Alma 32 Looking Forward With an Eye of Faith

“And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life” (v40).

Looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit, or promised blessings, of my faith. Faith is primarily concerned with the condition of my heart. Am I brought to a lowliness of heart? Is my heart humble enough to learn wisdom? Is my heart teachable? The Lord can compel me to repent and become humble, but it is greater to choose to believe on His word and truly humble myself. I will set aside my own stubbornness of heart to receive the light an joy of His word.

Since faith is not a perfect knowledge of things, it implies a certain degree of uncertainty that directs the believer to God. The believer turns to God because they cannot trust in their own uncertain strength. They can only hope in things that are promised and are true. (Rather than using hope as a wishful thinking, I am using it as an assurance affirmed by the Holy Ghost that the Lord will fulfill his promises.) For, God is merciful to all who believe on his name.

So now, what does it mean to have faith? What is done with uncertain knowledge? The answer is explained from Alma 32: 26-43. While exercising, or acting upon, faith is vital; it is not the first step in the learning process. Actions must be performed with a humble and willing heart believing in the truthfulness of the promised blessing. Testing truth starts with the believers desires, a desire to believe in the suggested truthfulness of the word of God independent of the word’s source or controversial topics, such as Proposition 8 in California. With the slightest desire to believe action will gain power as the actor looks forward, past the uncertainty, with an eye of faith to the promised blessings. If the initial belief is of God then it will increase and enlighten the individual, a process that creates a positive feedback loop by softening that heart to receive more truth.

Therefore learning weather or not something is of God is a simple but powerful process that requires uncertainty, as suggested by the following steps:

1.      Approach uncertainty with a humble and willing heart

2.      Desire to believe truth about the uncertainty

3.      Set aside the scientific skepticism and replace it with a hope or assurance inherent in truth

4.      Act in this assurance judging whether or not the initial uncertainty increases in goodness and edifies the believer

5.      If the initial belief is true, than acting will soften the believer’s heart bring them closer to God

a.       Note: there are two components to this kind of truth. First the believer must truly approach the issue at hand with real intent. Secondly the issue at hand must actually be true. Meeting both conditions brings the fruits of truth, such as a changed heart.

6.      Faith now becomes a perfect knowledge and uncertainty become certain.

Spiritually Self-Reliant

“Those with firm spiritual foundations are blessed with peace, reassurance, and greater faith when calling on Heavenly Father for help. . . . If we lose our emotional and spiritual independence, our self-reliance, we can be weakened quite as much, perhaps even more, than when we become dependent materially” (March Ensign p. 65).

Now the servants of the king began to murmur, saying: Now the king will slay us, as he has our brethren because their flocks were scattered … And they began to weep exceedingly, saying: Behold our, flocks are scattered already.  Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with Joy” (Alma 17:28-29).

While all the servants were in the exact same situation, their reactions could not be more opposite: the servants wept in fear of their lives and Ammon rejoiced.

Ammon continues to explain why he was filled with joy: “I will show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants, or the power which is in me , in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe in my words” (Alma 17:29).

Rather than fearing for his life, Ammon found joy in the hope that the Lord would fulfill his promise to deliver his people, in other words Ammon was spiritually self-reliant as described in the first part of the chapter

Ammon and the sons of Mosiah

·         had waxed strong in the knowledge of truth

·         were men of sound understanding

·         searched the scriptures diligently to know the word of God

·         gave themselves to much prayer and fasting

·         received the spirit of prophecy and revelation

·         taught with power and authority

These insights were rather timely considering I faced several temporal realities that come with graduating from college. While both graduate schools I applied to interviewed me, I was faced with choosing a school before I heard back from either school. While sitting in elder’s quorum the thought to drop my anthropology class came to mind. My initial response was I can’t do that. I will just man it up and work hard. I can read the several hundred pages and write the reaming 20 pages in reports. After talking it over with several friends, I realized the University of Utah was the only program that required me to take Anthropology 101. If I withdrew from the class, I would become ineligible to attend the U’s occupational therapy program, which was okay because I did not want to attend the program after all. The day after I withdrew from Anthropology 101 I heard back from Pacific University. I had been placed rather low on the wait list. However, there was a peace reassuring me that things would be okay. Now that I only had 15 credits I would have the time to do well in my classes and raise my prerequisite GPA. I also realized that it was okay if I did not make it into the program. Questions such as grad school, jobs, and where to live after graduation are all temporal concerns that could have consumed and overwhelmed me, but I trusted that becoming spiritually self-reliant would enable these temporal concerns to fall into place. My focused turned from my situation to my own heart and desires. I began seeking to become more spiritually self-reliant. I searched for the weapons I could bury, such as the anti-Nephi-Lehies

Even in the Midst of Trials Man are that They Might Have Joy!

March 8, 2013

This morning I was impacted by the trials the Lord permits his people to pass through in Alma 14 & 15

Verse 7 Those who believed Alma and Amulek were cast out and stoned

Verse 6-7Zeezrom is changed by the word and is also cast out with the believers

Verse 8 Their woman, children, and scriptures were cast into a fire

Verse 10 Alma and Amulek watch the believers suffer and die for their faith

Verse 11 the Lord’s delivering hand is stayed

Verse 17-18 Alma and Amulek are bound, harassed and cast in to prison for several days

Verse 22 Alma and Amulek are denied food, water, and clothing

Finally in verse 26 the Lord sees it fit to deliver Alma and Amulek by causing the prison walls to fall and kill the unrighteous in the prison.

Chapter 15 the trials continue

Verse 3 choosing to believe in Christ and follow him confronts Zeezrom with his sins and he becomes extremely sick.

Verse 10-11 Zeezrom is healed

Verse 16 Has Almuek been asked to sacrifice too much?

He gave up all his gold and precious belongings, and his friends, parents, and family rejected him all before he suffered in chapter 14.

Why does the Lord let us suffer and withhold his delivering hand for a season? The Lord sees it fit to test and try his people. By allowing suffering God removes comfort from his people, an act that reviles where his children will turn for comfort. For instance while Alma and Amulek watched the woman and children be thrown into the fire Alma stated “the Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand (14:11). Amulek than learned the God permits the innocent to suffer so the wicked can be judged. They received understanding and comfort by turning to the spirit.

Being denied food water and clothing further stripped them of physical comfort, a situation that further tested where their hearts turn for comfort. Would they get angry with God, or would they trust to the promised blessings?

Each instance of suffering is the Lord testing the individual’s faith just as peters was tested. When Peter stepped over the boat he walked on the stormy water because he was focused on answering the Lord’s call. When he looked away from the Savior and noticed the stormy sea he became afraid. The crucial moment is how peter acted when faced with fear. Would he follow his natural instinct to try and swim, or would he set aside the natural man and reach up to the savior. Trials are one way of testing whether I will turn inwardly in an attempt to swim back to the boat, an established safe place, or turn outwardly and reach up to the savior. In short, it is mine to find joy even while suffering trials in the hope that as I reach up to the Savior He will catch me in His time.

Becoming Willing to Receive the Lord's Merciful Hand

March 7, 2013

Be ye therefore perfect. Within the LDS and BYU cultures there seems to be a high tendency towards perfectionism, an ideology that I have yet to find support from the scriptures and Brothern.

“After he had made an end of speaking unto the people many of them did believe on his words, and began to repent, and to search the scriptures” (Alma 14:1). First believing on the word of God will lead to repenting which leads to searching the scriptures. Nowhere did it say and they did more in a more perfect manner. It does not even say they read their scriptures more but commented on how they read the scriptures, they searched them.

Alma 13 comments on rejoice and entering into the Lord’s rest.

Verse 6 understand the commandments of God

Verse 12 sanctified and made pure by the Holy Ghost

Verse 13 humble yourself before God and bring fourth fruits of repentance

Verse 16 look forward on the son of God…look forward to him for a remission of sins

Verse 20 Behold, the scriptures are before you; if ye will wrest them it shall be to your own destruction

Verse 25 I will rejoice in waiting to hear the joyful news of his coming

Verse 28-29 humble yourself before the Lord, and call on his name, watch and pray continually that you may not be tempted above that which ye can bare, and thus be led by the holy spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long suffering; 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.

These verses seem to have an underlying theme of faith, whereas perfectionism insists on being good enough so that faith is not needed. Rather than worrying about if I am doing enough or if I am doing it well enough, other questions should be consider that will lead to the rest of the Lord. Am I bringing fourth fruits of repentance? Am I submissive? Do I look forward with hope for a remission of sins? Each of the verses cited becomes a meaningful question that can draw a person near to our Lord and Savior. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is about becoming like Christ by becoming more willing to receive his grace through humble sincere repentance. I will never be or do things that are good enough, but I can become more willing to receive His merciful hand. However, I need to ensure that I am engaged in a good cause this is no reason to slack off.

Frustration Becomes Joy in the Strength of the Lord

Commenting on my scripture study  March 3, 2013 when I was in Chicago for Feniah’s baby blessing.

·         While reading Alma chapter 11, all the verses about money and staying out of debt stood out. 

• Verse 2 encouraged me to get and stay out of debt.

• ·         Verse 20 explains that the lawyers who withstood Alma and Amulek were seeking to get gain. They would stir up the people to get money from the suites brought before them.

• ·         Verses 21-22 Zeezrom tries to pay for Alma and Amulek to deny their testimonies. Amulek responds with: O thou child of hell, why tempt ye me? Knowest thou that the righteous yeldeth to no such temptations? Belivest thou that there is no God? I say unto you there is a God, but thou lovest the lucre more than him."

Zeezerum was a child of hell because he loved money more than God.

My scripture study concluded with these thoughts. I closed the book thinking my insights were a little out of place.

…

Later that evening, I started to look up my flight information, a search that did not end happily. Unable to find my flight on the airlines web page, I called customer service. The agent explained that my reservations were canceled because I purchased a round trip ticked and did not catch the initial flight. I was in Chicago without a way to get to my 2pm flight the next day in Denver for Salt Lake City. I had no other option but to purchase a ticket less than 24 hours before takeoff.

I could feel my anger raising as I thought about spending money that I did not have to spend.  While explaining the situation and venting to Joe, my brother, my thoughts turned to my scripture study. Where was my heart focused? Where was my trust? I could see parts of Zeezerm in me. I realized the Lord will provide for me even if it means a balance on my credit card for a couple months. I don’t know how, but he will provide for me even while I am in debt, or captivity like lemhi’s people. I will be delivered by degrees as I strive to pay off the ticket. With these thoughts my anger melted to calmness, and I was able to enjoy the short time I had with my family.    

I am grateful I have a Father in Heaven who knows me and loves me. Who prepares me for challenges I cannot see. For it is truly in the strength of the Lord that I find the ability to set aside anger and rejoice with family. Man are that they might have joy!