Alma 40
Alma 40
The obvious topic of this chapter is resurrection and paradise, but that's not what got me thinking today. It was the pattern that Alma followed to receive his answer regarding a subject he did not know much about. In ver 3 he states that he inquired diligently of God that he might know. He says it again in verse, as he was searching for an answer to another gospel question he had. Both times he inquired diligently. Both times he received an answer.
I found it interesting to note that God did not tell him everything. He told Alma just enough. And, Alma was ok with that. He said repeatedly that he didn't now everything, but he did know the most important thing: that God knows everything, and everything will happen the way it should.
There is a lot to this gospel plan- so much that we could never comprehend it in its fullness here on earth. But, the mysteries of God are open to those who seek it. That's an exciting notion: we can learn His mysteries, His ways, line up on line, precept upon precept, as we diligently inquire of Him. I'm sure it's an understood fact that our answers also come in proportion to our faith and how we live that faith as well.
Alma had a great understanding and relationship with Heavenly Father. He trusted God, and didn't doubt why he wasn't given all the answers. It was enough for him to know that God was in control.
It tickles my funny bone (not sure if it's supposed to, but it does) how Alma keeps saying, "_______ I do not say, BUT, this much I say____" I love how he throws out different options and even his own opinion (vs 20) but quickly clarifies that he doesn't know for sure, because God didn't tell him that part.
I think it's natural and expected for us to think for ourselves, to connect the dots and to even speculate on how things work. I think this can and should be done in a gospel setting. It is healthy when coupled with faith and trust in God, always knowing that ultimately He knows all and gives us only what we need, and being OK not knowing everything. It can be dangerous, however, when we speculate and consider our speculations and opinions to be the truth, simply based on the fact that they make sense to us, or we like our way of thinking. Many have thought themselves away from God doing just that. When speculation and study is done without faith and the correct Spirit, the Adversary can take our efforts and turn them against us. He does it with doubt, fear, pride and anger- but so slyly that we cannot see what he is doing. It's a dangerous slope to slide down.
I've heard people say that church members are told not to think for themselves. That is not true. We are invited to listen to what is taught, study it out in our minds and prayerful come to the conclusion that it is true. However, the purpose in life is to find the truth and align ourselves with it. Not create a truth that fits what we desire.
Truth is truth, regardless of opinion. There is only one truth, and it is God's. Proud men may rail against that, but they are the ones who will end up like the souls in verse 14- miserable in the end.
What did you think/learn today?
The obvious topic of this chapter is resurrection and paradise, but that's not what got me thinking today. It was the pattern that Alma followed to receive his answer regarding a subject he did not know much about. In ver 3 he states that he inquired diligently of God that he might know. He says it again in verse, as he was searching for an answer to another gospel question he had. Both times he inquired diligently. Both times he received an answer.
I found it interesting to note that God did not tell him everything. He told Alma just enough. And, Alma was ok with that. He said repeatedly that he didn't now everything, but he did know the most important thing: that God knows everything, and everything will happen the way it should.
There is a lot to this gospel plan- so much that we could never comprehend it in its fullness here on earth. But, the mysteries of God are open to those who seek it. That's an exciting notion: we can learn His mysteries, His ways, line up on line, precept upon precept, as we diligently inquire of Him. I'm sure it's an understood fact that our answers also come in proportion to our faith and how we live that faith as well.
Alma had a great understanding and relationship with Heavenly Father. He trusted God, and didn't doubt why he wasn't given all the answers. It was enough for him to know that God was in control.
It tickles my funny bone (not sure if it's supposed to, but it does) how Alma keeps saying, "_______ I do not say, BUT, this much I say____" I love how he throws out different options and even his own opinion (vs 20) but quickly clarifies that he doesn't know for sure, because God didn't tell him that part.
I think it's natural and expected for us to think for ourselves, to connect the dots and to even speculate on how things work. I think this can and should be done in a gospel setting. It is healthy when coupled with faith and trust in God, always knowing that ultimately He knows all and gives us only what we need, and being OK not knowing everything. It can be dangerous, however, when we speculate and consider our speculations and opinions to be the truth, simply based on the fact that they make sense to us, or we like our way of thinking. Many have thought themselves away from God doing just that. When speculation and study is done without faith and the correct Spirit, the Adversary can take our efforts and turn them against us. He does it with doubt, fear, pride and anger- but so slyly that we cannot see what he is doing. It's a dangerous slope to slide down.
I've heard people say that church members are told not to think for themselves. That is not true. We are invited to listen to what is taught, study it out in our minds and prayerful come to the conclusion that it is true. However, the purpose in life is to find the truth and align ourselves with it. Not create a truth that fits what we desire.
Truth is truth, regardless of opinion. There is only one truth, and it is God's. Proud men may rail against that, but they are the ones who will end up like the souls in verse 14- miserable in the end.
What did you think/learn today?
Kind of along the same lines as your comments, my thoughts kept turning to... it mattereth not.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many things we don't know, and it really doesn't matter. We need to keep our eye on the things that do. I have lots of questions I would like to know the answers to, but they aren't even worth the effort to ask about because it really doesn't matter in the long run anyway.
It would be easy to get caught up in the questions and forget the basics. I know it is so much more important to focus on the plain and simple truths and not worry about the rest! My life plan... Keep It Simple!