Alma 42-62 Aka the War Chapters of the Book of Mormon

So much to think about in these chapters. I am going to focus on one thing that is personal to me. When I was researching and starting this post I thought I was going to talk about the two thousand Sons of Helaman and the faith they possessed. I was going to talk about their parent and what they much have been like. I ever was going to reference the following scriptures: Alma 53:20 and Alma 56: 47-48.  I am not going to expand on all of that. I think you get where I am going with it.

I want to talk about something that is even more personal. War. I am the least political person. I won’t talk about politics. No news shows for me. When it comes to current events if I don’t happen to see it in my Facebook news feed it is not even in my realm of existence. I am like a bird with its head in the sand. I know there are wars in countries all over the world. I know awful things are going on everywhere. Children suffering, animals suffering, people dying, hurting being tortured. I know this I don’t need to see it read about it or immerse myself in the details of it.  These chapters teach us that the Lord wanted us to know that war would be a reality in our day and age. This book was preserved for us after all. 

I am not in a country where I have to pick up a sword or gun and fight to continue to be a Christian. I hope I never do. But I do have a war I fight. I have, like all of us been at war since before we even came to this earth. See Revelations 12:7-9. Satan is at war with the Children of God every day. He is battling with us. He knows our weakness and plants demons, self-doubt, and fear in our hearts. He whispers in our ears. He acts like a buddy; a friend and tries to convince us that one little transgression is no big deal. Maybe one isn’t, but I say it is. It is the gateway. Open the window a crack and you might be giving Satan the power to uproot the whole house and leave you fully exposed to all of his power of evil. Oh, it probably wont be quick or all at once. You might not even notice it happening. You might even find temporary joy and happiness in your transgression. But, you will start to lose the war. The one you fought to win before you were even born.

Except, we know we are not perfect. We will all sin. We will all transgress. So what now? Is there no hope? Should I let my “Mormon Guilt” take over and say, “Welp, I messed up might as well keep doing it.”  Let me tell you the answer is no! There is a way. There is hope. We can and will win this war that we are in. The Savior Jesus Christ provided the way for us to come back from the smallest to biggest sins or mistakes.  Pray daily. Study the word of God. Reach out to friend of family. Know that even in the worst most contentious, bloodiest wars and times of our lives we are not alone. Have faith and hope. Put on the armor of God. Start your day with a prayer.  Keep it in your heart all day.  I am so far from perfect. I am a sinner. I fall. I yell when a soft word would do a better job. I hurt people without even realizing it. I am a work in progress.  

I hope you find your strength and are inspired to help bring others to the Light. To help them win the war against their demons. To love others as Christ loved us. To not delight in the shedding of blood. To be like Captain Moroni. 

visit TheWarChapters for inspiring reading about this section of the Book of Mormon

Direct Line to the The Big Guy

I am back.

This weeks scripture block was Alma 30 -35.  What drew me in was about prayer.

My testimony of prayer has always been there. Even when I was at the lowest point in my life making choices and living a life I hope none of you reading this ever do or go through I knew God wanted to hear from me. I knew my Heavenly Father was there to hear me. At that point in my life I wasn't really in a place to let the Holy Ghost reside with me, but I knew that if I reached out Heavenly Father would hear my prayers.

In Alma chapter 33 Alma quotes a prophet of old, Zenos. He tell the people that you do not have to pray  in a specific place. You don't only worship one day a week or in one place. I love verse 7 where he says, "And when I did turn unto my closet, O Lord, and prayed unto thee, thou didst hear me."  I took this to literally mean closet for years. If the Book of Mormon prophets are advising the people it is ok to pray in the closest than I was sure Heavenly Father is ok with me praying in my car (where the world can think I am singing or talking on blue tooth.) I know to get answers I need to be in a quieter place, perhaps on my knees in my room alone. However, I know that He will listen where ever I pray.

In the following Chapter, Alma 34, Amulek covers thing that one can pray for. In class we went over verses 20-27 and read all of the things one is advised to pray for and talked about what those thing mean to us today. I loved this. Remember the Book of Mormon was preserved and save for us in these latter days, so we could learn and know the truth.

These 2 chapters teach us so much about prayer and our line to our Father in Heaven. Through the Savior and because of the atonement we will be able to return to Him. I know I knew my Father in Heaven before I came to this earth life. I know that I walk with Him. I talked with Him. I know he wants me to continue to do that now. I am also taking the time to listen. To wait for answers and offer quiet peaceful moments to be comforted by God. 

If More People Knew

"If we understood the nature of repentance better, there would be more of it!" Neal A. Maxwell

This week's scripture block was Mosiah 27 - Alma 7.  We begin with Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah,  the "rising generation."  These sons of a prophet and king think the church is a farce. They actively seek to take people away from the church. Then some thing happens. An angel of the Lord appears and Alma is struck dumb. During his 2 days and 2 nights of being in this sleep / dumb state he was repenting and learning of the truth.  He awakens having repented being truly converted.

If you have read my prior posts you are aware that my personal goal in studying the Book of Mormon at this go around is to make it personal to me. This book was preserved for us in these latter days to learn and grow and know of His truths.  What can we/I learn here?  These chapters above show us repeatedly the Lords desire and lesson for us to repent.

I am not one who has ever tried to take people away from the church. I will most likely never be struck dumb and in a coma for 2 days for my mighty change of heart to happen. And even though  I know angels of the Lord appear to people in this dispensation I am probably not going to have one come down and chastise me for making stupid choices.

I am a sinner. I am an imperfect person. I make mistakes. However, I know through the atonement of Jesus Christ I am able to repent. I am able to be forgiven of my sins. I am given the promise of assistance in forsaking my sin and doing it no more.

In Alma 7 we learn of the Savior and that "he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pain and sickness of his people."   Alma 7:11.

In Alma there are many articles and conference talks and scriptures of repentance and the process of repentance. I have a firm testimony of repentance.  The verses in the image above also tell us a guide, Alma gave to the people that  would help guide then in this life. These words hold for us as well. 

He Knows You

Mosiah 3:19  For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

How does the Atonement allow you to overcome the natural man? This question was presented in reference to this verse in our studies this week. The second questioned asked along with this was Why is it only through the Atonement of Christ that you can become a Saint.  Then it refers one to this aforementioned verse.  I thought I was going to write about this and share my answers to these questions with you. But in my studies I found this blog post. http://mormonmatters.org Mosiah 3:19  I felt inspired to share that with you instead.  It breaks down this scripture and helps us to understand this verse in a very well thought out manner.

So, I keep going back to another question that came up in the study from this scripture block (Enos-Mosiah 3.)  What examples have you seen of the foreknowledge of God demonstrated in the events of your life? (see commentary for Words of Mormon 1:7)  The second half of this verse states “And now I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come, wherefore, he worketh in me to do accruing to his will.”  He knows the things to come. He knows the challenged I have had and the one I will have. I believe in agency. I believe things change based on the choices I have made. But, I know that the Lord has a plan for me.  That he wants me to come back and live with Him one day.

What examples have I seen that God had foreknowledge of events in my life? In other words; what has Heavenly Father done to help me and bless me personally in spite of me getting in my own way?

I have always walked to the beat of my own drummer, which is to say, no beat at all. (Literally I can not hear the beat, ever.) So although I was born and raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I did not always choose to live the gospel or follow the standards out line for me.  I wanted so desperately to be a young mother.  The Lord knew this wasn’t how it would be for me.  He knew that I would not be ready even though I knew I was.

I think God had the foreknowledge that I would struggle with depression in my 20’s.  He knew that I would need more time to learn to deal with the demons in my mind and the thoughts that plagued my soul.  Despite my best efforts and somewhat crushing to my heart and soul I was unable to get pregnant during my first marriage. When I finally did get pregnant I lost that sweet baby who only lived a brief time on this Earth. It wasn’t until 8 years after that heart wrenching time that my dream of becoming a mother would happen.  And when I found out I was pregnant I was so far away from thinking I would ever become a mother that I was in shock.

I know God saved my sweet Cody to come down and be my son until just the right moment. He knew this little baby would be the catalyst I needed to change my life. He had the knowledge that this single event would close a volume of my life story as I began a new one. 

Heavenly Father has a plan for me. He has one for you. If you are not sure what it is start with what you do know. You are a Child of God. He wants you to return to Him one day. He has a plan for you. Knowing that is enough to start or to continue to Come unto Christ. To become your best self.  He knows you, He loves you, He has a Plan of Happiness for you.

It's called Work

It was a pivotal moment in my life. Something I worked so hard for came to fruition. I loved reading. I read all the time. One of my favorite book series was The Baby Sitters Club. This was the inspiration for the week long summer day camp my cousin and planned.  Pivotal as in this was the first large event I ever planned. It is my first go to memory when I want to share a time I worked hard and achieved a goal and it happened over 25 years ago.  I learned so much from this. 

My cousin Heather and I decided to have a Baby Sitters Club daycare one summer. We loved watching kids. We loved the books and we were inspired.  We came up with an idea, a plan, and took the steps we needed to get it done.  We found a venue to host our summer camp.  We had to speak with the owner of the house. My aunt and get her permission.   We needed customers, kids to come to our camp.  We came up with flyers and passes them out to the people in church that we baby sat for. We asked them to pass them along to their friends. 

This was a 5 day camp for kids. We came up with 5 days of menus, activities, crafts, projects and special events. We had a schedule and each moment planned out. We had about 30 kids each day in our camp and most of them came all 5 days. I was 12 years old. After paying for all of our supplies and food we made around $300 dollars. Which, let me tell you is quite a bit for a 12 year old in the late 80’s.

We made homemade ice cream, we played games, each day the children made a craft. We even had a day where a clown came and did tricks for the kids.

As I get older my memory starts to fade. The thing I remember about this week have impressed upon me the value of hard work.  I was blessed beyond measure. The $300 was awesome and helped pay may to Hawaii 2 years later, but beyond that I learn some amazing things. I learned I really could do something I put my mind to. I learned that even though it might seem hard and overwhelming at times, working hard to get your goal is rewarding in the end. I learned I like planning parties. I learned that working as a team can help make things more fun, and get things done faster.  I realized at this time that I was a planner and like to get things done and make things happen.  I learned that by being myself and sharing my talents with others I could help bless and enrich the lives of others along the way. 

My Own Way

Satan. Oh, the power this one tries to have over us.  12 of Satan’s minions to every one of us at all times. Standing there telling us lies. Trying to fight us and bring us down. In this block of scriptures, specifically  2 Nephi 28 we see a lot of Satan’s power over the Lamanites and the predictions of how he will try to stir up the hearts of men to believing false doctrines and false churches.  

2 Nephi 28:5 “They deny the power of the God, the Holy one of Israel; and they say Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precepts; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work and hath given his power unto men.”  Wait, a minute. What?  How can this be? If you are of great faith you know without a doubt this is not true.  However, there are so many that do not believe they “need God.”  I have been told organized religion is for some people and they need it but not everyone needs it to have a happy life of a good moral compass.  I once bought into this.

I always had faith in God, the Eternal Father. I knew I was a child of a Heavenly parent and I lived before I came here.  I went through a time in my life where I decided I was one of those people that didn’t need a religion telling me how to live my life. God loved me, just like my mom and dad loved me. No matter the choices I was making.  How could and why would God forsake or punish me just for living my life? I wasn’t denying he existed. I just was living life and trying to find happiness. I was making my own way and choices and living life.  I thought I was happy.  I was an adult who had friends, a good job, a boyfriend, and a family who loved me and let me live my own life.  I was  living it up. All my friends were happy and fun.  I was happy, wasn’t I?

I am a person who tends to see the past in a positive light in a happier way. For me to dig deep and see the truth I have to peel away my rose colored memory glasses and see things for the rest of the way they were.  I had fun times. Tons of them for sure. I did have good friends. I had an awful terrible self esteem. I struggled with depression and self medicated with alcohol, cigarettes and other things. I was in and out of counseling. Getting doctor prescribed medications as well and interacting those with the other above mentioned vices. I was in and out of control of myself. I still prayed. I wasn’t going to cut off my Father in Heaven. I knew he still loved me.  I didn’t know the spirit had left me.  2 Nephi 28:25-26 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well! Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denith the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!”   Wo unto me for sure. This was not true happiness. It was not lasting. The party ended. The music stopped and I was empty. In my soul. I was missing something.  I didn’t know what it was at the time.

Flash forward 8 years. I have a relationship and knowledge of something I lacked my whole life, even being born and raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint. I have a relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ. I am trying to continually learn of him and know the atonement and how it works in my life. I am far from where I want to be, but I can honestly sit here today and tell you that the happiness I feel in my heart and soul is real. It is not fleeting. As long and I stay close to Heavenly Father and continue to learn of Christ and His church I will be able to continue to have peace in my heart.

2 Nephi 28:30 “for behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom…”

As I get stronger in my relationship with the Lord I know that I want others to know this peace. This light that is in my heart. I want others to be able to have a knowledge of a Living God. He speaks to His children. He knows us. He loves us. He lives. 

Using the Atonement Daily - A quick how to

I love learning the book of Mormon. We are not just reading it. We are studying it.  My focus in most of my studies this week was 2 Nephi 9. 

I wanted to share with you something that stood out to me in this chapter. This chapter is so full of information. One of the focuses in this chapter is the atonement of the Savior.  That he died so we can return to live with Heavenly Father through His grace. We talk of how the Savior suffered for all of our sins, hurt anguishes so we will not have to go through these pains and anguish alone. There are so many words written about the atonement of Christ. 2 Nephi chapter 9 is one such writing.  Verse 7 is one that talks about the infinite atonement.  Infinite: limitless or endless in space, extent, or size; impossible to measure or calculate. This means this atonement goes on forever and cannot be measured, yet we are counselled to use it in our daily lives. 

My questions are: What exactly does this mean? What does using the atonement in our daily lives actually "do" for us? How does one use the atonement? Isn't the atonement something that was already done?  How do I use it? I know I need to live righteously, but that is just following the commandments, trying to be honest in all my doings. Is that all it is? I wondered. I didn't think that was the case, because "just praying, reading scriptures, going to church and trying to be a good person" didn't feel like I was using anything. I was just doing what I was trying to do. 

I mentioned what it is.  The Bible Dictionary gives a further explanation.  It also refers us back to this Chapter in the Book of Mormon. 2 Nephi 9:5-24.   Verses 23 & 24 tell us what we have to do to get or have the blessings of the atonement but it still does not answer how.  But in the following verses and through the end of the chapter we learn more. We are given a list of what to do and what not to do. 

In our gathering in class and discussing this chapter we talked of the atonement and using in our daily lives. 

Using the atonement in our daily lives means always "Remembering Him and having his Spirit to be with us."  We are reminded of this each Sunday as we take the sacrament. In doing this we will see what the atonement does for us. 

What does it do for us? On a daily basis we can repent and be forgiven of our sins. We can have hope and faith that we will make it to true eternal happiness. It gives us the knowledge and comfort that we are not alone. The Savior, Jesus Christ, felt these pains, hurts, frustrations, imperfections, illnesses, all of it so that each and every one of us would never be alone in our struggles, trials and life.  Our pain is real and some one does know exactly how you are feeling in your painful time. You really are never alone.  

How? How do we use it in our lives? How do I make this something real that I use? How do I do it so I can get these blessings and this comfort the knowledge and the power the atonement give?  Sunday. Attending church and partaking of the sacrament. This renews the covenants. Pondering the sacrament prayer each week and keeping Jesus in our thought and hears through the week.  Everyday. Pray. Often. Pray to our Father in the name of the son, Our Savior Jesus Christ.  Ask for help, blessings, understand, the capacity to learn to change to get out of the situation. Pray for the desire to know the Savior to get to happiness. Pray and praise and give thanks. Honestly just pray.  This open line of communication comes from Christ so praying is using the atonement.  Think about the savior. And give him your troubles. Do not ask the Lord to take away your pains. Let him know through your agency you are ready to let them go. As you give the painful, hurtful sinful things in your life to the Lord you are accepting the atonement. You are believing that He is there and you are not alone and he has the power to pick it up.

So it is more than living a “righteous” life, or going to church. It is more than just praying and going through the motions. It is more than believing. Using the atonement in our daily lives requires action. It is Believing, Feeling, Asking, Doing, Living and Loving. I was using the atonement in my life without knowing it. I wasn’t giving the personal attention and focus I needed to. As I had the desire to strengthen my relationship with my Savior I knew I needed to find out the answers to these questions. I am glad the Lord provided me a way to find them. 

Now with this post if I forget or feel myself needing a refresher I can come back here and read it and know.