Today’s Reading: Alma 36:1-17
3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
We are entering into one of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon; Alma’s counsel to each of his sons. There is so much information packed into these chapters that it would be impossible to cover it all in just a few posts. I love that these chapters are also like my patriarchal blessing; every time I read them, I learn something new or the spirit shows me something that I had not thought of before.
In this chapter, Alma is speaking to his son, Helaman. The very first thing that he does is issue a promise.
“…inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land.” [verse 1]
It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Keep the commandments and God will bless you. Well, my friends, it is just that simple. If you keep the commandments, you will be blessed. You may be blessed now, you may be blessed in the future, you may be blessed in the eternities, or a combination of all three, but you will be blessed. You will be blessed according to God’s plan for you, which may or may not include blessings that you would have chosen for yourself. Whatever the blessings may be, this I do know…God’s blessings are always better than the ones that I imagined for myself. What usually happens is that He tenderly takes my positive thoughts, dreams, and aspirations, and turns them into sweet experiences that teach me, bless me, and strengthen me to forge ahead.
I love what Alma does next; he instructs his son to learn from his (Alma’s) mistakes. How many times have I shared a story with my kids of something that I have done in my youth that I am hoping that they do not repeat? It is good for us to learn from other people’s experiences. Yes, we do have to have our own experiences, but God has blessed us with family members, friends, and associates who are older than us and have walked the path before us. We can and should take their advice to heart. After we have listened to what they have to say, it would be wise for us to take their words to God in humble prayer and ask him if we can somehow use their experience to avoid unnecessary heartache or grief in our own life.
Alma then shares his testimony with his son about how trusting in God is absolutely essential in order to be supported in your trials, troubles, and afflictions. I am only 38 years old, but in those 38 years, I have faced many trials, troubles, and afflictions. How grateful I am that I, like Helaman, had a wise and loving father and mother who taught me gospel principles and led me to God by their examples. How grateful I am that I chose to take their testimonies, teachings, and advice to heart. This does not mean that I have always trusted in God’s plan or that I have never had questions. It simply means that I have tried to follow Alma’s advice…put your trust in God. Some days I am really good at that and some days I am not. But this I do know, God is real. He loves me. He has a plan for me and if I keep his commandments, work on strengthening my testimony, and keep the covenants that I have made with God, I shall be supported in all that I do and all that I am faced with. He will be on my right hand and on my left and He will help me defeat the adversary.
I grew up the oldest of 5 children in the blazing heat of Southern Utah. After high school and some college experience I met and married Mark Ogden and we are the parents of four children. I have owned and operated my own home-based preschool for more than a dozen years, and I consider myself an accidental author as well. When I am not in my minivan transporting children from one activity to the next, I enjoy playing the piano, blogging, speaking about my life’s experiences, and feeding my insatiable crafting disease.