Alma 5 - Only Two Choices

As I was reading this, I was impressed that it is was one powerful question after another.  I have instructed myself in the margins to put my name or first pronouns in the place of his generic nouns. 

To start with, in verse 6 he asks if I remember the captivity of my fathers?  I remember my own captivity!  I was in the darkest abyss.  I consider it nothing less than a miracle that I was able to pull away from the world that was literally suffocating me.  There is rarely a day even 36+ years later that I don’t think on the blessings of my own rescue.  Oh how I pray my daughters who wander will experience this same miracle in their lives. 

There are certain things Alma tells the people they must do in order to be free from the bondage of sin.

• Listen to the words of the prophets.  
• Heed the counsel of the prophets.
• Study the scriptures faithfully.
• Fast
• Pray

In doing these things, we will be filled with the spirit and be spiritually born of God.  We will receive his image in our countenances.  Alma asks if we have had the mighty change.  My response to that is I most certainly have.  I know it was visible to others as well because they asked me frequently if I’d lost weight, changed my hair, makeup, etc.  It was none of those things.  I had started to take on the image of my Savior.  It is a slow process – probably as slow as the process to wander away from the truth.  But this I know:  It is real.  It is visible, and it changes the person forever!

I will always sing a song of redeeming love (v26).  I believe this is where my song writing comes from.  I don’t generally write secular music.  It is all in praise to my Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ. 

There are two choices only.  There are those that think varying degrees of righteousness are sufficient.  Alma makes it clear that “. . . if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepherds, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, the same becometh a child of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his voice, and doth follow him.”  Who’s on the Lord’s side?  That is the real question.  Do I follow the teachings of my Savior?  Do I go about doing good continually?  Do I tend to the sick and afflicted?  Do I teach the truths of eternity?  Do I help the blind to see?  Do I raise the dead?  (This would be accomplished through genealogy and Family History, aka indexing, etc.) 

There is so much meat to chew on in this chapter.  It was particularly significant to me today because of a difficult encounter with a daughter who is in her own dark abyss – so much so she cannot see the love that surrounds her even when in the midst of it.  There is a way out of this dark abyss.  I know it from experience, and I believe Alma when he writes of it. 

And my time to ponder these things is over.  I know Heavenly Father loves us and cares what happens to us.  He wants us to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd.  He wants us to return home to Him.  However, he will force no one to heaven.  The choice is ours and there are only two choices.

Mosiah 7 - What Holds me Bondage?

Verses 29-33

I can’t close my scriptures without commenting on these verses some.  I watch the struggles my two daughters are going through and they are tremendous.  I am helpless to them.  These are their struggles.  To me it is so easy to figure out.  The Lord has promised us – and He doesn’t lie – that He “. . . will not succor [us] in the day of [our] transgressions; but [I] will hedge up their ways that they prosper not; and their doings shall be as a stumbling block before them.  V30 And again, he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and the effect thereof is poison.”

The next two verses are as pertinent.  Why should we be surprised when we find that we’re having some pretty serious trials when we do nothing to be in good with Heavenly Father?  It may seem that some are turning to worldly ways and having a good life, but rest assured there will be serious trials.  I see it in the lives of my nieces and nephews who also struggle with keeping the covenants they have made with the Lord.  Do we really become so blind to the ways of the Lord when we turn against His ways and let Satan be our master?  Apparently so, because try talking reason to someone who has turned away from righteousness.  There is an excuse for everything.  Their own logic is laughable. 

So how does this pertain to me?  Since this is my own scriptural musings?  Well, I wrote at the end of this chapter:  “What holds me bondage?”  There are many ways to sin.  I’m subject to temptations as much as the rest and I need to remember these verses and stay on the Lord’s side else not be surprised when I “reap the east wind”. 

2 Nephi 28:24 At Ease in Zion

Why do you think it is dangerous for people to be “at ease in Zion,” thinking that no improvement is needed?

Anyone who is “at ease in Zion” isn’t spending much time reading the words of the Prophets of our day.  There is work to be done to prepare for the Savior’s second coming.  We’ve been told to be anxiously engaged in a good cause.  This translates to work and although there is great comfort in knowing you are doing the Lord’s work, we are not “at ease”.  The dictionary defines “ease” absence of difficulty or effort. 

2 Nephi 28:30 - Be Not Discouraged

This morning just before leaving the house for a walk, my daughter called quite confused over what she was listening to in the scriptures.  She happened to be on 1 Nephi 19 and she wanted to know who was writing. 

Having this discussion with her brought a flood of memories to my mind that I decided I want to commit to my “Scripture Musings”. 

I believe discouragement is one of Satan’s biggest tools.  I have vivid memories of the early years after my conversion.  I had read The Book of Mormon from cover to cover.  I did not understand all of it, but I enjoyed those stories I remembered and the lessons they taught.  It made me feel good and I kept going back for more.  This is key to getting to the point of understanding.

As I was walking this morning, I was listening to a podcast and the speaker said something about “. . . line upon line precept upon precept”, which triggered a chain of thoughts.  I came home and looked up the scripture.  It is 2 Nephi 28:30 “For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.”

Is this not really the way it works?  We are given bits of knowledge at a time to learn from and digest, and then we are given to know more as we seek it.  It was that way for me.  I will never forget sometime after conference when I was making my bed and pondering.  I was thinking about reading the scriptures and the fact I didn’t really have a reading schedule or goal.  I said to myself, “who do you think they are talking to when they say we need to be reading our scriptures?”  That was the beginning of my serious scripture study.  I have since been able to attend some scripture study classes which have been most helpful, but most importantly, I have given myself to serious scripture study on my own time.  I’m grateful for the blessing of being able to do so.  I realize time is a serious issue in all of our lives.  I will add next point to my ponderings of this day though.

I had an opportunity to visit with a medical student who had some amazing experiences getting him to where he was in his life.  It could make a book, but I’ll pare it down.  He had a strong testimony of the power of scripture study because of an experience he had with his little brother who is dyslexic.  They were on a trip that was halted because of poor weather which kept them in a hotel room for an extended period of time.  There wasn’t much else they could do, so he read with his brother.  He worked with his brother as he read from the Book of Mormon.  It was tedious and not particularly fun when all of a sudden the words started to appear normal to his brother and he was reading at grade level.  He noticed this to be at about 30 minutes into their session of reading.  So the next day, they read again for thirty minutes from the Book of Mormon and the same thing happened again.  It looked to him as if 30 minutes was a magic time.  From that point on, his brother was reading at least 30 minutes daily from the Book of Mormon and it was as though he had no dyslexic problem at all!

So what does this have to do with me?  Well, I was struggling more than ever to have the energy I needed daily to meet the demands that were placed on me.  I couldn’t care for my family decently say nothing about read my scriptures.  This young man’s story had not fallen on deaf ears.  I knew I needed to recommit myself to reading my scriptures.  The next day, I awoke 30 minutes earlier than usual and read my Book of Mormon.  I set the alarm for 30 minutes while I read my scriptures.  I noticed it wasn’t long before setting the alarm wasn’t necessary.  Sometimes I read longer.  This next observation was the miracle.  I noticed I made it through my day with energy to spare.  This boost to my energy allowed me to accomplish more in my day than I otherwise would have.  It truly seemed to me to be a miracle. 

These meanderings seemed to take me in a direction different from what I first intended.  I added to my scripture study ready references in the footnotes.  Most often it would lead to greater understanding of what I was reading.  I also started writing in the margins of my own book so they became my scriptures – messages for me.  This is greatly improved my understanding and ability to remember what I’ve been reading.

I guess what I’m trying to say is this:  Don’t be discouraged that you don’t understand all there is to understand today.  It is a process.  Just as Nephi said in 2 Nephi 28:30 – “. . . line upon line precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. . .”  It will come.  Just keep doing your best to add to the knowledge you have so far.  I testify it will come!

2 Nephi 25 – My Soul Delighteth in Plainness

I made it through the Isaiah chapters (2 Nephi 13-24)! I always take a deep sigh of relief.  I remember the day when it would trip me up and I, like many others, would give up on reading the Book of Mormon.  Someone told me once to “skip over” these chapters rather than stop, so I followed that direction.  As I grew in my testimony, I knew this was something I would need to tackle.  I bought the book “Understanding Isaiah” by Donald Parry and wrote notes in the margins of these chapters.  These chapters are actually my most colorful pages in my Book of Mormon!  Through the years, as I’ve been in classes where discussion was had on these chapters I’ve added to these notes.  Now I have to say I enjoy these chapters.  I would never be presumptuous enough to commentate on them myself, but they don’t trip me up anymore. 

My daughter is currently reading the Book of Mormon for the first time and is determined to make it past the Isaiah chapters this time.  This is the advice I gave to her:  Keep reading, even if you don’t understand.  In time, understanding will come when we want it.