The scriptures in
this lesson apply to my life over the last few weeks. I have had little
opportunity to blog. I have also been really sick for more than four weeks. I
had my daughter and her two little ones visiting me from Upper Hutt. I also have
my three university students, who live at home, on holiday so at home a lot.
Everyone picked up flu and this horrendous cough that never seems to go away.
Even now, as I type, I am coughing and so is my youngest daughter!
In Alma 32:12
we read: “…it is well that ye are cast out of your synagogues, that ye may be
humble, and that ye may learn wisdom…ye are brought to a lowliness of heart;
for ye are necessarily brought to be humble.” Sickness, rather than poverty,
has helped me rely a lot on the Lord just to cope with work and family, to
maintain my day-to-day responsibilities. I know without His help, I would have
given up in despair.
In Alma 32 we read
the wonderful words of Alma to the poor Zoramites, kicked out of the synagogues
and rejected for their poverty. There is so much in these scriptures. Alma
speaks about the poor in heart, the adversity of poverty, humility, and faith.
I have often thought about being rich vs being poor. The key is to always be
willing to give! Even the poor Zoramites were told that after they prayed, they
were to give to the poor and needy! “What a stunning reminder that rich or poor, we are to “do what we can” when
others are in need” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Are
we not all beggars? Oct. 2014 General Conference). A perfect example is
our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. Elder Holland recalled, “…the image of
him I will cherish until I die is of him flying home from then-economically
devastated East Germany in his house slippers because he had given away not
only his second suit and his extra shirts but the very shoes from off his feet.”
I have often thought how pleasant it would be to have the means to give to
those in need! I have always enjoyed giving more than receiving. This is a
principle that was demonstrated to me by my parents as I was growing up.
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| President Thomas S. Monson
The lecture on
faith, given by Alma, is striking and clear. One of the most well-known scriptures
from Alma is Alma
32:21, “And now as I said concerning faith - faith is not to have a perfect
knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are
not seen, which are true.” I love the words of Elder Neil L. Andersen on faith.
He said, “Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is not something ethereal, floating
loosely in the air. Faith does not fall upon us by chance or stay with us by
birthright… Faith emits a spiritual light and that light is discernible…Faith
is a principle of power, important not only in this life but also in our
progression beyond the veil. By the grace of Christ, we will one day be saved
through faith on His name. The future of your faith is not by chance, but by choice”
(Faith
is not by chance, but by choice, Oct. 2015 General Conference).
Alma talks about the seeds
of the word of God. These seeds need to be planted in our hearts. We need to
allow the seed to germinate and grow through the Spirit. The patience we have
as we wait for the seed to grow, is our faith.
President Spencer W. Kimball
stated, “The exercise of faith is a willingness to accept without total regular
proof and to move forward and perform works… A real faith pushes one forward to
constructive and beneficial acts as though he knew in absoluteness” (Teachings
of President Spencer W. Kimball, Chapter 13). We plant the seed by
desiring to believe, but then we must nourish the seed through our actions (Alma 32:37-38).
We need to be reading and studying the Book of Mormon, praying with a sincere
heart and real intent, and serving the Lord, our families, and our neighbours.
In Alma
34 we receive wonderful information about the Atonement, we are told to pray always,
and then a warning from Amulek that certainly led me to deep introspection.
Amulek warns us not to procrastinate the day of our repentance. In Alma 34:33
it reads, “I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your
repentance unto the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to
prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life,
then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.”
I
found a lot of information that helped me understand this scripture further.
This information came from Keep
the commandments – beginning right now! By Elder M. Russell Ballard, a
BYU speech from September 1987. Elder Ballard quoted his grandfather’s words,
i.e. the words of Elder Melvin J. Ballard. He suggested that a man or woman
would be able to conform more to the laws of God in one year in this life, than
in ten years in the hereafter. The spirit and body united are able to overcome
sin and repent much more readily than having the spirit alone repent and
change, and then battle with the flesh afterwards. Also, every desire and every
feeling will be greatly intensified after this mortal life. “This is the time when
men are more pliable and susceptible…When clay is pliable it is much easier to
change than when it gets hard and sets…This life is the time to repent. That is
why I presume it will take a thousand years…to do what it would have taken
three score years and ten to accomplish in this life.”
This
has left me with a strong desire to repent. I would far rather battle my
weaknesses here and seek the Lord’s mercy, then have a far greater, more
painful and long-lasting battle in the next life. The Atonement is such an
incredible gift. It means the Lord loves me. How could I not want to show my
gratitude by doing what I can right now? I cannot procrastinate or make
excuses!
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