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.