That which ye do send out shall return unto you again (Come, Follow Me)

Much like "do unto others," these simple truths from this week's Come, Follow Me reading can bring peace and love to the world.

Alma 41:14-15

Remember Jesus Christ, a Chiasmus (Come, Follow Me)

Focusing on the theme of "remembering" in Alma 36, we can see Alma teaching his son Helaman the central message of the Book of Mormon, that Jesus Christ, the son of God, came to the world to atone for our sins, delivering us from captivity and death.

This central doctrine of Christ becomes evident in a chiasmus focused on remembering.

The Rewards of Your Faith (Come, Follow Me)

For Come, Follow Me this week in Alma 32-35, we learn about faith in Jesus Christ through the beautiful analogy of a seed.  If we will plant the word in our hearts and nourish it diligently and patiently, then we "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" (Alma 32:43).  These rewards include God's gift "that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son" (Alma 33:23).

I have felt this gift in my life, sometimes because the burdens have been eased and other times because I have been strengthened to carry the burdens.  I know this promise is real.

Comfort My Soul (Come, Follow Me)

I'm so grateful to have in Alma 31 the prayer Alma shared before he and his brethren departed to declare the word to the Zoramites. It was meaningful to me that he prayed for
 1) strength to endure the afflictions they anticipated,
 2) comfort during those afflictions, and 
 3) success in their efforts to bring the people to Christ. 

30 ...O Lord, wilt thou give me strength, that I may bear with mine infirmities. For I am infirm, and such wickedness among this people doth pain my soul.

31 O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.

32 O Lord, wilt thou comfort my soul, and give unto me success, and also my fellow laborers who are with me—yea, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and also Amulek and Zeezrom, and also my two sons—yea, even all these wilt thou comfort, O Lord. Yea, wilt thou comfort their souls in Christ.

33 Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they may bear their afflictions which shall come upon them because of the iniquities of this people.

34 O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ.

35 Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee.

36 Now it came to pass that when Alma had said these words, that he clapped his hands upon all them who were with him. And behold, as he clapped his hands upon them, they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

Alma 31:30-35

Comfort My Soul in Christ (Come, Follow Me)

I'm grateful that we can turn to the Lord for strength and comfort during the challenges of life.

"O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions...." (Alma 31:31)

Free and Equal by God

For the freedom I enjoy, I am grateful to those who pledged everything so long ago to make this possible.

Pattern of Conversion (Come, Follow Me)

As we continue to study the missionary labors of Ammon and his brethren, and the permanent and enduring change of heart experienced by so many of their Lamanite brothers and sisters, I think we can look at their pattern of conversion to learn how we might become more converted. Here's one example from Alma 23:6

Alma 23:6

And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.