Alma 37:21-35

I got to the word Gazelem and paused. Who was Gazelem that the Lord gave the stone to? Was it something I had forgotten about? But I have never really looked at it before. So I did a bunch of searches and found that most LDS scholars believe it refers to Joseph Smith. In the Doctrine and Covenants they even used that as his code name so their enemies did not know what they were up to. I kept looking, and I am so glad I did. I found this article which explains about how Hebrew letters have specific meanings, and GZLM when taken together describe the duties of a prophet. It was really cool. It doesn’t change my testimony of the Book of Mormon, which has come through spiritual witnesses, but it is just cool.

Verse 23 also makes me think about what I have been telling the boys about how the Holy Ghost keeps us from being tricked by revealing hidden truth. I feel like the world is very corrupt, and there are all kind of hidden evil works happening all the time. But I am grateful for this promise that the Lord will reveal those things to His people. If I stay close to Him, if I can but listen to the Holy Ghost, I can be protected from being deceived. That is really comforting to my lack of trust and my anxiety. If I could rely on that promise more maybe I could be more trusting and open to people. If I could trust myself to listen better.

In verse 27 Alma warns Helaman to keep the details of the secret combinations private. It seems like an important warning for me as a parent, or teacher, that I can warn of evil without going into details. That I need to keep those details private, because they only lead to curiosity and experimentation. I have a tendency to want to overshare, so I have been very hesitant to share anything in the last few years, and I think that isn’t really a bad thing.

Then Alma tells Helaman what he should teach the people. It was an amazing list, and one that I feel like I should memorize.

• teach them an everlasting hatred against sin and iniquity.
• Preach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ;
•  teach them to humble themselves and to be meek and lowly in heart;
•  teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.

Alma 37:21-35