29:1-2 - "...O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!"
I imagine that Alma wishes this partly because that's what made such a difference in his life! He had been called to repentance by an angel. This is probably why I would like to teach like a General Authority, program like Steven Hansen, compose like my father, Hans Zimmer, and other fantastic composers, play the piano like William Joseph and John Schmidt, etc.
These things have made such a difference in my life, and I would love to share with others this same difference. Some times that is the Lord's will as well, but sometimes not.
We need to follow the Spirit to be effective instruments in His hands.
29:1-9 - "...yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy..."
This is another form of faith. We desire to make a difference, but we show our faith by being content with where we have been placed.
We are supposed to help where we are planted.
29:9 - "...O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God...I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me..."
We all have a work and glory - just as the Lord has His work and glory.
His work is to bring to pass the immortality of man.
His glory is to bring to pass the eternal life of man (Moses 1:39).
His work is completed. He accomplished this through the resurrection. However, his glory continues. We are a part of that.
Our work is to keep the commandments (D&C 11:20).
Our glory is to be instruments in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance (Alma 29:9).
And this is our joy.
Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy (2 Nephi 2:25). Men are that they might (or exist in order to) have joy.
We gain joy through the salvation of souls (D&C 18:10, 15-16).
This is how Jesus Christ accomplishes his glory. We all work together to gain eternal life, and pure joy!
Elder L. Tom Perry talked about our responsibility as missionaries and church members in the November 2007 Ensign, Pg. 46-49, teaching us how to be more effective missionaries by raising the bar on our own personal preparation.
"Once you reach those minimum standards, shouldn't you try to keep raising the bar? I ask you the same question I asked my son many years ago: 'If you don't raise the bar, how will you ever know your potential?'...The greatest generation of missionaries will not reach its full potential unless it keeps raising the bar."
We need to keep raising the bar - even if we fail - because it stretches us and makes us better instruments in God's hands.
28:6 - "...and now surely this was a sorrowful day; yea, a time of solemnity, and a time of much fasting and prayer..."
These people could have just been sorrowful and mopey, and been ineffective, but they had faith that fasting and prayer would bring comfort during their time of grief.
28:13 - "...and thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men..."
We truly are unequal, but that is only a result of sin and transgression. The more we work to be righteous, the more understanding we gain, and the more we realize that we are all equal. Inequality comes from pride.
We must humble ourselves to avoid this.
28:14 - "...and thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord..."
We see how much joy comes as more souls are saved, and we see how much sorrow comes as souls reject the gospel.
This shows the importance of sharing the gospel with all around us - whether or not they are a member of the church.
27:10 - "...but the king said unto him: Inquire of the Lord, and if he saith unto us go, we will go; otherwise we will perish in the land..."
Lamoni trusted Ammon and the Lord - he also trusted the Nephites - seeing that they went to the Nephites for protection. However, he trusted the Lord even more. This kind of faith is essential - trusting the Lord more than the arm of man.
27:16-18 - "...this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness..."
That would be wonderful to be classified as a person who is a humble seeker of happiness. I want to be that way, even if nobody classifies me as such.
We want to be seekers of happiness, but also distributors of happiness.
27:28 - "...and they did look upon shedding the blood of their brethren with the greatest abhorrence..."
They had this attitude and behavior from a correct and more thorough understanding of the doctrines of the gospel.
If we truly understand the doctrines of the gospel, then we will have more of this attitude as well (at least, if we were in this same situation).
26:11-16 - "...Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things..."
In our own strength, we are weak. However, with the Lord, we can work many mighty miracles.
That's why we should give credit where credit is due, and why we can't glory too much in the Lord (Moses 1:39, Alma 29:9).
26:22 - "...yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance..."
These are great blessings, and they require great work. Although, the work is a great blessing in and of itself.
26:22 - "...yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance..."
We want to have understanding. We want to help bring others to Christ. We want to learn new things. This takes faith, acting on our faith, and living righteously so we may open ourselves to receiving more of the gift of faith. It is a profound circle of learning, faith, and application. As we live it, we will receive more.
25:2 - "...but they took their armies and went over into the borders of the land of Zarahemla, and fell upon the people who were in the land of Ammonihah and destroyed them..."
This is where the Ammonihahites were destroyed. After reaching this point in the Book of Mormon, it makes a little more sense of why they were destroyed. At first, it seems a little confusing why a Lamanite army would come out of nowhere and destroy the city. The background helps with understanding, and this also shows that the Lord keeps his word.
He will keep his word with us, too (like in verse 17, when the sons of Mosiah see the promises of the Lord kept in their lives).
25:13-14 - "...and it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that they could not overpower the Nephites they returned again to their own land; and many of them came over to dwell in the land of Ishmael and the land of Nephi, and did join themselves to the people of God, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi..."
Again, this shows some of the mysterious ways that the Lord uses to help his people come to a knowledge of the gospel, have faith in Jesus Christ, repent, etc.
We just need to realize that the Lord will work in ways for our good, even if we do not understand at the time.
25:16 - "...they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation..."
Through their faith in Christ, they had hope for eternal salvation. Their faith came through righteousness, or keeping the Law of Moses, or keeping the commandments.
This is how we can develop hope and faith.
Keep the commandments -> we open ourselves to receiving more of the gift of faith -> more faith gives us hope.
It's a huge blessing!
24:7-19 - "...And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace..."
This is the attitude towards sin that we should have. This willingness to die rather than sin comes from a greater understanding and attitude, one that we should work on!
24:18 - "...And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands..."
Not only did the Anti-Nephi-Lehies make a covenant to not do things (not lift up their swords anymore) but also to do things (like labor abundantly rather than be idle). This is essential in covenants. We covenant to give up what is bad and replace it with what is good.
24:27 - "...thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people..."
Even allowing 1005 people to be slain in order that more would repent and come to a knowledge of God.
We should not questions the Lord's means, but rather learn from them while doing our best to follow His will.
24:30 - "...and thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things..."
The higher you go, the further you can fall. It takes constant vigilance in keeping the commandments to keep us from reaching this same fate.
23:6 - "...as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away..."
When we come to a greater understanding, often that is enough to keep us along the right path - if we continue faithful. I'm sure it took a lot of work for these Lamanites, but they remained faithful.
23:6-7 - "...as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away. For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren..."
It takes a lot of faith to put down your weapons like that. It would be tempting to keep the swords close by, because you want to protect your family. However, they had faith that the Lord would protect them or at least help them, or that their experiences would be for their good. We need that level of faith.
23:16-17 - "...therefore the king consulted with Aaron and many of their priests, concerning the name that they should take upon them, that they might be distinguished. And it came to pass that they called their names Anti-Nephi-Lehies; and they were called by this name and were no more called Lamanites..."
Names are incredibly important. Associations and distinguishment and honor result from names. These Lamanites changed their name to Anti-Nephi-Lehies so they would be distinguished from the Lamanites and not have the same connotation applied to them. We also do the same thing with the gospel. We take upon us the name of Christ - and thus have that connotation applied to us. It takes effort, but having that name means a lot (D&C 18:34-35, Mosiah 5:7-9).
