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Alma 21-22

As we follow the mission of Aaron today (one of the son's of King Mosiah) there were two things that stood out to me.  The first being that despite all of the set backs Aaron had while trying to teach the Lamanites he kept persevering.  If we take it back one chapter in Alma 20 verse 29 and 30 we read that when Ammon showed up to get his brother out of jail he "was exceedingly sorrowful, for behold they were naked, and their skins were worn exceedingly because of being bound with strong cords.  And they also had suffered hunger, thirst, and all kinds of afflictions; nevertheless they were patient in all their sufferings. And as it happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked people". 

I don't know about you but I feel like if I had been in jail to the point that I has basically starving to death and my skin was probably all lose from the lack of nutrition and then it is also worn with sores from being tied up I am not sure how gung-ho I would be about heading right back out into the mission field.  Personally I feel like I would be more likely to run home and hide in my bed for a few days or weeks.  Yet, unlike Sister Coleman, Aaron was patient with his sufferings and knew "it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked people." Aaron had this eternal perspective about what was happening.  He knew it was part of Heavenly Father's plan so he patiently endured. 

We, as modern readers of The Book of Mormon, get the beauty of the full story at once, without all of the pauses and waiting that comes with life, but King Lamoni and Ammon's interaction with Lamoni's father, on their way to get Aaron out of jail, began to prepare his heart to receive the gospel.  This meant that when Aaron arrive in the land of Lamoni's father later he was ready to hear. We also don't know what Aaron's experiences in jail may have done for him spiritually or for other no named individuals who witnessed his patient suffering.  I feel like with Aaron's example we should pause to ask ourselves What can I do to wait more patiently during my suffering? What things can I do to show the Lord I am trying to persevere despite what it going on? What can I learn from this experience? 
My final take about from today's reading was this emerging pattern on what Alma the younger and now the son's of Mosiah teach.  There are three huge topics they hit hard and hit often, the creation of the world, the fall of Adam and Eve, and the need for the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated: "The three pillars of eternity, the three vents, preeminent and transcendent about all others, are the creation, the fall, and the atonement.  These three are the foundations upon which all things rest.  Without any one of them all things would lose their purpose and meaning, and the plans and deesignes of Deity would come to naught" (Bruce R. McConkie, "The Three Pillars of Eternity," Brigham Young University devotional, Feb. 17, 1981). So I guess the question to be asking ourselves is what stood out to you about Aaron's teaching of the creation, fall, and Atonement of Jesus Christ? Did you notice something new you haven't noticed before?

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