Mosiah 18-24

Tomorrow's Gospel Doctrine lesson covers chapters 18-24 in Mosiah. I am so excited to share in class tomorrow what I've learned from studying this week. Last night Trevor and I stayed up until 12 am studying the history and doctrine found in these Book of Mormon chapters. We made several different versions of maps that illustrated the battles, journeys, and events taking place. To be honest, we (mostly Trevor) got a little carried away! Here are a couple personal insights from the chapters... 1. Alma baptizes at the Waters of Mormon. (Mosiah 18) Something I didn't know and found interesting was that Alma had previously recieved the authority to baptize his followers before the time of Abinadi. He had just become involved with wicked King Noah and his priests. When he baptizes Helam he also buries himself in the water at the same time. I learned from Joseph Fielding Smith that he wasn't baptizing himself in this instance, but instead felt a need to symbolically cleanse himself. So he submerges himself in the waters as a token/demonstration to God of his full repentance. 2. Comparison between the chastisement and deliverance of Limhi's people and Alma's people. (Mosiah 20-24)It is interesting to note the Lord's response to these two groups of people who are both brought into bondage by the Lamanites. The Lord is slow to hear the cries of Limhi's people and quick to deliver Alma's people out of bondage. Why did the Lord bless Alma's people while they were in bondage more quickly and abundabtly than He blessed Limhi's people? I've thought a lot about this. Simply stated, these two groups of people responded similarly to the Lord as He had to them. Limhi's people were slow to remember God and it wasn't until they were sorely burdened that they finally humbled themselves and turn to the Lord. On the other hand, Alma's people were quick to remember the Lord in all their dealings. They praised him when blessings came and turned to Him immediately in times of need. We learn from these examples how the Lord often deals with us. If we are quick to remember God and call upon him often, blessing come more abundantly. If we are slow to remember him then often we must suffer longer for our poor decisions. 3. Also, we learn that Alma and his people lived righteously and prospered. However the Lord allowed them to be brought into bondage. Why, if they had been forgiven of their sins already and were living obediently, did He allow this? Elder Marvin J. Ashton said: "Our freedom to choose our course of conduct does not provide personal freedom from our performances. God's love for us is constant and will not diminish, but he cannot rescue us from the painful results that are caused by wrong decisions." The Lord could not prevent Alma and his people from suffering the consequences of their past sins. Isn't that interesting? We often must endure consequences later in life for mistakes we've made in the past, even if we've already repented and been forgiven. That's not the happiest insight! 4. Lastly, in chapter 18, before Alma begins baptizing, he prays, asking the Lord to pour out His Spirit upon him, that he might "do this work with holiness of heart." (Mosiah 18:12) The thought came to me, Isn't this the manner in which all of us should approach our service to the Lord. First, we must humble ourselves and ask for the Lord's guidance/assistance in doing his work. My last visiting teaching companion resembled Alma in this way. We always turned to the Lord in sincere prayer, asking for His spirit to guide us in our visit before we met with our sisters. What a difference this made in our short visits with the sisters. OFten the SPirit guided us in our comments and our relationships with these sisters were strengthened and nourished because of it. What an important lesson. There's so much more but I've shared too much! Is anyone else on the same lesson this week. If so, what did you gain from studying these chapters? Enjoy your Sabbath!