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TODAY'S THEME
We see once again this painting by Arnold Friberg in which we view the happy occasion at the Waters of Mormon where believers in Jesus Christ, because of the teachings of the martyred prophet, Abinadi, through baptism, became members of Christ's Church in ancient America.
In my just previous post, I mentioned how the adversities we go through can often turn out to be blessings in the long run.
In that same post (Post 14) we learned that after having at first being able to be undetected by King Noah and his army, Alma and the People of the Lord were finally discovered by them. This caused them to hastily flee into the wilderness. We also learned that because his army had been reduced in size a little later, King Noah was unable to effectively pursue the People of the Lord's Church.
Furthermore, we learned that King Noah was facing opposition from his own people and particularly from the brave Gideon who wanted King Noah to be killed. Surely Gideon remembered that the prophet Abinadi had prophesied that King Noah would be burned to death as he, Abinadi had been, under King Noah's orders.
We also learned that the Lamanites had battled the people of King Noah who had been replaced by a righteous son, Limhi.
Now, soon in this post we will learn about how the Lord gave Alma and his people the special ability to endure a particularly difficult adversity.
We will lead into this special historical experience they had by reminding you the principles that Alma the First taught the People of Christ as they prepared to be baptized. Please read these verses:
Mosiah 18:8-9
As you attend a sacrament meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in our day, wherever in this world you happen to live, you will find the kind of love being shown by church members for one another as these ancient American Saints were encouraged to show one another in their day. I promise you that you will also feel that same love and willingness to accept you that was shown in that ancient church in America and in the church set up by the Lord's apostles in the Near East where they taught anciently after the Lord's Resurrection and ascent back into Heaven.
There is a little background you need to know about in order to understand this special occasion when the People of the Lord under Alma's guidance showed that they were true saints.
Without going into much detail or even guiding you to scriptures, I feel you need to know that most of the priests of King Noah abandoned their wives and children to save their own lives during a vicious battle with the Lamanites who lived nearby. Much later, while in hiding they happened to find daughters of the Lamanites who were enjoying bathing together on the edge of their kingdom. They captured them and they became their wives. A number of years later those priests came into favor with the King of the Lamanites.
Meanwhile, Alma and his people had found peace and security in a place they called, Helam. The people wanted Alma to be their king but he refused this. He continued to be their spiritual leader.
After awhile Alma and his people were discovered by the Lamanites who assigned Amulon, one of the priests of Noah who had, along with his comrade priests, stolen the daughters of the Lamanites who had become their wives, to supervise Alma and his people of the Lord.
Amulon knew Alma well when they were both priests of King Noah. He also knew that Alma had believed the words of the prophet, Abinadi while he, Amulon, wanted Abinadi killed. He was not concerned for the welfare of Alma and his followers.
I now suggest that you read about a special demonstration of faith in God and in patience during a time of great tribulation for Alma's ( The Lord's people) as Amulon and the other priests of Noah sought to abuse them. This passage of scripture covers one entire chapter therefore it will be convenient to read and listen at the same time.
Mosiah 24:1-25
There, you learned how true saints of God behaved under their inspired leader and prophet, Alma the First, who refused to be their king, but instead remained as their inspired leader and prophet. You learned how the physical burdens they were forced to carry by the evil Amulon, were actually made lighter by the Lord and how they prayed in their hearts instead of vocally to avoid being killed by Amulon and his fellow priests of Noah.
The greatest blessing these good people received was being led by the Lord back to the land of Zarahemla (from where their families had originally come from under the leadership of King Limhi's father-Zeniff) where the king there, Mosiah, warmly welcomed them.
Mormon, the compiler of the records that make up most of the total Book of Mormon, tells us later that Mosiah commissioned Alma the First to set up Jesus Christ's church among his people by baptizing all those who were willing.
These were true saints. I hope each of you will someday have the opportunity of being taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints if you are not yet members. I hope you too will someday, perhaps sooner than later, become a part of the Lord's Latter-day Church which is beginning to fill the earth with the Lord Jesus Christ's loving people.
There are over 13 million members of this church presently. There are more of those members now outside of the United States of America than in the United States of America. I promise when you do become baptized into this church that you will feel more love from fellow members than you have ever felt from others before.
I also promise that you will love your own families more than ever before.
In my post 14 I mentioned the role that adversity or tribulation plays in our lives. I showed that in my younger years I had experienced adversity and that because I had grown in my desire to help others who had suffered adversity.
I asked you to e-mail me telling me how that adversity you may have suffered has helped you to grow and develop and find your place as a very worthwhile person. I haven't heard from any of you yet and invite you to e-mail right away telling me of that in your life. Here is my e-mail address again. Please write it down somewhere so you can tell me of your special experience with adversity and of the results that came from that. jneilmelva@gmail.com/
I will keep any of the information you send me, private, unless you give me permission to include it in one of my future blog posts.
____________
DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.
_____________
TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), When You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: Alma the Elder Was Guided by the Lord to Establish His Church . . . Post 15. After The Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next to a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).
____________
"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est. 2008 Neil Birch
____________
In my just previous post, I mentioned how the adversities we go through can often turn out to be blessings in the long run.
In that same post (Post 14) we learned that after having at first being able to be undetected by King Noah and his army, Alma and the People of the Lord were finally discovered by them. This caused them to hastily flee into the wilderness. We also learned that because his army had been reduced in size a little later, King Noah was unable to effectively pursue the People of the Lord's Church.
Furthermore, we learned that King Noah was facing opposition from his own people and particularly from the brave Gideon who wanted King Noah to be killed. Surely Gideon remembered that the prophet Abinadi had prophesied that King Noah would be burned to death as he, Abinadi had been, under King Noah's orders.
We also learned that the Lamanites had battled the people of King Noah who had been replaced by a righteous son, Limhi.
Now, soon in this post we will learn about how the Lord gave Alma and his people the special ability to endure a particularly difficult adversity.
We will lead into this special historical experience they had by reminding you the principles that Alma the First taught the People of Christ as they prepared to be baptized. Please read these verses:
Mosiah 18:8-9
As you attend a sacrament meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in our day, wherever in this world you happen to live, you will find the kind of love being shown by church members for one another as these ancient American Saints were encouraged to show one another in their day. I promise you that you will also feel that same love and willingness to accept you that was shown in that ancient church in America and in the church set up by the Lord's apostles in the Near East where they taught anciently after the Lord's Resurrection and ascent back into Heaven.
There is a little background you need to know about in order to understand this special occasion when the People of the Lord under Alma's guidance showed that they were true saints.
Without going into much detail or even guiding you to scriptures, I feel you need to know that most of the priests of King Noah abandoned their wives and children to save their own lives during a vicious battle with the Lamanites who lived nearby. Much later, while in hiding they happened to find daughters of the Lamanites who were enjoying bathing together on the edge of their kingdom. They captured them and they became their wives. A number of years later those priests came into favor with the King of the Lamanites.
Meanwhile, Alma and his people had found peace and security in a place they called, Helam. The people wanted Alma to be their king but he refused this. He continued to be their spiritual leader.
After awhile Alma and his people were discovered by the Lamanites who assigned Amulon, one of the priests of Noah who had, along with his comrade priests, stolen the daughters of the Lamanites who had become their wives, to supervise Alma and his people of the Lord.
Amulon knew Alma well when they were both priests of King Noah. He also knew that Alma had believed the words of the prophet, Abinadi while he, Amulon, wanted Abinadi killed. He was not concerned for the welfare of Alma and his followers.
I now suggest that you read about a special demonstration of faith in God and in patience during a time of great tribulation for Alma's ( The Lord's people) as Amulon and the other priests of Noah sought to abuse them. This passage of scripture covers one entire chapter therefore it will be convenient to read and listen at the same time.
Mosiah 24:1-25
There, you learned how true saints of God behaved under their inspired leader and prophet, Alma the First, who refused to be their king, but instead remained as their inspired leader and prophet. You learned how the physical burdens they were forced to carry by the evil Amulon, were actually made lighter by the Lord and how they prayed in their hearts instead of vocally to avoid being killed by Amulon and his fellow priests of Noah.
The greatest blessing these good people received was being led by the Lord back to the land of Zarahemla (from where their families had originally come from under the leadership of King Limhi's father-Zeniff) where the king there, Mosiah, warmly welcomed them.
Mormon, the compiler of the records that make up most of the total Book of Mormon, tells us later that Mosiah commissioned Alma the First to set up Jesus Christ's church among his people by baptizing all those who were willing.
These were true saints. I hope each of you will someday have the opportunity of being taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints if you are not yet members. I hope you too will someday, perhaps sooner than later, become a part of the Lord's Latter-day Church which is beginning to fill the earth with the Lord Jesus Christ's loving people.
There are over 13 million members of this church presently. There are more of those members now outside of the United States of America than in the United States of America. I promise when you do become baptized into this church that you will feel more love from fellow members than you have ever felt from others before.
I also promise that you will love your own families more than ever before.
In my post 14 I mentioned the role that adversity or tribulation plays in our lives. I showed that in my younger years I had experienced adversity and that because I had grown in my desire to help others who had suffered adversity.
I asked you to e-mail me telling me how that adversity you may have suffered has helped you to grow and develop and find your place as a very worthwhile person. I haven't heard from any of you yet and invite you to e-mail right away telling me of that in your life. Here is my e-mail address again. Please write it down somewhere so you can tell me of your special experience with adversity and of the results that came from that. jneilmelva@gmail.com/
I will keep any of the information you send me, private, unless you give me permission to include it in one of my future blog posts.
____________
DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.
_____________
TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), When You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: Alma the Elder Was Guided by the Lord to Establish His Church . . . Post 15. After The Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next to a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).
____________
"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est. 2008 Neil Birch
____________
I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.Neil Birch
If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.
I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog.
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