Alma 31:26-38
31:26-28 - Alma and his companions have seen what the Zoramites have been doing in their synagogues and are deeply disturbed, but they also know what they have to do, they have to go and refute those teachings and set the people straight. Now we get to hear Alma’s prayer and maybe we can compare and contrast it to the one offered by every Zoramite in attendance. He begins by lamenting the way in which the people have had “their hearts… swallowed up in their pride… they are puffed up… with the vain things of the world. Behold, O my God, their costly apparel, and their ringlets, and their bracelets, and their ornaments of gold, and all their precious things which they are ornamented with; and behold, their hearts are set upon them.” In an April 1999 general conference talk entitled “Greed, Selfishness, and Overindulgence,” Elder Joe J. Christensen asks, “How do we determine where our treasure is? To do so, we need to evaluate the amount of time, money, and thought we devote to something. Might it not be well to evaluate how much focus we place on shopping and spending? This does not mean that our children should not dress in some of the appropriate clothing that is in fashion because that can be very important to them. But they don’t need a closet full. As members of the Church, we have a responsibility to present ourselves in a well-groomed, attractive, and modest manner. With good planning, this can be done without being driven to spend extravagantly on our clothing. More than 10 times, the prophets in the Book of Mormon warn us about the problems of pride related to the nature of our clothing… We would do well if in all these areas of material things we and our children would follow the oft-quoted motto of our pioneer forebears to ‘fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” This has always been a really interesting concept for me because I never learned how to dress myself other than “put clothes on so you won’t be naked,” type thing, the only thing that I’ve learned is through the observation of others, specifically those who are obsessed with fashion, money, gadgets, etc. and they usually are not nice people and so I desperately want to avoid being like them, so I have always associated being “in style” or “fashionable” with being “vain,” but it’s now that I realize that that’s not what Heavenly Father wants for us. It’s also interesting that both of my kids have closets full of clothes, but in my defense, I buy so many clothes so that I don’t have to do laundry as often and I always either get them as hand me downs or I buy them at the thrift store. I don’t remember the last time that I bought clothes at the mall or even from Walmart, and they are cute clothes, so I think that that is a good compromise. More so today than in years past, affordable, modest, and good looking clothes are readily available through outlet stores, knock off stores, online, clearance, thrift stores, etc. So I really don’t see the need to spend ridiculous amounts of money on clothing, unless it’s to fill some other emotional void that really can never be filled by clothes or appearance, which has to be healed from within through the atonement of Jesus Christ. And then there’s the issue of the jewelry and ornamentation. I guess it would go back to the same as the clothes, it’s the motivation, do we wear them so that we can be flashy and make sure that everyone sees us? Do we wear them to demonstrate our wealth and therefore imply to others that we are better than them? Or do we just want to look nice? Do we overdo it and look like a gaudy princess, or do we just look nice? I would imagine that it’s the same with hair, make up, watches, cars, anything really, it’s all about the motivation. The problem of pride that is rampant throughout Zoramite culture is manifest in these terrible display of wealth, but really it’s not about wanting to look good in front of others, it’s truly about how much we care about others. Elder Christensen continues, “be generous in giving and sharing with others. The more our hearts and minds are turned to assisting others less fortunate than we, the more we will avoid the spiritually cankering effects that result from greed, selfishness, and overindulgence. Our resources are a stewardship, not our possessions. I am confident that we will literally be called upon to make an accounting before God concerning how we have used them to bless lives and build the kingdom…. In addition to paying an honest tithing, we should be generous in assisting the poor. How much should we give? I appreciate the thought of C.S. Lewis on this subject. He said: ‘I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare… If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us,… they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditures exclude them.’ There are many worthy individuals and causes to which we might contribute. We should give generously to the fast offering and humanitarian funds of the Church. And, if we desire our families to live lives of depth and meaning, we must have the courage to examine honestly where our treasures lie and avoid the pitfalls that result from greed, selfishness, and overindulgence.” I had never heard that definition of how much to give away before but I love it and find that it is quite full of messages. It’s like the “Widow’s Mite,” those who gave significantly more than the widow were not demonstrating as much faith because they could afford it, and they weren’t impacted much by the contribution, but the widow, she gave everything she had, trusting God to take care of her, and thus she demonstrated that obedience and the causes of Zion were more important than her own comfort and luxury. By giving until it hurts, we literally show Heavenly Father that we understand that we are not keepers, but only managers of the resources that he has blessed us with. Job was rich and it was all taken away one day, not because he was wicked, not because he didn’t deserve it, but because it was the next lesson for him to learn, the next trial for him to face. It’s like I tell my kids, “most people will be rich and poor many times in their lives, if we’re rich then we need to be responsible with it and give it to help others, because there will be a time when we will be poor and we will hope that someone is generous with us.” That sounds a lot wiser written out like that than when I say it, maybe it’s because the kids usually aren’t listening.
31:29-38 - I find it quite interesting that Alma, even as the prophet of the church acknowledges that the task of reclaiming the Zoramites is far too great for him, and he asks the Lord, “wilt thou give me strength, that I may bear with mine infirmities. For I am infirm, and such wickedness among this people doth pain mine soul.” He asks for strength, comfort, and patience so that he can effectively convey the messages of God to this people, and he also asks for these things to be given to all those who are with him, who we know from earlier is Ammon, Aaron, Omner, Shiblon, and Corianton, but now we learn of a couple more very interesting additions, Amulek and Zeezrom, straight from the story of Ammonihah. I guess if anyone was prepared for an apostate group of people then it was these two. The IM teaches that “Alma recognized that the souls of the apostate Zoramites were precious to God. Thus, Alma prayed for the power and wisdom to bring them back to the Lord. Alma’s prayer exemplifies the attitude all members and missionaries must develop. All people are of great worth, and through the power of God they can be brought back to Him. While serving as a member of the Seventy, Elder Carlos E. Asay taught that all people are precious to God and should be to us: ‘The souls of our brothers and sisters who may seem to be more feeble and less honorable are precious. The Church has need of them. We should make every attempt to know them and to help them claim the full blessings and joys of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our prayers should be as Alma’s : ‘Give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee.’ We must remember that our salvation is intertwined with the salvation of others. We must care more for those who seem to care less for their faith.’” Most of us recognize the importance of other people, as our brethren and sisters in the Lord, regardless of their current status of activity within the Church, but while logically we might say “yes, they are just as important to God as I am,” many times we don’t act like that is the case, and this goes for me as well, big time. I judge and am rude to too many people because I subconsciously think that they have less value than I do, or because I might think that they have more value than I do and like the wounded little girl that I am, I want them to know that I’m just as important as they are. Yeah, that actually makes a lot more sense for me personally, I’m very eager to make sure that everyone knows how important I am because I’m still trying to convince myself… oh now that’s interesting. I’m so worried that my own worth is going to be over looked or that I’m going to be taken advantage of that I make sure that everyone knows that that isn’t the case, that I’m a strong, bold woman. Now that’s interesting, that’s quite a breakthrough for me actually. My problem isn’t treating people poorly because deep down I think I’m better than them, my problem is treating people poorly because deep down I think that they are better than me, and truly the behavior towards others is the same, and I’m clearly not valuing them as people when I act like that and I’m surely not valuing myself when I act like that as well. Alma ends his prayer and “he clapped his hands upon them, (and) they were filled with the Holy Spirit.” They went about their teachings and this is a little bit different than when they had been preaching in other places before. Many times previously, they had to endure many afflictions, lots of pain and starving, but not this time, and I wonder if it was the same then but is just a little bit more expanded now, they were blessed in the afflictions. The IM quotes President Lorenzo Snow as teaching “I suppose I am talking to some who had have worry and trouble and heart burnings and persecutions, and have at times been caused to think that they never expected to endure quite so much. But for everything you have suffered, for everything that has occurred to you which you thought an evil at the time, you will receive fourfold, and that suffering will have had a tendency to make you better and stronger and to feel that you have been blessed. When you look back over your experiences you will then see that you have advanced far ahead and have gone up several rounds of the ladder toward exaltation and glory… Take it individually or take it collectively, we have suffered and we shall have to suffer again; and why? Because the Lord requires it at our hands for our sanctification.” It’s really interesting that I read this now, because while I’ve been pulling myself out of the little pity party that I’ve been wallowing in for the last several weeks, and it’s been going pretty well, today has just been kind of blah….. and I literally just finished complaining about something to my coworker when I read this and I almost started crying, just the hope that it will get better. I know that I am exceptionally blessed, much more so than many others and surely more than I deserve, I’ve been made a steward over much and I’m truly grateful, but I was conflicted when I read this because on the one hand I need to stop my whining about all my “problems,” and be more grateful and act like it, but on the other hand, I felt like this was the Lord’s way of acknowledging that I am suffering in other ways and that I’ve suffered before. This was his way of telling me that it will get better, that he is watching out for me and that he does love me.
31:29-38 - I find it quite interesting that Alma, even as the prophet of the church acknowledges that the task of reclaiming the Zoramites is far too great for him, and he asks the Lord, “wilt thou give me strength, that I may bear with mine infirmities. For I am infirm, and such wickedness among this people doth pain mine soul.” He asks for strength, comfort, and patience so that he can effectively convey the messages of God to this people, and he also asks for these things to be given to all those who are with him, who we know from earlier is Ammon, Aaron, Omner, Shiblon, and Corianton, but now we learn of a couple more very interesting additions, Amulek and Zeezrom, straight from the story of Ammonihah. I guess if anyone was prepared for an apostate group of people then it was these two. The IM teaches that “Alma recognized that the souls of the apostate Zoramites were precious to God. Thus, Alma prayed for the power and wisdom to bring them back to the Lord. Alma’s prayer exemplifies the attitude all members and missionaries must develop. All people are of great worth, and through the power of God they can be brought back to Him. While serving as a member of the Seventy, Elder Carlos E. Asay taught that all people are precious to God and should be to us: ‘The souls of our brothers and sisters who may seem to be more feeble and less honorable are precious. The Church has need of them. We should make every attempt to know them and to help them claim the full blessings and joys of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our prayers should be as Alma’s : ‘Give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee.’ We must remember that our salvation is intertwined with the salvation of others. We must care more for those who seem to care less for their faith.’” Most of us recognize the importance of other people, as our brethren and sisters in the Lord, regardless of their current status of activity within the Church, but while logically we might say “yes, they are just as important to God as I am,” many times we don’t act like that is the case, and this goes for me as well, big time. I judge and am rude to too many people because I subconsciously think that they have less value than I do, or because I might think that they have more value than I do and like the wounded little girl that I am, I want them to know that I’m just as important as they are. Yeah, that actually makes a lot more sense for me personally, I’m very eager to make sure that everyone knows how important I am because I’m still trying to convince myself… oh now that’s interesting. I’m so worried that my own worth is going to be over looked or that I’m going to be taken advantage of that I make sure that everyone knows that that isn’t the case, that I’m a strong, bold woman. Now that’s interesting, that’s quite a breakthrough for me actually. My problem isn’t treating people poorly because deep down I think I’m better than them, my problem is treating people poorly because deep down I think that they are better than me, and truly the behavior towards others is the same, and I’m clearly not valuing them as people when I act like that and I’m surely not valuing myself when I act like that as well. Alma ends his prayer and “he clapped his hands upon them, (and) they were filled with the Holy Spirit.” They went about their teachings and this is a little bit different than when they had been preaching in other places before. Many times previously, they had to endure many afflictions, lots of pain and starving, but not this time, and I wonder if it was the same then but is just a little bit more expanded now, they were blessed in the afflictions. The IM quotes President Lorenzo Snow as teaching “I suppose I am talking to some who had have worry and trouble and heart burnings and persecutions, and have at times been caused to think that they never expected to endure quite so much. But for everything you have suffered, for everything that has occurred to you which you thought an evil at the time, you will receive fourfold, and that suffering will have had a tendency to make you better and stronger and to feel that you have been blessed. When you look back over your experiences you will then see that you have advanced far ahead and have gone up several rounds of the ladder toward exaltation and glory… Take it individually or take it collectively, we have suffered and we shall have to suffer again; and why? Because the Lord requires it at our hands for our sanctification.” It’s really interesting that I read this now, because while I’ve been pulling myself out of the little pity party that I’ve been wallowing in for the last several weeks, and it’s been going pretty well, today has just been kind of blah….. and I literally just finished complaining about something to my coworker when I read this and I almost started crying, just the hope that it will get better. I know that I am exceptionally blessed, much more so than many others and surely more than I deserve, I’ve been made a steward over much and I’m truly grateful, but I was conflicted when I read this because on the one hand I need to stop my whining about all my “problems,” and be more grateful and act like it, but on the other hand, I felt like this was the Lord’s way of acknowledging that I am suffering in other ways and that I’ve suffered before. This was his way of telling me that it will get better, that he is watching out for me and that he does love me.
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