Now is the Time

Alma taught the people about faith, and what they needed to do to gain more faith and apply the Gospel to their lives.

When Alma was done talking, Amulek got up and started to talk. I noticed that the first thing he did was to add his witness to the words of Alma. He specifically points out one or two things that Alma talked about and confirms their truth.

He then goes on to teach the people about some things they should be doing, and then spends time talking about the Atonement. This is a natural progression from Alma's topic of faith, because the next principle of the Gospel is repentance. It's hard to teach people about repentance if they don't know about the Atonement.

He talked about that infinite and eternal sacrifice that would be made in the future, and how the law of Moses would be fulfilled. He talks about applying the atonement using prayer and being charitable.

This verse jumps out at me, though. This is the call to action, with the promise:

"Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you." (Alma 34:31)

Harden not your hearts. This is the phrase that Alma used to describe the children of Israel who refused to look at the staff and heal themselves. So we need to not do that anymore.

In fact, Amulek gives a sense of urgency to this process. NOW is the time and the day of your salvation. This part is individual. You have to ultimately do it yourself. Nobody can soften your heart for you. The good thing is that the timing for the blessing is described as well. Immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you. I know when we're looking for a blessing, we have to wait for the Lord's timing. This is different though. This is what happens to us right away as soon as we try to make the atonement effective in our lives by repenting and even exercising a little effort toward that goal. When we do this, it immediately starts working in us to prepare us to meet God and for us to be ready for the meeting.

I know I can do better at preparing today rather than procrastinating the day of my repentance. He is there, waiting to give me the assistance I need, whenever I decide to exercise that option. So now is the time.