Thursday, May 05, 2011
(40) Alma 5:14 "Have ye received his image in your countenances?" Did you know that "countenance" can also be defined as "support," not only the definition that we traditionally associate with this scripture? I like the effect that has on this verse, too. Have you received his image in your support? Do you do those things which allow the Lord to support you?
(41) Alma 7:23 "always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive."I noticed that this doesn't say to only give thanks for the things that we received that we wanted/asked for. Sometimes we "receive" or are given things and opportunities that we didn't really want, yet we should still be thankful and express our gratitude for these things, too.
(42) Alma 7:27 "And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever." If we have faith and do good works, we will be blessed with peace.
(43) Alma 9:11 "Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his long-suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of endless misery and woe." This is one of those verses that I feel is important to relate to us as individuals and make more personal. When we do so, we are reminded of God's matchless love for us (individually) and how merciful He is.
(44) Alma 9:17 "And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name." I think this is a beautiful thing to remember that God is merciful to those who turn to him and rely on him.
(45) Alma 9:29 "Now behold, this is the voice of the angel, crying unto the people." This actually reminded me of the talk that Elder Holland gave this past General Conference when he said,
My brethren and sisters among the general officers of the Church will be uneasy with [this] description, but that is how I seem them- mortal messengers with angelic messages...Now, these mortal angels who come to this pulpit have, each in his or her own way, sounded “the trump of God.” Every sermon given is always, by definition, both a testimony of love and a warning, even as nature herself will testify with love and a warning in the last days.
(46) Alma 10:6 "Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear." This caused me to wonder how many times each of us (me, specifically) have been called yet refused to hear or to listen to the council of the Lord.
(47) Alma 10:11 "For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake." When we listen to the prophet of God and take his words into our very homes and implement those words, we are blessed, and our families are blessed with us.
(48) Alma 10:23 "But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye are spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out the righteous from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand, but in his fierce anger he will come out against you." We often only think about this in context of a population (like Sodom and Gamora), however, if we as individuals were to "cast out" our own righteousness, if we were to cease to do good or to keep the commandments, then we individually would be ripe for destruction. Just because you may be surrounded by other people that are good, that doesn't mean that you are safe from the judgement of God. I think an entire population could be righteous but for one person, and that one person could and probably would experience the fierce anger of the Lord if they refused to repent.
(49) Alma 12:13 "Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word..." Do you remember how Jesus is the Word? If we read this verse with that in mind, then it takes on a deeper meaning. "If we have hardened our hearts against Jesus Christ, insomuch that he has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned." See also verse 11, because I think this is also applicable to that verse. (Verse 11 says, "And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries..."
Labels: Book of Mormon, Religion, Svithe
