My journey through the book of Alma this summer has given me a renewed appreciation for a number of gospel principles. Here are a few of the insights that were most meaningful to me:
1. God intends for us to exercise agency.
As I learned about the division of spirits in the next life in to a state of happiness and peace or a state of sorrow and pain, I realized that we may already be in one of those states. Our choices are either inviting God’s power into our lives or they are not.
We grow, not by having faith and humility forced upon us by our circumstances, but by proactively choosing faith and humility. Furthermore, God has chosen us to fulfill important missions in life, but those missions will only come to us when we are ready.
God’s strictness may seem like an infringement on our agency, but it’s actually a vote of confidence in us, a vision of what we can achieve with His help.
2. Be conscientious about fulfilling your duty.
Moroni and Helaman were both able to achieve significant victories in the war by luring the Lamanites out of their strongholds. The message is clear: Don’t allow lower-priority goals to distract you from your main mission.
Additionally, don’t allow exhaustion to dissuade you from fulfilling your key responsibilities. “We are weary” is not an appropriate excuse for negligence.
Preparation is a never-ending responsibility. One key to Moroni’s success is that he kept preparing, even when things seemed to be going well. He knew that it’s easier to maintain something than to regain it. Whether it be your physical or spiritual health or your closest relationships, you’re far better off doing the work now to keep them strong than trying to repair them later.
3. We need to communicate cheerfully, diplomatically, and honestly.
The Lord wants His disciples to “shine forth,” so that the light we share can guide others to Him.
Uplifting words and gentle persuasion are more likely to influence others than combativeness and confrontation. So we need to bury our weapons, eliminating things from our lives that are generating contention.
But we also have a duty to defend the truth. It’s important to speak up on behalf of true principles and in support of the vulnerable.
4. An order is more than a community.
Alma and his sons preached “after the holy order of God.” This conveys a sense of joint action, of collective effort. Jesus wants His disciples to be one because some needful things can only be accomplished through organized, collective effort.
God wants our lives, our homes, and our discipleship to be organized. When we exercise faith in Him and are willing to repent, He will invite us into His order, which enables us to experience peace and calmness and to become more unified with other people.
5. Jesus Christ can transform us. We communicate our willingness to be transformed through repentance.
Jesus Christ will only change us if we’re willing to be changed. That’s why Alma taught that God’s work of justice can only be brought about “on conditions of repentance.”
Consistent incremental improvements can be more powerful than sudden, dramatic changes, so now is a good time to repent.
It is of course better to prevent sin than to detect it after the fact, but when we recognize that we have made a mistake, it’s best to correct it as quickly as possible.
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