I am the servant!

Alma 45

Alma talks with his son, Helaman, gives him responsibility for the church and records and leaves for Melek but never arrives.  It is assumed he was translated.

I’m not certain why this chapter choked me up a little this morning.  I’ll try to figure this one out.  Alma is probably one of my favorite characters in the Book of Mormon.  I relate to his history just a little.  He had a hard time getting started on his road of righteousness.  His was a little worse than mine, as he actively tried to destroy the church.  So in my eyes, I think that’s pretty bad.  I just didn’t have the faith to live it. 

So what becomes of Alma?  He has his life-defining moment when an angel appears to him and calls him to repentance – if not to save himself, then to stop damaging the church and its progress.  When Alma came out of this experience, he was a changed man.  He knew he had been saved by the grace of his Savior, Jesus Christ, and he spent the rest of his life serving him. 

We know he had a personal life because he had some pretty stalwart sons as well.  He taught them the gospel and they served in the kingdom as well.  His son Helaman was so righteous he was given the responsibilities of the kingdom before Alma died.  In other words, he too became a prophet.  We know Helaman was always righteous.

So why does this ring a chord with me this morning?  I believe it is because I feel such gratitude for my blessings.  The Lord has been so very good to me from the very moment I decided to turn my life around.  There was never a moment’s hesitation in what I knew I needed to be doing and I did it.  It wasn’t easy, but I walked away from friends, a nice home and many of the things inside that made it nice, and any influence that did not help me accomplish this commitment.   When I started dating, I was almost a prude, but I would not risk another mistake.  Clyde has joked with me often about our dating days.  I would not let him in my home.  He thought that a little over the top.  It was what I felt I needed to do to avoid any risk at all.  It worked. 

But this isn’t about me.  It’s about Alma.  I want to be like Alma, someone the Lord can count on to do what He asks me to do.  It starts with obedience.  A few other items in this chapter are gratitude, fasting and prayer (v1), believing (v3-5), obedience (v6-7) prospering in the land (v8).   We need to understand what “prospering in the land” really means.  Sometimes it is disguised and we need to have the Spirit with us to recognize it.  Most places where this phrase is written in the Book of Mormon it is followed by the opposite:  i.e. 1 Nephi 1:21 “And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.”   What does that mean to me?  I would be without the Lord’s guidance in my life.  I would be on my own.  What a frightening place to be!

There is a warning that one could almost miss in the very last verse of this chapter.  V24 “But they grew proud, being lifted up in their hearts, because of their exceedingly great riches; . . . would not give heed to [the] words, to walk uprightly before God.”  As we are blessed for serving the Lord, frequently those blessings help us prosper financially.  It is a natural consequence.  Overcoming pride is a huge deal and needs to be checked regularly.  I must remember that I am the servant and my blessings come from my Heavenly Father.  Without Him and His Spirit in my life, I’m pretty much nothing.