Lay Aside Sin

This verse was just a powerful one when I read it, so I thought I'd mention this one too.

"15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.
16 And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me." (Alma 7:15-16)

This is just neat, and encouraging, for someone like me who isn't perfect. Sometimes it is out of fear that we don't "lay aside every sin". We are afraid of what life would be like without it, or we are afraid of the effort it will take to lay it aside. We could be afraid of the repentance process, or maybe afraid of the consequences of our actions.

But the truth is that our sins bind us. We become less free when we sin. We become less able to make our own decisions (or at least we feel that way).

Here's the thing, though. It's worth it. I mean, whoever does it, shall (not can, but shall) have eternal life. And just like Alma, I can say that the Holy Spirit testifies in me that these things are true. Just lay aside sin, and you will have eternal life, to live forever in a blessed state, with our Heavenly Father.

Christ's Atonement Cover's Everything

This is one of my very favorite scriptures. It talks about Christ, before He was on the earth, and what some of the prophets knew about Him.  It introduces the topic by describing that He would be born of Mary at Jerusalem, and then proceeds to talk about the most miraculous aspects of His life: the Atonement.

"11 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 and the sicknesses of his people.

12 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." (Alma 7:11-12)

This is one of my favorites, because often we talk about how Jesus atoned for our sins, which in and of itself is so awesome. However, we go through so much in this life that doesn't have anything to do with sin, and it is powerful to think that Christ has been there through all of it, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations OF EVERY KIND. So not just sin, but sickness, pain, sorrow, temptation. All the things that we could suffer in this life, Jesus has been there and understands how we feel. Why? So "that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities". To succor someone means to give assistance and support in a times of hardship and distress. Christ knows how to do that. Also, when you go to help someone, you often give them the help that YOU think they need. But when Christ helps, it's "according to their infirmities", or in other words, it is the help that they ACTUALLY need, for whatever it is they need help with.

The message is that Christ is there to give you the help you need when you need it. He is always there. I know this is true. I have experienced it in my own life.

Available To All

It is a seemingly small thing, but these words stuck out to me as I read them:

"Now I would that ye should understand that the word of God was liberal unto all, that none were deprived of the privilege of assembling themselves together to hear the word of God." (Alma 6:5)

I think it is important to remember the several lessons that are pointed out in this verse. First, that the word of God was liberal to all, or open to all. This means everyone. Nobody is barred from hearing His word.

Secondly, everyone could gather together to hear the word of God. Not only is it open and freely given to all, but that nobody is excluded from the community that happens when people gather together to hear God's word. This is important because everyone can work together to gain understanding, and when this is done in the right way, with the right spirit, all are edified of all. Everyone grows.

Finally, the word privilege, with reference to gathering together to hear the word of God. Sometimes, Sunday is the only day of rest that you have, and it can almost feel like a sacrifice to go to all the Church block meetings, firesides, and other meetings. If the word of God is being shared, even a little, it should feel like a privilege, not a burden.

I hope that I can learn the lessons that are meant for me, and I hope to retain in remembrance those lessons.

As a side note, it is interesting to note the several lessons that can be learned from a short verse of scripture. Sometimes, you feel like you have to read a whole lot to get a lot out of what you read, so it feels like a burden. But you don't. You can learn from any part of the scriptures, assuming you are in the frame of mind that you are looking to learn, or gain knowledge or better understanding.

Continuous Conversion

Alma, the High Priest, goes about talking to his people. He wants them to be righteous. This is a great collection of questions that one can ask themselves in an introspective way to get a feeling for how you are doing. I thought about posting all the questions in a list, but I realized that it really comes down to one question that Alma asked of his people. He talks to them about basically being (and staying) converted.

"if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?" (Alma 5:26)

He talks about a couple of things here. First, when we are converted, we experience a change of heart. We want to change, we don't want to sin anymore, and we mourn the things we have done that go against the commandments. When we are converted, and forgiven for our sins, it is like we are born again, starting fresh. Our mortal minds don't necessarily forget our sins, but when we are forgiven of them, we feel like singing praises to God for His plan, and to Christ for the Atonement He performed in our behalf. It is because of this that we can feel clean.

Over time, though, we tend to veer a little off the path and begin to sin. It may not be conscious on our parts, but if we are not constantly watching ourselves, re-evaluating things, it is going to be difficult to stay on the path. We will always make mistakes, no matter how hard we try not to. It's part of being human. The beauty of the question that Alma asks, is that I think that we know. I don't know that we have to go down a list of 40 questions to determine if we are still feeling converted. We just have to ask ourselves if we feel the same way we felt when we were first converted.

When I ask myself that one question, I know there are a number of things I need to improve on, and I want to recommit right now to do that. Starting today, I will do better at those things. You might say that I already am, considering I'm back to thinking about the scriptures more in depth with this post.

I love the scriptures. I am glad for the help that I get in reading them. In truth, part of this reminding that I have gone through with this was because of the General Conference that I was able to experience. I felt the need to be better, and instead of just saying "yep, I need to do better about that", I am trying to actually do so.

Because of all the wars that happened, the Nephites became very humbled. They had lost family members, fields, flocks, and so much more during these wars. This enabled many people to feel the spirit, and 3500 people were baptized and joined the Church. I'd say that's great progress for the size of people that were there.

Over the next couple of years, the Lord blessed the people, but there began to be pride and inequality among the people, to the point where many members of the Church began to become wicked.

"and the wickedness of the church was a great stumbling-block to those who did not belong to the church; and thus the church began to fail in its progress." (Alma 4:10)

I think this is a rather poignant lesson to learn. As members of the Church, we must live the gospel fully. I have seen some examples of the scripture above. I have spoken to people who claim that they don't want to know about the Church because someone who was supposedly a "card-carrying member" had wronged them or at the very least had not been very Christ-like toward them.

This happens for a couple of reasons. One is just plain pride. It could come in the form of "I have more money than you", or even (ironically) "I'm more righteous than you". Another reason is because it's not fully understood. Or perhaps the person is just giving into temptation and being influenced by Satan. Whatever the reason, the wickedness of members of the Church can cause people to fall away or reject it. Thus the Church [begins] to fail in it's progress. That's how it happens overall.

It just underlines the importance of staying true and faithful. When you make covenants, keep them. When you live the gospel, live it fully. Yes, the Lord will bless you. Yes, you will probable even encounter such blessings that you might have the temptation to think you're better than others, or whatever. Just remember, when someone decides not to join or be part of the Church, and you are among the reasons for that decision, you will be held accountable to some degree for that persons choice. 

I want to be on the opposite side of the fence. I want to live my life in such a way that people see me and have desires to join the Church and be blessed the same way I have been blessed, to have the gospel in my life and the direction of the Spirit. I want others to have that too.

We Receive Wages of Whom We List To Obey

"27 For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it be according to the truth. And thus endeth the fifth year of the reign of the judges." (Alma 3:27)

They had just lived through what turned out to be a very destructive year. Tens of thousands of souls died that year, and were sent to the eternal realm, whether they were good or bad. There are consequences to all our actions. We never know when this life will come to an end, so we should live each day in such a way that we can expect good "wages". When we "listeth to obey" God, following His commandments, and living a righteous life, we will become heirs to all that He has. That is a pretty good set of wages, I would say. On the other hand, if we "listeth to obey" the world, or really, Satan, we will get a just reward (punishment) for that. It's really pretty straightforward.

Strengthened By The Lord

Alma hadn't been chief judge all that long before Amlici began to stir up the hearts of some of the Nephites to want a king. Specifically, he spent time convincing them that they wanted HIM to be their king. There were enough people that had been convinced of this that there was a vote among the people. Luckily, the majority of people wanted to stick with the judges being in charge rather than a king.

Not to be dissuaded from this endeavor, people that wanted Amlici to be king just separated themselves from the other Nephites, and made him their king, so they became Amlicites.

For his first order of business, Amlici convinced his people to go to war against the Nephites.

"18 Nevertheless the Lord did strengthen the hand of the Nephites, that they slew the Amlicites with great slaughter, that they began to flee before them." (Alma 2:18)

The Amlicites ran away, and the Nephites chased them. Unfortunately, the Amlicites joined forces with a very large army of Lamanites, so Alma's army went ahead and started to battle with this huge force of people, for the protection of their families and liberties.

At some point, Alma, who was leading his army, became pitted against Amlici.

"30 And it came to pass that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised with much faith, cried, saying: O Lord, have mercy and spare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people.

31 Now when Alma had said these words he contended again with Amlici; and he was strengthened, insomuch that he slew Amlici with the sword." (Alma 2:30-31)

In both verses, we show that the Lord blesses and strengthens his righteous people.

I believe this to be a very real example of the blessings that come from righteous living. The Lord will protect and strengthen them. We may not be in an actual physical battle with swords and armies, but we are always in a spiritual battle. I think one reason Mormon included this account in the Book of Mormon is to show us that though we may be fighting what appears to be a losing battle, the Lord will strengthen us and help us, if only we are righteous.