Dear Family and Friends
As you are preparing for a new week, what is your first thought for this new upcoming week? Is it a positive thought or a negative one? Why do you feel this way?
I was hoping to receive news from my oncologist today from the last test that I had done last week. I received no news today even though we were scheduled to have a phone call visit.
As I always say no news is good news, right? I think that I mentioned that he saw with the latest bone scan that the spots that have been lit up bigger than before in the last tests that they did.
My doctor is hoping that the CT Scan that was done on Friday will clear it up for him. You see my breast cancer was growing so fast at its onset that it relocated itself before they could catch it.
It moved to two places in my body so far. Those two places being my right hip and the middle of my spine. I have been doing chemotherapy for five years now and this treatment that i receive every three weeks has kept the cancer from growing up to this point.
I wonder if maybe my body has become immune to this particular treatment or if that is possible.
My peace which the Savior has given me is still intact so therefore I am not anxious about any of this even if the news is that the cancer has begun to grow again.
I know that the future is in the Lord’s hands and He is in control of my life. I am very grateful for each hour that I am able to spend with my own family and friends.
I try not to complain or be a burden to anyone. I will continue to work and carry my own weight as long as the Lord allows me to do so. I have been so blessed throughout this whole process from my diagnosis forward!!!
And I still feel very blessed !!! I feel like the Lord is with me always. I know my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me.
As a Parent, grandparent, and great grandparent, I know how much love I have for my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. I know what I would do for them to help them, to protect them and to provide for them. Having felt this love myself for my family, I know that the love my Heavenly Father has for me is so much more!!!
Does this make any sense to you? I remember when my first child was born and when I first looked at her I felt so much love for this little stranger child.
I never knew that you could feel so much love for a single being before. I would imagine you could take those feelings that I had at that very moment and multiply them many, many times.
Even in that multiplication you would not begin to scratch the surface of how much love our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for each one of us individually.
As much love as we can feel for one another is still only a particle of the love that our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ have for each one of us!!!
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us completely and unconditionally. In their love for us They want each one of us to return to live with Them when our mortal lives are over...
As you probably know there are things that we must do while we are here living on this earth. We must repent of our sins and ask our Heavenly Father for His forgiveness.
I have found that often our ‘little’ sins require only His forgiveness. I don’t know about each one of you, but I make mistakes everyday. I have harsh thoughts that cross my mind or a nasty word that escapes my mouth or those times when my lead foot doesn’t get me in trouble but it is still wrong, or silently judging others, oh, I am so guilty of these!
I think that these ‘little’ sins we often forget, I know that I do, and I am trying hard to be better and to do better. I believe that no matter what your sin may be, no matter how small or how big, your Heavenly Father loves you and He is happy to help you through the repentance process.
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will help you every time you come to Him through the repentance process. He will be there with you. He is ever reaching out to you, to lift you up to higher ground, to a place of safety.
The road to repentance can be painful and difficult but when you have reached the point of His forgiveness, it is well worth the effort you have given!
I know when I was baptized and completely washed clean and forgiven of my past sins . I guess I felt as did Alma the younger when his sins were forgiven him.
I know as did he that “I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.”
This next section comes to you directly from our Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:
Record the spiritual impressions you receive as you study Alma 32–35. What do you feel inspired to do because of what you learn?
For the Zoramites, prayer was a self-centered, routine practice that happened only once a week. It consisted of standing where all could see and repeating vain, self-satisfied words.
Perhaps worse, the Zoramites lacked faith in Jesus Christ—even denied His existence—and persecuted the poor (see Alma 31:9–25). By contrast, Alma and Amulek boldly taught that prayer has more to do with what happens in our hearts than on a public platform. And if it doesn’t lead to compassion toward those in need, it is “vain, and availeth … nothing” (Alma 34:28).
Most important, it is an expression of faith in Jesus Christ, who offers redemption through His “infinite and eternal sacrifice” (Alma 34:10). Such faith, Alma explained, is born of humility and a “desire to believe” (Alma 32:27). It grows gradually, like a tree, and requires constant nourishment.
As you read Alma 32–35, you might consider your own faith and prayers; do you ever feel any Zoramite-like attitudes creeping in? How will you nourish your faith in Jesus Christ so it will become “a tree springing up unto everlasting life”? (Alma 32:41).
Have you and/or your family members and friends had meaningful experiences with any of the teachings found in these chapters in Alma that we are studying this upcoming week? If you have then here is a question for each of you:
What can you do to build upon those experiences? How can you help one another to build upon those experiences you have had?
You could have a short review of each of the chapters one by one with your family members and friends, just to see what they have remembered from their reading, if your family members and friends are old enough for this.
If they are not you can check out the Primary section for ideas here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/come-follow-me-for-primary-book-of-mormon-2020/28?lang=eng
Alma 36
We can be born of God as we are humble and repent.
Are you ready to begin our lesson? You do realize that there are a lot of people who have not ever had a dramatic experience like Alma’s with the angel reprimanding him of his unsavory choices in his life.
Some people expect that they should have some sort of dramatic experience and they do wonder why they have not had such experiences themselves.
If any of your family members and friends feel this way you may want to share the following statement as it could be helpful for them: Elder David A. Bednar taught:
“For many of us, conversion is an ongoing process and not a one time event that results from a powerful or dramatic experience” (“Converted unto the Lord,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 107–8).
You know that it is through Alma’s experience that we learn many principles even though his experience is uncommon. Alma’s experience teaches us principles that we all need to apply into our daily lives.
As well as into our daily ongoing conversion. You and your family members and friends can search through Alma 36.
In your search you should be looking for these principles of which alma has taught us in this chapter. Then you should get out your poster board and make a list of these principles as you find them. Writing them down on your poster board where they can then be used for further discussion with your family members and friends
Begin with this question: What else has helped us become more converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ?
If you are not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you might want to contact the missionaries for more information. You can even get your own copy of the Book of Mormon here: https://www.comeuntochrist.org/
One of the phrases that Alma often used to describe his conversion was “ born of God.” Do you know what it means to be born of God?
You might want to consider doing the following activity to help your family members and friends to better understand this concept of being “born of God.” You can ask your family members and friends to read the following verses listed below.
In reading through these verses either together or in pairs you should be looking for what it means to be born of God. Here are those verses for you: 1 John 4:7; Mosiah 5:7; 27:25–26; and Alma 5:14; 22:15. When you and / or they are finished with your reading you should all share what you have learned from these verses.
The next thing you should do is to have your family members and friends search through Alma 36, again. This time you should be looking for answers to the following question:
How do people feel and act when they are born of God? Be sure to share with your family members and friends how you felt at your baptism.
Now you can share the following statement to help you and your family members and friends to ponder how they are being born again .
Below this statement you will find ideas for individual scripture study which comes to you directly from our Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual. Here is the statement by President Ezra Taft Benson:
Conversion is like a new birth.
President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “When we have undergone this mighty change, which is brought about only through faith in Jesus Christ and through the operation of the Spirit upon us, it is as though we have become a new person. Thus, the change is likened to a new birth.
Thousands of you have experienced this change. You have forsaken lives of sin, sometimes deep and offensive sin, and through applying the blood of Christ in your lives, have become clean. You have no more disposition to return to your old ways. You are in reality a new person. This is what is meant by a change of heart” (“A Mighty Change of Heart,” Ensign, Oct. 1989, 4).
Ideas for Personal Scripture Study
Alma 36
I can be born of God as I am humble and repent.
Few will have experiences as dramatic as Alma’s conversion. But there are principles in his experience that we can all learn from and apply, because everyone must be “born of God” (Alma 36:23).
As you read Alma 36, look for principles you can apply. For instance, how does someone who has been born of God feel about sin? about Jesus Christ?
You could also look for changes you might expect to see in the beliefs and actions of someone who is born of God.
See also Mosiah 5:7; 27:25–26; Alma 5:14; 22:15; Helaman 3:35; “Conversion,” Gospel Topics, topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Alma 36
Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of the world.
You may notice some repetition in Alma’s account of his conversion in this chapter. That’s because Alma 36 is a great example of a form of Hebrew poetry called chiasmus, in which words or ideas are presented in a certain order, leading to a central idea, and then repeated in reverse order.
In Alma 36, the idea in verse 3 is repeated in verse 27, the idea in verse 5 is repeated in verse 26, and so on. The central idea is the most important message of the chiasmus.
See if you can find the central idea in verses 17–18. Notice how catching “hold upon this thought” affected Alma and changed his life. How has this truth affected you? What other repeated ideas do you find in this passage?
How does this account of repentance and forgiveness inspire you to follow Alma’s example and turn to the Savior?
For more information about chiasmus, see Book of Mormon Student Manual (Church Educational System manual [2009], 232–33).
Alma 37
The scriptures have been preserved “for a wise purpose.”
Have you and your family members and friends ever shared with one another how you have felt the power of the scriptures m your lives?
Can you describe to one another how this has felt to you? In your sharing these things did you notice anything? Anything at all? What about your desires? Have you noticed a bit of a change in those?
Possibly in studying Alma’s words to his son Helaman as he gave to him the sacred records could help your family members and friends in sharing their thoughts on having felt the power of the scriptures in their lives.
What have you learned from this discussion in sharing how you have felt the power of the scriptures in your lives?
If you have felt the power of the scriptures in your life you could share with them. In order to find the messages that Alma gave to Helaman about the scriptures you and your family members and friends might want to have a review of Alma chapter 37.
You may want to focus especially verses 1–19 and 43–47. Be sure to share what you find there
More questions for you and your family members and friends: How do we show that the scriptures are sacred to us? How can we, like Alma, teach our loved ones to “keep all these things sacred” as we find in Alma 37:2?
How do the scriptures “show forth [God’s] power” to us as we find in Alma 37:14? Be sure to check out each scripture
If you and your family members and friends study what Alma said to his son in Alma 37. You are looking for what Alma said about the sacred records and other the items that he entrusted to Helaman.
This could be one way that you and your family members and friends can learn about the blessings of having our own scriptures to study.
We are truly blessed to be able to read and study them whenever we want, no matter where we are!! Are you ready to get out your poster board again? Okay then, here we go… moving on.
Oh, so you need to find out where you put your marker? Alright, i guess we will pause for just a moment to let you find it again You got it? Here we go again. ….
I want you and your family members and friends to make a list on your poster board of the sacred items which are mentioned in chapter 37:
the plates of Nephi and the brass plates which are mentioned in Alma 37:2–20, the 24 plates of Ether and the interpreters which are mentioned in Alma 37:21–37, and the Liahona which is mentioned in Alma 37:38–47.
You and your family members and friends might want to consider reading these verses to learn what Alma taught about each of these items. In what ways can the scriptures enlarge our memories as said in see Alma 37:8?
What can we learn from Alma’s words about the blessings of having the scriptures in our lives today?
“The scriptures teach us how to follow God.” There is a picture in the manual with these words under it, but I found them appropriate to this section about how the scriptures teach us how to follow God.
This next section comes to us again directly from the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:
Ideas for Personal Scripture Study
Alma 37
The scriptures have been preserved “for a wise purpose.”
Have you ever thought about what a miracle and blessing it is to have the scriptures today? God has “entrusted [us] with these things, which are sacred” (Alma 37:14).
As you read Alma 37, look for the blessings that come from having the scriptures. How have you experienced these blessings? How can we use the scriptures to help “show forth [God’s] power unto future generations”? (Alma 37:18).
In Alma 37:38–47, Alma compares “the word of Christ” to the Liahona. As you ponder this comparison, reflect on the ways you have experienced the miracle and power of Christ’s teachings “day by day” (Alma 37:40).
See also D. Todd Christofferson, “The Blessing of Scripture,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 32–35.
Alma 37:6–7, 41–42
“By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”
You may have noticed that Alma gave us two examples, that of the scriptures and that of the Liahona as found in the following passages of scripture: Alma 37:6–7, 41–42; 1 Nephi 17:41
These examples teach us about just how important the “small and simple things” are in God’s work. You may want to review these with your family members and friends.
Now, after you and your family members and friends have finished with your review of these passages of scripture maybe you could share some examples from your own lives of some small and simple things in God’s work.
You might also want to share the following statement by President Dallin H. Oaks:
Small and simple things
President Dallin H. Oaks taught:
“I was reminded of the power of small and simple things over time by something I saw on a morning walk. … The thick and strong concrete sidewalk [was] cracking.
Is this the result of some large and powerful thrust? No, this cracking is caused by the slow, small growth of one of the roots reaching out from the adjoining tree. …
“So is the powerful effect over time of the small and simple things we are taught in the scriptures and by living prophets. Consider the scripture study we’ve been taught to incorporate into our daily lives.
Or consider the personal prayers and the kneeling family prayers that are regular practices for faithful Latter-day Saints. … Though each of these practices may seem to be small and simple, over time they result in powerful spiritual uplift and growth.
This occurs because each of these small and simple things invites the companionship of the Holy Ghost, the Testifier who enlightens us and guides us into truth” (“Small and Simple Things,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 90).
You or your family members and friends could bring an object that is small but has brought about great things in your/their lives to share with the rest of your family study group.
You could ask questions like the following to help your family members and friends to better personalize this principle.
Here are your questions: Why do we sometimes fail to do the small and simple things? How can we inspire ourselves and our families to overcome this tendency?
The next section with ideas for personal scripture study come to you directly from our Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:
Ideas for Personal Scripture Study
Alma 37:6–7
“By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”
Sometimes we may feel like our problems are so big and complicated that the solutions must be big and complicated too. Yet time and time again, the Lord chooses to use “small and simple things” (Alma 37:6) to accomplish His work and bless the lives of His children.
As you read Alma 37:6–7, ponder and record ways you’ve seen this principle at work in your life. What are some small and simple things the Lord uses to bless you and accomplish His work?
See also Alma 37:41–46; Dallin H. Oaks, “Small and Simple Things,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 89–92.
Alma 37:38–47
The words of Christ can guide us day by day.
You know there may be one thing that could inspire you and your family members and friends to be a lot more diligent and more consistent in your scripture reading and study.
Alma gave us this answer when he compared the Liahona to the word of God. now could be a very good time to dive right into another discussion.
You might want to consider dividing your family members and friends into pairs then have them read the following passage of scripture Alma 37:38–47.
In reading this passage have them be looking for any similarities between the Liahona and the word of God. you may ever want to challenge them to find a similarity in each verse
You will need your poster board again Write out each verse number on the poster board in the first column. In the second column have your family members and friends write down the similarities that they found for that verse.
And now a question for you: What does this comparison suggest about how we should approach our scripture study?
Alma 38
Sharing our testimonies of Jesus Christ can strengthen those we love.
In Alma chapter 38 we find a very good example of how we are to strengthen those whom we love and encourage them into living the gospel. Where do we find this, you ask?
We find it in Alma’s words to his son Shiblon as they do provide a good example of how to strengthen and encourage those we love in living the gospel.
Since Alma 38 is such a short chapter you may want to read it together aloud. Have your family members and friends listen very carefully as you are reading.
Have them listen for any verses, any words or phrases that stand out to them or are meaningful in any way to them. You could write these down on your poster board to discuss later if you wanted to.
Then you could share passages that you have found to be meaningful or that gave you ideas for strengthening your own family members and friends.
You could ask your family study group to share anything that they have found with the others. You might even have your family members and friends to identify how Alma strengthened Shiblon.
I pray that I have made everything in this lesson clear enough for you to understand the principles taught and are able to apply those principles into your lives.
This next section with the ideas for family scripture study and family home evening ideas also comes to you directly from our Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:
Ideas for Family Scripture Study and Family Home Evening
As you read the scriptures with your family, the Spirit can help you know what principles to emphasize and discuss in order to meet the needs of your family. Here are some ideas.
Alma 36:5–26
Although Alma’s experience was extraordinary, his conversion illustrates several principles that apply to all of us. Invite each family member to select a verse from Alma 36:5–26 that teaches about being “born of God.”
What do we learn from these verses? Perhaps family members could share how they have applied the principles Alma described.
Alma 36:18–21, 24
How could we use these verses to help someone see that repentance is a joyful experience, not a dreadful one? How can repentance inspire us to share the gospel with others?
Alma 37:6–7, 38–46
What are some of the “small and simple things” (Alma 37:6) that bring about great things in our lives? In what ways is the word of Christ like the Liahona? How can we help each other study the scriptures more diligently?
Alma 37:35
Why is it wise to learn to keep the commandments while “in [our] youth”?
Alma 38:12
Does your family know what a bridle is? Maybe you could show them a picture of one and talk about how it is used to control an animal.
What does it mean to “bridle [our] passions”? How does bridling our passions help us be “filled with love”?
For more ideas for teaching children, see this week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Primary.
Suggested song: “As I Search the Holy Scriptures,” Hymns, no. 277.
Have you or your family members and friends ever wondered just how to give counsel to a loved one who has made a very serious mistake?
In our readings for this upcoming week we will find some very helpful insights as they are taught in Alma 39–42. I have included the following teaching tip from our Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:
Improving Our Teaching
Invite learners to teach each other. When class members bear testimony or share insights, they may be able to reach or inspire another class member in a way you may not be able to. (See Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 30.)
Here we are and as Bugs Bunny used to say: “That’s All Folks!!!” this lesson is done as well as my post for today. I pray that this post finds you and those you love all healthy and doing well!!
Remember to do your best to stay safe and healthy in these still uncertain times that we are working through together.
So far my close encounters with this COVID 19 have been my Oldest Son’s mother-in-law passing away from it, and now one of my little preschoolers has been diagnosed positive with it!
This nasty virus claims any age, so my prayer for you and your family members to be safe and healthy and doing well
Make sure that you and your family members each remember that you are a child of God! A child of a loving, merciful, forgiving, ever present Heavenly father who is only just a prayer away.
Your Heavenly Father only wants for each of you to become what He knows that you can become, with His help.
Remember too, that it was His Son who died for you and your family members and friends as well as for me and everyone who has ever lived or who will ever live here upon this earth.
Which earth He created for us, under Heavenly Father’s direction. Together They created this beautiful, wondrous world for us to live in.
In your readings did you happen to notice how many times Alma used the word ‘remember’ to his sons? I heard something about this word remember, that it could be the most important word in the scriptures.
Maybe if we pay attention to this word it will make a difference in our lives if we apply what fellows this word. What do you think?
I guess my ramblings are done for today. I hope and pray that my ramblings have been helpful to each one of you in some small way. That possibly you have been uplifted and inspired to act on one of the teachings
Alma has taught in today’s lesson. Until my next post, keep praying and continue studying the Book of Mormon with me
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