A Study of the Book of Mormon

Alma 32:21 ...therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true. In other words: Faith is a hope of things which are true, which are not seen. ( At first I had written "cannot be seen," but that's not correct. ) Why do we need to hope for things that are true? If it's true, then isn't that just a fact of reality. How can faith make of absolute truth (that which is unchangeable), how can it change truth into a variable which requires action? Actually, it's not the truth that is the variable, it is the faith that becomes the variable. The phrase "according to your faith" seems to echo this sentiment. (see Matthew 9:28-29 , D & C 8:10-11 ). Faith is the variable, and Truth is the constant against which we are given to act. God is the most invariable truth in the universe. Jesus Christ and the reality of His atonement -- these are truths that are unchangeable. In fact, they will not change. The love of God is con...

Alma 32:7-20 This group of verses, a discussion on humility unto repentance, reminds me that much more blessed is the man who compels himself to be humble because of the word of God than because of his own poverty or other personally humbling circumstances. As I've studied these verses, I've cross referenced over to Matthew 5 and re-read this first chapter of the Sermon on the Mount. "I behold that ye are lowly in heart; and if so, blessed are ye." ( Alma 32:8 ) These people come to Alma with something of a "victim's mentality." They fully believed that they could not worship God because of their poverty. (see vs. 9-11 ) I've spent a little time trying to understand how God acts when he affixes a curse. Re-reading the follwing verses this morning has caused me to reflect on my own life, and what a significant influence these verses have had in my life from the time that I was in my adolescence. 13 And now, because ye are compelled to b...

Alma 32:1-6 An often overlooked component of teaching the word of God, preparation is key to reception of the word of God. Sometimes, the circumstances of life prepare us to be sufficiently prepared, or humbled, to hear the word of God. Most often though, we have the privilege of choosing whether or not we will be in a position to hear the Word. See also Job 5 (vs.7)