40 And it came to pass that the Lamanites said unto him: What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us?
41 And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.
42 And it came to pass that they all did begin to cry unto the voice of him who had shaken the earth; yea, they did cry even until the cloud of darkness was dispersed.
I’ve been thinking this week about the counsel of Aminadab to this group of Lamanites. They were in the middle of a crisis, and they needed to be rescued:
- They were surrounded by a cloud of darkness, which not only affected their vision but also rendered them unable to move “because of the fear which did come upon them” (verse 34).
- They heard a voice which pierced their souls and which commanded them to stop what they were doing (verses 30-32).
- The walls of the building and the ground underneath their feet shook so much that they thought the building was going to collapse on them (verses 27, 31, 33).
Aminadab was a former member of the church. He “had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented from among them” (verse 35). Because of his prior training in the gospel, he knew more than the Lamanites about what was happening. He was able to show the Lamanites that Nephi and Lehi were talking with angels and were not constrained by the cloud of darkness (verses 36-39).
Seeing that some kind of relief was possible, and recognizing that Aminadab had information that could help them, the Lamanites asked them what they should do. Now here is his counsel to them: “You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ.”
We know that the first two principles of the gospel are faith and repentance (
Articles of Faith 1:4). It all starts with faith. But how do you choose to have faith? What specific action can you take to develop faith if you’re filled with fear or doubt and don’t think you can simply by an act of will overcome it? Praying to God and asking for help is a good place to start. Prayer is itself an act of faith, and Heavenly Father has promised to answer our prayers. In the words of Jeffrey R. Holland:
When doubt or difficulty come, do not be afraid to ask for help…. The scriptures phrase such earnest desire as being of “real intent,” pursued “with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God.” I testify that in response to that kind of importuning, God will send help from both sides of the veil to strengthen our belief (“Lord, I Believe“, General Conference, April 2013).
Today, I will exercise faith in Heavenly Father as I face the challenges of the day. If I become intimidated or discouraged, I will follow Aminadab’s advice and pray for faith. I will remember that God has promised to answer our prayers, and that one blessing He can and will give us if we ask is the faith we need to overcome our challenges.
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Thank you for sharing these inspiring thoughts 🙏
Thanks for the comment! I’m glad you enjoyed the post.