Alma 1

I wonder what it means that Nehor taught the priests should become popular? Hired? Like you choose who to preach to you because you like what they say? Interestingly that is the way most protestant churches work. I don’t think people do it on purpose to be bad, they argue that you should be comfortable where you go to worship. I hear that a lot. Sometimes it is hard in the church when you don’t agree with your leaders, or like them, even. I guess that is why it is important to remember that they are called by God and to have faith in Him. If you gave me the choice of us picking or God picking, that is what I would choose. Maybe that is why not sustaining your leaders is such a big deal. Because if you don’t do that you are saying you don’t believe God is really at the head of this church, working through its priesthood holders. And if you don’t think that, nothing else can really be true.

It is crazy to me that I just read a blog about a girl who had named her baby Gideon after this Gideon yesterday, and I am reading his story today. I feel like I should really pay attention.

Omar and I were just talking last night about how it is hard to see how someone gets to the point where they kill another person. The murder of Gideon seems so obviously wicked. He was killed for disagreeing, and that’s it. Yet, how often do I get angry when someone doesn’t agree with me? Isn’t that just a first step to ending up there? I can see, again, how my anger is so spiritually detrimental and un-
Christ-like, and wrong! I need to check myself and not respond with anger. It happens so quickly, and so unthinkingly that I know I need the Lord’s help to overcome.

It also strikes me as important that Gideon was able to contend using the word of God. I noticed that last night when we were watching Legacy, too. When Eliza’s father in on a mission in England and responds with, “…and Matthew also says…” I want to be a scriptorian, someone who is familiar with the scriptures, and knows where to find the answers. I haven’t been very consistent in my study, but have felt strongly the last couple of days I need to change that. If the world really is going to get crazier, I need to have the answers available when my family or any of God’s family needs them. Or myself for that matter. That has come up a lot lately. Like the story of Cain and Abel in the temple at Christopher’s sealing answering my questions about women and the priesthood. It is really so amazing that the inspired word of God, the scriptures, can answer our questions, so many different questions, just as He needs them to. There are so many levels of lesson in every story and verse, to speak to us just what we need to hear when we need to hear it. I am so grateful to live in a time with access to the scriptures! What a blessing!

The priestcraft, or false teachings that continued among the people were because they loved money. I can see that now with justification for not helping people, or for not working for your own support, or those crazy evangelical rich preacher guys that steal money from old ladies. Sometimes it seems so obvious, but the philosophy of men mingled with scripture can get really tricky.

It seems really important that it was the pride of the people of the church that caused them to fight back. It isn’t described as justifiable because they couldn’t take it any more. This is the same lesson that seems to keep coming up for me over and over, the turning the other cheek, forgiving, patience.

I love that the people in the church prospered by being generous. There was a quote I saw in relief society once about how no one has ever been poorer by giving something away. I wish I could remember it exactly. I wonder if that works because that is part of the law we are obedient to to receive that blessing of abundance.

Alma 2