Alma 7
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The first thing that caught my eye was in verse 3 where Alma explained he had come to them with great hoped and much desire.
I think sometimes it's hard to to missionary work because we think it's not our personality type, or maybe it is hard work, or it just is't us. But, I think one of the keys to becoming a missionary is praying for and seeking after the hope and desire for the eternal well-being of others. If we look at the motivations of Paul, Nephi, Enos, Alma Jr, and of course, the Savior, that was their motivation--the eternal well-being of others.
If we don't innately have that concern for others, we can pray for it. If we have it, but it doesn't compel us to action, we can pray that it becomes stronger as we begin to act in faith.
I'm not advocating we all quite our jobs and start going from town to town to preach, of course. I just know that as our desire and love for our fellowman and their eternal welfare grows, so does our desire and effort to share the gospel with them.
Dallin H. Oaks said, "The intensity of our desire to share the gospel is a great indicator of our personal conviction." I love that quote so much I taped it into my scriptures.
Moving on...
In verse 7 Alma is very clear that above all, the most important event to take place in earth is the coming of the Redeemer. All else are merely appendages to this event, and would be naught if He didn't fulfill His mission.
In verse 8 is a very interesting thing I'd never noticed before. Alma knew that the Redeemer would come to earth, but he didn't know if it would be among their people. But later, in Alma chapter 16, we learn that they taught the Nephites that the Lord would appear to their people after His resurrection (16:20). This show me that even prophets learn line up line, precept upon precept, as they are faithful and obedient.
I love verses 11-16. They are among my favorite in all scripture.
Verse 15: "lay aside every sin, which doth easily beset you..." This conjured up the imagery of a person carrying a heavy pack, trudging along the road. He suffers simply because he chooses not to take the pack off.
And of course, there's the famous to-be list in verses 23-25. Love it!
QUESTION TO PONDER: In verse 22 Alma wished to awaken the people of Gideon to "a sense of your duty to God." What do you think that duty is?
The first thing that caught my eye was in verse 3 where Alma explained he had come to them with great hoped and much desire.
I think sometimes it's hard to to missionary work because we think it's not our personality type, or maybe it is hard work, or it just is't us. But, I think one of the keys to becoming a missionary is praying for and seeking after the hope and desire for the eternal well-being of others. If we look at the motivations of Paul, Nephi, Enos, Alma Jr, and of course, the Savior, that was their motivation--the eternal well-being of others.
If we don't innately have that concern for others, we can pray for it. If we have it, but it doesn't compel us to action, we can pray that it becomes stronger as we begin to act in faith.
I'm not advocating we all quite our jobs and start going from town to town to preach, of course. I just know that as our desire and love for our fellowman and their eternal welfare grows, so does our desire and effort to share the gospel with them.
Dallin H. Oaks said, "The intensity of our desire to share the gospel is a great indicator of our personal conviction." I love that quote so much I taped it into my scriptures.
Moving on...
In verse 7 Alma is very clear that above all, the most important event to take place in earth is the coming of the Redeemer. All else are merely appendages to this event, and would be naught if He didn't fulfill His mission.
In verse 8 is a very interesting thing I'd never noticed before. Alma knew that the Redeemer would come to earth, but he didn't know if it would be among their people. But later, in Alma chapter 16, we learn that they taught the Nephites that the Lord would appear to their people after His resurrection (16:20). This show me that even prophets learn line up line, precept upon precept, as they are faithful and obedient.
I love verses 11-16. They are among my favorite in all scripture.
Verse 15: "lay aside every sin, which doth easily beset you..." This conjured up the imagery of a person carrying a heavy pack, trudging along the road. He suffers simply because he chooses not to take the pack off.
And of course, there's the famous to-be list in verses 23-25. Love it!
QUESTION TO PONDER: In verse 22 Alma wished to awaken the people of Gideon to "a sense of your duty to God." What do you think that duty is?
I believe that my duty to God is to bend my will and accept His plan for me. When giving over to His plan and following the promptings of the Spirit, we will do what He wants us to do. That may be something simple or something difficult, but either way, if our will is in line with God's, whatever He wants us to accomplish will be fulfilling our duty to Him.
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