Brave Men

So, the last 2 days I just finished up chapter 17 in Alma. Can I just say how brave the sons of Mosiah were?!!! First they travel through the wilderness (weapons in hand to kill animals for food) for many days, fasting and praying all the way. Then, they gain courage in the Lord's answer to their prayers, in which he told them to be "patient in long-suffering and afflictions." So, they knew they were in for some trials and tribulation. Then they get to the land of the Lamanites (who were by the way a "ferocious people...who delighted in murdering the Nephites...who did worship idols...") and they separated and went out alone! Here begins the story of Ammon and his example to the King Lamoni by his service and slaying many men to protect his sheep...we all know this story well.

Wild People

In Alma 17:13-16 it talks about how the Lamanites were "a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people." My manual gives more examples to show how true this really was...

Nephi reported that the Lamanites became "idle people, full of mischief and subtlety."

Enos said " they became wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness"

Jarom said they "loved murder and would drink the blood of beasts"

Scary. But, what was interesting was that the Lord prepared them for the sons of Mosiah. They began to have interaction with different groups of Nephites (Zeniff's colony, apostate groups like the wicked priests of Noah known as Amulonites) and were taught things like the Nephite language. Pretty cool.

Successful Missionaries

Mormon explained how the sons of Mosiah became successful missionaries in Alma 17:1-8:

1. "They had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth" because "they had searched the scriptures diligently" to know the word of God" (verse 2)
2. They had prayed and fasted much (verse 3)
3. They had willingly served the Lord under difficult and trying circumstances (verses 4-5)

Makes me think about how I can be a better missionary...

Chapter 16, intro to 17

Today I read chapter 16 in Alma. It is a pretty interesting chapter, and a quick read. I also read the beginning of 17. Starting in 17 will start "an account of the sons of Mosiah, who rejected their rights to the kingdom for the word of God, and went up to the land of Nephi to preach to the Lamanites." What a great example to latter-day missionaries that have a difficult time putting their life on hold for two years to go on a mission! I hope that my boys (if I have any) will be excited to go on missions and that it won't be something they struggle with. I am excited to read these next few chapters.

Ensign Article

Since we were camping the last 2 days, I brought the Ensign with me and was able to read the First Presidency Message, "That He May Write upon Our Hearts" by Henry B. Eyring.

I don't know what my deal is lately, but I almost cried when I read it. Probably because lately I have been worried that I don't know what I need to be teaching Allie as she is becoming older and more aware and understands more. I have been worried that I am not ready for more than just a baby (who's needs are mostly physical because they don't understand a lot) Reading this article helped me figure out the most important things I need to teach my kids. Here is what I decided:

1. How important prayer is (teach by example)
2. Jesus Christ's atonement
3. The Plan of Salvation (that we are children of our Heavenly Father)
4. We can be together forever as a family if we are obedient and live the gospel.

This article talks about a lot more, and gives good advice for parents with children who have strayed. I hope that my kids will love the gospel and live it. That is the most important thing to me. I don't care if they don't do well in school or don't have any great talents, I just care that they are righteous and caring people who treat others with respect and have a strong testimony.

A Divided People

These last 2 days I finished up chapter 14 and 15. For chapter 14, there was one other topic in the manual I thought was interesting. It talks about verses 1-5 and "a divided people." This is what Brigham Young said about this:

"The Gospel of salvation in perfectly calculated to cause division. It strikes at the root of the very existence of mankind in their wickedness, evil designs, passions, and wicked calculations. There is no evil among the human family, but at the foundation of which it strikes effectually, and it comes in contact with every evil passion that rises in the heart of man. It is opposed to every evil practice of men, and consequently it disturbs them in the wicked courses they are pursuing."

There is so much I want to say about this and about the world we live in today, but I can't figure out how I want to put it...I will say this, I think that all of us that truly believe in the gospel principles and the standards of the church should stand up for them more often. I am definitely a non-confrontational person so I am speaking to myself when I say this too. :)

The Suffering of the Righteous

Well, I am finally back to my everyday scripture study, after weeks of weird schedules on vacation and preparing for my lesson last week. Today I am reading Alma chapter 14...


I am a little worried. Yesterday there was a comment made during the lesson about how sometimes when you attend the temple your family may not be safe and it doesn't mean you are a bad person. Then, today the first thing that jumped out to me from my manual on chapter 14 was the section about how bad things happen to good people ("The Suffering of the Righteous.")


I really hope that the Lord isn't trying to prepare me for something...


Alma 14:8-11 Talks about how Alma and Amulek had the power to bring down punishment on the men who killed the believers of God, but didn't because he said that God permits the righteous to suffer for a purpose.


It says this in my manual:


"...if all sick were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. If pain, sorrow, and total punishment immediately followed the doing of evil, no soul would repeat a misdeed. If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil-all would do good and not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, no Satanic controls...no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or death...an absence of joy, success, resurrection, eternal life. and godhood.

Fire of the Covenant

I often wonder how the early Saints did it. How did they go through everything they did? Today while reading more for my lesson I came across this:

Brigham Young counseled to the Saints, "Now is the time for labor. Let the fire of the covenant which you made in the House of the Lord, burn in your hearts, like flame unquenchable"

David A. Bednar said "What was it that gave those early Saints such strength? It was the fire of the temple covenant that burned in their hearts. It was their commitment to worship and honorably hold a name and standing in the house of the Lord."

I just recently went to the Joseph Smith movie at temple square and have a renewed appreciation for the early Saints and all of their numerous sacrifices. I simply can't even believe the faith these members had and their strength and courage to do what they did. I hope that I will learn from them and gain more strength to do what is right through the fire of the covenant.

Home Improvement

Lately I have been rearranging things in my apartment, just because I get bored easily and needed to mix things up a little bit. While studying for my lesson I was reading Gary E. Stevenson's conference talk from this last conference "Sacred Homes, Sacred Temples." He lists questions we should be asking ourselves about our own homes. I decided I should probably focus more on these and less on how my apartment looks.

Is your home a place of love, peace, and refuge from the world?

Clean and orderly?

Are there uplifting images which include pics of the Savior and temple?

Is your bedroom a place for personal prayer?

Is the kitchen and living area a place where food is prepared and enjoyed, allowing uplifting conversation and family time?

Are scriptures found in a room where the family can study, pray, and learn together?

Does the music you hear or entertainment you see offend the Spirit?

Is the conversation uplifting and without contention?

He then said that hopefully we just need a little home improvement rather than an extreme home makeover :)

I'm Back!

Well, my family left this weekend and now I have to get back to real life... I am doing the lesson in Relief Society this Sunday so I started on that today. It is on the blessings and ordinances of the temple. I am using the manual along with some conference talks and the visiting teaching message from this month. I will be updating this week on that and my progress...