A Study of the Book of Mormon

Alma 24:28-30 The greatest opposition to the work of the Lord is not the unrepentant heathen. No, rather it is those who were once blessed with light and then turned away from their enlightenment. Which unfortunately for members of Christ's church, that means the greatest opposition is among us. Taking this a step further, my greatest opposition to progress is not external, its internal. It is myself and that tendency to think that because I have already been enlightened once, I am well enough alone. But "great faith has a short shelf life," (see "Spiritual Preparedness:Start Early and Be Steady" ). 

Alma 24:20-27 The first line of verse 20 has caught me attention this morning. There are deliberate preparations by their brethren to destroy the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. I think the Spirit is trying to tell me this morning that there are deliberate preparations in our day to destroy the righteous and righteousness. I feel it is more calculated and bent on destruction than any would realize. But if these had been converted to the Gospel of Christ, as brethren, they would not have been the opposition. Now what happens here is a difficult story to think about and consider, but it is the account of selfless sacrifice even to the point of death, or laying down of one's own life, and the resultant conversion of more than a thousand of their brethren who openly opposed them on the battlefield. The conclusion to this section is found in verse 27 : "thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people." After prayer, I am caused to consider the repercu...

Alma 24:5-19 Verse 5 - I need to remind myself that within a context of charity, this is a vexing issue for these missionaries to see their brethren being threatened with war as a result of their conversion to Christ. Compelled by this deep sense of duty and love for their brethren, they gather together in a council that they might determine the will of the Lord in this matter.  Councils as a tool are well documented elsewhere as to their effectiveness in group settings. Oh what good gets accomplished in councils when motivated by genuine concern and love! I'm also impressed that this council happened as they had become aware of the Lamanites' preparations for war. It wasn't an afterthought as a result of a battle already fought. Though past experience and whatever counter-intelligence that they had access to as leaders, they saw beforehand the struggles that lay ahead of them, and so they counseled collectively on how to avoid such. Gratitude is a predecessor here in the ...