Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from October, 2018

"The State of the Soul Between Death and the Resurrection," Alma 40:11-14

Alma 40:11-14 Deep consideration of the realities articulated in these verses has brought a very strong spiritual confirmation to me this morning. This doctrine is familiar to me, both because of the numerous times that I have studied these verses before, but also because of the eternal realities that cause my soul to resonate with the Spirit of the Lord. Verse 11 , which I learned and memorized as a youth, especially rings deep and true. We are taken back to God after this amazing and terrible* mortal experience. And then there is a separation between wicked and righteous. In a realm dominated by the Light, there is a separation. It is also curious to note how the same Being, God, can induce such dramatically different responses in individuals based upon their choices. *I use terrible in the sense of "extremely unpleasant or disagreeable" or to illustrate the extreme hardships that are an inevitable part of this experience. --- In verses 12-14 , the states of the r...

"Concerning the Resurrection of the Dead," Alma 40:1-10

Alma 40:1-10 I have in recent days been more engaged in the invitation of the Savior to ask, seek, and knock .  Alma demonstrates this process very vividly to his son, Corianton, as he goes on in this chapter to share his knowledge of the Resurrection. The Spirit of the Lord has impressed upon me this morning the phrase, "the time appointed"  which appears various times throughout this passage. In verse 10 , there is a footnote that leads to Acts 17:26 which reads: And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; There is a footnote here on the word "bounds" that goes to Job 14:5 which says in part "thou has appointed his bounds that he cannot pass." So what? What does this mean to me? To others? Here is where things get personal and so I now have my list of questions to take to the Lord in morning prayer. --- In verse ...

"In the Fear of God," Alma 39:12-19

Alma 39:12-19 In verse 12 , Alma states that the Spirit of the Lord has said unto him, "Command thy children to do good, lest they lead away the hearts of many people to destruction." He then commands his son to refrain from his iniquities, "in the fear of God." --- Alma goes on to command his son not to seek after riches. He then expounds to his son a few thought concerning the coming of Christ. --- I've now been with this passage of scripture for 3 or 4 days. Tomorrow, let's start with questions. Typically, when I'm stuck in a scripture study, I've asked the question: how does this point me towards Christ? I will start here tomorrow. I will also be asking additional questions based off of what I am reading. The ability to ask questions is an attribute of divinity, and is a teaching of Christ. Ask, and it shall given you. ( 3 Nephi 14:7 ) --- Going back to verse 12 , the very first thing that Alma says is that it is the Spirit of the...