WORDS WITNESSED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT 3

Alma continues his sermon, witnessed by the Holy Spirit, by asking a series of self-evaluation questions which probably should be put on all of our calendars more often than once a year. Some of us may need to rethink our relative standing in each of these areas daily, while others may get by with less frequent visits to the questions found in the Book of Alma, chapter 5 verses 27 – 31. It is obvious that Alma thought the list required frequent revisits, since he starts the list by asking if we were called to die at ‘this time’ and since none of us really knows when ‘this time’ will come for us, ‘every moment’ is probably an ‘appropriate time’ to reconsider where we are in our growth in these areas.

Have you been sufficiently humbled?

When I was younger and still had some physical and mental abilities which could be looked
upon as above average, once in a while I would find myself thinking (how do I say this) that I was definitely in a percentile well about average in certain areas. One or more of my family or friends would not so gently remind me that I wasn’t being very humble.

Memory doesn’t allow me to recall exactly the year or who the speaker was, but I know it was sometime during the period when our family was sacrificing so that I could earn my teacher’s advanced union card (Doctorate Degree) I received a spiritual awaking of what Alma was asking us to consider when he posed the question of whether we are sufficiently humble.

If we add the words as many Prophets have, ‘Humble before the Lord’ we begin to have a better understanding of how we are to judge our level of humility. First of all, we are all imperfect beings, so we have little to worry about when we compare ourselves to another weak and struggling creature residing in this mortal probationary state. Second, it is only when we begin to ‘become gods unto ourselves’ or begin to think ourselves to know better than God that we slip into becoming non-humble beings. It is the license we bestow upon ourselves to think we have no need of Heavenly Father’s help, love and mercy, but are powerful enough of ourselves to know all the questions as well as all the answers.

There is no doubt that Alma was convinced that we needed to frequently evaluated the relationship we have with Deity.

Have your garments been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ?

As long as I ‘continue in’ or ‘continue to return to’, ignore and break the covenants I have made because I have been given much my garments will remain stained, since the blood of Christ only removes the filth of those sins I have repented of.

I hope I stated this last sentence in such a way as to remind us that when a person lacks understanding or is incapable of understanding, Lehi taught us well that where there was no law there was no sin. Hence, only those who have been given, who have understood and made covenants with the Lord are capable of staining their garments.

I think it is also beneficial to note that Alma does not infer that the person has been stained, but only the superficial covering they wear. I think this is something we too often forget when making judgements about one another, that even though we or one of our neighbors may have broken a covenant they are not stained, but only the temporary apparel of their mortal state.

For those of us who have made covenants in the waters of baptism and in the House of the Lord, a frequent reevaluation of the degree to which the blood of Christ has cleansed our garments of the stains we have put upon them is another task which perhaps requires revisiting daily.

Have you been stripped of pride?

Although the kinship of this question to the one about being sufficiently humble is obvious and, therefore, does not require a revisit to the points which were made about that question, Alma does add a degree of urgency to the task of becoming sufficiently humble and stripped of pride when he reminds us, as long as we still put God as some kind of ill informed back seat driver who is wildly out of date, we are not prepared for what might come today or tomorrow.

For those of us who had the privilege of going though Primary in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it only takes the counting of a few years of our lives, when we didn’t have the understanding that we should act today as if it were the last day of our mortal lives. Alma reminds of this urgency when he says the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Although many of us are frequently reminded by the signs of the times that the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus the Christ is closer than it has ever been, Alma wants us to think of a more absolute condition which will befall each of us in the blink of an eye when we suddenly find we have returned to stand before our Heavenly Father giving our report of our mission to mortality.

Have you been stripped of envy?

I have no way of knowing what the daily challenge was for the people of Zarahemla in the year 83 B.C., but I do know that in this era of constant bombardment and invasion into our lives through technology, we are constantly being reminded of the much that they who have arrived enjoy and the much we lack.

We persistently have fame, accomplishments, possessions and everything that glitters constantly paraded before our eyes in an effort to stimulate our envyings and desires. No matter how many times we are told those things don’t make for happiness the channels to our carnal-ness are forever broadcasting propaganda of those wonderful and marvelous things others have and we lack.

Since most of us have built up an immunity against being struck down with any symptoms of guilt about our coveting and envying though the introduction of such justify ideas like, I don’t want my neighbors stuff, just something equal or better than theirs, it seems more than fitting that Alma would see fit to remind us that this area of our lives likewise needs to be under continual self critique.

Do you make a mock or heap persecution upon your neighbor?

Once again I have no idea how the Nephites of Zarahemla were mocking or persecuting their neighbor, but I have a strong suspicion that if they were to see how we have perfected this pseudo-talent they would be in a terminal state of debilitating shock.

I have no need to elaborate what is taking place in the world where mocking and persecuting is so prevalent between those on the left towards those on the right, those of different hues of skin color, those of different social status, those who sing different university songs along with a myriad of other ‘differents’ because we are all blasted with the hot air and damage which attends them during our daily lives.

Alma reminds us that even though the practice of mocking and persecuting might be prevalent and even acceptable to man in whatever era we might be having our period of trials and testings, we are to shun these practices. In fact we have been admonished to be publishers of peace, to speak kind words and to minister to one another.

I suspect like all of the questions proffered by Alma in these verses we need to frequently revisit where we stand in abstaining from mocking and persecuting of neighbors and we need to be constantly checking on our progress.

Personally, I am convinced that by concentrating on ministering peace and kindness to one another we will have to worry less about falling into the pit of mocking and persecuting.

Well, as I have been writing this Thought I have come to realize I have a lot to ponder about my progress for this Sabbath Day, so I will leave off writing and get to it.


THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY

EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY

PEACE - JOY - LOVE - FAITH - HOPE - CHARITY