ALMA’S BLESSINGS TO HIS SONS (SHIBLON) 4

During our visit with Elder L. Tom Perry and his wife, when Kathleen and I were being set apart as the leaders of the Colombia Bogota Mission, which was later made into two missions while we served (we were never set apart as the leaders of the newly formed Colombia Bogota North Mission, although we served the majority of those wonderful three years serving over that mission); anyway, I remember two items of counsel which he gave us during that meeting. First, I had asked him about what our relationship with the missionaries should be and his response was to love them unconditionally, which we tried to do and continue to do. The other counsel was that we would be spending 90% of our time worrying and struggling to help 10% of the missionaries and that there would be 10% of our missionaries who would serve perfectly even if we had no interaction with them and would even aid us in our ministry. Elder Perry also said that the other 80% would occupy the other 10% of our time.

During my years of ministering in church callings I have found Elder Perry’s formula to be fairly universally applicable.

As I read the blessing of Alma to his son Shiblon, whose relationship to his brother Helaman seemed to be much like that of Sam’s relationship was to Nephi and that both Shiblon and Sam seem to be representative of the 80% who only need occasional and normal assistance during their life’s journey, while Helaman and Nephi were representative of the 10% who need no tending to motivate them to serve perfectly and in fact spend their lives diligently ministering. We can also see that Laman (Lemuel just seems to be one of those companions who is willing to be led astray) and Corianton represent the 10% who seem to occupy 90% of the ministering time of those who have been called to positions of ministering.

As I was pondering on the words of Alma chapter 38 which contains Alma’s blessing to his son Shiblon and as a list of the attributes of the 80% came clearly into my mind, I felt my heart leap with gladness, because I have always been content to be counted as part of this majority group of society as well as the church who walk life’s paths needing only minimal help from the Lord’s anointed.

We who are like unto Sam and Shiblon!!

Strive to give ear to the words of Lord’s anointed.

Are filled with the wisdom that the path towards Eternal Life is lit by the Savior Jesus the Christ.

Believe in and strive to keep the Lord’s commandments.

Find our hearts filled with joy as we strive to be steadfast in faithfulness.

Recognize our blessings as we strive to endure to the end.

Strive to add to our faithfulness diligence, patience and long suffering.

Strive to add to our diligence the attributes of temperance and humility.

Trust in the Lord that he will deliver us out of our trials.

Being filled with His love we begin to understand what it means to be born again.

Believe that we will be lifted up unto Eternal Life at the last day.

Believe the testimonies of those who have had marvelous revelations and have been administered to by angels.

Strive to become publishers of peace and love of the gospel.

Strive to refrain from idleness.

Strive to refrain from feeling superior.

Strive to understand and live according to the characteristics which should attend the universal kinship of mankind.

Acknowledge their unworthiness before God at all times.

Although it may be true that we who are like unto Sam and Shiblon may need minimal attention from those who have been placed in stewardships over us, never the less, as this list which is found in
Alma the Son of Alma’s blessing to his son Shiblon indicates, our attention is drawn to just one more reminder of the constancy of self-ministering we need to be attending to with all vigilance.


THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY

EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY

❣️THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO ➡️ HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE ➡️ INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY❣️ = 💞THE GOOD LIFE💞