Alma 26:
27-Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.
Ezra T. Benson said:
“There are times when you simply have to righteously hang on and outlast the devil until his depressive spirit leaves you. As the Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith: ‘thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if you endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high’ (DC 121:7-8). To press on in noble endeavors, even while surrounded by a cloud of depression, will eventually bring you out on top into the sunshine.” (Ensign, Nov. 1974 as
taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 290)
28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.
29 And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their synagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been stoned, and taken and bound with strong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again.
I read this and I think how much the mission field has not changed. Some missions are not this hard, but I know many who have suffered similarly. I know missionaries who have been mocked and some who have been beaten. I know missionaries who have suffered emotionally the rest of their lives because of the persecution they faced while striving to bring souls to God. I have seen them suffer their afflictions patiently...some afflictions spanning decades. But I have also seen the power of God, if they have allowed it, to deliver them from those afflictions.
35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.
In our daily lives we get discouraged and we face hard things. Sometimes we are mocked and emotionally or mentally beaten. Sometimes we imprison our own minds and talents with doubt and fear. But God can free us from all of this. He is a merciful being. If we follow his commandments and turn to him in all things, if we are patient in our suffering, he can and will deliver us from our afflictions.
Showing posts with label Missionary work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missionary work. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
They Would Not Hear
Alma 21:5-10
"5 Therefore, as Aaron entered into one of their synagogues to preach unto the people, and as he was speaking unto them, behold there arose an Amalekite and began to contend with him, saying: What is that thou hast testified? Hast thou seen an angel? Why do not angels appear unto us? Behold care not this people as good as thy people?
6 Thou also sayest, except we repent we shall perish. How knowest thou the thought and intent of our hearts? How knowest thou that we have cause to repent? How knowest thou that we are not a righteous people? Behold, we have built sanctuaries, and we do assemble ourselves together to worship God. We do believe that God will save all men.
7 Now Aaron said unto him: Believest thou that the Son of God shall come to redeem mankind from their sins?
8 And the man said unto him: We do not believe that thou knowest any such thing. We do not believe in these foolish traditions. We do not believe that thou knowest of things to come, neither do we believe that thy fathers and also that our fathers did know concerning the things which they spake, of that which is to come.
9. now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death and suffering of Christ, and the atonement of his blood.
10. And it came to pass as he began to expound these things unto them they were angry with him, and began to mock him; and they would not hear the words which he spake"
5- "Those who will not hear the word of God as preached by one such as Aaron will not hear it if preached by one who has come back from the dead. The issue is the message, not the messenger. DCBM, 3:152)
6- He is defensive. Which only proves Aaron's point. They are hard hearted and argumentative. The guilty take the truth to be hard.
7-8: They do not believe in Jesus Christ or the principle of revelation.
9-10: They chose to ignore him because if he were right, then they were wrong and would have to change. What do people do when they feel uncomfortable? Often they make a joke of it to lighten the situation or deflect the pressure. They Mock Aaron to take the focus off themselves.
This happens in daily life, to each of us I think. Maybe not in such a drastic way- we aren't usually calling people to repentance but it happens. Maybe we turn off an inappropriate song or movie, or we dress more modestly than those around us- living your personal standards can make others feel uncomfortable. Especially if they know they should be living the same standards. So to remove some guilt they will try and get you to feel that YOU are in the wrong. They will mock you so that you either change your standards or go away- either accomplishes the goal- THEY don't have to change and they no longer feel uncomfortable. I have, I'm ashamed to admit, been on both sides of this fence. But as I gain a greater understanding of my Savior Jesus Christ and his plan for each of us, I also gain a greater understanding of others and of myself. I am less inclined to pass judgement on others and more inclined to see my own faults and shortcomings. We are all a work in progress I guess.
"5 Therefore, as Aaron entered into one of their synagogues to preach unto the people, and as he was speaking unto them, behold there arose an Amalekite and began to contend with him, saying: What is that thou hast testified? Hast thou seen an angel? Why do not angels appear unto us? Behold care not this people as good as thy people?
6 Thou also sayest, except we repent we shall perish. How knowest thou the thought and intent of our hearts? How knowest thou that we have cause to repent? How knowest thou that we are not a righteous people? Behold, we have built sanctuaries, and we do assemble ourselves together to worship God. We do believe that God will save all men.
7 Now Aaron said unto him: Believest thou that the Son of God shall come to redeem mankind from their sins?
8 And the man said unto him: We do not believe that thou knowest any such thing. We do not believe in these foolish traditions. We do not believe that thou knowest of things to come, neither do we believe that thy fathers and also that our fathers did know concerning the things which they spake, of that which is to come.
9. now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death and suffering of Christ, and the atonement of his blood.
10. And it came to pass as he began to expound these things unto them they were angry with him, and began to mock him; and they would not hear the words which he spake"
5- "Those who will not hear the word of God as preached by one such as Aaron will not hear it if preached by one who has come back from the dead. The issue is the message, not the messenger. DCBM, 3:152)
6- He is defensive. Which only proves Aaron's point. They are hard hearted and argumentative. The guilty take the truth to be hard.
7-8: They do not believe in Jesus Christ or the principle of revelation.
9-10: They chose to ignore him because if he were right, then they were wrong and would have to change. What do people do when they feel uncomfortable? Often they make a joke of it to lighten the situation or deflect the pressure. They Mock Aaron to take the focus off themselves.
This happens in daily life, to each of us I think. Maybe not in such a drastic way- we aren't usually calling people to repentance but it happens. Maybe we turn off an inappropriate song or movie, or we dress more modestly than those around us- living your personal standards can make others feel uncomfortable. Especially if they know they should be living the same standards. So to remove some guilt they will try and get you to feel that YOU are in the wrong. They will mock you so that you either change your standards or go away- either accomplishes the goal- THEY don't have to change and they no longer feel uncomfortable. I have, I'm ashamed to admit, been on both sides of this fence. But as I gain a greater understanding of my Savior Jesus Christ and his plan for each of us, I also gain a greater understanding of others and of myself. I am less inclined to pass judgement on others and more inclined to see my own faults and shortcomings. We are all a work in progress I guess.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Be of Good Cheer
Alma 17:
2 Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.
Joseph Smith: “Search the scriptures, search the revelations which we publish, and ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, to manifest the truth unto you, and if you do it with an eye single to his glory nothing doubting, He will answer you by the power of His Holy Spirit. You will then know for yourselves and not for another. You will not then be dependent on man for the knowledge of God; nor will there be any room for speculation." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.11)
We all can be of sound understanding but it takes work. we have to put in the effort to be as the sons of Mosiah. We can't just casually read through a verse or two a day. We have to study and involve the Lord in those studies.
Later in the chapter Ammon goes to preach the the Lamanite people, but instead of marching in and preaching repentance right away he gains the king's trust by serving in his household. He is helping to guard the king's sheep when another group of Lamanites come and scatter the flock.
The other servants begin to be afraid because they don't want the King to kill them for their failure to protect his flock.
29 Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe in my words.
30 And now, these were the thoughts of Ammon, when he saw the afflictions of those whom he termed to be his brethren.
31 And it came to pass that he flattered them by his words, saying: My brethren, be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks, and we will gather them together and bring them back unto the place of water; and thus we will preserve the flocks unto the king and he will not slay us.
these other servants just gave up. They sat and had a good cry because they failed and they were going to be killed. Ammon steps in and says, "hey, we don't have to die. This isn't over. Let's get up off our hind ends and find those sheep". Okay not in those words, but basically he tells them to forget themselves and go to work. Its time to find the lost sheep.
1. Ammon teaches us to press forward in our trials. To not give up. Bad things happen but we have a measure of control in how we choose to respond to those bad things. We can sit and cry about it, or we can learn what we can and move forward.
2. Huge missionary application. Be of good cheer. Have faith in the Lord and find those who have been prepared to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not everyone is ready to be "found" but you can't get discouraged over those people- be of good cheer and teach the ones who are ready to listen. They won't usually come to you so you have to search, and gather them to a place of "water"...another name for Jesus Christ is, "Living water"...or "the good shepherd"...do you see the significance and the parallels here??
Robert D. Hales: “What did Ammon say? ‘Be of good cheer’ (Alma 17:31). Now, we may read this as a story about some shepherd trying to round up some missing sheep, but the message is much more powerful and significant than that….Ammon not only led the force to recapture the sheep, he drove away the evil men who caused the problems; and his heroic efforts persuaded the king to follow him and to follow the Savior. Ammon teaches us that no matter our circumstances, we can be an example to others, we can lift them, we can inspire them to seek righteousness, and we can bear testimony to all of the power of Jesus Christ.” (Ensign, May 1997. p. 82 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 283)
2 Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.
Joseph Smith: “Search the scriptures, search the revelations which we publish, and ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, to manifest the truth unto you, and if you do it with an eye single to his glory nothing doubting, He will answer you by the power of His Holy Spirit. You will then know for yourselves and not for another. You will not then be dependent on man for the knowledge of God; nor will there be any room for speculation." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.11)
We all can be of sound understanding but it takes work. we have to put in the effort to be as the sons of Mosiah. We can't just casually read through a verse or two a day. We have to study and involve the Lord in those studies.
Later in the chapter Ammon goes to preach the the Lamanite people, but instead of marching in and preaching repentance right away he gains the king's trust by serving in his household. He is helping to guard the king's sheep when another group of Lamanites come and scatter the flock.
The other servants begin to be afraid because they don't want the King to kill them for their failure to protect his flock.
29 Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe in my words.
30 And now, these were the thoughts of Ammon, when he saw the afflictions of those whom he termed to be his brethren.
31 And it came to pass that he flattered them by his words, saying: My brethren, be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks, and we will gather them together and bring them back unto the place of water; and thus we will preserve the flocks unto the king and he will not slay us.
these other servants just gave up. They sat and had a good cry because they failed and they were going to be killed. Ammon steps in and says, "hey, we don't have to die. This isn't over. Let's get up off our hind ends and find those sheep". Okay not in those words, but basically he tells them to forget themselves and go to work. Its time to find the lost sheep.
1. Ammon teaches us to press forward in our trials. To not give up. Bad things happen but we have a measure of control in how we choose to respond to those bad things. We can sit and cry about it, or we can learn what we can and move forward.
2. Huge missionary application. Be of good cheer. Have faith in the Lord and find those who have been prepared to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not everyone is ready to be "found" but you can't get discouraged over those people- be of good cheer and teach the ones who are ready to listen. They won't usually come to you so you have to search, and gather them to a place of "water"...another name for Jesus Christ is, "Living water"...or "the good shepherd"...do you see the significance and the parallels here??
Robert D. Hales: “What did Ammon say? ‘Be of good cheer’ (Alma 17:31). Now, we may read this as a story about some shepherd trying to round up some missing sheep, but the message is much more powerful and significant than that….Ammon not only led the force to recapture the sheep, he drove away the evil men who caused the problems; and his heroic efforts persuaded the king to follow him and to follow the Savior. Ammon teaches us that no matter our circumstances, we can be an example to others, we can lift them, we can inspire them to seek righteousness, and we can bear testimony to all of the power of Jesus Christ.” (Ensign, May 1997. p. 82 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 283)
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