What does ministry mean? Alma 39:16

What does ministry mean? Alma 39:16

Alma reminds Corianton that he was called to a specific "ministry." His job was, and apparently still continued to be, to declare the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people in order that they could receive salvation and prepare the minds of their children so they would be ready when Jesus Christ came to them.

This sounds like a good mission. 

Answer:

I think ministry here means calling or mission. I think it's a similar mission to most missionaries today.

What does it mean to "cross yourself"? Alma 39:9

What does it mean to "cross yourself"? Alma 39:9

Alma tells his son Corianton to cross himself in the lusts of his eyes and his sins. 

Danny and I think that the more you think about this phrase, "cross yourself" the less it makes sense. When you just read it on a surface level, you can intuit what it means. It means to guard yourself, to put a barrier between you and x. But when you think about it more closely, it starts to sound strange. 

Corianton had not repented yet, then? Alma 39:7

Corianton had not repented yet, then? Alma 39:7

Alma says, "I wish that you had not been guilty of such a sin. I wouldn't dwell on your sins, to hurt you, if it weren't for your own good." 

It seems that it's possible that Corianton was in a state where he may have actually started to repent. That his father seemed to think Corianton would feel guilt after his sins were discussed at length seems to suggest that he was still able to feel sorrow for them. His heart was not so hardened that he had lost all feeling and desire to repent.

Guilt is a terrible feeling, but it is also a blessing. It points us towards change. I think that maybe Corianton was in a state where he was a bit lost - torn between two sets of desires. It was good for his father to speak so forthrightly to him.

Is it a good idea to talk about how x child is a good example? Alma 39:1

Is it a good idea to talk about how x child is a good example? Alma 39:1

This is the part of the Book of Mormon where Alma the Younger is giving advice and counsel to his sons before continuing on to try to preach to the people. He starts with his family, which I think is notable.

First he talks to Helaman, then Shiblon, and in chapter 39 he is talking to Corianton.

Corianton apparently really struggled to believe certain doctrinal points, including, "What's the point of us knowing about a savior who is going to come in several hundred years? Why should we care about what will happen in such a distant future?" He also was confused a bit about what happens to the souls of men and women between death and resurrection.

He went after a harlot named Isabel, and this caused major problems for Alma. When Alma went to teach the Zoramites, they looked at the conduct of his son Corianton, and because it was unbecoming and immoral, they refused to listen and believe Alma. 

So this chapter is a bit harsher than the others - since Helaman and Shiblon were obedient, faithful, steadfast sons and apparently Corianton was not. Yet Alma loved Corianton deeply, and that is apparent in his words. 

But one thing that he does at the very beginning is to point out that he has a lot more to say to Corianton than he does to his other sons, and that Corianton should follow the example of his older brothers. 

When I read this, I wondered if that was a sound parenting strategy - to compare your wayward child against a faithful one. Or even just to compare your children.

Answer:

It just depends. Parenting has no rules set in stone. Apparently this was what needed to be said. Maybe in the future it will be helpful to tell my children to look towards their siblings for good examples. Maybe not, though. Something to be careful about, for sure. But it's interesting, and good, that he did not compare in a bad way. He basically pointed out the good things about Corianton's brothers rather than pointing about how bad Corianton was by comparison. 

I mean, if anybody could feel empathy about really big sins, it would be Alma.

Why is "meek and lowly in heart" hand in hand with repentance and faith? Alma 37:33

Why is "meek and lowly in heart" hand in hand with repentance and faith? Alma 37:33

Alma is talking to his son Helaman. He tells him this, "Teach the people to repent, and have faith in Jesus Christ. Teach them to humble themselves. Teach them to be meek and lowly in heart. Teach them to put up with and resist every temptation of the devil by using their faith in Jesus Christ."

Repentance means change, a turning back. It means to submit your own will to God's will. It means to set aside your pride. Of course it requires for you to be humble. Humility is basically a prerequisite of repentance.

I am not sure if humility is an ultimate prerequisite of faith. I think you can start to have faith before bringing yourself to submit to God. I think probably curiosity and interest is a precursor to faith, though.

When you have faith that Jesus Christ is real, and that his atonement made it possible for you to repent, it makes the repentance real, too. It means you believe it will work. I don't really understand how repentance can function without faith in Jesus Christ.

What is "hatred against sin and iniquity"? Alma 37:32

What is "hatred against sin and iniquity"? Alma 37:32

Alma the Younger is talking to his son Helaman, teaching him about the Jaredites. Spoiler Alert: their story is at the end of the Book of Mormon, and everybody dies. 

Just like the Book of Mormon proper.

Yeah. It's super sad.

Alma tells his son Helaman to guard the brass plates because they are precious. They contain the genealogy as well as the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

He also tells his son Helaman a lot of really great, awesome lessons, one of which is to teach his children to not trust people with secret evil plans, but instead teach them to have an everlasting hatred against sin and iniquity.

It's kind of rare that somebody would embrace something like hatred, but I think the point is well taken. Hatred of evil is... well... 

It's like having a strong desire to do good, and a strong repulsion to sin.

I want to be like that. I want to teach my children to be like that. It is important to me that I try my best every day to do and be a good person. That isn't always obvious. 

Tonight in our scripture study we talked about the difference between strictly following commandments and strictly following ordinances. It turns out that sometimes commandments can contradict one another. They are kind of like principles - sometimes you have to follow the spirit, or trust your gut, or simply try your best but know you will fail. However, there are certain ordinances, aka precise religious acts, that we are both asked and required to do. Some ordinances are not required (they aren't "saving"). Some ordinances are absolutely required, and it is required that they be done in the correct way. For example, baptism. It isn't enough that my ancestors were baptized into some other church. They need to be baptized by immersion, either in person or by proxy, into Christ's church on the earth. It's just something that has to be done. For everybody. Billions and billions of souls - everybody who ever lived to reach the age of accountability (8 years old) have to be baptized. It's why family history is such a big deal to me. 

The ordinances are important to keep strictly. They are part of a covenant, a two-way promise, that I make with God. I think that one way to teach my children to be repulsed by evil is to teach them, by my example, to love and cling to those covenants. 

Why does God keep his mysteries? Alma 40:3

Why does God keep his mysteries? Alma 40:3

Hahaha, this question is such a tautology.

Why was "Gazelem" necessary? Alma 37:23

Why was "Gazelem" necessary? Alma 37:23

I think that Heavenly Father sometimes gives prophets and seers "crutches" because it helps us to overcome certain physical limitations of mortality, including the ability to suspend disbelief. As our faith grows, the prophets and seers become less reliant on these kinds of physical crutches. Joseph Smith didn't need to use his seer stone after a while, for example.

How well did the Nephites know the geography of Egypt? Alma 36:28

How well did the Nephites know the geography of Egypt? Alma 36:28

My best guess? Really not that well.

I bet there were maps kept in the brass plates, and I bet that Nephi did teach some basic geography to his children, but I seriously doubt it's anything close to the kind of map access we have today.

I still remember the moment when I realized that I likely know more about and have read more in the scriptures than many, perhaps even most, of my ancestors. That I, with my modern day access to knowledge and information, am totally privileged in a way almost unthinkable by my ancestors. That they were basically clinging to crumbs of truth repeated orally throughout generations, and without access to the scriptures in their mother tongue, the bible itself was further removed from their grasp. It is strange to think about.

Why is it sometimes called Melchizedek Priesthood, others "Order of God"? Alma 13:10, 17-18 - see Alma 13:19

Why is it sometimes called the Melchizedek Priesthood, and elsewhere the "Order of God"? Alma 13:10, 17-18 - see Alma 13:19

See this post and this post.

Whether the Order of the Son of God, the Order of God, or the Melchizedek Priesthood (which is totally not a weird "Mormonism" thing; this concept is totally in the Old Testament!) - the message from the name is clear: this is power from God given to humans. There was this one guy in the past who was really righteous and who also had a really strange name, and was from this order. Using his name makes it easier to not repeat Jesus Christ's name too much and cause it to be said in vain. It's not the "man" priesthood. It's an order, kind of like a fraternal organization, with certain rights and privileges available to members at various levels.

And women are admitted to it. We have full access to the priesthood power.

I want to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. How? Alma 26:15

I want to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. How? Alma 26:15

My favorite missionary in the scriptures is Ammon. He goes to teach the Lamanites and has enormous success. He talks about the work like this (paraphrased):

My brothers and sisters were suffering, but the Lord has brought them his everlasting light. They are circled by his unending, matchless love - a love that is generous and perfect. And we, the missionaries, have been instruments in the hands of the Lord to make this thing happen.

Of course, the next question is, "How can I be an instrument in the hands of the Lord?" It's a good question, but very personal.

I think that as I've gotten older, I tend to grow in my dislike towards assuming that I know what God wants. The world is weird and so many things are "messed up." The only way for me to make sense of it is to quit thinking that I know what God wants. I don't.

He's given commandments - which are general, and callings - which are personal. Some of my callings are from my church leaders, others are... a lot more difficult to pinpoint. I feel really drawn towards my Czech ancestors, as if it were a calling. I am confident that it is good for me to spend my time and effort in studying all things related to my Czech ancestors. Nobody specifically pulled me aside and told me that was my calling, but it doesn't really matter; I feel called.

I feel like as long as we are working towards keeping the commandments - both the broad ones and the more personal ones, like our personal and church callings - that is the best way to be an instrument in his hands. I think that if you try to be an instrument in his hands, you're actually more likely to fail. It's like putting your eye on the wrong mark. Instead of focusing on the things that God has already given you, you're focusing on what you think of and how you interpret God's plan. There's too much variability in that.

But there isn't variability in striving to keep the commandments. It's like... focusing on the commandments allows for some degree of flexibility. The commandments can change as our situations change. Some very basic human commandments (don't steal! don't lie! don't commit adultery!) aren't likely to change. But my identity, my role, my piece in God's plan, well, it has flexibility because I am a changing, evolving, growing human being.

In order to be an instrument in God's hands, I need to try my best to keep the commandments. That means following my church leaders, trying to fulfill my callings, and continually seeking inspiration and direction from God about what my callings even are.

Why did afflictions matter? I get sincerity... Alma 37:36

Why did afflictions matter? I get sincerity... Alma 37:36

Hey! This is the first time I've written on this blog in a long, long time! I decided that it's time for me to finally finish this thing I've been writing. I would like to compile it into some kind of book thingy eventually. It's been at least 6 months, but perhaps longer, since I've written. A lot has happened.

For a long time I had the wrong reference written here. It used to point to Alma 37:11, and that made no sense. It wasn't until I reread the chapter that I saw the verse I actually meant to point at.

This is what the verse says (paraphrased):

Remember, my child, to learn wisdom when you are young. Learn when you are young to keep the commandments of God.

Not only learn to keep the commandments, but learn how to pray. In fact, cry your heart and soul to God, turn to him for all your needs and wants. Wherever you go, make sure you go there for God. And not only that - but also let all of your thoughts be directed to God. And even beyond that, let the affections of your heart be given to God always.

Counsel with the Lord in everything you do, and he will direct you in the best path that you should go. Not only that, but also when you lie down at night, make sure you lie down to God, that he can watch over you in your sleep. When you rise up in the morning let your heart be full of thanks to God. If you do these things, you will be lifted up in the end.

I'm playing this medieval RPG game these days. Everybody all the time says things like, "Praise be to Jesus Christ," and, "God be with you." You know, casual greetings. They took this kind of counsel quite literally in the 1400's.

Needless to say, today... not so much.

I've read the Book of Mormon several times.

Tangent:

Here's my scripture read-through count:

Old Testament (in total): 1x
New Testament: 2x
D&C and Pearl of Great Price: 1x
Book of Mormon: 7x
(once as a 14 year old, that time when I finished it on the beach, once in seminary, once with Danny, once when the prophet asked us to read it, once in Czech, and now)

/tangent

I guess on the last read through I misread this verse. I thought it was talking about afflictions, but really it was talking about affections.

But you know what - affect, like affection, is also all about feeling. Afflictions tend to involve strong emotions going in the opposite direction. I know that I originally misread this, but the truth is that in order to actually be afflicted by something, the first step is, well, caring about it. Hard to torment and torture the apathetic.

I guess it's hard for me to relate to apathy in general. It's quite a foreign sentiment to me.

The exact words of the verse are, "let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever." To me this sounds as though the Lord were some kind of altar. You can approach him with your feelings and metaphorically "place" them on him. When nobody else knows (or cares) about what you've been through, the Lord - meaning, Jesus Christ - does. He must, because he took upon himself both the sins and the pains of all humanity everywhere. He's the reason that it is possible to have hope.

This verse points towards sincere, honest, true, diligent trust in God involves both believing that he is who he is supposed to be, and that the inner effort to turn to him matters enough for the effort to be worth the investment.

I believe these things with all my heart. I'm not always the best at laying my feelings on an invisible inner altar, but I consistently try to do so, and I think the intention of our heart is what's at stake anyway.

God has a hand in preserving the records - does this imply all records? Alma 37:4

God has a hand in preserving the records - does this imply all records? Alma 37:4

Alma is talking to his son Helaman. He gives him the plates of Nephi and commands him to record sacred things on them. He also gives him the brass plates with their genealogy, which Nephi and his brothers got from Jerusalem from Laban (and which most latter-day saints understand to mean the Old Testament). He says that these records - both the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon (then in progress) were prophesied to be handed down from one generation to the next, to be preserved, and to "go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the mysteries contained thereon." Mysteries such as: God exists, he loves us, he sent his son Jesus Christ to be our Savior, Jesus Christ has a church today and stands at the head of that church, you can be a part of it.

My question was this: is it implied that all records are preserved by the hand of the Lord? 

Answer:

I think that God is certainly aware of all records. I think that he does know what he's doing with them. I think that there are scriptures out there that have not come to light yet, but will someday. I know there are many, many genealogy records which have not come to light yet. I trust that God is aware of these records and will make them available someday, because all the world's genealogy needs to be discovered, untangled, and ordinances done for every human who ever lived. 

What is it about this life that is so important? Alma 34:33

What is it about this life that is so important? Alma 34:33

Alma is preaching and he basically says this:

I told you this before, and you have had many people tell you also, so please, PLEASE do not procrastinate your repentance until the very end. This life is temporary, and it's given to us to prepare for eternity, and if we don't spend our time improving our decisions while we are here, then afterward we will not have the chance to do so, because we can't do anything after we die.

It sounds like Alma is saying that the dead cannot repent.

We know that the dead can at least partially repent, or accept vicarious ordinances done for them. It's true that they themselves cannot perform those ordinances (they're dead). "The dead who repent will be redeemed by obedience to the ordinances of the house of God." Doctrine and Covenants 138:58. I even made up a little tune to go with this verse and my kids have it memorized - the reason is because this principle is very important to me, and I wanted a scriptural basis for it.

Things about this life that we have that we did not have in our premortal life and will not have in our immediate postmortal life:

- a body

- agency <-- we had some agency, and we will continue to have some agency, but what I mean is this: the veil which surrounds us, which forces us to walk by faith, that also imparts the gift of agency to us. We have to rely on our own experience to distinguish good from evil.

- the chance to create families 

- living on a terrestrial planet

- sin <-- reliance on the Savior

Someday we will be reunited with a perfect version of our body. This is the resurrection. It is a gift to all humanity given to us by Jesus Christ. It is not limited to just his righteous followers. But for some reason we need to experience trials and repentance before the resurrection.

Answer:

I think all of these factors are tied into the first one: a body. It is our physical bodies that make these other things possible.

Why does Alma describe the atonement as "joy"? Alma 33:23

Why does Alma describe the atonement as "joy"? Alma 33:23

Answer:

The atonement brings relief from your guilt, hope for salvation and reunification with God, and it is evidence that God loves us personally, individually, and eternally. Alma describes the atonement of Jesus Christ as "joy" because that is what it means, brings, fulfills, and symbolizes. Alma experienced multiple levels of joy when he went through his conversion process, and he is confident that all of us have the capacity to experience the same joy because the atonement is universal.

Is Alma explaining to Shiblon why he was allowed to be disfigured? Alma 38:7

Is Alma explaining to Shiblon why he was allowed to be disfigured? Alma 38

Alma shares some details of his conversion experience with Shiblon, including how he was in the "gall of bitterness" for three days, until he cried out to Jesus Christ for mercy. He describes how the only way he was able to obtain peace was through reaching out to the Savior, and then testifies that he knows Jesus Christ is the only way that mankind can be saved.

If Shiblon was disfigured or harmed in some other way by the stoning he experienced earlier, perhaps the words that his father is sharing here have multiple layers of meaning. Perhaps they are more than just sharing the message of Jesus Christ's redemptive power in a general way; maybe the message has a more personal intention and meaning. Maybe we, as readers many centuries later, can apply both the general and the personal meanings to our own lives, causing these passages to be more valuable.

Is Shiblon's health permanently affected by the stoning? Alma 38:5

Is Shiblon's health permanently affected by the stoning? Alma 38:5

Answer:

We don't really know, but I do wonder. 

So, Shiblon was stoned? Alma 38:4

So, Shiblon was stoned? Alma 38:4

Alma is talking to his son Shiblon and says the following:

3 I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the ^aZoramites.

4 For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; and thou didst bear all these things with ^apatience because the Lord was ^bwith thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.

Answer:
Yes, apparently he was stoned. I wonder if Shiblon's experience being stoned also may have had some kind of permanent effect on him, perhaps causing him to be disabled or disfigured. 

5 And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your ^atrust in God even so much ye shall be ^bdelivered out of your trials, and your ^ctroubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

What causes me to wonder that is the reference to Shiblon's trials, troubles, and afflictions. We all have them, but the fact that they are specifically referenced nearby each other makes me suspicious.

Is what follows Alma's own words? Alma 35:16

Is what follows Alma's own words? Alma 35:16

Alma gathers his sons to give them each their own father's blessing.

Answer:

Yup. 

Why is it easier for righteous people to not fear to help refugees? Alma 35:9

Why is it easier for righteous people to not fear to help refugees? Alma 35:9

Once again, the people of Ammon prove to be some of my favorite people in the whole Book of Mormon. Not only do they become fully converted and lay down their swords, committing to become lifelong pacifists, but they also aren't afraid of welcoming and serving refugees.

The Zoramites were those people who did not allow the poor people to worship God, instead treating them as outcasts. The Ammonites welcomed ALL the poor Zoramites, feeding them, clothing them, giving up their land, and administering to their wants, not just to their needs. 

Basically, the Ammonites are an example of the attitude that we should have towards the poor and needy among us today, including real life refugees. See this article for more about the church's initiatives towards refugees. 

Answer:

One of the big side effects of faith seems to be the removal of the scarcity mindset that so often plagues us as humans. We begin to see other human beings as our brothers and sisters, and our eternal perspective allows us the space to relax our control and share with others. I am sure that there is a connection between faith and generosity, though it's true that it's not necessarily tied to religious activity. Some of the more generous people I know seem to have a strong aspect of a certain quality of faith, though they may not even believe in God or keep some of the more basic commandments. Yet, there is some kind of belief in there that humankind is valuable. To me, that belief shows faith.