Alma's Lesson on Faith--Introduction

     As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I recognize The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ as a book of scripture that works with the Holy Bible to testify of the divinity of Jesus Christ.  From this wonderful book—The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ—comes one of my favorite passages of scripture focusing on faith.  This passage is found in the 32 chapter of the Book of Alma.

     Alma was called by God to serve as a prophet to the people of the Nephites not long before the coming of the Messiah.  Several years prior to this time, Alma had gone about fighting against the church of God and trying to destroy it.  Through the power of Holy Spirit, God revealed to Alma that this church was His church and instructed him to stop seeking to destroy it.  Alma heeded the word of God and became an excellent example of faith among the Nephites.  His faith became so firm that the Lord could trust him as prophet.

     Because Alma mistakenly fought against God in his early life, he had an opportunity to witness firsthand the merciful love of our Heavenly Father.  He personally endured the difficulty of repentance and felt the bountiful joy that comes from receiving forgiveness and mercy through the Atonement of Jesus the Messiah.  His experiences taught him just how vital faith is to the salvation of men.  He knew faith provides us strength to overcome the difficulties of repentance.  He knew faith provides us with the ability to endure the ridicule and scorn of friends, family, and colleagues in order to choose the will of God.  And he knew faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to obtain the eternal life promised to the faithful Disciples of Christ. 

     Alma wanted others to experience the precious joy that comes through repentance, just as he had.  So he devoted most of his time to teaching others about faith in the Son of God.  For this reason, Alma, along with several other men in his time, served missions among the people of the Nephites to teach them the word of God and exhort them to repentance and salvation.  One of these missions brought him to the city of the Zoramites.

     Corruption of the laws of God reigned among the Zoramites.  Many among the people worshipped false gods.  Pride and envy ruled among the people.  The poor were disdained instead of helped.  In fact, the poor had been cast out of their places of worship and were not allowed to worship God.  Alma was troubled by the wickedness of the people of the Zoramites.  He wanted to bring the people back to the one true God and started teaching different groups of people within the city.  He would teach them in synagogues, homes, and the streets—anywhere he could gain an audience.

     While he was instructing one group of people, Alma was approached by many of the poor people in the city.  They were poor in spirits because they weren’t allowed to worship God in the synagogues of the city which they had labored to build.  The scriptures leave the impression these people mistakenly thought they could only worship their God in these synagogues.

     Alma rejoiced to see this group of people because he knew their circumstances had prepared them to receive the messages of God.  They were prepared to accept the true gospel of Jesus Christ, repent, and come unto Him.  So Alma gave them a lesson about faith.  Chapter 32 of Alma contains that lesson.  I would like to spend a little time discussing what Alma teaches and shall begin next week.

     In the meantime there is an excellent lesson to be learned from Alma’s personal experience.  Alma demonstrates that faith brings us true joy through repentance.  Jesus Christ is the center of that joy.  It is through Him, and He alone, that we can find the peace and happiness that comes when we repent. 

     I exhort you to come to know Jesus Christ.  Study the scriptures that speak so abundantly of Him.  Search for opportunities to worship Him through prayer, fasting, and service.  Seek the joy that comes from repenting of our sins, mistakes, and weaknesses.  If you do, you will experience the eternal joy that Alma experienced. 

Simeon and Anna

     There is a part of the story of the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ that is often left out of the Christmas story.  This part of the story is told in the middle of the second chapter of Luke and takes place at the temple in Jerusalem.
    According to the Levitical law given to the Israelites by God at the time of Moses, a woman who had given birth to a child was considered unclean until a sacrifice was made on her behalf at the temple.  This sacrifice was to be two young pigeons or a pair of turtledoves.  Since Mary gave birth to a male child, her days of purification would have been 33 days.  (Leviticus 12)

     In addition to this, the firstborn children in Israel were considered holy before the Lord because of the sacred Passover that took place in Egypt when the Lord spared the firstborn children of the people of Israel.  This meant the firstborn child of a woman or an animal belonged to God (Exodus 13:2).  The firstborn children of animals that were considered clean according to the Levitical law were required as a sacrifice unto God.  

     The firstborn child of a woman, on the other hand, was to be redeemed by five shekels of silver according to the custom of the law.  This redemption was made to redeem the child from sacrifice.  According to Jewish tradition as I understand it, this is done after 31 days have passed since the birth of the child.  (Numbers 3:44-51)

     So, approximately a month after the birth of the Messiah, Joseph and Mary came to the temple of Jerusalem to fulfill the laws regarding the days of her purification and to present Jesus to the Lord at the temple according to the customs of the law.  A man named Simeon was at the temple waiting to see the young Lord.  He took the young Prince of Peace in his arms, blessed God, and blessed the family as he spoke of the destiny of the Anointed Son.  As he did so, a woman named Anna came upon them.  She rejoiced to see the Holy Child and proceeded to speak of Him unto those seeking redemption.

     Simeon and Anna are excellent examples of faith.  The scriptures tell us Anna had been a widow for 84 years and didn’t leave the temple.  She spent her days and nights fasting and praying unto the Lord.  This means this woman had devoted her life to God.  She would have been intimately familiar with the feelings of the Spirit.  She would have been prepared to meet her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  So, when she saw the Hope of Israel, she knew Him.  Even though it would have been hard to believe what Simeon was saying, she knew it was true because she knew God.  She rejoiced to see Him and proceeded to share this joy with those around her.

     Simeon was a just and devout man who waited for Jehovah.  His faith in the Messiah was so great that the Lord promised him he would not die before he had the opportunity to see the Holy One.  So, at the time Jesus was to be brought to the temple, the Holy Spirit guided Simeon to the temple to see Him.  He, too, knew the Lord when he saw the Blessed Child.  He rejoiced so much that he was carried away to proclaiming how glorious God was.

     When you look at the examples of Anna, you must ask yourself how you stand at this time.  Do you have enough faith in Jehovah to be worthy of having the Holy Spirit guide you to the place the Savior would come?  Would you recognize the Lord if He came before you?  Would you be able to recognize the truth if somebody else testified to you that Jesus had come?  Would seeing Him bring such joy into your soul that you would be carried away in praising God?  Would your joy at seeing Him be so great that you would have to share it with everyone else seeking Him?

The Shepherds

     “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them:  and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on the earth peace, good will toward men.

     “And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.”  (Luke 2:8-16)

     This is, of course, the story of the shepherds who were fortunate enough to hear the angels herald the birth of the Holy Babe Jesus.  I’ve always thought it was quite fitting that God would send the angels to inform shepherds of the birth of Christ.  God had commanded the Israelites to bring an unblemished lamb to the altars of sacrifice.  They were instructed to sacrifice this lamb so its blood could atone for their sins.  These lambs would be born with a shepherd witnessing their birth.

     Jesus was destined to become the last sacrifice, the great sacrifice that would atone for the sins of all the people of the earth.  He was to become the Lamb of God.  It seems to me only fitting that shepherds should witness His birth.

     Another interesting fact about this event comes through the words spoken by the angel to the shepherds.  He was in fact only speaking to these men standing watch over the sheep.  But the words this angel spoke apply to everybody who would ever live in this world.  He told these shepherds not to fear because Christ came into the world.

     Had the Savior never come to the world, all living beings would have reason to fear.  There would have been no redemption possible for the children of God without the sacrifices the Savior would make.  We would have come into this world, lived our lives, and died without any possibility of receiving our bodies again, for Christ would not have broken the bonds of death.  In our weaknesses we all sin.  Had Christ not sacrificed Himself for our sins, we would never have any way of being free of the chains of sin.  They would have pulled us down to an everlasting hell.

     So it was that without the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ all men had no hope.  All we could have was fear of death and hell.  But the Savior was born in the city of Bethlehem.  So the angel came to the shepherds and, through them, announced to the world that fear was concurred.  Fear not, for we have hope in the Eternal Son of God who had finally come into the world.

     I’ve always been impressed with the faith of these shepherds.  These shepherds depended on the herds of sheep for their livelihood.  Because of this, they devoted their lives to these sheep.  These men spent so much time caring for these sheep that the sheep became intimately familiar with them.  They trusted their shepherd and would come to him at the sound of his voice. 

     These men also came to know the sheep intimately and loved each one of them.  They cared for the safety of each and every one of them.  So it was that every night would find them tending to the flocks, watching over them to ensure no wild beasts came among them to harm the sheep.  So it was very unusual for anything to convince them to leave the herd on any evening.

     But these shepherds believed in the Messiah.  They knew how important the Savior was to the world.  When the angel told them the Messiah had come, not even their sheep could keep them from seeing their Lord and God.  So they left the herds and hastened to see their Lord, their Shepherd.  Do we have the faith these shepherds had?  Would we leave our jobs or any other means of living to find our Lord God?  Would we leave anything we love to come unto Christ because we value Him more?  Do we hasten to see our God?  I hope we can answer yes.

The Wise Men

    Part of the story of the birth of Christ involves wise men traveling from the east to see the Holy Infant.  (See Matthew 2:1-12.)  The verses of scripture that speak about these wise men are few.  Yet they are powerful verses for teaching us about faith in Jesus Christ.

     Tradition holds that there were three wise men because three different gifts were brought to the Lord Jesus.  Yet the scriptures never state how many wise men came to the Lord.  They do indicate there were at least two because the wise men are always spoken of in plural form.  But we actually don’t know the exact number of wise men who came to see their Lord Immanuel. 

     Another tradition about the wise men has them coming while the Lord was still a newborn in the stable in Bethlehem.  This has probably come about to make the telling of the Christmas story easier.  But the scriptures indicate Jesus was no longer in the stable and that a year or two had passed since His birth.  For example, when the wise men found Jesus, they found Him in a house.  Herod sent out his soldiers to kill all infants under the age of two, indicating time had passed.  It was also very likely that the wise men were following the new star that came at the time Jesus was born, meaning some time would have passed between His birth and the time they found Him.

     But it really doesn’t matter how many wise men there were or how long it took them to reach their Lord Jesus.  What matters is the obvious fact these men were men of God.  This is made very evident throughout their story. 

     The first piece of evidence these men were men of God is the fact they knew the scriptures concerning the birth of Jesus and quoted these scriptures to Herod.  They also knew what the star meant and knew they could follow it to the place of the Christ child.  This indicates these men spent a considerable amount of time studying the scriptures.  They trusted the words of the scriptures and looked forward to the time the Savior would come to earth.  They watched for the signs of His coming and were ready to respond when they saw these signs.

     We live in a time that has also been prophesied in scriptures.  The Lord has indicated through modern day prophets that His coming is nigh at hand.  The scriptures provide several prophecies of this time and the time of His Second Coming.  We can learn from the example of the wise men.  We can study the scriptures and learn the prophecies so we are ready when He comes again.

     Another excellent example of their faith comes from the manner in which they sought the Lord Jesus.  These wise men travelled from afar.  Undoubtedly this journey cost them a lot of money and time.  But these men were not concerned with the time it took.  They were not concerned with the money it would cost.  They were coming to see their Lord, and knew it would be worth any cost.  So they spent the money for the journey, they spent the money for precious gifts, and they gave a large amount of time so they could see their King Immanuel.  They had already come unto the Messiah in their hearts, and they demonstrated it by coming unto Him in their deeds as well.

     Do we have this kind of faith in our King Immanuel?  Do we know that no price is too high for finding our precious Lord?  Are we willing to sacrifice our time and earthly goods for the sake of coming unto Christ?  As the wise men knew, we must come unto Christ in our hearts and our deeds.  No price is too high, for the blessings that are gained by coming unto Him far exceed any cost.

     Finally we see the faith of these great men when they chose not to return to King Herod.  King Herod had asked them to bring him word of the Christ child so he, too, could worship at His feet.  But the wise men were warned of God not to return to Him.  They knew they were defying a man who ruled over the Jews.  But they didn’t care what title he carried, what money he had, or what power he carried.  God had given them instruction.  They would honor and obey God, not man.  What a great example for us to follow in our lives as well.

     The wise men who came to see Jesus were righteous men.  They had a testimony that the young child was the Son of God, the Chosen Messiah.  They knew that He would bring them life and liberty.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all have that testimony in our lives as well?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we would be willing to come unto Him and receive the blessings He has for us?

The Holy Babe

     In a few weeks, Christmas will be here again.  I love the Christmas holiday.  This wonderful holiday has been the time of year for celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  It’s true that the season is getting more and more commercialized as time goes on.  The focus on holiday shopping and spending seems to become more intense each year.

     Yet it seems to me that, no matter how intense the focus on holiday shopping gets, the goodwill of Christ permeates the atmosphere.  People start thinking more about those around them who are in special need of attention, love, time, or other support.  There seems to be an increased drive to look for the lonely person, the sick person, or the financially strapped person in our neighborhood so we can make sure they get the attention and Christmas spirit they deserve.  People just seem to care more about other people.

     You could argue that this increased feeling of goodwill and love towards others comes from a variety of things.  But the truth is it all stems from one source.  That source is the holy love of the Messiah.  The world has celebrated His birth on this holiday for so long that this season naturally carries Him with it.  Because of this His hallowed hand has touched this holiday and set it apart from the rest of the year.  For this reason His love permeates the hearts of the children of men at this time of year, and you just can’t help feeling an increased sense of care and concern for those around you. 

     As the Christmas holiday approaches, I want to turn the focus of my blog to the Christmas story—the birth of the Holy Child that took place approximately two thousand years ago.  This is truly one of the greatest stories in the history of the world.  In my opinion the only story greater than this is the story of the Atonement made by Jesus the Christ.  And, as you know, these stories are about the same being—Jehovah the Son of God.

     The story of the birth of the Savior indicates how precious, how pure, and ultimately how important this precious child would be.  His birth was heralded by angels.  Wise men brought Him precious gifts.  Shepherds would leave their flocks to see the face of the Holy Babe.  And yet the Hope of the Ages would come into this earth in a humble stable without any ceremony. 

     Make no mistake about it.  Jesus Christ was that child born in a stable.  Though He was meek enough to come into this world through humble circumstances, He is the Lord and King of this earth.  This little Christ child would one day conquer death and the grave, allowing all of us to live an eternal life.  He would pay the price of sin and grant us the hope of eternal glory.  He would save all who would come unto Him from the binding chains of hell.  Because of His love for us, He would come into this earth and sacrifice all for us.

     This is why the heavens rejoiced when Jesus Christ was born.  This is why we still celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ over two thousand years later.  This is why this season is so special.  And this is why we sing of that night:

                “Silent night!  Holy night!  All is calm, all is bright.

                “Round yon virgin mother and Child.  Holy Infant, so tender and mild.

                “Sleep in heavenly peace; sleep in heavenly peace.

                “Silent night!  Holy night!  Shepherds quake at the sight!

                “Glories stream from heaven afar; Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!

                “Christ, the Savior, is born!  Christ, the Savior, is born!

                “Silent night!  Holy night!  Son of God, love’s pure light

                “Radiant beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace,

                “Jesus, Lord, at thy birth; Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.”

 

     I’m so grateful that Jehovah would come into this world to sacrifice Himself for me.  I’m so grateful that He loved us to come and show us the way we need to live our lives in order to make it back Home.  I’m so grateful for that holy night when the Holy Babe was born in a stable.  And I’m grateful that I have the knowledge of this holy event so that I can celebrate it at this time.

Little Children

     As I’ve considered what to write this week, my thoughts have continually returned to my family.  I am an incredibly blessed man when it comes to family.  My parents are wonderful parents, who truly care about me and my life.  They do everything they can to help me with my needs and concerns.

     I’ve also had the good fortune of finding excellent in-laws.  They, too, truly care about my little family.  Like my parents, they carry our needs in their hearts and minds, and do everything they can to help my wife and me when we need it.  I’m certain nobody has better parents or in-laws than I do.

    Then there’s my wife.  I love my wife very deeply.  She works so hard to make sure our marriage is the best it could be.  She constantly searches for ways to be a better mother, and she is already a great mother.  Most importantly, she loves the One True God and seeks to serve Him in all she does.

     But my little girl is the one that my thoughts dwell on most.  I have the cutest little girl in the world!  (I confess I might be heavily biased with my opinion on that.)  This little one is so much fun to watch as she chases the cats around, waves bye-bye to the cars driving past our front window, and romps around the house making messes with anything she can find.  She has such a deep love for life and fun, and it’s endearing.

     Watching this little girl makes it incredibly easy to understand why the Savior carries such a deep love for little children.  It’s easy to understand why He would rebuke His disciples, insisting they allow the little children to come to Him and be blessed.  (The New Testament, Matthew 19:13-15)  It’s also easy to understand why He would come to the people of America and spend considerable time blessing all the little children in the congregation.  (The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ, 3 Nephi 17)

     As I’ve been thinking about my young one this week, I happened to read a talk given in the last General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Elder Shayne Bowen, one of the general authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke to the congregation and addressed those who had lost a little child.  He spoke about the loss of a little child in his family and how it tore at their hearts. 

    He continued to speak of the pain he felt and the anger that followed.  But he turned to the Lord in prayer and faith, asking for an ability to cope with the loss.  Through personal spiritual experiences, God helped him overcome the feelings of loss and helped him find hope in the promise of seeing the child again when he himself would leave this world.

     In the beginning of this talk, Elder Bowen spoke of a woman he met while serving as a full time missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He and his companion spoke with the woman about the age of accountability. 

     Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints turn to revelation in The Book of Mormon:  Another Testament of Jesus Christ (Moroni 8), The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (D&C 137 and 138), and other supporting scriptures to learn that little children are not held accountable before God until they reach the age of eight.  God has declared children who reach the age of eight have enough understanding to know the difference between good and evil.  They then become accountable before Him for that which they know.

     This woman had lost a child several years earlier.  The leader of a local church had informed her this child was condemned to an eternal state of limbo because he hadn’t been baptized.  For many years she lived with grief because she believed this was true.  Many children die during birth or before they can be baptized.  And unfortunately many parents live with guilt because they have been taught these children cannot enter the rest of the Lord because they weren’t baptized.

     Yet this teaching contradicts the love Jesus has demonstrated for little children.  Jesus the Atoning One sacrificed everything for the inhabitants of the world, making it possible for them to come again into the presence of the Eternal God.  How could the Loving Christ make this sacrifice and fail to make it possible for children, whom He loves so much, to return to God simply because they weren’t baptized, especially when so many don’t even have a moments opportunity to be baptized?

     It defies all logic and reasoning to believe this could be the case.  I know it isn’t the case.  The sacrifice Jesus made accounted for little children.  He made it possible for little children under the age of eight to enter into the rest of God without baptism.  He loves these children more perfectly than we do and He wouldn’t fail to make sure they had hope in Him just as the rest of the world can have.  His atonement saves them.

To read the talk given by Elder Bowen, visit http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/because-i-live-ye-shall-live-also?lang=eng.

Obtaining the Promised Land

     After the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, they spent some time fulfilling the commandments of God.  This included circumcising the men, keeping the Passover, and preparing their own meals from the fruit of the land (the Lord stopped sending manna).  This time would soon pass, however, and the time would finally come to take the city Jericho.
     Jericho was a walled city.  When I think about battles of old where one side is trying to take a walled city, I think of battles like those in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  There should be siege engines like battering rams and ladders.  The battles are vicious and many soldiers die over the course of the fighting.  You would think the battle for Jericho should be the same type of battle.
     Yet the Lord God had a different plan.  He was going to let the children of Israel know just how much He would stand at their head and fight their battles for them.  So an angel was sent to give Joshua instructions.  The armies of Israel were commanded to march around the city once per day for six days.  On the seventh day the army would march around the city seven times, blow on their horns, and shout.  After they had followed the Lord’s command and completed these activities, the walls of the city would fall and the children of Israel would be able to take command of the city.
     Joshua gave the commandments to his people.  They marched around the city for the next seven days and shouted at the appropriate time.  The walls of the city fell and the children of Israel possessed the land without any loss of life that we have record of.  They conquered the city in what I believe is one of the easiest recorded battle victories in the history of the world.
     Spend a few minutes thinking about the message the Lord is trying to give us through this story.  The children of Israel in this story represent each and every one of us individually.  The Lord has a promised land for us to possess.  That promised land is a celestial existence with God.  It’s a life living like God.  It involves eternal increase and glory, infinite happiness and joy, and constant companionship with our families and God.
     The problem is there are walls standing between us and this promised land.  The children of Israel faced the walls of Jericho as they began their journey into their land of promise.  We face walls of trials, troubles, and tribulation.  And the walls are different for each of us.  For some of us these walls come in the form of physical ailments such as diabetes, cancer, and multiple sclerosis.  Some face walls of the mental nature, such as clinical depression, Alzheimer’s disease, or anxiety.  Some face walls of temptation, sin, and transgression.
     It doesn’t matter what the wall is.  The simple fact is we all face some sort of wall in our journey to the promised land of bounty the Lord has extended to us.  In fact we will most likely face many of these walls.  The children of Israel did as they conquered the inhabitants of the land.  We will as we conquer the obstacles we face. 
     As we come across these walls in our lives, we ought to be able to turn to this story for comfort.  There’s a simple reason why this story should be comforting to us.  It’s the message the Lord has given us.  That message is that He knows what walls we face, and He knows how to help us conquer them.  All we have to do is follow the instructions He gives us with faith.  He will take care of the rest.
     Now I want to clarify something at this point.  This story does not serve as a promise to the ease with which your wall will fall.  The children of Israel had what seemed to be an easy victory over their wall at this time.  But later in their history we learn the Israelites had some more difficult walls to overcome.  Our walls could fall tomorrow.  They could fall in two weeks, two months, two years, or two decades.  It may even be that we have to face this wall for the rest of our mortal life, tasting victory only when we come before Jesus in hope and faith to face our judgment. 
     The promise is that the Lord our God stands ready to help us with our walls and that He will ultimately help us conquer the walls after we have obediently and faithfully done all He asks of us.  Furthermore we have the promise that the land of promise is ours after we follow Him in faith.  We will stand in the bountiful land, partaking of the delicious fruits of eternal life.  This is the promise given through this story (and so many other stories in the history of the scriptures).  This is our promise from God for faithful obedience.

Parting the River Jordan

     After Joshua sent the spies into Jericho, the time finally came for the people of Israel to cross the River Jordan as the Lord commanded.  At this point it seems important to me to acknowledge some of the circumstances surrounding the people of Israel.  For several generations the people of Israel were ruled by the Pharaohs of Egypt, not by leaders anointed by God.  Moses was the first.
     Unfortunately this lack of a spiritual leader allowed many of the descendants of Israel to grow accustomed to the Egyptian beliefs in deity.  The plagues of Egypt were specifically designed to allow the Lord God to demonstrate the Egyptian Gods had no power.  Only He did.  Then He buried Pharaoh, who was considered a god in Egypt, in the depths of the Red Sea, fully establishing Himself as God. 
     He did this not only to declare Himself God to the Egyptians (thus convincing them to let the Israelites depart), but also to reclaim His rightful place in the eyes of the Israelites.  He was their God, the only true God, and always would be.  In addition these miracles were performed through Moses, establishing him as the mouthpiece—the prophet—of God.  Ironically the Israelites, as discussed a couple weeks ago, still struggled obeying God and following His prophet.
     Forty years later the mantle of leadership would be placed on a new man—Joshua.  This time the children of Israel had become a new group of people.  These people had come to know and trust God.  They also trusted His leader.  So when the Lord gave guidance and direction to Moses, they obeyed.  When the Lord called Joshua to take the place of Moses, these people had faith in God and followed Joshua.
     As the Lord commonly does with those who wish to follow Him, he decided to test the faith of the people of Israel.  When Moses and the people of Israel were trapped by the Egyptian Armies on the shores of the Red Sea, the Lord God departed the large body of water.  The people were allowed to cross the sea on dry ground without ever getting their feet wet. 
     Now the people of Israel stood by the banks of the River Jordan.  No army pursued them.  In fact they were to become the army moving into a land they had never been in.  Yet the Lord God commanded the priests of Levi to stand in the river, actually in it, with the sacred Ark of the Covenant in order to prepare the way for the people of Israel.  This time, with these people who carried more faith than their predecessors had, a demonstration of their faith was required.
     The priests of Levi did enter the waters of the River Jordan in faith.  The Lord then caused the waters to depart in the same way that He had with the Red Sea.  In this manner He rewarded the faith of the Israelites while profoundly declaring He would stand by Joshua just as He had Moses.  The people of Israel were willing to follow Joshua because they believed He was called of God.  Now God had confirmed it.
     Amazingly we have no record of any complaints by this second group of people.  The Israelites who departed out of the land of Egypt were shown several signs and wonders even when they did almost no work to earn these miracles.  They even often complained about the signs and miracles they saw.  Yet this second group of people was asked to do more work to get the same sign their ancestors received.  They did so with no indication they complained about the task before them.
      Now imagine your life.  Has the Lord asked you to do some work so He can bless you?  I can read the scriptures and know there isn’t anybody reading this blog who can answer no to this question.  All of us have been asked to show our faith by works.  In return the Lord has promised blessings.  I’m also familiar with the way the Lord works.  I know that anyone who places their faith in God will be asked to demonstrate their faith through their works in more ways than those presented in the scriptures.  So I know that all of us must answer yes to the question above.  The Lord has asked us to do some work so He can bless us.
     Are you doing it without complaint?  This is the example the Israelites set for us.  This is what the Lord wants us to learn.  He never asks anything of us that won’t come back to bless us in the long run.  For the Israelites the blessings of their faith came through the parting of the River Jordan.  Ultimately it would also lead to a strong nation settled within the borders of the land of Israel.  And eternally it would lead to a place with God in the courts of heaven.
     So where will your faith and obedience take you?

Faith in the One True God

     When Moses led the children of Israel to the land of Abraham the first time, they lacked the faith to enter the land.  As mentioned in last week’s post, only two stood with the prophet Moses on the side of God when fear gripped the hearts of the children of Israel.  God promised these two entrance into the Promised Land, but the rest of that generation would spend their days wandering in the wilderness and never enter the land of Israel.
     So the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years.  The older generation who lacked the faith to follow God had all passed away.  During these forty years the older generation raised their youth in the wilderness, teaching these children to have the faith in God their parents had lacked.  When the older generation passed away, all save the two who stood with the prophet (Joshua and Caleb), the time came for the younger generation to enter their promised home.  
     Moses led the children to the borders of the land, where the Lord God commanded him to leave the children of Israel.  The Lord’s chosen people would be required to cross the river Jordan and enter the land of Jericho without Moses.  Joshua, the faithful servant who had demonstrated his faith in God forty years earlier, would take charge of leading the people. 
     God spoke to Joshua and commanded him to prepare the people to enter the Promised Land.  Joshua gave the commandment just as God commanded and sent spies to learn about the city of Jericho.  When these spies came into the city, the king tried to capture them.  Fortunately a woman in the city hid the men from the king, and then helped them escape.  Before they departed she declared she knew the Lord had given the land to the children of Israel and asked to be spared when the city was taken.
     I want to speak for a moment about the faith of this woman.  This woman probably grew up in a land that didn’t know God.  She wasn’t with the children of Israel witnessing the miracles of the Lord.  And she had made lifestyle choices that went contrary to the commandments of God.  Yet she and the people of the land of Jericho had received word of the power of the Lord God in preserving the people of Israel.  While the king chose to stand against the armies of Israel, this woman recognized who was at the head of these armies.
     Part of what amazes me so much about this woman is the choice she then made.  While her king and her country prepared to stand against the armies of Israel, she chose to aide these armies.  She undoubtedly knew that the Lord had spared none of the armies of Egypt from destruction in the Red Sea, so she had no reason to believe any in the city of Jericho would be spared.  Yet she knew the Lord God was at the head of the armies of Israel, so the armies of Jericho couldn’t prevail.  She probably knew her only hope of being spared came through the God, and she chose to put her hope and faith in that possibility.
     Think about the risk this woman was taking.  She was defying her king.  She would probably have died if he found out.  She lived in a house that must have been along the outer walls of the city, or she wouldn’t have been able to help the spies escape as she did.  This means she would have known her home was in a dangerous place for an invading army.  So it was very likely she would have died in the attack.  She would have also known there was a possibility, even though the men promised to save her and her household, that something would have gone wrong and the armies of Israel would fail to spare her should they prevail.  Yet she believed God was her hope for salvation, and she followed that hope.
     Jericho was taken by the armies of Israel.  When the city fell, none of the inhabitants of the city were spared except this remarkable woman and her household.  Her faith was rewarded.
     There is an incredible parallel in our lives.  We live in a time when the powers of good and evil stand against each other.  This world has become a battleground for the souls of those living here.  Nobody on this earth can stand free of the battle.  All of us must make a choice between good and evil.  That which is good is anything that stands on the side of God.  That which is evil is anything that stands against Him.
     Ultimately good will prevail against evil.  It doesn’t matter how big and powerful the walls are that surround evil.  They will fall.  It doesn’t matter how much strength evil carries into the battle.  Ultimately that strength will fail.  God will prevail.
     We have but one hope in this battle between good and evil.  We have only one chance for salvation.  Ultimately that salvation can only be one salvation, and that is eternal salvation.  Only through Jesus Christ can we hope to achieve it.  Only through the power of His Atoning Sacrifice can we have the blessings of eternal salvation.  Our very souls depend on Him.  And only through exercising faith in Him can we achieve it.
     Thousands of years ago, war and battle would have claimed the life of a woman in Jericho.  She chose to exercise faith in the One True God, and as a reward she survived the battle and had a longer life.  Today the battle between good and evil threatens to tear eternal life from us.  If we choose to exercise faith in the One True God, eternal life will be ours.

The Children of Israel: Faith versus Doubt

     One of the stories of the Old Testament that I really enjoy takes place when the children of Israel are finally allowed to enter the Promised Land.  The Israelites had escaped the captivity of Egypt with the promise of returning to the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Unfortunately the land of their forefathers had become occupied with many other people, and the Israelites would be required to conquer the land in order to possess it.
     Their escape from Egypt had been miraculous.  The Lord God sent what has become known as the seven plagues of Egypt in order to convince Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go.  He finally did, but regretted it after they left.  So he pursued them to the banks of the Red Sea.  God parted the Red Sea and allowed the Israelites to cross on dry ground.  Then the armies of Egypt, who had foolishly tried to follow Israel through, were buried in the depths of the large sea.
     The children of Israel had not learned from these miracles unfortunately.  When they came to the borders of the land of Israel, they sent scouts into the land.  Two of the scouts, Joshua and Caleb, returned with wonderful news about the bounties of the land.  The other ten scouts, however, brought news of giants and great armies.  The people of Israel listened to the ten scouts and fear gripped their heart.  Though a few of the people, including Moses and the scouts, believed in God and knew they could take the land under His guidance, the majority turned aside in fear.
     So the people of Israel, because of their doubts and fears, were given a new course by God.  They would wander the wilderness until the entire population of doubting people had passed away.  Their children, and the two spies who brought good reports, would be allowed to see the bounties of the land of Israel, but the doubting parents never would.  So for forty years they wandered the wilderness as the old generation passed away and the new generation took their place.
     Moses was allowed to see the land promised to Israel, but he wasn’t allowed to enter.  He had made the mistake of taking credit for God’s work at one point while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness.  As a consequence of his sin, Moses was told by God he would see the land but not enter it. 
     Moses did repent of this mistake, and God forgave him because of his faith and righteousness.  But the promised consequence of his mistake was not removed.  He came to the borders of the land, but didn’t enter.  Thus Joshua, one of the spies that brought good reports about the land to begin with, was given command over the people of Israel and would lead them in to possess it.
     The stories of faith I wish to speak of take place after this point in the story.  Before turning to these stories, however, I can’t pass up the opportunity to comment on the excellent lessons of faith we can learn from these events told above.  So the stories following these events will need to wait until next week.
     This series of events demonstrates a situation where people chose not to exercise faith in God.  The children of Israel who were brought out of the land of Egypt had spent many generations growing up in a land where false gods were worshipped.  Unfortunately their knowledge of the One True God was tainted by the Egyptian belief in these false gods.  These false gods, however, couldn’t perform miracles.
     Then Moses was sent by God to perform miracles to free the children of Israel.  There is no doubt He could have freed them through many more subtle methods than the ones He chose.  Yet the method used by God to free the children of Israel made a profound declaration to the people of Israel and the Egyptians. 
     God was quite literally declaring Himself the Alpha and Omega, the One Almighty God.  The plagues of Egypt were a demonstration of just how little power—none—the Egyptian gods carried.  Burying Pharaoh and his armies in the Egyptian sea destroyed the last god of the Egyptians.  God unequivocally declared Himself God.  None of the Israelites could deny it.
     Yet many of the children of Israel had to be slain shortly thereafter.  In foolish rebellion they chose to worship an idol, turning back to the false gods they had just seen destroyed.  Those who were spared were those who chose not to worship these false gods, but instead chose to wait for the One True God to command them.
     These are the people that came to the borders of the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the first time.  They had learned of God.  They had seen Him destroy the most powerful army on the earth.  They had learned just how much could be done when He fought their battles for them.  This is why the scene we see at the borders of their land of promise is such a tragedy.
     God promised these people, through the mouth of His prophet, that He would go before them and fight their battles.  They knew He had the power because they had seen it.  Yet the majority of them baulked at the task before them.  They feared to enter the land of giants because they feared they couldn’t defeat these giants, even with God as their head.  Their fear conquered their faith.
    Is it any wonder why God denied them access to the land before them?  They had seen His power, but they refused to put their faith in Him.  As a consequence, they would not reap the rewards that only faith could have given them.  They would not receive the bounties of the land of Israel.  Instead they would wander through the trials of the wilderness so they could learn the faith they lacked.

     In contrast two men stood boldly before the people and declared the goodness of the land.  When ten spoke against the Lord and the majority of the people doubted, two men had the courage to stand with the prophet of God and declare their faith in the Almighty.  Those men were Joshua and Caleb.  Because of their faith they would get the opportunity to enter the bountiful land when Israel was allowed to return.  All the rest of Israel would pass away, but Joshua and Caleb would enter the beautiful land.

     We have wonderful witnesses of God around us.  He is always showing His power to those who have open eyes and hearts willing to watch for it.  I know He is often very subtle in the way He shows this power.  We rarely get the opportunity to see profound declarations He is the One True God from Him because He works through small and simple means most often. 

     Yet those small and simple miracles that testify of God are there.  We can see them if we chose to look for them in faith.  The question is will we have the faith to watch for them?  And when we see these witnesses of the power of God, what will we do with them.  Will we let this witness swell within us, helping our faith in God to grow?  Or will we allow fear and doubt to take command of our hearts, denying us the blessings He wishes to give us?

 

For a complete account of the stories represented here, turn to the books of Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua in the Old Testament portion of the Holy Bible.

Joseph of Bethlehem

     Throughout the mortal life of Jesus Christ, He touched the lives of many incredible men and women of faith.  Many of these people of faith probably had a good impact on His life as well.  His mother, Mary, and her husband, Joseph, were two excellent examples of faith and probably had a large impact on the faith of Jesus Christ.  Today I wish to focus on the faith of Joseph.

     Joseph was a man of God with incredible faith.  The simple fact he was chosen to be the father of the Only Begotten Son of God is enough to teach us this fact.  Jesus would come to earth with the same knowledge as the rest of us, meaning He would have to grow up learning by faith and trust.  It’s very obvious that He would only be entrusted to the care of parents with incredible faith.  This is why Mary and Joseph were chosen.

     Fortunately the scriptures give us more evidence of the fact Joseph was a man of faith than this reasoning.  The scriptures give us very little history from the life of Joseph.  Yet the stories found in the New Testament of the Holy Bible demonstrate the faith of this incredible man.  These stories help us understand why Heavenly Father would trust the Joseph to teach His Son the faith He would need to fulfill His mission in life.

     The first of these stories comes before Joseph and Mary were engaged.  Mary was betrothed to Joseph when she was visited by the angel and informed she would give birth to the Son of God.  Mary undoubtedly knew this could bring hardship to her life.  Many would mistakenly believe she was promiscuous and unfaithful to her betrothed when they found out she was with child.  She could be publicly humiliated and rejected by Joseph.  Yet she trusted Heavenly Father and chose to accept the privilege of being the mother of Jesus.

     When Joseph found out Mary was with child, he did mistakenly believe she had been unfaithful to him.  Any man betrothed to an unfaithful woman had the right to make a public example of her, and Joseph would have known this.  But this would have destroyed the life of Mary.  Joseph was a righteous man who loved God.  So he had no desire to ruin the life of Mary, even though he thought she had made a terrible choice and given up her morality and virtue.  So he decided to “put her away privily”.

     Then he had a dream.  In this dream an angel of God appeared to Joseph and told him what had happened with Mary.  He was commanded to take Mary as his wife, name the child Jesus, and raise Him as his own.  This is where we first see just how much faith Joseph had.  He wouldn’t have known for sure that this dream was from God. 

     But he knew the impressions this dream had left upon him.  And he believed they were from God.  So he acted with faith and did as he was instructed.  Joseph took Mary as his wife and refrained from consummating the marriage until after Jesus was born.  He then named the child as he had been instructed and raised Him as his own son.  He taught the Son of God to believe in Heavenly Father.  And from the lessons Jesus received from Joseph and Mary (and probably from angels of God, though this form likely started when He was a few years old), He learned how to be the chosen Messiah.

     At the time Jesus was born, a man named Herod was allowed by Rome to rule over the people of Jerusalem.  He learned from wise men who were seeking Jesus that the true King of Israel had been born.  He feared he would lose his kingdom to this child, so he sought to kill him.  He asked the wise men to bring him word of the location of Jesus so he could also go worship Him. 

     But the wise men figured out Herod’s wicked plan.  When they found Jesus, a couple years after his birth, they worshipped Him as they desired.  Then they departed without returning to Herod.  Herod decided to kill all the children old enough to be Jesus to eliminate the threat.

     Joseph was warned in a dream this was about to happen.  He probably again had a few doubts, but he knew the feeling he was left with again.  So he obeyed this dream just as he had the earlier dream.  He took Mary and Jesus to Egypt to await for the Lord’s command to return.  In this way he saved Jesus from death at the hands of the soldiers of Herod.

     Joseph obeyed dreams from God twice more that we have record of in the scriptures.  This is the pattern of faith we see from the life of the man chosen to be the father of Jesus.  Though he would have had doubts, he trusted the impressions given to him by dreams.  And he obeyed in faith.

     The Lord communicates to each of us differently.  At times some of us will have dreams like Joseph did.  Sometimes we receive communication from God through other people around us.  Most often communication from God comes from the Holy Spirit through small impressions. 

     No matter how God chooses to communicate to us, we will find there is room for doubt.  What matters is how we choose to look at these communications.  Will we act with faith as Joseph always did?  Or will we foolishly turn aside?  Will we trust that God loves us enough to communicate to us?  Or will we foolishly believe there has to be some scientific explanation to the feelings, dreams, or impressions we get and it couldn’t be from God?

     Joseph had the wisdom to follow the promptings given to him.  I hope I can learn from his example and always follow the promptings of God in my life.  And I hope you can as well.

Abraham

     One of the greatest examples of faith in the scriptures comes from Abraham.  Many different versions of scriptures carry the story of Abraham found in the Old Testament portion of the Holy Bible.  In the King James Version of the Holy Bible, and in many other versions, his story is contained in The Book of Genesis chapters 12 through 25.

     Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognize another book of scripture that contains additional stories from the life of Abraham.  That book of scripture is called The Book of Abraham and is contained in The Pearl of Great Price.  Many of these stories help us know more about the faith of Abraham, and I want to share a little of this history before going into what I believe is the most famous example of faith Abraham gives us.

     Abraham, who was called Abram at the time, lived in Ur, the land of the Chaldeans, with his family.  He tells us his fathers turned from God and started worshipping false gods.  This included offering up human sacrifices upon altars.  Abraham knew the paths of God and decided to pursue them.  He sought for the birthright blessing of the Holy Priesthood (the power of God given to righteous men to serve the disciples of Christ).  He refused to worship the false gods of the land.

     Because of this Abram was taken to the altar to become a human sacrifice.  He tells us that three virgins were offered as sacrifices upon this altar at one time because they also refused to worship the false gods.  This alone shows the faith of Abraham (and the three virgins).  He was willing to die because he loved Christ and believed it would be better for him to die on the altar of false gods than to turn from Him.

     When Abram was bound and placed on the altar for sacrifice, he cried to God for help.  Abram probably didn’t know God would deliver him.  In fact, he probably thought chances were God wouldn’t deliver him, unless he had been given a blessing or some other indication he wouldn’t be slain at this time.  After all, for whatever wise purpose He had, God had allowed the three virgins to be slain.  Why should He preserve the life of Abram?

     But Abram knew God had the power to deliver him, and he undoubtedly hoped God would.  So he cried out in faith and hope to God.  This demonstrates great faith to me as well.  He wouldn’t deny God, but would instead call upon Him when bound by those who would harm him because of his faith.

     God had plans for Abram that didn’t include death, however.  So the heavens opened and Abram beheld a vision of Jehovah and the angels of God.  These angels released him, and God gave to Abram great promises and covenants.  Abram’s faith would carry him to even greater covenants with God, and God would rename him Abraham.

     If this was the only story of faith Abraham would have to teach us, it would be enough.  But Abraham lived a life of faith that gives us so much more.  He demonstrates faith as he travels to foreign lands and faces kings and rulers.  He demonstrates faith when he bargains with Lot for a place to dwell.  He demonstrates faith when he later delivers Lot from foreign rulers.  And he demonstrates faith when he pleads for any that might be righteous in the forsaken lands of Sodom and Gomorrah.

     But what appears to be the most famous story of faith from the life of Abraham comes after Sarah bears him her first child.    Abraham had longed to have children with Sarah, but none had been forthcoming.  God finally sent angels to Abraham and Sarah to promise them a son.  Sarah, in her old age, would give birth to that child and name him Isaac.

     Then God asked of Abraham the greatest sacrifice He could have asked.  He asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.  Abraham had prayed, probably with a great deal of fasting and pleading, for children from Sarah.  God had finally given him one.  And then God asked Abraham to sacrifice that child.

     Keep in mind that we just talked about how Abraham was nearly offered to a false God as a human sacrifice.  He knew what it was like to lie on an altar contemplating your death at the hands of another person.  Now the One True God had asked Abraham to place his son in the same position.  But it would be worse for Isaac, for his own father would be the one performing the sacrifice! 

     Abraham would have known this.  He was no doubt torn with heartache by this terrible request.  And he no doubt didn’t understand it.  Our Heavenly Father was not a god of human sacrifice.  How could He ask for a human sacrifice now?  And why did it have to be his son Isaac while Abraham performed the terrible task?  This was the most difficult thing God could have asked from Abraham.

     Abraham knew God well, however.  He knew God wouldn’t ask this of him without a reason.  So there had to be a purpose.  This is why Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, a son he loved very much.  He built the altar, bound Isaac, and lifted the knife to slay him.

     Now the truth is God didn’t want Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.  He has never been a god of human sacrifice, nor would He ever be.  All God was doing was giving Abraham an opportunity to prove to himself just how much he would give up for the Lord God.  God was building the character and faith of this great man. 

     So when Abraham had gone to the brink of slaying his son as commanded, God intervened and stopped him.  He commended Abraham’s faith and provided an animal sacrifice for him.  Then God blessed Abraham for his great faith.

     I can’t help but marvel at this incredible faith.  Abraham was willing to sacrifice that which he loved most, the son he had waited years for, because God asked him to do so.  He was also willing to do so in a manner he undoubtedly abhorred.  This was because of his faith in God.

     So this is the lesson for us to learn.  We should be willing to sacrifice anything the One True God asks of us.  Are you willing to give up that which you hold most dear should God ask it of you?  For that matter, are you willing to give up the things that don’t matter that much to you when God asks you to?  If the answer is no to either of these questions, what can be done to help your faith grow so the answer becomes yes?  It’s time for you to find out and make the change.