for all that we have. 

Asking for help when you need it is a sign of humility. As is also seeking feedback from others on a regular basis. When we are willing to review our own actions we can check ourselves and watch that pride and arrogance are not covering smugness, snobbery and vanity.

Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.

Thomas Merton

Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.

 St. Vincent de Paul

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less. 

C. S. Lewis

Alma 29: 2,4

Yes, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the Earth.  . . . for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or onto life. . .

Don't we all wish this in our heart of hearts - to be done with all the sorrow man creates on the Earth? As did Alma, I see the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the answer and just wish everyone would live its principles. Goodbye to anger and hate and all the sins that destroy lives and homes and society.

But God chose to give us agency. He lets us choose the course of our own lives. Some choose to live peacefully and others choose harm.

What a dilemma it is! Like Alma, I long for peace.

Alma 31:30

Alma 31:30

. . . O Lord, wilt thou give me strength that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come up on me . . .

Alma, as leader of the church, has been emotionally fraught as he traveled around the Nephite lands and found that so many of his people had deserted gospel teachings and were setting their hearts upon "all their precious things".  And so he prays for strength.

This prayer is a reminder to all of us that during difficult times we need inner strength. Strength does not take away the pain but allows us to move forward with our lives in the midst of pain.

It usually take some difficulty in our lives to teach us that lesson. Some personal crisis comes along and we fall apart. We feel alone, deserted, without a footing. Hopefully, like Alma, we fall on knees in prayer asking for strength. And that strength comes. 

To me that is the greatest gift that God gives us - strength to endure, to learn, to change, to grow, to feel His presence in our lives.  As Rabbi Harold Kushner says, "People who pray for miracles usually don't get miracles, any more than children who pray for bicycles, good grades, or boyfriends get them as a result of praying. But people who pray for courage, for strength to bear the unbearable, for the grace to remember what they have left instead of what they have lost, very often find their prayers answered. They discover that they have more strength, more courage than they ever knew themselves to have. Where did they get it? I would like to think that their prayers help them find that strength. Their prayers help them tap hidden reserves of faith and courage which were not available to them before."  p. 138 When Bad Things Happen to Good People

On a personal level there is so much resignation that must come as we experience the vicissitudes of life: death, divorce, illness, disability, accident, natural disasters. We can't control them and God can't take them away.

In humility we turn to Him. We find strength. We accept our lot in life, now knowing we are not alone.

In a larger communal spectrum there is much that we should never accept. We must devote our lives to fighting against racism, discrimination of any kind, unjust laws, poverty, illiteracy, etc. We can learn how to do that by following the principles of nonviolence that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr taught us. As I read these principles again today, I realized that it takes true inner strength to live by them.  For Dr. King, as well as for me, that inner strength comes from Christ.

Principle 1. One can resist evil without resorting to violence.

Principle 2. Non-violence seeks to win the "friendship and understanding" of the opponent, not to humiliate him.

Principle 3. Evil itself, not the people committing evil acts, should be opposed.

Principle 4. Those committed to nonviolence must be willing to suffer without retaliation as suffering itself can be redemptive.

Principle 5.  Nonviolent resistance resists "external physical violence" and "internal violence of spirit" as well. The violent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent but he also refuses to hate him.

Principle 6. The violent resister must have a"deep faith in the future" stemming from the conviction that "the universe is on the side of justice."

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. The beauty of non-violence is that in its own way and in its own time it will break the chain reaction of evil."

I love these six principles. I see them in action in the scripture stories; in Alma saying that the "preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which is just", in the sons of Mosiah going amongst the Lamanites as servants and friends, of those same men willing to suffer as they served and of how their willingness to suffer indeed had a redemptive effect upon the Lamanites, and just as surely upon Ammon and his brethren as they learned how the Lord could use their suffering.  I see that same willingness to suffer in the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehites as they laid down their weapons of war and would rather suffer and be killed than to pick up those weapons again. Their inevitable suffering was certainly eternally redemptive for them but also changed the lives of many of those Lamanite warriors who watched them die.

I have to add one more quote from Dr. King. It was hard for him to watch other black leaders lose faith in the power of nonviolence. I think of testimony and what it means to believe in something so strongly that even when others lose faith, you carry on. That is the inner strength Alma was praying for and which he understood was essential.

In an interview with Mike Wallace on CBS news September 27th 1966 Dr King said, "I would like for all of us to believe in non-violence, but I'm here to say tonight that if every Negro in the United States turns against non-violence, I'm going to stand up as a lone voice and say, 'This is the wrong way!'"

Now that is inner strength!