Eternal Joy

Alma is writing to his somewot wayward son, in the 41st chapter of the Book of Alma, and he says in verse four:

4 And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame--mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption--raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other--
5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.

So, what will it be like to be eternally happy, to not have to be stopped to linger in the shadow of death, but to be able to feel joy constantly?

Well?

JPS

Strait and narrow

So, it is true that there are an infinite number of paths that all lead back to God, but we need to remember that the strait and narrow path is the only path that arrives at the Celestial Kingdom.  That is just to say that the infinite number of paths must, ultimately, converge and join the covenant pathway!  As good as a person as you can possibly be will not qualify you to enter the Celestial Kingdom UNLESS you also make or accept (after you’ve died and good members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints perform them vicariously for you...) the saving ordinances.

In other words, no matter how much you and the teachings you’ve accepted or even taught in this life partallel the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you had better be led to embrace the TRUTH when it is presented to you or the work done for you!

One door, one baptism, one faith, one hope, one God, one Christ, one truth, one way!

JPS

Unfomfortable

Alma 39:59 And it came to pass that as he went forth among the people, yea, among a people who had separated themselves from the Nephites and called themselves Zoramites, being led by a man whose name was Zoram--and as he went forth amongst them, behold, he was run upon and trodden down, even until he was dead.

Korihor couldn't stay among the righteous Nephites...  He didn't feel comfortable with them any more; didn't want that light around him if he could help it.  Read in Alma 31 that, "... Zoramites were perverting the ways of the Lord, and that Zoram, who was their leader, was leading the hearts of the people to bow down to dumb idols..."

JPS

Something yet to come

In Alma 21:8 we read of an Amalekite man, “And the man said unto [Aaron]: We do not believe that thou knowest any such thing. We do not believe in these foolish traditions. We do not believe that thou knowest of things to come, neither do we believe that thy fathers and also that our fathers did know concerning the things which they spake, of that which is to come.”

Isn't believing that God will save all men, believing in some thing that is yet to come?

JPS

What would you say?

In Alma 21:5, we read: Therefore, as Aaron entered into one of their synagogues to preach unto the people, and as he was speaking unto them, behold there arose an Amalekite and began to contend with him, saying: What is that thou hast testified? Hast thou seen an angel? Why do not angels appear unto us? Behold are not this people as good as thy people?

What would you say?  (Well, if angels only come to those of strong faith and purity, then—and angels only come to you if sent by our God (who knows everything [omniscient], has all power [omnipotent], and is everywhere at the same time [omnipresent]—and that same God has sent angels to us and not to you, then isn’t HE saying we’re better, and not just us thinking we’re better?

JPS

Alma 21:3

In Alma 21:3, it says, “Now the Lamanites of themselves were sufficiently hardened, but the Amalekites and the Amulonites were still harder; therefore they did cause the Lamanites that they should harden their hearts, that they should wax strong in wickedness and their abominations.”

Once you have had the truth preached to you, and have rejected it, you become harder still...  But, once you have accepted the Gospel and reject it, you are the hardest (and only once having received the Gospel and its ordinances, can you become a Son of Perdition [+ shed innocent blood] and crucify Christ in open shame)—you have to have light enough to reject and deny or betray that light (think of a pendulum that can only swing as low as it can swing high...  The rope length is determined by the light possessed!)!

JPS

Kolob’s time-table

In Alma 19:6, it says, “Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness--yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God--

My similar experience took longer...  almost four months of a coma is what it took for me...

1 day = 24 hrs

1 day of God = 1000 yrs

1 hour on Kolob = 365 & 1/4 Days per year and 1000 years = 1 day

For every minute that passes by in Heaven, how much time has passed by on Earth?

Let,

a = 24*60 minutes

b = 1000 years

c = 12 months

Thus,

b/a*c = 8.   33 months (8 months, 28 days, 19 hours, 12 minutes)

For every second that passes by in Heaven, how much time has passed by on Earth?

Let,

a = 24*60*60 seconds

b = 1000 years

c = 12*30 days

Thus,

b/a*c = 4.16 days (4 days, 3 hours, 50 minutes, 24 seconds)

JPS

Invited to come into the prophet's house...

In Alma 15:18 we read that, “Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord.”

That would be so great to have a prophet of the Lord invite us into his house and administer to us!

How many of “us” also need to be strengthened when we have made a hard decision?  How many, then, recognize where to turn to find that strengthening?

JPS

Trepidation

In Alma 18:11, we read of King Lamoni’s encounter with Ammon and the way he feels about the faithfulness of this Nephites who asked to serve him in his kingdom.  After Ammon protects Lamoni’s flocks, he also prepares the chariots for Lamoni, and this is disconcerting to the king...  “Now I surely know that this is the Great Spirit, and I would desire him that he come in unto me, but I durst not.”

Can't come before God without trepidation, but not in a good way--Lamoni feared God!

Lamoni knee that Ammon was a man of God (not because of anything but his example...) and was afraid of letting him be or come close to him, less his proximity would allow God to be that close to him (obviously, not so hot in the logical conclusions territory!).

JPS

Alma 15:8

Alma 15:8 says, “And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed.”

All things truly are spiritual, as Alma says that if Zeezrom has faith in the spiritual redemption of man, he can be temporally healed...  Having faith in the salvation of man meant that he had the faith necessary to be healed--which is nothing compared to the faith necessary to believe that Christ can save us from our sins!

JPS

Zeezrom’s fever

Alma 15:3, “3 And also Zeezrom lay sick at Sidom, with a burning fever, which was caused by the great tribulations of his mind on account of his wickedness, for he supposed that Alma and Amulek were no more; and he supposed that they had been slain because of his iniquity. And this great sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his mind until it did become exceedingly sore, having no deliverance; therefore he began to be scorched with a burning heat.”

Imagine the war happening in his mind (that would have brought him "low with a fever" by itself--the mental battle between who he had been and what he now knew--trying to keep his mind clear and his faith in the truth vs. the pack of lies he had been persuading the people to believe and thus needing to believe the lies himself!

JPS

Saved the righteous in Ammonihah!

In Alma 15:2, after the righteous in Ammonihah were burned; “And they related unto them all that had happened unto their wives and children, and also concerning themselves, and of their power of deliverance.”

What could you say to the men whose wives and children were just burned to death?  How faithful did they have to be to not be angry at Alma & Amulek for NOT saving them with their Priesthood power?  "It looks like you saved yourselves, but could' have saved my wife and children?"  They would have needed to be very faithful indeed!

JPS

Priesthood

Alma chapter 13 is a great chapter on the priesthood.  In verses 3 & 10 it says:

3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained--being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

—

10 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;

Being ordained to the office of High Priest doesn’t give you any more priesthood  than being ordained to the office of Elder...  think of the temple: when performing proxy work, they only ordain to the Melchizedek Priesthood, no specific office...  both a high priest and elder have been ordained to the Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God!  Plus, President Nelsen said in 4/18, that the priesthood that the president of the church has is the same priesthood as an elder has...  the difference is only in the keys that the president has, because of his calling...

JPS

First provocation?

In Alma 12:36, we read, “36 And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first.”

Children of Israel in the wilderness is compared to Adam & Eve partaking of the forbidden fruit--both are banished from the promised land and can enter into God's rest only upon their repentance and repenting of their sins through the Atonement of Christ, the Lord.

Adam&Eve did not sin, but only transgressed the law (for they could not truly know that what they were doing was wrong—not knowing good and evil...) and the Israelites also.  Both were cast out from God's presence and wandered in the World, repenting so that they could enter into The Promised Land!

JPS

The Justice of God

In Alma 11, we hear Amulek’s fight with Zeezrom, in verses 36-41 we hear the summation of how we are to be saved in the kingdom of God:

36 Now Amulek saith again unto him: Behold thou hast lied, for thou sayest that I spake as though I had authority to command God because I said he shall not save his people in their sins.

37 And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins.

38 Now Zeezrom saith again unto him: Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father?

39 And Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth, and all things which in them are; he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last;

40 And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.

41 Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.

... Christ suffers for all for 3 reasons: 1) all must be resurrected and 2) all must have the possibility of returning to God and inheriting Eternal Life, but 3) some will choose not to and they will be damned because Christ suffered for their sins to make it possible for them to receive Eternal Life but they denied Him... 

It was because He suffered for them, He has perfect empathy for them and has perfect charity and mercy to save them perfectly--He also can damn them perfectly (because He suffered for their sins but they denied Him and wouldn't accept His gift!).

JPS

I obeyed the angel... (who wouldn’t!?!)

Alma 10:8 (And it came to pass that I obeyed the voice of the angel, and returned towards my house. And as I was going thither I found the man whom the angel said unto me: Thou shalt receive into thy house--and behold it was this same man who has been speaking unto you concerning the things of God.), talks about Amulek’s turning from sin to Godliness—

All it takes is one right choice to get-back on the right track...  and now a whole field of correct or true options are open and available to you!

JPS

Alma 9:16

Says, “For there are many promises which are extended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existence in the land.”

Living in a state or world of collusion from the beginning (or meaning that you were born into a world where people are already living collusively) means that there was no genesis of a pattern of self-betrayal--the pattern had already begun when they were introduced into it--they never knew anything different than that sinful world and are only guilty of not heeding the word of God when they are given the chance to repent and stop that cycle!

Now, think of those you know now--are they active members of the church or were they baptized but are less-active because of the neglect of the active?  Don't they fall in the same boat as these Laminates?

JPS

If... Then...

How many times, do we read in the Book of Mormon, especially in the first books, how you will be blessed when you keep the commandments and will be “cut off” if you don’t keep the commandments?

That doesn’t only mean “die”...  You will not enjoy the enabling powers of the Atonement but will have to live your life according to the strength of your flesh and the genius of man (which is more like a Neanderthal or an idiot).  Man is literally nothing without the Lord!  Think of anything that you can do well and know that you are only permitted to do it because of the grace and the enabling powers of Christ!

JPS

Spiritual Preparation

Remember how in Alma 8:5, And it came to pass that the people came to him throughout all the borders of the land which was by the wilderness side. And they were baptized throughout all the land;

Wait for it...

In Alma 8:6 So that when he had finished his work at Melek he departed thence, and traveled three days’ journey on the north of the land of Melek; and he came to a city which was called Ammonihah.

9 Now Satan had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma.

10 Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance.

11 Nevertheless, they hardened their hearts, saying unto him: Behold, we know that thou art Alma; and we know that thou art high priest over the church which thou hast established in many parts of the land, according to your tradition; and we are not of thy church, and we do not believe in such foolish traditions.

JPS