Alma 17:1-3

17:1-3 - This is a super content heavy chapter so I'll do my best, but I think that this is going to be slow through here for a while. We remember that Alma and the sons of Mosiah, in their youth were wicked, but then an angel appeared to them, at the request of their fathers, and they turned their lives around. The sons of Mosiah went to teach the Lamanites the gospel, and Alma took over the leadership of the church, and even the government for a while. They were really good friends in their wickedness, then they were really good friends as they turned their lives around, and now, they meet up again, after 14 years apart. Their meeting is truly one of those events that is amazing and could in no way be "coincidence," because "as Alma was journeying from the land of Gideon southward, away to the land of Manti, behold, to his astonishment, he met with the sons of Mosiah journeying towards the land of Zarahemla." After Alma has his dealings with the people in Ammonihah and and after they are destroyed, and after the vast majority of Nephites are converted to the Lord, this meeting with the sons of Mosiah is the next step chronologically. After seeing his friends after over a decade, "Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord." I've had this feeling before, and I thought that I told me friend, but maybe I didn't. When I went through the temple for the first time, she made a trip of a couple of hours and went with me, and even though I had done my dance through inactivity, and was now back, I remember looking back on all our friends that we grew up with, and thought to how many of them were still active in the church, and the answer was, not many. And I was so grateful that she could come with me and that we still shared that vital belief in the truthfulness of the gospel. I think that there are several reasons why those of us who stay in the church rejoice at the decisions of others to join and/or remain in the church. The first is our own validation. We make our decisions, and even though we personally might be super firm in our beliefs and decisions, it's always to nice to have that support, and to feel the validation that we are making the right choices, even though we believe it in our hearts, but it's nice to have someone else say it too. The second reason is that we know the happiness and peace that the gospel brings us and we want that for others, especially those that we know and care for deeply. And third, specific to Alma and the sons of Mosiah, as missionaries, the IM calls it "Those who serve together develop a bond of friendship." The IM goes on to quote Elder L. Tom Perry telling a story from his personal missionary days. I'm going to copy and paste it here, because it's long, but awesome:

Elder Perry talks about what happened on his mission, but spends more time discussing the effects of this companionship afterwards. When Elder Perry was reunited with his companion during service in WWII, that surely was a tender mercy of the Lord. His faithful servants were both going to be in the war, no matter what, but he rigged it so that they could be together. Honestly, the "odds" of this happening randomly, is slim to none, thus demonstrating the power and mercy of God to those who keep his commandments. They "tried to continue the practices of missionary service. As often as we could, we prayed together. When circumstances allowed, we had scripture study together." Doing these things outside of the missionary companionship reminded me of a marriage, and made me wonder if marriage isn't to ultimate missionary companionship. I've not served a mission, but from what I understand, scripture study together, praying together, setting goals together, etc. these are meant to bring the companionship together to make them more functional as a team and to make their missionary experience more rewarding. If we look at marriage from that stand point,

scripture study and prayer together, being patient with each other, letting the little things slide, these can bring spouses together, heal marriages and make them more rewarding. Maybe that's what I'm looking for, I'm looking for my ultimate mission companion. I've heard some people say that they met their best friends as companions during their mission, and clearly the bond that Alma had with the sons of Mosiah, especially because of their mutual service to the Lord, was deep, profound and meaningful. It's a very interesting concept, while serving the Lord, we are brought together as people. It's interesting in verse 2 that says "now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him." They saw an angel together, the repented together, the changed their lives and hearts together, and then they dedicated years of the lives to sharing that with others. I heard a very profound Ensign article today from the Feb 2009 entitled "Hearing and Heeding the Message From the Grove." In it Elder F. Burton Howard recounted a story from his own mission when he took 6 other Elders and went to the town square, sang hymns and started telling the story of the First Vision. It was then that some teenage boys started throwing rocks at them. He had to decide what to do, and he says "I was the leader, and I seemed to be the main target, although I'm sure we all felt that way. I had to decide in an instance whether to continue or conclude the meeting. That decision seemed to depend on whether Joseph really went into that grove, whether he really did see a pillar of light, and whether the Father really did say, 'This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!' But there was more to consider. Had I really been called by a prophet? Had the mission president really been inspired to ask us to open that town? Were we really on the Lord's errand? And was knowing all of that worth more than a rock in the eye?After the Spirit had answered those questions, there didn't seem to be any honorable alternative. We finished the story. A few small stones found their mark but did no permanent damage." These were the experiences that Elder Howard endured on his mission, and the lessons that he learned, yes, I'm sure that this brought him closer to his immediate missionary companions, but ultimately, it brought him closer to his perfect missionary companion, the Savior. We also hear the story of the conversion of the sons of Mosiah, because like Alma, they too saw an angel, but that wasn't how they learned and were converted to the Lord. Like Alma, "they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God. But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God." The IM teaches that "the sons of Mosiah searched the scriptures as an essential part of their missionary preparation. Likewise, Hyrum Smith received counsel from the Lord to prepare for missionary service by first seeking to obtain His word. The missionary handbook Preach My Gospel emphasizes the importance of seeking the Holy Ghost, having a strong desire to learn, and putting what we learn into action as a key component of effective gospel study." Kind of like when I'm reading and writing and learning, I then have to make it a part of my daily life in order to grow spiritually. The IM goes on to quote the Preach My Gospel manual about how to make the most out of our scripture study.

I'm reminded by President Packer's words of counsel to someone who was having conflict within their ward. He said something like "have them read the Book of Mormon and soon they will receive the answers to their problems." When asked which passage they should read, he said "it doesn't really matter." That might seem like stating that the Book of Mormon isn't about important messages, because clearly it is, but like the manual teaches, when we study the scriptures with the Holy Ghost, he will give us knowledge and conviction, and our faith in the Savior will grow along with our desire to repent and improve. The manual doesn't specify which verses to read or anything like that, the promise is for the whole Book of Mormon, the scriptures don't change, but we do, our desires for righteousness do. The second part discussed here is the use of a "scripture journal." I consider this to be my scripture journal, and it's been life changing. I've always liked to write, I've found it cathartic, I do a decent job at it. The one thing that I wonder if I'm doing wrong is when I read Elder Richard G. Scott's counsel that "spiritually sensitive information should be kept in a sacred place that communicates to the Lord how you treasure it." Hmmm.... I wonder if the internet is considered a sacred place? I don't write everything that I receive on here, but I do write the vast majority of it. I have plenty of embarrassing moments, confessions, chastisements, and personal communications from the Lord on here. And I don't want Him to think that I don't treasure what I've been given just because I put it out there, but I do want other people to know not only what I've been through but also what I've learned and even some of that embarrassing stuff, so that when it happens to them, they can know that they are not alone and that Jesus is there to help them, just like he was and is there to always help and comfort me. So that's why I put a lot of my really embarrassing stuff out there for anyone to see. But I know that reading the scriptures, reading the IM, cross referencing to Ensign articles and general conference talks, has been like nothing else I've ever had before, I've learned and grown spiritually more since I started this than I have ever before in my life. And that's because the promises that the Lord made concerning the scriptures and spiritual knowledge and growth are true. Like the sons of Mosiah and Alma, though to a lesser extent, I'm searching the scriptures diligently that I might know the word of God and so that I might wax strong in the knowledge of the truth and become a woman of sound understanding. These are the promises of the Lord and these are the examples that he has set forth for us to follow, and even though we might not have seen an angel calling us to repentance, and even though we might not be able to leave our homes for 14 years at a time to be missionaries, and even though we might not take over the prophet-ship from our parents, we can still be spiritual giants, just like those mighty examples in the scriptures, but it's up to our own faith, and diligence, and dedication.