A Study of the Book of Mormon

 Alma 33:15-17 Now as a second witness of the Son of God, Alma turns to the words of Zenock in quoting this simple verse: For behold, he said: Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies which thou hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son. ( vs. 16 ) There is a footnote on the word "will". The people will not understand the mercies of the Lord bestowed upon them because of the Son. That footnote leads to a very interesting discussion in 2 Peter 3 on the long-suffering of the Lord.

Alma 26:23-30 This particular set of verses I have come to at a time when I am struggling with a particular challenging child. While the philosophies of the world shout in my ears to punish and harshly discipline in the face of such behaviors, I look at all that these missionaries suffered with the hopes of saving some soul. The parallel of such is not lost upon me. There are two verses that give me a particular hope in my current situation from this passage. First, in verse 27 , Ammon says "behold, the Lord comforted us." Despite the poor decisions that my children make, I am not denied the privilege of the Lord's peace in my own life when I seek it. Second, in verse 29 , as Ammon goes on to describe all the varied exertions and hardships that they faced in their work, this brings a degree of assurance that perhaps in all these afflictions, we may eventually be the means of saving some soul. This wording is also noteworthy. Twice in this passage Ammon states that ...

Alma 21:15-17 What surprises me about this set of verses is that in a sense, nothing had changed. Their external circumstances had not changed. After Aaron and his brethren had been released from prison, they went back to the synogogues of the Amalekites and into any assembly of the Lamanites that would let them come in. The venues did not change. What did change was this: "And they went forth whithersoever they were led by the Spirit of the Lord," ( vs. 16 ). I went back and looked for any reference to the Spirit of the Lord guiding their previous efforts, and there was none. Imprisonment and the subsequent sufferings that resulted seems to have been the humility catalyst needed to prepare this particular set of missionaries for the work that lay ahead of them. Now verse 17 states that: ...the Lord began to bless them, insomuch that they brought many to the knowledge of the truth; yea, they did convince many of their sins , and of the traditions of their fathers, which were...

Alma 20:28-30 ( I appreciate the forced focus that this segmented study of smaller groups of verses causes me to have. What otherwise might just appear as a concluding note to this particular chapter, these final three verses on their own convey some important truths.) "And, as it happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked people;" ( vs. 30 ) The wording in this verse causes me to consider this situation, and many others like it, differently. I am confident as I read this that in different circumstances, the missionaries that fell into the hands of such depraved individuals could have experienced as much success as did their brother Ammon. This reminder is important: to not condemn the poor or unfortunate for their circumstances. To me it seems that the larger message is one of succor and relief. These two disciples of the caring Christ go to rescue their brethren who "had suffered hunger, thirst, and all kinds of a...

Alma 17:1-17 Considered to be one of the greatest scriptural passages on missionary work in all of holy writ, there are in these introductory verses principles that are universal in one's approach to service in the kingdom of God. Verse 16 talks about the cause for which the sons of Mosiah had undertaken this work: "that perhaps they might bring them unto repentance; that perhaps they might bring them to know of the plan of redemption." (emphasis added) The use of the word "perhaps" twice in this passage, illustrates one significant eternal reality. It's not a game of chance. However, it could be termed as a risky and very unpredictable investment. We do not know the outcomes of our labors. We would like to think that we could see how things will pan out from the outset, but such is not our privilege and such would void the exercise of faith. And so it is that that prospects of repentance are here couched with this qualifier that "perhaps they might ...

Ether 1 Vs. 34 - We learn that Jared's brother was highly favored of the Lord, so he would pray unto the Lord and his prayers were answered. How was he able to do that? Was it a big secret? No, Jared's brother was righteous. He was diligent in prayer. Vs. 43 - The Lord says that He blessed the seed of the Brother of Jared because of his continual, long faithfulness in prayer.