Alma 32: 17- 43

Getting up early in the morning and starting my day early is the best way for me to keep up with this blog. I did get up early today but other important things were done first (like recording my expenses yesterday--It's payday so it's also the day to pay the bills and do some grocery shopping). Well, things would get in the way sometimes I understand...I was feeling kind of sleepy this morning as well...so I decided to do some zumba dancing to wake myself up. When I gained some energy, things online caught my attention...I'm glad I am making this blog then I have a reason not to give in to temptations of not keeping up with my daily Book of Mormon study.

Verses 42-43 says, "And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you."

I really love how President Dieter F. Utchdorf expanded these verses by teaching members of the Church how to become a disciple of Christ. He says as written in the Institute student manual:

"This is the peaceable way of the follower of Jesus Christ.

"Nevertheless, it is not a quick fix or an overnight cure.

"A friend of mine recently wrote to me, confiding that he was having a difficult time keeping his testimony strong and vibrant. He asked for counsel.

"I wrote back to him and lovingly suggested a few specific things he could do that would align his life more closely with the teachings of the restored gospel. To my surprise, I heard back from him only a week later. The essence of his letter was this: 'I tried what you suggested. It didn't work. What else have you got?'

"Brothers and sisters , we have to stay with it. We don't acquire eternal life in a sprint--this is a race of endurance. We have to apply and reapply the divine gospel principles. Day after day we need to make them part of our normal life.

"Too often we approach the gospel like a farmer who places a seed in the ground in the morning and expects corn on the cob by the afternoon. When Alma compared the word of God to a seed, he explained that the seed grows into a fruit-bearing tree gradually, as a result of our faith, and [our] diligence, and patience, and long-suffering' [Alma 32:43]. It's true that some blessings come right away: soon after we plant the seed in our hearts, it begins to swell and sprout and grow, and by this we know that the seed is good. From the very moment we set foot upon the pathway of discipleship, seen and unseen blessings from God begin to attend us.

"But  we cannot receive the fulness of those blessings if we 'neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment' [v.38]/

"Knowing that the seed is good is not enough. We must 'nourish it with great care, that it may get root' [v.37]. Only then can we partake of the fruit that is 'sweet above all that is sweet, and... pure above all that is pure' and 'feast upon this fruit even until [we] hunger not, neither shall [we] thirst [v. 42].

"Discipleship is a journey. We need the refining lessons of the journey to craft our character and purify our hearts. By patiently walking in the path of discipleship, we demonstrate to ourselves the measure of our faith and our willingness to accept God's will rather than ours.

"It is not enough merely to speak of Jesus Christ or proclaim that we are His disciples. It is not enough to surround ourselves with symbols of our religion. Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessings of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, 'spectator discipleship' is a preferred if not a primary way of worshiping.

"Ours is not a secondhand religion. We cannot receive the blessings of the gospel merely by observing the good that others do. We need to get off the sidelines and practice what we preach...

"...Now is the time to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, become His disciples, and walk in His way" (The Way of the Disciple, Ensign, May 2009, 76-77)

President Utchdorf really put it beautifully. We must pay the price of discipleship. How can we deserve the  blessings if we are putting little or no effort? We will only reap the greatest reward awaiting the true disciples of Jesus Christ if we do our part. I know the path of discipleship is not the easy one to take. In Matthew 7: 13-14 it says, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: Because strait is the gait, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." The Lord himself said, "I never said it will be easy. I only said it will be worth it."

Alma 32: 1-16

"1...they did go forth, and began to preach the word of God unto the people, entering into their synagogues, and into their houses; yea, and even they did preach the word in their streets." Alma did not get discouraged even after being afflicted by witnessing the wickedness among the Zoramites. He moved forward with his mission. And because he did he found success. It says in verse 2, "And it came to pass that after much labor among them, they began to have success among the poor class of people; for behold they were cast out of the synagogues because of the coarseness of their apparel--"

Because of the coarseness of their apparel...They were being rejected because of their physical appearance brought about by their being poor. I can kind of relate to this...I guess many people do. It's not just the clothes but the color of the skin and stuff. In Asia, the white skin is beautiful. My skin is brown (I took from my Dad) while most of my siblings are white like my mom. Growing up, my dad would always tell me I am beautiful (of course--I look exactly like him). But outside our family, I could sense how people look at  me compared with how they look at others with fair complexion. I did develop an inferiority complex because of my looks. I'm just blessed for having a relationship (when I was in college) with someone who truly appreciate my looks. He's Filipino-American and would take the time to do sun-bathing to be able to copy my skin color. Even though our relationship didn't last very long, it had a great impact in my life--I was able to overcome my inferiority complex due to my looks.

I'm reminded of the scripture passage in the Bible. Speaking to the prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 16: 7 the Lord said, "...for the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

The Lord looked on the heart of the poor Zoramites. When Alma heard their afflictions, "...he turned him about..., and he beheld with great joy; for he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they are in a preparation to hear the word." (verse 6) Finally, Alma found those who are ready to hear the word of God among the Zoramites. The Lord prepared their hearts through their afflictions.

Our afflictions initially look bad but they are actually blessings in disguise. We become humble because of them. When I was going through such experiences of being rejected because of my looks, I couldn't see how it was a blessing for me. It was a pain at that time instead of a blessing. But it's truly a humbling experience...The Lord was teaching me to be humble...Now that I am able to see clearly the purpose of my going through such feelings of being rejected, I appreciate it a lot more now than ever before. Everything truly has a purpose. Even the seemingly negative experiences we go through are only for our own good.

Alma 31: 6-38

There are times when we just want to keep reading as we read from the Book of Mormon. And today is one of those times for  me. As you can see I finished the rest of the verses in Alma 31.

The Zoramites as found by Alma and his brethren in the land of Antionum reminds me of how the Lord described the people at the time of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah and written in Isaiah 29: 13. It says, "...this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me..."

The attitude of Alma towards the Zoramite dissenters is best described in the Book of Mormon Institute Student Manual. It says, "Alma recognized that the souls of the apostate Zoramites were precious to God. Thus, Alma prayed for the power and wisdom to bring them back to the Lord. Alma's prayer exemplifies the attitude all members and missionaries must develop. All people are of great worth, and through the power of God they can be brought back to him."

The manual went on quoting the words of Elder Carlos E. Asay while he was serving as a member of the Seventy (1926-99). Elder Asay taught that all people are precious to God and should be to us: "The souls of our brothers and sisters who may seem to be more feeble and less honorable are precious. The Church has need of them. We should make every attempt to know them and to help them claim the full blessings and joys of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our prayers should be as Alma's: 'Give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee (Alma 31:35).

Elder Asay went on to say: "We must remember that our salvation is intertwined with the salvation of others. We must care more for those who seem to care less for their faith" (Nurturing the Less Active," Ensign, Oct. 1986, 15).

Is it easy to care more for those who seem to care less for their faith? For me, it's easier to care more for those who are honest seekers of the truth--those who are prepared to hear and embrace the gospel. But for those who care less for their faith? That's tough! I always thought if someone is not (yet) ready to listen, then I should move on to those who are ready so I don't waste my time. I will just keep them--those who are not ready in my prayers. But how is that for caring more for them? Well, I don't want to waste not only time but also effort in fruitless labor. Fruitless labor? That sounds like judging the book from its cover. Now I'm trying to recall how Alma taught the Zoramites despite their finding them in such discouraging situation with their level of spirituality...I got some memory from my past study about what happened next to these Zoramites as Alma and his brethren preached to them the word of God. I'm excited to learn something new as I study those events again--tomorrow in Alma 32.

Alma 31: 1-5

How timely is it that I'm in this part of the Book of Mormon and today is the day I decided to start this blog. I'm reading the Book of Mormon chronologically and these verses in Alma, especially verse 5, provide us just a perfect reason for studying and preaching the word of God. It says, "And now as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just--yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them--therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God."

President Boyd K. Packer explained it this way:

 "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior.

The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior...That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel." (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 20, or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 17)

Many people's lives have been changed by hearing the gospel from the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and from studying the Book of Mormon. The positive change in my dad's behavior and attitude encouraged my mom to listen to the missionaries and to study the doctrines of the gospel herself which led to her own conversion. With my mom and my dad uniting in the same faith, they were able to bring up their children in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I feel so blessed that both of my parents recognized the truth as they studied the Book of Mormon allowing our family to enjoy the blessings of learning and embracing the gospel.

My life has been getting better as I regularly glean the principles and doctrines during my study of the Book of Mormon (along with other scriptures) and as I put forth effort in applying what I'm learning in my daily life. I've read the whole Book of Mormon many times over and every time I read from it I always learn something new. It is truly a living word of God. If you have not read this book yet, you are welcome to send me a request for a copy. As you read the Book of Mormon yourself, you will know for yourself that it is indeed a word of God just as the Bible is.