We had an interesting conversation today in our Sunday School class. It was related to the chapters we have been reading in The Book of Alma. The discussion was about why some people feel that repentance is painful. Many do. I have at times as well. We probably all have. To cut to the end of our discussion, that is the adversary trying to cause you to feel like it is not worth it to improve. It is not worth removing the guilt and shame of past mistakes. It is not worth the trouble or is not needed. None of those answers will remove the pain.

Alma and Amulek made choices and followed the Lord and their faith in Him. Alma chapter fourteen not only contains one of the more horrific scenes in the Book of Mormon, maybe in all of scripture but also provides a great example of choices made. God will not force us to do the right thing. He has given us our agency.

In Chapter 5 of Alma, Alma preaches to the church in Zarahemla. They are not doing as well as they should be doing, and Alma is called by the Lord to command them to repent. In the process, he asks many questions throughout his sermon. It was suggested in a Sunday School Class that these could be used for self-reflection and pondering.

Jesus told his followers, and we see in many other places in the scriptures, that all who ask will receive an answer.  All who seek will find, and all who knock shall have the way or the door opened to them.  I have wondered, probably like all of us at some point, if this is just an unlimited or unqualified promise for us.  Can I have anything I want just for the asking?

The true essence of wisdom lies not just in possessing it but in the very act of acquiring it. This notion is truly inspiring. The journey towards wisdom starts with the persistent desire and decision to 'get' wisdom.

The Lord has already won victory over death. He gives that freely to all. I sometimes think about, and am in awe of, how personal the rest of His gifts He gives us through the Atonement.

Our prayers are the daily verses. The story of our personal lives, the struggles we feel, the help we need, and the joys and the gratitude we feel all are written into our daily verses. The chorus becomes the weekly Sacrament Prayers

The word reason means to use the mind to think, understand, and form judgements. The Lord asks us to do that together with him. Sometimes we may need help from others to with this process. A priesthood leader or teacher is there to help. Sometimes we need help to reason it out from a therapist, or a professional. Sometimes there may even be medical attention needed to help us cleanse ourselves and our behavior of some sins. No matter the process needed for each person, it is comforting to me that we will be working with the Lord.

Isaiah gives us what it takes to wash ourselves clean. He tells us it is more than just not doing a bad thing, like life was made up of checklists or things to do and not do.

Whether it is media, food, people we spend time with, or any activity, we need to watch the type of things we consumed, how much we consumed, and for what reason we consumed it. Is it real and filling our soul, or is it temporary and “like a dream” that has no good effect on us.

We sometimes look at getting our voice heard as a way to combat the others around us who we see as being wrong, or full of wrath themselves, when we should be looking for a way to not stir up wrath inside our own minds. “Turneth away wrath,” is just as much an internal struggle as it is a struggle with those around us.

The bible or scriptures Jesus was referring in John 5 were what we would now call the Old Testament, or at least something close to it. When Jesus was speaking, Paul had not yet been converted. Mark, Luke, John, and Matthew were still learning, they had not written any of this down yet. None of the letters, or epistles, we now study in our New Testament had been written. As a matter of fact, the churches the letters were written too did not even exist yet.

I was listening to the Maxwell Institute Podcast about Isaiah 40-49 this week and I heard some good tips on how to better understand these chapters and Isaiah in general. I'll try to paraphrase them here in 3 points that stuck out to me, while adding in some my thoughts as well. Hopefully I can do them justice.

I’m watching a TV show tonight in my hotel and one of the characters has a secret note to herself written by ball point pen on her hand. It says “WWTDD”. (Meaning, “What would The Doctor do”)

I recently found a few words of Nehemiah helpful. He gave me some ideas to help in creating the environment I need for more positive thoughts. He mentioned the words “be no more a reproach” in one of his motivational speeches to the people of Jerusalem and it made me stop and think (Nehemiah 2:17). I wondered if I could take the rebuilding of the walls and gates of the city of Jerusalem as a metaphor, or maybe as an example, of how to guard against personal reproach.