State of Kate, Q2 2019

To the one or two souls who read this blog sometimes, here's an update on the State of Kate. 

I've had a really rough spring. I guess you could say it's been really rough since Joey's been born. I guess you could stretch that further and say it's been rough since I have been pregnant. So...it's been a little bit shy of 2 years of it being generally "rough." It fluctuates, but there's just this general malaise that lingers and is really unpleasant. 

It looks like things are about to change drastically in that regard, so woohoo!

Here is an update on all the goals that I had made for myself in May/June. 

1. Apply to Grad School : Everything is done except that I need to finish my writing sample, take the GRE, submit my scores, and pay the fee. But all the other paperwork is done, which is great!
2. Garden 2019 : I planted it. Lots to say about this, but in a nutshell, I've decided that while I'm in grad school, we are going to sod over the vegetable garden, dismantle the trellis, and not have one.
3. Take the GRE : I've been prepping for it a lot, especially the past week. I was supposed to take a mock test this morning (it was in my scheduled study plan) but Danny convinced me that it would be better for my health if I slept in as late as possible; that I'm going to do just fine, and so I should stop stressing so much about it. It will be okay if I just put it off a bit.
4. Taxes : Long since finished.
5. Friends : haha. This is such an embarrassing "goal." It is also really difficult to quantify. I decided that in Q3, I will restate the goal to be a little less stupid.
6. Grundbücherbuch : Waiting on edits from Lukáš. 
7. CGSI : I totally failed at all of these goals. But they still want me involved, by some miracle. So, yeah. Onward.
8. Get Skinny Again : weaning is the answer to making all the weight just fall off. Basically, when I'm not breastfeeding, I feel about half as hungry. 
9. Boston Temple Painting : It's at an okay stopping place for now.
10. Čeština : lots of false restarts, none have really materialized.
11. Czech Out Your Ancestors : I didn't do anything and didn't even feel guilty about it.
12. Exercise : I've been walking and running consistently for the past week or so; it significantly affects my mental health. Will keep it up.
13. Joe's Wedding : it was awesome!
14. Kate Expectations : I've written a lot of pathos-laden poetry for it. I think there's about 50 poems so far? 
15. My Calling : finally, finally, after a very long time of waiting, I have some direction. I have a checklist of items to do, and I'm working through them. That's a good feeling.
16. Cousin Book : I keep meaning to start this thing, but I haven't so far.
17. Home Church : We do this consistently, and well. 
18. A Year of Questions in the Book of Mormon : I'm behind, but I did type up all the questions and I've been slowly attacking them.

For Q3, I am going to revise my goals. Here they are:

1. Grad School Preparations - Take the GRE, finish applying to graduate school, get accepted, enroll in classes

2. ENGL 510 - this is a prerequisite class for many of my other classes which is only offered in the Fall. I will take it in Fall 2020, but I want to be able to prove that I am capable enough to take other classes in Spring 2020. I bought the textbook and plan to work my way through the exercises. Also, it's really fun. 

3. Maintain a Strict Morning and Evening Routine for My Mental Health

I think my days would be smoother if I were to be able to follow a routine (not necessarily on the dot by time, but generally in the same order every day). Basically: 

Morning

- wake up early

- go for a walk/run (this is crucial to do early because a. it's hot and b. I don't like doing it with five kids)

- read scriptures

- work on Czech

- take care of household stuff (dishes, breakfast, chores, laundry, etc.)

Evening

- get in bed at 10:30

- lights out by midnight (or earlier). This will allow me a generous amount of time to read, which I really love!

4. Talk with someone on the phone who is not Danny every single day. This is easier to quantify than "friends." It's also going to be hard. But probably fun.

5. Writing - I want to write 2,000 words every single day. I have a jillion writing projects in the works. It doesn't really matter which one I work on, but I want to reach that wordcount quota, at least for Q3. Then we'll reevaluate. I can (but don't have to) start writing with a "warm up" exercise. 

6. Grundbücherbuch - keep plugging along. I would like to get through chapter 15 but a lot of this depends on my collaborator.

7. CGSI marketing goals - I made a list. I guess I will start with that.

8. CGSI Lincoln Conference preparations - Quite a lot to do there.

9. Asynchronous Book Club - More on that later. Or maybe not. It's almost too nerdy to speak of. 

10. Czech A4 - finish it! Design A5.

11. Kate Expectations

12. My Callin

13. Cousin Book - have a list of all of my cousins, Danny's cousins, and their contact information by the end of Q31

14. Home Church - keep pressing onward

15. A Year of Questions in the Book of Mormon - catch up completely, start gathering stuff for self-publishing it as a journal-y type book, because why not. That's fun.

16. Czech Out Your Ancestors - start blogging there again, and update the Facebook page

17. That should be a movie! - finish season 1, finally! Publish this sucker :-) Record episodes for season 2, streamline the process a bit.

18. Cookbook Project - this has been in the works for about 6 years. I should actually sit down and DO it. I might want to find a collaborator.

19. Classics - start reading classic lit with the kids. We have been doing this for a while, but I want to continue, and maybe make a list of it somewhere.

20. Financial Aid - apply to lots of grants and scholarships for graduate school. Maybe create some kind of quota. 

21. Wean Joey - I'm on day #4 of that. I've been so dizzy today. It feels kind of horrible. But in other ways, it's like I took a giant chill pill. I feel SO much less anxiety, it's almost comical. <-- this goal is the reason why I think I might be capable of completing (or getting a very big head start on) some of these projects in the next three months. First of all, the regained time. But most of all, the regained self. I can already feel my body starting to feel more normal again. Normal hunger levels. I didn't have a panic attack in four whole days. My hands didn't shake. I feel like I look skinnier (though that might be an illusion). I feel much, much more relaxed. Just...dizzy. But that will go away with time. 

It also feels sad, but it was The Right Thing To Do, and I really value doing the right thing, so I'm not going to waste my time crying about it.

Very much.

On Art and Advertising

7th grade social studies. Miss Palombo, a tall, slender, gorgeously tan woman who wore dresses, unlike any of my other Williston teachers. She had us read all kinds of interesting stuff, including a book about a guy who was lost at sea on a boat. She taught us the difference between denotation and connotation, and everybody loved to complain about how annoying her class was because of it. We watched Evita and learned what a "coup d'etat" is. One time, we were outside sitting in a circle reading about something horrible about humanity - something about war, violence, sexism, poverty, or all of the above, and I became very upset, crying in front of everyone. She cried, too. She was also not ever particularly nice to me, the proud, friendless, lonely, immature little girl with braces and glasses. It actually isn't until now, writing this, that I realize what a fantastic teacher she really was; I remember her class vividly. She had us read a chapter from a big, fat book on my bookshelf at home called The Story of Art. The thesis of this chapter was that art is universal to humanity, and as such, it's not possible to define what is "good" or "bad" art. This idea was deeply imprinted on my mind.

My parents are both artists: my dad a professional musician who later became a petroleum engineer, my mom an elementary art teacher. They are also both really big supporters and advocates of the arts. I toyed with the idea of listing all the art museums I've ever been to in this blog post, since art appreciation is almost certainly a function of exposure. But I don't even know if I could do that. I remember going to the Art Institute of Chicago when I was about five; there was a really cool exhibit of miniature rooms, with chairs the size of thimbles. I was really interested in it. We also saw Sunday afternoon on the island of La Grande Jatte (Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte), the pinnacle pointillist piece. Aside from fine art, my parents also took us to the theater and symphony often, also giving us many opportunities to participate ourselves. We didn't do sports, we did art.

I lived in Europe at a formative time in my life. Casually, without being impressed at all with this fact, I decided to become a member of Le Musée des Beaux Arts de Rennes. I went there multiple times a week, often alone. I became friends with the paintings there. I remember them vividly, buying the museum catalog, which is a book I'll never sell or trash.

Obviously, living in France meant I went to Paris. I never went inside Notre Dame, but I did go to many of the art museums, from Le Centre Pompidou to the Louvre to the Islamic Art museum to the Musée Rodin to the Musée d'Orsay...and more. My favorite high school class of all time, including my art classes, was Histoire de l'Art. I could write novels about the things I learned in that class.

My mom was a docent at the Springfield Art Museum. We went there a lot, and I remember the exhibits. One of them was hilarious: a bunch of life-sized mannequins posed as if at a cocktail party, every surface from the floor to the chairs to the people themselves covered in cheese puffs! And they were serving cheese puffs, hahahaha.

As a senior, for a date I drove with my boyfriend to Mass MoCA - and THAT was amazing. There was quite a bit of installation art there. One piece was a basketball court sized room with these weird machines on the ceiling that dropped giant sheets of paper onto the floor, and you were to walk across the room. It was so weirdly beautiful, and experiential. The room was ankle deep in paper. It had something to do with environmentalism, conservation, waste, etc. But it was so fun to walk across that room with my boyfriend and sister (she came with us for fun). And it looked like it was snowing. And the size and mechanics of the piece were quite impressive.

I've had a lot of exposure to art in my life.

***

I went into BYU as a photography major. There were 15 of us. The program was difficult to get into. My high school photo and painting portfolio got me in.

I was miserable.

Long hours alone in the studio. Long critiques by snobby professors. Perfectionism. A very small cadre of people to hang out with, most of whom were not that fun to be with. Projects that I didn't like. Worst of all, so much emphasis on how to market yourself to clients, how to make money. What was this?! Art and money were supposed to be different ideals, and ne'er the twain should meet! I was not happy about it.

[The girl next door to me in the dorms was Palestinian and I spent a lot of time talking with her. I wanted to ask her to teach me Arabic, but thankfully before asking her, realized that wasn't a practical task for another full time student. So on a whim, I enrolled in Arabic 101, fell in love, and switched majors. Czech hadn't been an option.]

If Art isn't good or bad, it just *is*, then how can we put a price on it? When selling art is a motivation or impetus for its creation, is art reduced to craft? How much of the motivation/impetus behind the creation of art can be pecuniary for the object to still be considered art? Can art exist without craft? These are timeless questions, frustrating and challenging artists for millennia. I had already learned in 7th grade that there isn't a single, universally right answer to what defines art, or good art, just a lot of different opinions. As a 16 year old in France, I sat in front of Duchamp's ready-made bicycle wheel on a stool, and felt really happy. It was funny and clever, a big fat middle finger to "Art" with a capital A.

But isn't it a bit overdone by now?

***

Some people really like people to agree with them, to laud them, to praise them, to be told that they are correct, to find validation in all of their opinions. Other people tend to become very distrustful of this viewpoint, doubting its sincerity; what's the ulterior motive? Is there an agenda? 

Advertising, therefore, can't be all praise and validation; it has to have some other element in order to reach the maximum target demographic. That element is novelty.

Here I quote from TOR.com:

Wit sits on a box just inside the gates of Kholinar, strumming on his instrument and generally confusing three guards. His behavior is totally at odds with what they expect of an appropriate lighteyed gentleman. He tells them that something has changed, and that he’s waiting for a storm.

While he waits, he engages them in a conversation by asking what men value in others. One guard suggests that music is what men value most, and Wit begins to play his enthir, calling that statement a beautiful lie. Another soldier asks Wit what the most valuable talent is, and Wit says that isn’t the question. He says that what men value most of all is novelty. Intellect, aesthetic achievement, and innovation are all valuable, but men only value the thinker who comes to an idea or achievement first. 

I loved this scene from one of my favorite books of all time, The Way of Kings. I have read this epic fantasy novel at least three times (I basically have to reread all the books in the series every time a new one comes out, and we are on book 3 right now). 

What it boils down to for me is this: I think there should be a difference between advertising and art. I think that good art is independent of the idea of novelty, though there can be overlap. For example, I do like cubism, "monochromes", and even Duchamp's ready-mades. I think these artists are dangerously close to failing to meet the craft requirement (there has to be something; even these silent musical compositions have titles, for example) that is implicit in art, and absolutely required (for me) in "good" art. But when a message (sticking the middle finger to Art with a capital A) is novel enough to be creative and clever, the art can still be good art, in my opinion. It's like being on the inside of a joke.

Advertising, on the other hand, always has the same message: "Buy me." The only thing that ever changes about advertising is the craft, and because we live in a society that values immediacy, the craft doesn't actually require a large degree of time, effort, talent, or skill; it just requires novelty.

People really do universally seem to like the veneer of novelty. But is the hundredth or thousandth ready-made, or crude clay figurine, or crucifix in a container of urine actually novel? How many times can a canvas be painted in one single color and that be sold to an art museum for tens of thousands of dollars? Rehashing the same old ideas and arguments about what is and is not art can be so tiresome and navel-gazingly meta. It's like the film that is all about the struggling filmmaker - how many times do we have to see that? It doesn't really speak to me that much, honestly.

On the other hand, what makes representative art so appealing and timeless is the fact that there is an implicit balance between a demonstration of the artist's ability to master the craft of his or her medium with the underlying message. Representative art isn't all about defining what art is and is not, it's about the composition, the technique, the subject matter, the execution, etc.

I also think there is a correlation between mastery of craft and the potential of the art to be beautiful, but that is just my opinion.

***

Danny and I went to the Des Moines Art Museum with our kids for the first time last weekend. The main art exhibit was called Queer Abstractions, which is exactly what it sounds like: abstract art in a variety of mediums that is supposed to be about a variety of artists's own thoughts and feelings about their own homosexuality. At first, this made Danny and I really nervous. When the underlying message of art is something that directly contradicts our core values, we feel compelled to censor. "Let's teach young children about sex" is itself something I'm very, very wary of (regardless of hetero or homo), and "let's teach young children that whatever form of sexual expression feels good is good" is just a flat out evil message! We value sexuality, but in a very specific context. My children are intelligent, and I worried that these messages would be internalized (they sure were with me, with all my art exposure, for example). We tried to avoid the exhibit, but the way the museum was laid out made that mostly impossible. 

The art was so lousy that I didn't have much to worry about there, fortunately.

And that was true of the entire museum, actually! There were two paintings by John Singer Sargent which were impressive; these were donated by wealthy patrons that happened to live in the area a century or so ago. I guess if I were a wealthy patron with a beautiful piece of priceless art, I wouldn't think of Des Moines as a real mecca of art appreciation, either; I'd donate elsewhere.

"They had a Picasso," chimed in Danny.

"Danny, Picasso's entire art studio was strewn with papers and canvasses. He would pick one up, scribble some lines on it, sign his name, and that piece is now worth thousands of dollars. He's ubiquitous. Most museums have something or other by Picasso."

I.e. in my opinion, it's not as valuable.

Basically, most of the art in the entire museum was by less commonly known artists who were trying to copy the more famous artists' conceptions and execution. There were only two or three pieces of modern/contemporary art that I found compelling and memorable. Everything else was just like, "How many times do we have to see paintings that look like my seven year old made them?" "Why are we all standing around oohing and aahing at the art here, when it's neither beautiful nor clever?" 

Basically, the art was like this: it's "art" because it's in a pretty frame, hung on a wall in a fancy gallery. That's basically it.

I get that fine artists share my disdain for letting what's popularly considered beautiful or "good" to define their expression. I get it! But now we're stuck in this weird paradoxland, with seemingly nowhere to go:

- Artists don't want to create beautiful things because it's cliché,

- ...so they create ugly things, which are by now actually just as cliché.

- But if you question or criticize the art at all, you're "unsophisticated" or "uncultured."  

Basically, we are all just standing around pretending that the crap on the walls of most museums is "good art." 

It's madness.

***

There is only one way to fight the epidemic of bad art, bad music, bad literature, etc. and it's not by words, but creation.

If I don't like the pitiful state of sexism that persists in fantasy/sci-fi fiction, then the only way to do anything useful about it is to write something better. If I don't like how art today avoids topics like religion, patriotism, and parenthood but is meanwhile jacking off in the corner of craftless egocentric self-expression, that means I need to paint something with more interesting themes and better craft. 

The pressure to create is one of those constant forces in my life. It is never going to go away or be appeased. The only way it calms a bit is immediately after I create something. For example, after writing this blog post (and edit it for typos etc, sigh), I will feel a temporary relief from this incessant pressure.

But it won't last.

***

There is actually one other way to fight bad art, and that is by consuming what you personally consider good art. But there is an enormous problem here: how do you find good art? 

Advertising.

Basically, no matter what, good art is reduced to its ability to advertise effectively, unless it is you, yourself, who create it.

How do you "wrestle with God in mighty prayer"? Alma 8:10

How do you "wrestle with God in mighty prayer"? Alma 8:10
Alma leaves Gideon and goes back to Zarahemla to rest for a while. Then he goes to Melek and had a lot of missionary success there. Then he went to Ammonihah, which was a different story. Nobody there would listen to him.

10 Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance.

I wanted to know what "wrestling with God in mighty prayer" meant, and if I could do it, then how?

ANSWER:

This metaphor for how one should approach God when asking him to grant the desires of your heart is interesting. Why the struggle? Where does that come from? If we are his children, doesn't God want to bless us? Why should we struggle?

I think the struggle comes in part from simply asking God. It is difficult to admit that there's no possible way for us to get something we long for besides asking him for it.

The struggle also comes in deciding to accept the answer. Maybe God will give us what we want, but at a terrible cost. Maybe God will not give us what we want. Or maybe God's answer is silence - which can usually be interpreted as, "I trust you, keep going forward."

It's also physically difficult to pray sometimes. I recently decided that, while I can't quite bring myself to do daily mindfulness exercises like meditation, I can certainly improve my prayers by making sure I'm in a quiet, secluded(ish) place, and try to remove my mind from the pressure of finishing soon. How I do this is by trying to really tell God my thoughts and feelings, and not just asking and thanking him for stuff. I have started to talk to God in this way because I know that it will benefit me greatly on many levels: this itself is a kind of meditation, and there are empirical health benefits (that I sorely need at this point in my life) in store. I also feel an improved relationship between me and God when I take the time to include him in more real ways. I often think about him, but sometimes it's hard to try to involve him more directly, especially because of the time and comfort factor. My knees get uncomfortable. It's sometimes better on a walk in my thinnest of thin strips of suburban woods. Or in a closet or something.

What does it mean to "sit down w/ Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob"? Does this include female prophetesses? Alma 7:25

What does it mean to "sit down w/ Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob"? Does this include female prophetesses? Alma 7:25

Alma continues his long sermon to the people of Gideon. He ends it by invoking a blessing of God upon the people, praying that they will someday be able to rest in the kingdom of God with all the holy prophets who ever were because you'll have repented and will have continued through a lifetime of repenting, just like them.

ANSWER:

I read "sitting down" in this verse to imply two things: resting, and ruling.

If you sitting, you aren't standing. Sitting is more restful.

I don't really envision park benches, either. I see this as a loose metaphor for a throne. To me, it's Alma hoping that someday we will make it back to God and have the chance to be like him.

I see absolutely no reason whatsoever to see why sitting down with "all" the holy prophets would not include female prophetesses. It's annoying that only the men are named.

I don't know how things like gender equity will work in the Celestial Kingdom, but I am certain women will be there and that we will be happy. I have a lot more to say on this topic but it's probably not appropriate for this particular online space. Suffice it to say, I'm sure equality for women in heaven is not really worth worrying about; better to worry about that here and now.

Does this mean we should be passionless? Alma 7:23

Does this mean we should be passionless? Alma 7:23
Alma continues his sermon to the people in Gideon.

23 And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

Here are some synonyms for passionate:

ardent
dramatic
eager
eloquent
emotional
expressive
fervent
fierce
fiery
forceful
heartfelt
impassioned
intense
poignant
spirited
strong
vehement
violent
zealous

Here are some of the antonyms for passionate:
apathetic
calm
cold
cool
dispassionate
dispirited
dull
feeble
gentle
impassive
indifferent
lethargic
meek
mild
moderate
passive
peaceful
unconcerned
unenthusiastic
unexcited
weak

I noticed that neither humble nor submissive show up as antonyms to passionate on my list.

Anybody who knows me knows that I am a passionate person. I have red hair for a reason. Or something like that. Most deflating insult I ever received, and one I probably play too often in my head: "You overwhelm me with your enthusiasm." I wish they had said, "infect" - then it would have been a compliment.

I do think that I struggle in some ways to be humble, submissive, and gentle, and that it probably does have something to with my very enthusiastic nature. But honestly, I think that being humble, submissive, and gentle is just difficult for most people, and that my personal struggles with it just look different than others'. I am pretty quick to admit my faults and try to change, for example, which is something that other people might not do very well.

I am also not interested in being a fence-sitter. It's unappealing to me to the nth degree to be apathetic - about anything. Note that there's a difference between not having a strong opinion and not having any opinion at all; I want to have opinions simply because I really want to know everything that is good to know. I am positive that there are people out there who don't share this opinion, and when they're faced with a choice would rather allow themselves the illusion of not making one, allowing life to throw stuff at them, and thus avoid picking. But the act of so doing is itself a choice, right?

ANSWER:

I must have been in a really critical mood when I asked this question; it doesn't seem like Alma is talking at all about giving up our passions and zest for life here. He's actually just saying that we should tame our wild, willful tempers and hearts and submit our will to God's - which itself is something that can be done passionately. He also tells us to involve God in our daily lives by praying to him for all the things (spiritual and physical) that we need, and also by acknowledging his hand in giving us all the things (spiritual and physical) that we receive. That, too, is an act that can be done passionately.

Why would perfection make "his course [be] one eternal round"? Alma 7:20

Why would perfection make "his course [be] one eternal round"? Alma 7:20

Alma continues his sermon to the people in Gideon. He says this:

20 I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot walk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round.

Here is how I would simplify that verse:

I've noticed that you have been made to know by the power of God that God doesn't err. He doesn't lie. He doesn't make mistakes. [He is perfect]: therefore, his plan is perfect.

I find it kind of interesting that Alma uses the metaphor of a circle to symbolize perfection. There aren't corners in a circle. A circle is a good symbol of both kinds of infinity: containing (and not containing) infinite space, and being at least symbolic of an infinite line, although, I guess you do get back to the original starting point eventually...and maybe that's important in the symbolism. Also, you make a circle with a compass. There is a point of a circle that is the absolute center, and that point is also infinitely small. A circle reminds me of the act of gathering, or enclosing.

ANSWER:

A perfect plan for the salvation of humankind would have a lot of similar characteristics to a circle. It would not allow for spiritual favoritism by God towards people based on the circumstances of their birth. If we consider God's plan to be a path, and it goes around in a circle, no matter where we start on that path we will eventually get all the way around.

Is Alma saying faith comes AFTER baptism & repentance? Alma 7:14

Is Alma saying faith comes AFTER baptism & repentance? Alma 7:14

In latter-day saint theology, there are 13 main points of doctrine that are outlined in what is the closest thing we have to a "credo." Small children memorize these statements. They are written into songs. They are called 'The Articles of Faith.' They were written by Joseph Smith as a response to someone else's query about what we believe. If you read them, you will have a really good, basic summary of all the most important doctrines.

The fourth article of faith outlines the first steps that one takes in their spiritual journey: faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost.

The first two are very personal, individual processes. The second two are ordinances that require involvement by someone who holds the priesthood and for you to physically do something: to be baptized, an Aaronic priesthood holder says a specific prayer (it's very short, basically just announces that he's baptizing you with the authority of the priesthood) and you are submerged fully under water. Then, after that, you receive the gift of the holy ghost by a Melchizedek priesthood holder laying his hands upon your head and saying a similar specific prayer. At that time, they also give you a personal blessing. It's a neat experience.

You are not allowed to get baptized until you meet certain requirements. For example, you cannot just simply call the missionaries and say, "Hey. I want to be baptized. Can you baptize me tomorrow?" You have to meet with them, talk with them, and be interviewed by the bishop. Sometimes some people are not allowed to be baptized until after they meet certain requirements, such as getting permission from their parents if they are a minor, or going through certain specific repentance steps if they have committed certain specific serious sins (this is rare).

Alma is continuing a sermon to the people in Gideon. He has stepped down from his government position and is now a full-time missionary. Here's what he preaches:

14 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.

ANSWER:

I think that Alma is not contradicting the steps in the 4th article of faith. I think he's stating that baptism is itself an act of faith.

What else could it possibly be?