"If" is a Big Word

Alma 37:13 "O remember, remember, my son Helaman, how strict are the commandments of God. And he said: If ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land--but if ye keep not his commandments ye shall be cut off from his presence."

The word "if" might be the biggest word of all.

He Will Still Deliver Me

Alma 36:27 "And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me."

We had a family reunion this past weekend and also celebrated my 70th birthday.
Reflecting on Alma's statement, I can make a similar one by substituting "God has delivered me from prison, from bonds, and from death" with "God has delivered me from depression, from financial ruin and from paralyzing fear." For starters.

Thank you, God. For my life. And for being there always to deliver me.

They Found Out Privately

Alma 35:16 "Now their rulers and their priests and their teachers did not let the people know concerning their desires; therefore they found out privily the minds of all the people."

When authority figures use secret measures to explore the minds of people they are supposed to be serving . . um . . . no good thing can come from that.

* "Privily" means secretly.

Try the Experiment

Alma 34:4 ". . even that ye would have so much faith as even to plant the word in your hearts, that ye may try the experiment of its goodness."

Just try it.

In Thee Is My Joy

Alma 33:11 ". . I will cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in thee is my joy; for thou hast turned thy judgments away from me, because of thy Son."

When we are downhearted, the Son of God stands ready, willing and best of all, able . . to rescue us.

In the First Place

Alma 32:22 ". . I would that ye should remember, that God is merciful unto all who believe on his name; therefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word."

In the first place. Believe. Number One.

Bring Them Again to Christ

Alma 31:34 "O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ."

Faith in Christ makes all the difference.

Men are Created Equal

Alma 30:11 "For there was a law that men should be judged according to their crimes. Nevertheless, there was no law against a man's belief; therefore, a man was punished only for the crimes which he had done; therefore all men were on equal grounds."

"All men are created equal" fluctuates as societies define laws and crimes.
Meanwhile, the laws of God and his universe are unaffected.
And they will prevail.

If I Were an Angel

Alma 29:1 " O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart . . "

If I were an angel, I know what I would wish for.

Why Wait?

Alma 28:6 "And now surely this was a sorrowful day; yea, a time of solemnity, and a time of much fasting and prayer."

Why wait for "a time of solemnity" to prompt "a time of much fasting and prayer?"

A Zealous and Beloved People

Alma 27:30 "And thus they were a zealous and beloved people, a highly favored people of the Lord."

Synonyms for zealous are; passionate, fervent, devoted, committed, enthusiastic and eager.
Yeah . . sign me up for that.

The Power Is In Us

Alma 26:13 ". . how many thousands of our brethren has he (Christ) loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice?"

As disciples of Jesus Christ, the power of his word is in us. Open your mouth and rejoice!

Strengthening Our Faith

Alma 25:16 "Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; . ."

Adherence to The Ten Commandments as revealed to Moses prepares us to live Christ's law of love.

Erase Guilt

Alma 24:10 "And I also thank my God . . that he hath granted unto us that we might repent . . also that he hath forgiven us . . and taken away the guilt from our heats, through the merits of his Son."

Repentance leads to encouragement leads to forgiveness leads to peace.
Sin leads to guilt leads to discouragement leads to more sin leads to more guilt leads to . .

Miracles

Alma 23:6 ". . and the power of God working miracles in them . . "

Miracles are messages woven into our days that may go unnoticed.

Humility First

Alma 22:16 ". . if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, . . and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest."

Humility is a key to belief and hope.

Pay Attention

Alma 21:16 "And they went forth whithersoever they were led by the Spirit of the Lord . ."

Living worthily and paying attention precede being led by the Spirit of the Lord.

Relationships

Alma 20:26 ". .  I will govern him no more--" (Lamoni's father referring to Lamoni)

A hallmark of strong relationships is respecting the choices of others.

Get Carried Away

Alma 19:6 ". . the light of the Glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness--yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God--"

Get "carried away" with light and joy.

Ya Gotta Wanna

Alma 18:35 "And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God."

God will never force us. We have to want it for ourselves.

Do Your Homework

Alma 17:3 ". . they (the sons of Mosiah) had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God."

The path to teaching with the "power and authority of God" winds through "much prayer, and fasting."

Receive the Word with Joy

Alma 16:17 "That they might not be hardened against the word . . and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God."

How fine is the line between hardening oneself against the word and receiving it with joy?

To Be Healed

Alma 15:10 "And then Alma cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, have mercy on this man, and heal him according to his faith which is in Christ."

Faith in Christ can heal even when circumstances remain constant.

Need Power?

Alma 14:28 "And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; for the Lord had granted unto them power, according to their faith which was in Christ."

Faith in Christ prompts power.

Having the Love of God

Alma 13:29 "Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest."

The love of God, peace, and safety go together.

Keep a Soft Heart

Alma 12:11 "And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell."

God (good) and the devil (evil) are opposites on the spectrum of eternity. Our choices put us in continual motion toward and away from one or the other.

All Shall Rise

Alma 11:41 ". . the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God and be judged according to their works."

Prepare for the day that is sure to come.

Make Wise Choices

Alma 10:19 ". . well did he say that if the time should come that the voice of this people should choose iniquity, that is, if the time should come that this people should fall into transgression, they would be ripe for destruction."

Wise choices determine ultimate safety and peace.

Disrespect for Blessings

Alma 9:19 "For he will not suffer you that ye shall live in your iniquities, to destroy his people. I say unto you, Nay; he would rather suffer that the Lamanites might destroy all his people who are called the people of Nephi, if it were possible that they could fall into sins and transgressions, after having had so much light and so much knowledge given unto them of the Lord their God;"

Disrespect for blessings may result in losing them or even complete destruction.

From Whence Comes Power?

Alma 8:32 ". . they went forth and began to preach and to prophesy unto the people, according to the spirit and power which the Lord had given them."

Through baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, we are able to access the power of God.