Back at another week, so lets dive right in. Life since the arrival of all parties in Zarahemla is going decent however the younger generation who don't remember the teachings of King Benjamin aren't so excited about being part of the church or living by its teachings. In fact there are now people going around with their "flattering words" (Mosiah 26:6) trying to deceive people.
Alma is extremely upset by the situation doesn't know what to do. He goes to King Mosiah hoping he will just take care of the problem but as a wise King he admonished Alma that this is a church matter that he is responsible for taking care of. Alma wants to do the right thing so bad, not to mention his own child is involved (see Mosiah 27), and he goes to the one person who can give him an answer, the Lord.
"And now the spirit of Alma was again troubled; and he went and inquired of the Lord what he should do concerning this matter, for he feared that he should do wrong in the sight of God (Mosiah 26:13)."
The remainder of this chapter is the Lord's response to this humble prayer of Alma. First we learn that the Savior is the only person who can forgive sin because it is only through Him, His Atonement, and His name that we are saved. Second we learn that as often as we truly repent we can be forgiven (Mosiah 26:30). We also learn that it is command for us to forgive everyone who wrongs us (Mosiah 26:31). Third and finally we learn that those who truly repent will be number as members of the church but those who do not confess and forsake their sin seeking repentance their names will be blotted out.
To be blotted out means that "they were cut off from the Church; their names were removed from the records of the Church; it would be as though no baptism had taken place, no remission of sins had been granted, no promises given" (Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon Vol. 2, page 301). We used to refer to this as ex-communication from the church however as of February 2020 the General Handbook of Instruction changed the name of this to Church Membership Restrictions or Withdrawal. If you have further questions on the process, or what sins lead to a Membership Council you can check out the new handbook HERE.
As I read this chapter today two things stood out to me personal, one the very clear warning that Satan and others are going to use flattering words and even rational arguments to try to get me to commit sin and move away from the Lord. So what flattering words am I attracted to was a question I found myself asking.
The other thing that popped out from the page for me was given another daily reminder that the Lord loves me and loves you. He has sacrificed so we can repent and try again. He is the reason we can repent, He is the reason we can forgive when the offender never asks. He is the reason that when I am not perfect today I can try again tomorrow.
My favorite talk from this last General Conference was from Joy D. Jones entitled "An Especially Noble Calling." In this talk a video clip of President Nelson meeting with some young children in Palmyra, New York was showed. A young child present asked president Nelson: “Is it hard to be a prophet? Are you, like, really busy?”
President Nelson responded: “Of course it’s hard. Everything to do with becoming more like the Savior is difficult. For example, when God wanted to give the Ten Commandments to Moses, where did He tell Moses to go? Up on top of a mountain, on the top of Mount Sinai. So Moses had to walk all the way up to the top of that mountain to get the Ten Commandments. Now, Heavenly Father could have said, ‘Moses, you start there, and I’ll start here, and I’ll meet you halfway.’ No, the Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it."
Later on in the talk Joy D. Jones says: "The Lord loves effort, and effort brings rewards. We keep practicing. We are always progressing as long as we are striving to follow the Lord. He doesn’t expect perfection today. We keep climbing our personal Mount Sinai. As in times past, our journey does indeed take effort, hard work, and study, but our commitment to progress brings eternal rewards."
Hopefully you see some of your own insight from this chapter but most importantly feel the love of you Heavenly Father for giving his Son, and love from your Savior for making it all possible.
Alma is extremely upset by the situation doesn't know what to do. He goes to King Mosiah hoping he will just take care of the problem but as a wise King he admonished Alma that this is a church matter that he is responsible for taking care of. Alma wants to do the right thing so bad, not to mention his own child is involved (see Mosiah 27), and he goes to the one person who can give him an answer, the Lord.
"And now the spirit of Alma was again troubled; and he went and inquired of the Lord what he should do concerning this matter, for he feared that he should do wrong in the sight of God (Mosiah 26:13)."
The remainder of this chapter is the Lord's response to this humble prayer of Alma. First we learn that the Savior is the only person who can forgive sin because it is only through Him, His Atonement, and His name that we are saved. Second we learn that as often as we truly repent we can be forgiven (Mosiah 26:30). We also learn that it is command for us to forgive everyone who wrongs us (Mosiah 26:31). Third and finally we learn that those who truly repent will be number as members of the church but those who do not confess and forsake their sin seeking repentance their names will be blotted out.
To be blotted out means that "they were cut off from the Church; their names were removed from the records of the Church; it would be as though no baptism had taken place, no remission of sins had been granted, no promises given" (Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon Vol. 2, page 301). We used to refer to this as ex-communication from the church however as of February 2020 the General Handbook of Instruction changed the name of this to Church Membership Restrictions or Withdrawal. If you have further questions on the process, or what sins lead to a Membership Council you can check out the new handbook HERE.
As I read this chapter today two things stood out to me personal, one the very clear warning that Satan and others are going to use flattering words and even rational arguments to try to get me to commit sin and move away from the Lord. So what flattering words am I attracted to was a question I found myself asking.
The other thing that popped out from the page for me was given another daily reminder that the Lord loves me and loves you. He has sacrificed so we can repent and try again. He is the reason we can repent, He is the reason we can forgive when the offender never asks. He is the reason that when I am not perfect today I can try again tomorrow.
My favorite talk from this last General Conference was from Joy D. Jones entitled "An Especially Noble Calling." In this talk a video clip of President Nelson meeting with some young children in Palmyra, New York was showed. A young child present asked president Nelson: “Is it hard to be a prophet? Are you, like, really busy?”
President Nelson responded: “Of course it’s hard. Everything to do with becoming more like the Savior is difficult. For example, when God wanted to give the Ten Commandments to Moses, where did He tell Moses to go? Up on top of a mountain, on the top of Mount Sinai. So Moses had to walk all the way up to the top of that mountain to get the Ten Commandments. Now, Heavenly Father could have said, ‘Moses, you start there, and I’ll start here, and I’ll meet you halfway.’ No, the Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it."
Later on in the talk Joy D. Jones says: "The Lord loves effort, and effort brings rewards. We keep practicing. We are always progressing as long as we are striving to follow the Lord. He doesn’t expect perfection today. We keep climbing our personal Mount Sinai. As in times past, our journey does indeed take effort, hard work, and study, but our commitment to progress brings eternal rewards."
Hopefully you see some of your own insight from this chapter but most importantly feel the love of you Heavenly Father for giving his Son, and love from your Savior for making it all possible.
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