I will Praise My God!

Alma 26

Ammon praises the lord almost to boasting, but explains himself beautifully.

There are so many verses that read almost like lyrics to a song. Ammon is truly filled with the spirit as he praises the Lord for his mercies to them. They were in the darkest abyss of sin and destruction and the Lord saw fit to save them. They have reason to sing his praises.

But wait! Let's take a small look at what Ammon and his brethren endured to be able to find this joy. Was it a party? Absolutely not! They were thrown into prison, beaten, spit upon, persecuted, and treated horribly. Most people would crumble under these conditions. Did Ammon and his brethren? No! Did they grow weary? No! Did they tire of waiting? No! They knew the Lord had a plan for them and they waited on the Lord.

I believe this stands out to me because of conversations I had with my girls yesterday about their lives. I somehow without meaning to gave them the impression that if they prepared themselves to go to the temple, then the Lord would bless them instantly with an eternal companion and they would live happily ever after. This is foolishness that has caused them some problems. The Lord does not pour on the blessings until we have proven, like Ammon and his brethren, that we can take the heat. No matter what the cross, we can and will bear it in the strength of the Lord. They have given up on the Lord – gotten tired of waiting. No doubt Ammon and his brethren could have thrown up their hands at any time and been justified; but they bore with patience their afflictions (v27) and the Lord gave them success. Can we not apply this to our own lives? Maybe our plight is not missionary work. Maybe it is just in every day living. But the Lord is our light and our salvation as Ammon points out in v35-37. They were able to find the joy in the every day tender mercies. I'm sure they had to dig deep to find these blessings as they sat in cold, dark prisons. This is our task as well. Life is a journey. We are not all on the same path and must remember that. We are living the plan the Lord has for us as individuals, and we MUST be patient and wait on the Lord. Critical is the need to find the joy in the every day living. When we start to see the blessings, and they are numerous for both of these girls, then the Lord (just like an earthly parent) will feel to give more.

How does this apply to me today? I will continue to sing praises to my God. I don't believe there is a day go by that I don't think (maybe sometimes in a small way) how blessed I am to be experiencing my life as it is. I was in a dark abyss and the Lord saved me. Would I feel the same had I not found my knight in shining armor and married in the temple? I believe I would have. Anything was better than the misery I was experiencing. Being alone was heaven compared to the emotional beating I had become accustom to. I felt the Lord's love in all things that happened to me from the amazing people who surrounded me to the job that provided for my family. I was grateful for the opportunity to serve, albeit my calling wasn't a fun one at that time. I did it because I knew it was where the Lord wanted me at that time. And just like Pres. Todd has promised the young people in our stake, I was led to my eternal companion because of my calling which I performed cheerfully.

There is no doubt in my mind the Lord has a plan and we are best served if we learn to cheerfully be on that path. This is my testimony and I say it in the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen