Alma 1 - 4

I find these jam-packed introductory chapters to Alma's teachings and proselyting fascinating.  Among these teachings I find the the observations on discipleship valuable. The initial challenge presented in these chapters relates to priestcraft - and the differentiation between priesthood and priestcraft.  (Initial thoughts/markings are noted in the passages that follow.)

Priesthood
Alma 1:26–27

And when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength. And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely.

Alma 13:6, 10–12

And thus being called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest—
Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish;
Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb.
Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.

Jacob 1:18–19

For I, Jacob, and my brother Joseph had been consecrated priests and teachers of this people, by the hand of Nephi.
And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day.

Priestcraft 
Alma 1:2–6

And it came to pass that in the first year of the reign of Alma in the judgement-seat, there was a man brought before him to be judged, a man who was large, and was noted for his much strength.
And he had gone about among the people, preaching to them that which he termed to be the word of God, bearing down against the church; declaring unto the people that every priest and teacher ought to become popular; and they ought not to labor with their hands, but that they ought to be supported by the people.
And he also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life.
And it came to pass that he did teach these things so much that many did believe on his words, even so many that they began to support him and give him money.
And he began to be lifted up in the pride of his heart, and to wear very costly apparel, yea, and even began to establish a church after the manner of his preaching.

Alma 1:16 

Nevertheless, this did not put an end to the spreading of priestcraft through the land; for there were many who loved the vain things of the world, and they went forth preaching false doctrines; and this they did for the sake of riches and honor.

2 Nephi 26:29 

He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.

Alma 15:15

But as to the people that were in the land of Ammonihah, they yet remained a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people; and they repented not of their sins, ascribing all the power of Alma and Amulek to the devil; for they were of the profession of Nehor, and did not believe in the repentance of their sins. 

These passages illustrate some facets of priesthood and priestcraft and the difference between the two, including hints to social issues which either predispose or preclude them from becoming ingrained in a society.  Journal which aspects of both priesthood and priestcraft come to the forefront as you read the passages.  What similarities do you see to culture around you, and do these similarities help or hinder the purposes of priesthood? 


Our lesson focused on Discipleship, with two groups discussing discipleship.  The first group reviewed several conference talks and talks by members of the quorum of the twelve on Discipleship.  Their aim was to find behaviours that disciples exhibit.  

Some behaviours they listed include:

Serve our fellow men as He would serve them;
Sacrifice in obedience;
Bear witness of the truth;
Overcome mortal trials;
Develop spiritual literacy;
Uncompromised in devotion to the Lords' service;
Shed bad habits and worldly thoughts.






The second group created Discipleship collages, reflecting their feelings about discipleship, which are shown below.

Further Resources:
Elder Jeffrey R Holland : The Cost and Blessings of Discipleship

Elder James E Faust : Discipleship

Elder Daniel L. Johnson : Becoming a True Disciple

Elder Ronald A. Rasband : The Joyful Burden of Discipleship

Elder L. Tom Perry : Discipleship

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf : The Way of the Disciple

Elder Neal A. Maxwell : The Pathway of Discipleship

Mosiah 25 - 29

Once again, a wonderful lesson from Zena - thank you!  We started our lesson by contrasting Mosiah 5:1-5 with Mosiah 26:1-4.  

Among other characteristics the earlier generation (Mosiah 5):

• were believing;
• had changed hearts
• received manifestations of the spirit;
• enjoyed the gift of prophesy to the degree that they had "great views" of what was to come;
• had faith;  and 
• were willing to covenant with God.  

The later generation (Mosiah 26) 

• were unbelieving;
• had hardened hearts;
• refused to call upon the Lord their God;  and 
• would not enter into a covenential relationship with God.  

The experiences and the conversion of Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah2 offer hope of the change which can take place.  In the context of our own, line-upon-line conversion and speaking of his own change of heart in 1975, R. Quinn Gardner mentions four vital signs to monitor our conversion:

"I would name, as the first sign of a changing heart, an increased capacity for meaningful prayer. “Watch and pray always,” the Lord instructed. And why? President Clark supplies the answer: “Because the royal road to heaven is traveled through prayer.” Now, sisters, do you spend half as much time praying as you do combing your hair? I know you love your spirit more than half as much as you do your body. And brethren, do your lips form the words thee, thine, and thou with anything near the frequency that they form sports, girls, homework? Tough questions? Perhaps, but not half as tough as the questions posed to those people in Zarahemla when Alma said, “Can you look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands?” I say, “Can you look up, having the image of God engraved upon your consciences?” From Adam to Enoch, from Nephi to the Prophet Joseph, from Brigham Young to President Kimball—-each received what he sought because of mighty supplication, which bringeth forth a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

Second, I think a person can judge if he’s becoming mighty in the Lord and losing his propensity to sin by whether or not he is becoming increasingly sober—sober in the sense that Alma taught to his sons. I believe this means that our capacity for lightmindedness and frivolity simply decreases. Sacred things are more carefully handled, and taking the name of the Lord in vain is made nigh unto impossible. Respect increases for the Lord’s anointed and for all duly appointed priesthood leaders, and honor for parents is made most genuine. The sober-minded individual, I believe, characterizes his life by increasing calm and subdued feelings, and greater reverence is shown for every living thing. Further, one gives up excess, extravagance, and exaggeration, and from major and measured self-control he emerges a temperate person.

I think the third vital sign of our changing disposition to desire no sin at all is avoiding contention. Contention robs us of the Spirit. The less we fight back, the closer we come to the Lord. Most of you have roommates, and in dorms and apartments you develop what can be called “community property.” Sisters, the last time you reached for your can of hairspray and found that someone else had used the last drop, how did you react? The big date was at hand and your hair was going to be a mess. And when Dad’s letter came with no money in it but just counsel that those shoes would have to do for another month, did you think ill of your state of life? And brethren, how do you feel when someone else takes our your girl? Or better still, how do you feel when you are unfairly criticized or otherwise have your feelings hurt? Do you seek retribution? Do you fight back? Do you contend with the Lord or with your neighbor? When we can properly respond to these common occurences—so-called little things—then we will be responding to the Lord’s dictum when he said, “And behold it is written also, that thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy; But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you” (3 Nephi 12:43–44).

Finally, I would name malleability. There are many words that could be used to express the sentiment—submissive, humble, meek—but so often we concentrate on the negative connotations of those words, and we conjure up in our minds the perfect milquetoast person. That’s not what the Lord meant. Paul, I believe, has given an apt word picture to describe what I consider malleability, in these most significant words: “O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay?” (Romans 9:20–21). The malleable soul listens to President Kimball with an active ear, seeking how to obey his counsel rather than determining in what ways that message does not apply to him. When the prophet states that every young man should go on a mission, the malleable soul says, “How can I get ready?” The unmalleable seeks excuses in education or finance or marriage. Seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. Eventually, as with Job, we must learn who is the master and who the servant. When we can do that—when we can understand that the Savior’s yoke is easy and his burden is light—then we can gracefully submit to being reforged in his image." 

Further Resources
Ezra Taft Benson : A Mighty Change of Heart
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1989/10/a-mighty-change-of-heart?lang=eng

Mosiah 18 - 24

Our preparation for this weeks lesson was to read James E Faust's 1991 Conference Talk "The Lord's Day".  This talk was used as a doctrinal basis to discuss a case study on Sabbath Observance (Mormon Channel - "Sabbath Day : Why I Believe").  How do the experiences and testimony of others encourage and strengthen your own sabbath observance?

It is interesting and enlightening to observe the differences between the people of King Limhi and the people of Alma with regard to their response hardship, and how the people were delivered from the Lamanites.

"Limhi’s people came into Lamanite bondage as a result of their wickedness (see Mosiah 20:21); they were humbled and turned to God as a result of their bondage. Alma’s people were brought into bondage as a trial of their faith (see Mosiah 23:21). Both groups prayed mightily to be released from bondage. While both groups of people were eventually delivered and arrived in Zarahemla, the Lord helped each group in different ways."

In your study journals, reflect on the following:

1.  The differences between WHEN each group decided to turn to the Lord for deliverance (Mosiah 21:11–15 and 23:25–29; 24:9–12).

2.  How did the Lord help each group with their burdens? (Mosiah 21:15–17 and

24:13–15).

3. What differences are there in the Lord’s involvement in what happened to the Lamanite guards that allowed each group to get away? (Mosiah 22:3–11 and 24:16–19).

4. How did the Lord influence the armies that were sent to recapture each group differently? (Mosiah 22:13–16 and 24:20–25).

The records of Limhi and Alma prompt questions such as: how do we respond to external hardship?  How does the Lord provide deliverance?  As discussed in class, Sister Pam Grant shared her experience of a time where she was faced with a great difficulty.  Sis Grant reports praying to the Lord and pleading for help and feeling the burden of the difficulty lifting.  Nothing, said Sis Grant, changed in the circumstance - not one single thing - but she was no longer burdened by the difficulty. 

Think of a time when you have prayed for help with your burdens.  How did the Lord provided deliverance?  Did you recognise it at the time?  Record your experience and testimony in your journal. Contemplate sharing a brief version of your deliverance on your favourite social media site!

One insight from studying the trials and deliverance of Limhi’s group, is that the Lord will answer our prayers in His own way and time as we humble ourselves. An insight from studying the trials and deliverance of Alma’s people, is that we can rely on the Lord for strength amid our own struggles and challenges.

Resources:

Arthur R Bassett : Alma the Elder

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1977/02/alma-the-elder?lang=eng