Letter to the Class

image This week has a lot of trial and tribulations for Alma Amulek and Zeezrom. Zeezrom was rejected by his people. Amulek was rejected by his family and friends. Finally, Alma watched as coverts die of stoning (the men), and fire (the women and children). Still we had some of the greatest discussions about Melchizedek and letting go so that God can guide and mold our lives.  Our struggles being out the the most beautiful things. In my life I have seen the birth of my children. A harrowing and painful experience. When it was over the two of them, the mother and her child, both forget quickly the pain and my wife only knows joy and I imagine my children have the sense of relief and begin the path to know a parents love.  I cannot promise anyone that the Gospel is going to always take away pain but it will always bring joy. We sometimes go through pain of heart, of mind and of body. We are asked to endure it well (Doctrine & Covenants 121:7-8). Says the scriptures... &qu

image We had three testimonies in this story of witnesses; prophet, local guy and converted enemy. What a wild story. With all the attempts that Alma had experience in the first try a powerful convert had not come and it was his second try to the city of Ammonihah. Said the angel... "Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy first message from him. Behold, I am he that delivered it unto you." (Alma 8:15) As a missionary, I know disappointment and others can tell you stories of the Spirit asking a missionary or sain to keep trying. It's not always for their conversion but for yours. Trials and tribulations build us and the need to keep going back weighs heavy on us, especially for inactive saints who insist on us to leave their threshold.  In our lives we wonder if our testimony is important because

image Remember remember remember... How many times are we asked to remember our Savior's sacrifice and those that serve Him both his saints and prophets. In Alma chapter 5, the Prophet Alma reminded Zarahemla of the struggles and how God had bailed them out of their trials. Bail means paid debt, brothers and sisters, or that a debt need to be paid. Your struggles are lightened because your paid bail allows angels to attend you; it allows the Holy Ghost to be your constant companion. He pointed out everything has a price. Alma the prophet then asks us to image, image, image. Alma imagined a death without redemption and then got to imagine one with it. The sins that set us back should scare you but that should turn and correct your course.  Repentance is a fresh view of God and the World. This should lead us to repentance. Said Steven W Own, in his talk, Repentance is always Positive, in 2017... "Too often we think of repentance as something miserable and depressing

image When Alma's people, Limhi 's people, Mosiah's people and Nephites unite, times change again pulling the rug from under them all. It seems that above all that is unexpected is change. The people had become united under a king in faith and governance only to change the government and get challenges in their faith. Alma's son and Mosiah's son repented and strengthen the church only to leave on missions and Alma (the younger) going into politics as a chief judge. The world keeps changing with people still wanting a king and a Antichrist rising to power, forming a church and for the rest of history, this church, is a thorn in the church of God. The world will keep fighting against the unchangeable (God) and things that are changeable (government), the world will bend it to something unrecognizable. In Chief Judge Alma's life, he had to keep course for his changeable government and still keep his sanity as prophet for a church attacked by the followe

Image These small chapters discuss a split between the king and the church. Now, I wondered, and my wife also, if this was because of Mosiah's sons and weather or not he could be fair because of their wickedness. I thought a long time. King Benjamin was gone, Alma the high priest was new to town, Limhi forefitted his crown and was also new. There was a lot of changes.  It seems that strong changes lead to push back. Being strong in the gospel is hard. We are asked to push back a torrent of social, political, physical and mental crap. When our little one are small we can protect them. The Spirit helps us be world resistant with repentance filling in our spaces of weakness. The real question is what happens when the children grow up? Do we try to world proof our children or child proof the world? We cannot shelter them forever. I think how that went down. The testimony of the parents could not cover forever the children. Only one testimony does that. Jesus has a testimony