READING ASSIGNMENT FOR DECEMBER 3
Alma 43-49
NO CLASS NEXT WEEK--HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Alma 40-42
NO CLASS NEXT WEEK--HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
READING FOR DECEMBER 3
Alma 45-50
ALMA'S DOCTRINAL STUDY
39: 15-19 The Coming of Christ
40: 1-14 The State of the Soul between Death and the Resurrection
40: 15-26 The Resurrection
41: 1-15 The Plan of Restoration
42: 1-10 The Justice of God and Probation of Humankind
42: 11-28 Justice and Mercy
42: 29-31 Alma’s Final Counsel to Corianton
NATURE OF REVELATION
“…revelation, ancient or modern, cannot be simplistically equated with ‘factual correctness.’ Rather, we should understand revelation, even canonized modern revelation, as a process, a progression along a spectrum of correctness. Revelation is not static nor even a straight line of upwards progress, but a mediated human-divine dialectic process which sometimes becomes frozen as scripture. Think of scripture as a snapshot in time of the progress that is being made through revelation at a certain time, place and context. Scripture thus contains human elements and understanding common to the time. This can account for differences between inspired texts, which according to common assumptions should be identical.”
Ben Spackman, https://www.fairmormon.org/conference/august-2019/ben-spackman-2
WHY WAS CORIANTON SO CONCERNED ABOUT THE RESURRECTION?
“One likely possibility is that Corianton was exposed to religious philosophies that either dismissed or corrupted the true doctrine of the resurrection. Early in the Book of Mormon, Lehi and his son Jacob taught the reality of the resurrection explicitly (2 Nephi 2:8; 9:6).1 It seems, though, that sometime between the death of Jacob and the reign of King Mosiah a portion of the people rejected this teaching.
For instance, the way Abinadi emphasized the resurrection when he confronted King Noah and his priests suggests that this doctrine was not being correctly or sufficiently taught among the people in the city of Nephi. Likewise, when Alma the Elder strove to perpetuate Abinadi’s teachings, many of the rising generation “did not believe what had been said concerning the resurrection of the dead” (Mosiah 26:2).”
“What is more certain is the way that Nehor negatively influenced attitudes toward this doctrine. Unlike Korihor, who completely denied the existence of God, Nehor introduced the concept that the “Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life.”. Nehor’s divergent theology obviously had influenced the young Corianton’s views of resurrection and judgment, and yet it conflicted with the eternal laws of justice and judgment embedded in the true doctrine of the resurrection.
Despite his trial and execution, Nehor’s enticing doctrines became popular among the people—so much so that his philosophy was formally designated as “the order of Nehor.” Unfortunately, Nehor’s heresy was promulgated by the Amlicites, who, by the time of Corianton’s ministry, had gained prominent influence.”
THE STATE OF THE SOUL BETWEEN DEATH AND THE RESURRECTION
READING FOR DECEMBER 3
Alma 45-50
ALMA'S DOCTRINAL STUDY
39: 15-19 The Coming of Christ
40: 1-14 The State of the Soul between Death and the Resurrection
40: 15-26 The Resurrection
41: 1-15 The Plan of Restoration
42: 1-10 The Justice of God and Probation of Humankind
42: 11-28 Justice and Mercy
42: 29-31 Alma’s Final Counsel to Corianton
NATURE OF REVELATION
“…revelation, ancient or modern, cannot be simplistically equated with ‘factual correctness.’ Rather, we should understand revelation, even canonized modern revelation, as a process, a progression along a spectrum of correctness. Revelation is not static nor even a straight line of upwards progress, but a mediated human-divine dialectic process which sometimes becomes frozen as scripture. Think of scripture as a snapshot in time of the progress that is being made through revelation at a certain time, place and context. Scripture thus contains human elements and understanding common to the time. This can account for differences between inspired texts, which according to common assumptions should be identical.”
Ben Spackman, https://www.fairmormon.org/conference/august-2019/ben-spackman-2
WHY WAS CORIANTON SO CONCERNED ABOUT THE RESURRECTION?
“One likely possibility is that Corianton was exposed to religious philosophies that either dismissed or corrupted the true doctrine of the resurrection. Early in the Book of Mormon, Lehi and his son Jacob taught the reality of the resurrection explicitly (2 Nephi 2:8; 9:6).1 It seems, though, that sometime between the death of Jacob and the reign of King Mosiah a portion of the people rejected this teaching.
For instance, the way Abinadi emphasized the resurrection when he confronted King Noah and his priests suggests that this doctrine was not being correctly or sufficiently taught among the people in the city of Nephi. Likewise, when Alma the Elder strove to perpetuate Abinadi’s teachings, many of the rising generation “did not believe what had been said concerning the resurrection of the dead” (Mosiah 26:2).”
“What is more certain is the way that Nehor negatively influenced attitudes toward this doctrine. Unlike Korihor, who completely denied the existence of God, Nehor introduced the concept that the “Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life.”. Nehor’s divergent theology obviously had influenced the young Corianton’s views of resurrection and judgment, and yet it conflicted with the eternal laws of justice and judgment embedded in the true doctrine of the resurrection.
Despite his trial and execution, Nehor’s enticing doctrines became popular among the people—so much so that his philosophy was formally designated as “the order of Nehor.” Unfortunately, Nehor’s heresy was promulgated by the Amlicites, who, by the time of Corianton’s ministry, had gained prominent influence.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/why-was-corianton-so-concerned-about-the-resurrection
ALMA’S TEACHINGS ON THE RESURRECTION
- No one is resurrected until after the coming of Christ (Alma 40:2).
- There is a specific time appointed when every person will be resurrected, but only God knows that time (Alma 40:4, 9).
- There will likely be multiple times of resurrection since there will be righteous people who live and die after Christ dies and is resurrected (Alma 40:5, 8).
- Alma believed that the righteous till the time of Christ would be resurrected with Him (Alma 40:20).
THE STATE OF THE SOUL BETWEEN DEATH AND THE RESURRECTION
“Many times I’ve heard people interpret this passage this way: “See, it shows in the scriptures there that the righteous are in paradise and the wicked are in spirit prison.” However, you’ll notice that Alma never uses the term spirit prison anywhere. Nor does he define who the righteous are. Yet we often make our own assumptions and say, “Well, those are members of the Church, and it is only members of the Church that can be in paradise.” But Alma doesn’t say that. The point I want to make here is that the words we use a lot when we talk about the spirit world in the context of Latter-day Saint doctrine are paradise, prison, and hell. We create in our own minds clean, clear, and concrete definitions of and delineations among those terms, but the scriptures don’t.”
“The hell that Alma is talking about is not experienced by those who have not heard the gospel or haven’t been as faithful to their degree of knowledge as perhaps they should have been. He is talking about the spirits of the wicked who “have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer darkness” (Alma 40:13). He’s talking about sons of perdition. That verse doesn’t tell us anything about the vast majority of the spirits who have ever lived on the earth. Alma is talking about the righteous (remember he doesn’t define that term for us) on one end of the continuum and the wicked on the other end of the continuum; he’s not telling us anything about those in between. Yet we take this passage in Alma 40 and try to say that it is the definitive declaration concerning conditions of the spirit world. I don’t believe that’s what Alma is saying or intending to imply. I think Alma is only explaining these two extremes. So when we ask ourselves what we know about the spirit world from the standard works, the answer is ‘not as much as we often think.’
“Expressions of the eternal nature of love and the hope for heavenly reunion persist in contemporary Christianity. Such sentiments, however, are not situated within a theological structure. Hoping to meet one’s family after death is a wish and not a theological argument. . . . Priests and pastors might tell families that they will meet their loved ones in heaven as a means of consolation, but contemporary thought does not support that belief as it did in the nineteenth century. There is no longer a strong theological commitment to the modern heaven.
The major exception to this caveat is the teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The modern perspective on heaven—emphasizing the nearness and similarity of the other world to our own and arguing for the eternal nature of love, family, progress, and work—finds its greatest proponent in the Latter-day Saint understanding of the afterlife. While most contemporary Christian groups neglect afterlife beliefs, what happens to people after they die is crucial to LDS teachings and rituals. Heavenly theology is the result not of mere speculation, but of revelation given to past and present church leaders. . . .
There has been . . . no alteration of the LDS understanding of the afterlife since its articulation by Joseph Smith. If anything, the Latter-day Saints in the twentieth century have become even bolder in their assertion of the importance of their heavenly theology. . . . In the light of what they perceive as a Christian world which has given up belief in heaven, many Latter-day Saints feel even more of a responsibility to define the meaning of death and eternal life.”
Brent L. Top, https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/re-14-no-2-2013/whats-other-side-conversation-brent-l-top-spirit-world
RESURRECTION AND RESTORATION
“The twist here is clever: After listing four pairs of terms, Alma pairs two lists of four terms and reverses their order at the same time.” (Welch) Notably, this chiasm focuses mostly on the positive aspects of restoration. It is true that evil, carnal, and devilish behavior will in some way return to afflict the sinner, but in this instance Alma chose instead to emphasize the blessings of goodness, righteousness, justice, and mercy that will be restored to the righteous. Although he was very explicit and emphatic in his denunciation of sin, Alma ultimately wanted Corianton to “let the justice of God, and his mercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in [his] heart”
THE PLAN
“As Joseph found affirmed in the book of Moses, the Fall was enabling, not damning. Needing to pass through mortality as a stage in their internal progress, all premortal spirits ‘were born into the world by the fall.’”
“The universal inheritance of Adam’s choice is death, not sin. Immersion in the world is not punishment, it is education.”
Joseph Smith’s expansive, ennobling innovation was to see our Heavenly Parents’ plan—from the beginning—as being about human elevation rather than remedy, advancement rather than repair, exaltation rather than reclamation.”
“The human condition is one of vulnerability to temptation, susceptibility to the natural predispositions of a human body, and a soul still untried and untested in the crucible of mortal existence. When Paul wrote of his fear lest we be ‘overcome of evil,’ it was likely the world’s pain and suffering, not our personal proclivities, that were his concern. Succumbing to despair, not wickedness, is the temptation of the tenderhearted. In the Mormon thought, humans are neither capable of unaided advancement to godliness nor accurately described as depraved. They are agents made free by Christ’s Atonement, enticed by darkness while yearning for the light.”
Givens, Fiona. The Christ Who Heals: How God Restored The Truth That Saves Us
“That Day of Judgment will be a day of mercy and love—a day when broken hearts are healed, when tears of grief are replaced with tears of gratitude, when all will be made right. Yes, there will be deep sorrow because of sin. Yes, there will be regrets and even anguish because of our mistakes, our foolishness, and our stubbornness that caused us to miss opportunities for a much greater future.
But I have confidence that we will not only be satisfied with the judgment of God; we will also be astonished and overwhelmed by His infinite grace, mercy, generosity, and love for us, His children.”
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf,https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/generalconference/2016/10/o-how-great-the-plan-of-our-god?lang=eng
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Alma 36-39
READING FOR NEXT WEEK: ALMA 40-42
PARALLELISM
“Hebrew poetry is based on parallelism within couplets or, less commonly, triplets, which are related either grammatically or semantically. Grammatical parallelism can be recognized by similar syntactic structures for successive lines, while semantic parallelism occurs when an idea is rephrased, reformulated, or developed from line to line.”
Grant Hardy, Maxwell Institute Study Edition, The Book of Mormon
“The Book of Mormon is replete with parallelisms. The poetic patterns serve, as they do in the Bible, to emphasize messages, define and expand them, make them more memorable, and structure them.”
Donald W. Parry, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1989/10/research-and-perspectives-hebrew-literary-patterns-in-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng
ISABEL
“In a book where women rise so infrequently to the surface of the narrative, why should this woman be among those graced with this rare privilege? Is it evidence, as one author somewhat sentimentally suggests, that ‘Alma was aware of someone as lowly as a harlot,’ demonstrating his ‘knowledge and familiarity with his people?’ Or is it evidence, as another author critically suggests, that Alma principally saw a woman like Isabel as ‘merely a vehicle for male degeneracy?’ Are there other and perhaps better approaches to Isabel’s peculiar place of privilege in the Book of Mormon?”
“Careful study of the details of the book’s structure suggests that the few women who appear within it are strategically placed. This is perhaps clearest in the contrasting but parallel stories of the Nephi-Lamanite mission and the Nephrite-Lamanite wars. Each of these stories begins with a Nephi man in line (or wishing to be in line) to be a Nephite king. Each figure finds himself eventually among the Lamanites and discovers that he must negotiate his place among that people through an encounter with a Lamanite queen—a woman wielding power in a fashion apparently foreign to the Nephites."
"The unmistakable turning point in the Nephite-Lamanaite mission comes when Abish, the Lamanite servant woman, takes the necessary initiative to gather her people to the site of the royal household’s conversion.”
Joseph Spencer, https://religion.byu.edu/event/2019-sidney-b-sperry-symposium
CORIANTON
“Yet immediately after noting the abominable nature of Corianton’s actions and the fact that his actions were second only to murder, which was second only to denying the Holy Ghost, Alma launches into a description of the unpardonable sin—to knowingly deny the Holy Ghost. Following this explication, Alma continues by explaining that ‘whosoever murdereth against the light and knowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness’ (Alma 39:6). Denying the Holy Ghost is unforgivable, but those who murder ‘against the light and knowledge of God’ can receive forgiveness, albeit with great difficulty.
What does it mean to murder “against the light and knowledge of God,” and why does Alma feel the need to convey this information to Corianton at this time? Some have supposed that to “murder against the light and knowledge of God” refers to the shedding of innocent blood. And this certainly is a possible interpretation. I believe, however, that in context of Corianton’s sin, there is a better interpretation.”
"It appears that Alma framed his argument thusly: Corianton is guilty of leaving his mission to chase a harlot (either literally and/or figuratively). This harlot has damaged many testimonies already, and Corianton’s actions have also led some of the people to destruction instead of to God. Among Corianton’s sins is one that ranks next to the shedding of innocent blood, which ranks second only to the unpardonable sin of willfully denying the Holy Ghost. Corianton’s grievous sin, for which forgiveness is still possible albeit difficult, is murdering “against light and knowledge.” To murder or shed innocent blood (the most serious of the pardonable sins) is to extinguish someone’s life. To murder against light and knowledge is, I believe, in Alma’s logic, to extinguish someone’s testimony.”
PARALLELISM
“Hebrew poetry is based on parallelism within couplets or, less commonly, triplets, which are related either grammatically or semantically. Grammatical parallelism can be recognized by similar syntactic structures for successive lines, while semantic parallelism occurs when an idea is rephrased, reformulated, or developed from line to line.”
Grant Hardy, Maxwell Institute Study Edition, The Book of Mormon
“The Book of Mormon is replete with parallelisms. The poetic patterns serve, as they do in the Bible, to emphasize messages, define and expand them, make them more memorable, and structure them.”
Donald W. Parry, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1989/10/research-and-perspectives-hebrew-literary-patterns-in-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng
ISABEL
“In a book where women rise so infrequently to the surface of the narrative, why should this woman be among those graced with this rare privilege? Is it evidence, as one author somewhat sentimentally suggests, that ‘Alma was aware of someone as lowly as a harlot,’ demonstrating his ‘knowledge and familiarity with his people?’ Or is it evidence, as another author critically suggests, that Alma principally saw a woman like Isabel as ‘merely a vehicle for male degeneracy?’ Are there other and perhaps better approaches to Isabel’s peculiar place of privilege in the Book of Mormon?”
“Careful study of the details of the book’s structure suggests that the few women who appear within it are strategically placed. This is perhaps clearest in the contrasting but parallel stories of the Nephi-Lamanite mission and the Nephrite-Lamanite wars. Each of these stories begins with a Nephi man in line (or wishing to be in line) to be a Nephite king. Each figure finds himself eventually among the Lamanites and discovers that he must negotiate his place among that people through an encounter with a Lamanite queen—a woman wielding power in a fashion apparently foreign to the Nephites."
"The unmistakable turning point in the Nephite-Lamanaite mission comes when Abish, the Lamanite servant woman, takes the necessary initiative to gather her people to the site of the royal household’s conversion.”
“Mormon seems to wish his readers to see the book of Alma as, among other things, providing readers with a sense for the respective statuses of women among the Nephites and women among the Lamanites."
"He seems to hope in the book of Alma to help make that difference apparent. His stories alternately highlight the way that Nephite wickedness repeatedly culminates in oppression for women, and the way that Lamanite repentance rests on the foundation of the right relations between women and men that characterize their society.”
CORIANTON
“Yet immediately after noting the abominable nature of Corianton’s actions and the fact that his actions were second only to murder, which was second only to denying the Holy Ghost, Alma launches into a description of the unpardonable sin—to knowingly deny the Holy Ghost. Following this explication, Alma continues by explaining that ‘whosoever murdereth against the light and knowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness’ (Alma 39:6). Denying the Holy Ghost is unforgivable, but those who murder ‘against the light and knowledge of God’ can receive forgiveness, albeit with great difficulty.
What does it mean to murder “against the light and knowledge of God,” and why does Alma feel the need to convey this information to Corianton at this time? Some have supposed that to “murder against the light and knowledge of God” refers to the shedding of innocent blood. And this certainly is a possible interpretation. I believe, however, that in context of Corianton’s sin, there is a better interpretation.”
"It appears that Alma framed his argument thusly: Corianton is guilty of leaving his mission to chase a harlot (either literally and/or figuratively). This harlot has damaged many testimonies already, and Corianton’s actions have also led some of the people to destruction instead of to God. Among Corianton’s sins is one that ranks next to the shedding of innocent blood, which ranks second only to the unpardonable sin of willfully denying the Holy Ghost. Corianton’s grievous sin, for which forgiveness is still possible albeit difficult, is murdering “against light and knowledge.” To murder or shed innocent blood (the most serious of the pardonable sins) is to extinguish someone’s life. To murder against light and knowledge is, I believe, in Alma’s logic, to extinguish someone’s testimony.”
Michael R. Ash, https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/pdf/143-34-43.pdf
“It is clear that Alma is deeply concerned with a kind of spiritual murder, and the patterns of his speech in Alma 39 suggest that he fears Corianton has ventured into that extremely dangerous territory. It thus seems likely that what Alma himself means to suggest is that not one’s own sexual transgressions but rather one’s efforts (intentional or not) to lead others astray is ‘most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost.’”
Joseph Spencer, https://religion.byu.edu/event/2019-sidney-b-sperry-symposium
ISABEL
“Perhaps, then, Isabel is best read not simply as a wicked woman, a figure for temptations that men should know to avoid. Perhaps she is better understood as a symbol of the unnecessary struggles for power that perpetuate patterns of sexual oppression at the very moment those patterns begin to disappear. She seems to be a woman at the end of a long history of oppression, glimpsing the possibility of female ascendency for the first time (unfortunately through the eyes of Korihor). She was victimized before, but now she victimizes in turn.”
“Is the story of Isabel and Corianton of real value in the twenty-first century? It is certainly true that the Book of Mormon leaves modern readers wondering about the relative absence of women and women’s voices in scriptural text and raises questions about issues of equality and the meaning and authority that these texts can or should have for us today. And yet it also seems important that when Nephi reports on his vision of the last day, he worries explicitly that the latter-day readers might not regard ‘male and female’ as ‘alike unto God.’ It may be, in fact, that it implicitly asks readers to reflect on how certain cultures might claim to model righteousness before God while embracing social practices that produce ‘sorrow’ and ‘mourning’ among their more vulnerable members."
"It seems that one of the reasons for people’s fall concerns the failure on the part of their men to repent, while those among them who survive do so because they do not forget God’s equal regard for women and men.”
Joseph Spencer, https://religion.byu.edu/event/2019-sidney-b-sperry-symposium
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Alma 32-35
READING FOR NEXT WEEK: ALMA 36-39
WHY ARE YOU A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST?
“No man that clearly seeth the beauty of God’s face can, when he sees it clearly, willingly or wittingly forsake Him.” Thomas Traherne
READ THE FOLLOWING AND COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE TWO EVENTS:
ALMA 32: 1-5
ALMA 35: 1-9
What can we learn relevant to our circumstances today?
“HARD SAYINGS AND SAFE PLACES”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLmNIiVJAM0#action=share
“We have been commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves, and when it comes to neighbors, there are no outsiders. Perhaps even more important, when our fellow Saints find themselves outside the formal church fellowship or membership, they should never find themselves outside of the fellowship of our friendship and the circle of our love.”
“We must open our hearts wider, reach out father, and love more loudly.We must make space for the struggle and faith as we await the final victory, which is assured if we come to Christ.”
Eric D. Huntsman, https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/eric-d-huntsman/hard-sayings-and-safe-spaces-making-room-for- both-struggle-and-faith/
Hale: In Mormon pockets — whether that's a congregation or a group of friends — those groups can be more receptive and forgiving to comments that might be a little bit racist or a little bit homophobic than they might be to things that are seen as "too inclusive."
Huntsman:That's exactly why individuals need to speak up.You know, I've got a lot of straight-white-male-priesthood privilege. It's pretty important that I speak up for a sister or speak up for a person of color or that I speak up for an LGBTQ person. Because Christ said to stand up. He said to be like him.When Jesus went to synagogue he often didn't say what everyone was expecting. So yes, it's a natural desire to fit in, but we want to fit in with Jesus. I think it's important that we make sure that those who are in the corners know that they're loved.
Hale: Some say that you can't be a believer of Mormon doctrine and also be a true feminist or a true ally — that you can't hold those two things together. What do you think?
Huntsman:What I often tell my students when they raise these issues, and I know that they may not be coming from the same place I am, but I'm just speaking as a faithful Latter-day Saint. I sustain the leaders of my church. So I leave the church policies and doctrines between the church's leaders and the Lord. But what I tell my students is incumbent upon every baptized member of this church is how we treat each other.And that's between us and the Lord.
https://www.kuer.org/post/byu-professor-asking-mormons-stand-marginalized#stream/0
FAITH
“I sometimes regret the fact that we use the word "faith" in religious discussions.Why? Because I think it's become a technical term that obscures for many what should be and is a very simple concept.This has created serious controversies and unnecessary misunderstandings.The Greek word "pistis," which English Bibles typically render as "faith," also means "confidence" or "trust," and these ordinary, everyday terms convey very neatly what scriptural faith entails.The first readers of the New Testament didn't have to ask what "pistis" meant. Paul hadn't invented the word.They knew it already; it had been common in Greek for centuries.And in the standard English lexicon of classical Greek, the first definition of "pistis" is "trust in others." While theological factions might argue -- and, in fact, have argued -- for decades over the definition of "faith," we all have a reasonably clear idea of what it means to have "trust" in someone.When the Greek New Testament was translated into Latin, "pistis" was rendered as "fides," which again meant "trust" or "confidence." Our English word "faith" comes from the Latin "fides," but today we tend to think of "faith" as "belief in something without proof," and, often, more as agreement with a set of propositions than as trust in a person. But God is a person, and saving faith -- although it surely entails agreeing with certain propositions -- is trust in him, as a person, to love us and to keep his promises to us.”
Daniel C. Peterson
ALMA’S EXPERIMENT
“Alma illustrates the correlation between hope and faith through metaphor, comparing the word of God to a seed. Just as one must exercise faith in planting a seed that will eventually develop into a fruit-yielding tree, so must a person exercise faith by applying God’s word before experiencing spiritual transformation. The analogy relies upon a series of highly calculated literary allusions to the biblical stories of creation. As impressive as Alma’s sermon is at inspiring audiences to live in accordance with the divine will, as readers we can appreciate this learned text at an even deeper level by identifying the ways in which Alma’s discourse invokes biblical creation to encourage audiences to develop the type of faith that brings everlasting life
“Through metaphor,Alma invites his audience to ponder the miraculous way in which the power of creation (as depicted through his word in the Bible’s opening stories) appears reenacted every time a seed develops into a fruit-bearing tree. He uses biblical creation imagery to encourage his audience to cultivate the type of faith that brings everlasting life. God’s word is powerful from Alma’s perspective. We should take that word and plant it in our hearts. By invoking the miracle of creation of the past in a present context of seed growth and re-creation,Alma encourages his readers to fulfill the measure of their own creation by experimenting upon the divine word. In other words, obtaining the type of faith Alma describes is the very purpose of human existence.And it has been, from the beginning.”
David E. Bokovoy, “The Word and the Seed: The Theological Use of Biblical Creation in Alma 32” scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1555&context=jbms
OUR DISCIPLESHIP
“The problem with institutional religion, even one divinely restored, is the temptation it affords us to make our own spirituality the goal. Rules, standards, and commandments provide us with a means to measure our own progress, our own prospect for happiness. That is not discipleship, that is pious self- interest.”
“Anything but a belief structure based on anything other than a loving, trusting response to Christ will fail us.”
Terryl L. Givens, https://mi.byu.edu/video-givens-1/
WHY ARE YOU A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST?
“No man that clearly seeth the beauty of God’s face can, when he sees it clearly, willingly or wittingly forsake Him.” Thomas Traherne
READ THE FOLLOWING AND COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE TWO EVENTS:
ALMA 32: 1-5
ALMA 35: 1-9
What can we learn relevant to our circumstances today?
“HARD SAYINGS AND SAFE PLACES”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLmNIiVJAM0#action=share
“We have been commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves, and when it comes to neighbors, there are no outsiders. Perhaps even more important, when our fellow Saints find themselves outside the formal church fellowship or membership, they should never find themselves outside of the fellowship of our friendship and the circle of our love.”
“We must open our hearts wider, reach out father, and love more loudly.We must make space for the struggle and faith as we await the final victory, which is assured if we come to Christ.”
Eric D. Huntsman, https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/eric-d-huntsman/hard-sayings-and-safe-spaces-making-room-for- both-struggle-and-faith/
Hale: In Mormon pockets — whether that's a congregation or a group of friends — those groups can be more receptive and forgiving to comments that might be a little bit racist or a little bit homophobic than they might be to things that are seen as "too inclusive."
Huntsman:That's exactly why individuals need to speak up.You know, I've got a lot of straight-white-male-priesthood privilege. It's pretty important that I speak up for a sister or speak up for a person of color or that I speak up for an LGBTQ person. Because Christ said to stand up. He said to be like him.When Jesus went to synagogue he often didn't say what everyone was expecting. So yes, it's a natural desire to fit in, but we want to fit in with Jesus. I think it's important that we make sure that those who are in the corners know that they're loved.
Hale: Some say that you can't be a believer of Mormon doctrine and also be a true feminist or a true ally — that you can't hold those two things together. What do you think?
Huntsman:What I often tell my students when they raise these issues, and I know that they may not be coming from the same place I am, but I'm just speaking as a faithful Latter-day Saint. I sustain the leaders of my church. So I leave the church policies and doctrines between the church's leaders and the Lord. But what I tell my students is incumbent upon every baptized member of this church is how we treat each other.And that's between us and the Lord.
https://www.kuer.org/post/byu-professor-asking-mormons-stand-marginalized#stream/0
FAITH
“I sometimes regret the fact that we use the word "faith" in religious discussions.Why? Because I think it's become a technical term that obscures for many what should be and is a very simple concept.This has created serious controversies and unnecessary misunderstandings.The Greek word "pistis," which English Bibles typically render as "faith," also means "confidence" or "trust," and these ordinary, everyday terms convey very neatly what scriptural faith entails.The first readers of the New Testament didn't have to ask what "pistis" meant. Paul hadn't invented the word.They knew it already; it had been common in Greek for centuries.And in the standard English lexicon of classical Greek, the first definition of "pistis" is "trust in others." While theological factions might argue -- and, in fact, have argued -- for decades over the definition of "faith," we all have a reasonably clear idea of what it means to have "trust" in someone.When the Greek New Testament was translated into Latin, "pistis" was rendered as "fides," which again meant "trust" or "confidence." Our English word "faith" comes from the Latin "fides," but today we tend to think of "faith" as "belief in something without proof," and, often, more as agreement with a set of propositions than as trust in a person. But God is a person, and saving faith -- although it surely entails agreeing with certain propositions -- is trust in him, as a person, to love us and to keep his promises to us.”
Daniel C. Peterson
ALMA’S EXPERIMENT
“Alma illustrates the correlation between hope and faith through metaphor, comparing the word of God to a seed. Just as one must exercise faith in planting a seed that will eventually develop into a fruit-yielding tree, so must a person exercise faith by applying God’s word before experiencing spiritual transformation. The analogy relies upon a series of highly calculated literary allusions to the biblical stories of creation. As impressive as Alma’s sermon is at inspiring audiences to live in accordance with the divine will, as readers we can appreciate this learned text at an even deeper level by identifying the ways in which Alma’s discourse invokes biblical creation to encourage audiences to develop the type of faith that brings everlasting life
“Through metaphor,Alma invites his audience to ponder the miraculous way in which the power of creation (as depicted through his word in the Bible’s opening stories) appears reenacted every time a seed develops into a fruit-bearing tree. He uses biblical creation imagery to encourage his audience to cultivate the type of faith that brings everlasting life. God’s word is powerful from Alma’s perspective. We should take that word and plant it in our hearts. By invoking the miracle of creation of the past in a present context of seed growth and re-creation,Alma encourages his readers to fulfill the measure of their own creation by experimenting upon the divine word. In other words, obtaining the type of faith Alma describes is the very purpose of human existence.And it has been, from the beginning.”
David E. Bokovoy, “The Word and the Seed: The Theological Use of Biblical Creation in Alma 32” scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1555&context=jbms
OUR DISCIPLESHIP
“The problem with institutional religion, even one divinely restored, is the temptation it affords us to make our own spirituality the goal. Rules, standards, and commandments provide us with a means to measure our own progress, our own prospect for happiness. That is not discipleship, that is pious self- interest.”
“Anything but a belief structure based on anything other than a loving, trusting response to Christ will fail us.”
Terryl L. Givens, https://mi.byu.edu/video-givens-1/
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