Life is a Process

Alma 22

Aaron teaches King Lamoni, the father of Lamoni. Before teaching though, he tells the king that he and his brothers who had been in prison in Middoni would be the king's servants. That's not what the king wanted. He was curious about these missionaries who talked freely about the spirit guiding them in their labors and he wanted to know about the spirit. He also wanted to be rid of the evil spirit that was within him. He had changed his tune a lot from the encounter he had with Ammon when he ran into them as they were on their way to Middoni to free Aaron from prison. At that time, he was willing to give up half of his kingdom to save his life. (Alma 20:23) Now he is willing to give up all that he possesses. What a difference!

Again, I am intrigued with how Aaron teaches. Where did he start? At the beginning of the world – the creation. I remember the temple endowment as I read this. That is where the Lord starts as well. How does Aaron teach? By asking questions. I think I'm being taught that I need to do this as well. My last PPI with Pres. Todd he talked about asking the right questions. It is not intuitive for me, but I am praying that I will be given this gift eventually. (D&C 46:8) It is not a gift I want for me; it is a gift I want to help me better serve. Those are the best gifts. It is sad that I didn't learn this great teaching skill before I raised my family. But I guess it's not too late to incorporate it into my life now.

Back to King Lamoni. He fascinates me because he was so bad and yet he exhibits the faith of a child when he falls to the ground and prays to Heavenly Father and says (v18) “. . .O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee. . .” He wanted to be raised from the dead and be saved at the last day. The result of this simple, child-like prayer was amazing! He was basically born again, changed completely. I can relate to the “being changed completely” part, but for me it was not instantaneous. It was a process. Bit by bit I saw things I needed to change and I worked on them. Eventually, I could see that I was a new person though.  

So how does all this relate to me today? I could write about it all day long. What do I need to do about it? Today? I need to continue seeking after the best gifts – defining what they might be and seeking to attain them through prayer, repentance and change. Most importantly, I must show forth patience and love to those who will some day experience this change for themselves. Life is a process and we are all processing.