#24 "Give us Strength According to Our Faith...in Christ"

Alma 13-16
I’m sorry to announce, the title of this lesson doesn’t really accurately portray what my lesson is on today, it is related for sure, but to say this is where my lesson went would be totally inaccurate.

To start of with I would like to ask (a priesthood holder without a calling) what can you personally do to use your priesthood? Give blessings for the sick to kids, family, neighbors, give father’s blessings, dedicate homes, bless homes by teaching families, use power and authority of God (priesthood) to get you through scary situations, cast out evil spirits or evil presences.

Now I want to ask a priesthood leader who holds a calling in the church right now, How can you use your priesthood in your calling? Visit homes, feel or determine if there is a need (through the spirit) Spiritually uplift and bless them, call upon ministering angels-there are many more listed in D&C 84.

We’ve just listed off many duties of priesthood. If a priesthood holder was to do all the duties that he has power and authority to do everyday, how busy would that person be? EXTREMELY! And as women if we were to list off our duties how busy would we be-oh wait we already are doing so much!
Ha ha J/k

Alma starts preaching to the people of Ammonihah about the Priesthood and it’s importance in Alma Chapter 13 and how it (priesthood) bring us into the “rest of the Lord” 13:6
The “rest of the Lord” and how we get there seems to be the theme of this chapter so let’s talk about what the “rest” of the Lord means exactly-What does it mean to rest, because let’s face it all the duties we just read, doesn’t sound like resting to me, Does it to you? In fact at our house Sunday is probably the busiest day of the week. So what does “rest of the Lord” mean to you?

P242 of the BOM institute manual defines the “rest” like this: This rest or peace can come in many ways, (so rest is a synonym for peace) as one worships the Lord, he may rest from the things of the world. The temple, for example may serve as a resting place. The home can be a bit of heaven on earth and thus be a rest. President Joseph F. Smith has testified: “Reference is made to the spiritual rest and peace which are born (born again) from a settled conviction of the truth in the minds of men. We may thus enter into the rest of the Lord today, by coming to an understanding of the truths of the gospel. No people is more entitled to this rest-this peace of the spirit-than are members of the church…he will provide spiritual contentment, a rest which is incomparable with the physical rest that cometh after toil. All who seek have a right to, and may enter into, the rest of God here upon the earth, from this time forth, now, today; and when earth-life is finished, they shall also enjoy his rest in heaven.” Entering into the presence of the Lord is the ultimate rest. The Lord is the great giver of rest. The Ultimate rest is to overcome the effects of the Fall (both physical and spiritual death) (Just like we will see with Zeezrom in a minute) and to bring the souls (remember a soul is both the body and the spirit) into the full presence of God.
Bruce R. McConkie says this about what rest means: “The rest of the Lord, where mortals are concerned, is to gain a perfect knowledge of the divinity of the great latter-day work. (We will see that Alma experienced this as he was forced to watch righteous people burn) ‘It means entering into the knowledge and love of God, having faith in his purpose and in his plan, to such an extent that we know we are right, and that we are not hunting for something else; we are not disturbed by every wind of doctrine, or by the cunning and craftiness of men who lie in wait to deceive.’ It is ‘rest from the religious turmoil of the world; from the cry that is going forth, here and there-lo, here is Christ; lo, there is Christ.’ The rest of the Lord in eternity is to inherit eternal life, to gain the fulness of the Lord’s glory.

Elder Melvin J. Ballard, an apostle wrote of the experience he had of coming into the Lord’s rest P242-243 BOM institute manual:
“I found myself one evening in the dreams of the night in that sacred building, the temple. After a season of prayer and rejoicing I was informed that I should have the privilege of entering into one of those rooms, to meet a glorious Personage, and, as I entered the door, I saw, seated on a raised platform, the most glorious Being by eyes ever have beheld or that I ever conceived existed in all the eternal worlds. As I approached to be introduced, he arose and stepped towards me with extended arms, and he smiled as he softly spoke my name. If I shall live to be a million years old, I shall never forget that smile. He took me into his arms and kissed me, pressed me to his bosom, and blessed me until the marrow of my bones seemed to melt! When he had finished, I fell at his feet, and, as I bathed them with my tears and kisses, I say the prints of the nails in the feet of the Redeemer of the World. The Feeling that I had in the presence of him who hath all things in his hands, to have his love, his affection, and his blessing was such that if I ever can receive that of which I had but a foretaste, I would give all that I am, all that I ever hope to be, to feel what I then felt!”

This experience may or may not happen to you but one thing is certain we can’t have this “rest” unless we do something to get it-but how do we get that rest?
Alma 13:5 Says that we were foreordained to all we are supposed to do here on earth. Pres. Kimball expounds this: “Before we came here, faithful women were given certain assignments while faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood tasks. While we do not now remember the particulars, this does not alter the glorious reality of what we once agreed to. You are accountable for those things which long ago were expected of you just as are those we sustain as prophets and apostles!”

So all of us have duties-all of us have assignments we agreed to do before we came here-we are accountable to those if we do or don’t do them. That hardly seems fair does it? That, we are expected to do certain things then given the veil so that we would forget them? I know that the Lord doesn’t give us commandments that he knows we can’t do. So He gives us ways to remember- ways that we can DO and come into a remembrance, Ways that Do Not interfere with our agency. So, How do I “remember”? Well Alma tells us in 13:8 that as we use the priesthood, women included, by doing all the things listed at the beginning we can come into a remembrance of the things we were foreordained to do.
13:13 Out of all the many things listed in this chapter I chose this one that describes some of the basics, “Bring forth fruit meet for repentance” I looked up the footnote on that one and it took me to the TG under Baptism, Qualifications: Believeth, Repent, perfect faith, obedience, willing to serve God, born again, becometh as a child, broken heart, contrite spirit, take upon them Christ’s name, determination to serve, humble themselves, receive testimony.

So How does doing these things bring back our remembrance and then bring us into his rest?
I believe as we are obedient or we serve we “feel familiarity” We are doing and we stop and think-“this feels right-this feels good-I know what I am doing is right.” These thoughts and feelings comes because our spirit is coming into rest-we remember-we come closer to Christ-which brings us into “His rest”.

What amazing doctrine in here-Alma continues in Chapter 13 to tell us what coming into rest means and what to do to get more of it. But I believe you can read it on your own and there is so much more to cover. So we are going to move on to a couple of experiences Alma and Amulek have that bring him and others into remembrance and into “the rest of the Lord”.

Alma 14, the wicked people of Ammonihah are taking righteous people-the ones who are repenting and taking them and burning them 14:8
14:9 They made Alma and Amulek watch
14:10 Amulek says hey let’s use priesthood or Power of God to stop this, he was being led by his passion for right. Alma, on the other hand, was listening to the spirit.
14:11 Lord allows bad things to happen as witness against wicked-He takes up those Martyrs into his Glory.
14:22 Alma and Amulek are bound and put into prison
*all the while judges and lawyers come to taunt them, finally,
14:25-26 They are given a prompting that now they are able to use priesthood to burst the cords and make the prison crumble. We know they walked out. They use Priesthood to free themselves-they couldn’t save the others why? It was the Lords will that their lives end (That was what they agreed to do in the pre-existence, be a martyr) He couldn’t interfere in their foreordained purpose. Alma and Amulek still had things to do-work they had promised to do in the pre-existence.

Next experience that the priesthood is used is with Zeezrom. Chapter 15, The righteous people who escaped Ammonihah came into the city Sidom 15:3 Zeezrom, remember was the wicked Lawyer who was trying to trip up Alma a Amulek, he was sick because of his tribulations- this is a learning experience for me- sometimes when we hold onto guilt and pain, and fear, we cause physical problems for ourselves that can be healed, if we use the atonement and the Priesthood.
15:4 Zeezrom sends for Alma and Amulek
15:5-11 He is brought to Christ-He is blessed and healed, in fact he LEAPS from his bed. Why? Why, he being once wicked man, was he healed? 15:12 Clarifies this for us. He was baptized and from that time on he began to preach to people- What a great preacher he probably was, thanks to his preparation as a Lawyer, only he uses his voice for good now- He had come into a “remembrance” of who he was as he prayed and used the priesthood by asking for blessings and was baptized, and as he taught he came “into the rest of the Lord”
Hebrews 4:11 Says that as we labor for the Lord we enter into His rest. That is our Charge as well.

As for the people of Ammonihah?-the prophecy(Alma 8:16) of Alma was fulfilled in Chapter 16:9 They were destroyed in 1 day by the Lamanites, in fact the slaughter was so great and so many died, that no one could inhabit that land for many years because the stink was so bad.
We can have that fate or we can do all that is asked of us-the small things- that awakens our spirits to remembrance-perhaps your awakening comes as you are raising children, or serving in a calling, taking care of aged parents, going on a mission as a single person or couples. We all were foreordained to a work- all are different, but all are equally important to who you are and are becoming! Of this I testify! I also have a testimony of the Priesthood in my life and how it helps me know who I am! In the name of Jesus Christ AMEN