Alma 38

Reading Assignment: Alma 38

Learning Activities:

1) What are some things this chapter teaches that you can do to bring joy to your parents?
2) What do you feel you need to do to improve your relationship with your parents?
3) What qualities did Shiblon possess that would help you be a better missionary?

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Study Guide for Alma 38:10-12 (jpg version at the end of this post)

Examine different parts of Alma’s counsel listed below, and choose one that you would like to improve in. Complete the corresponding learning activity to help you apply this counsel in your life.

  1. “Be diligent and temperate in all things” (Alma 38:10).

Diligence is consistent, careful, and conscientious effort. To be temperate is to “use moderation in all things or to exercise self-control” (Kent D. Watson, “Being Temperate in All Things,” Ensign or Liahona,Nov. 2009, 38).
Write your answers to the following questions in your study journal:
  • Why do you think diligence and temperance are needed when a person teaches the gospel and serves others?
  • What are some areas of your life in which you could be more diligent or temperate?
  • How might improving in those areas help you teach and serve others more effectively?

2. “See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; … do not boast” (Alma 38:11).

One aspect of pride is putting greater trust in oneself than in God. Pride is also evident when a person thinks he or she is superior to or more important than others. Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught, “True disciples speak with quiet confidence, not boastful pride” (Robert D. Hales, “Christian Courage: The Price of Discipleship,”Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 73).
Write your answers to the following questions in your class notebook or study journal:
  • What might happen if a Church member is prideful in his or her calling?
  • Think of someone you know who teaches the gospel “with quiet confidence.” What effect have this person’s example and teachings had on you?
  • What are some ways you will seek to avoid pride?

3. “Use boldness, but not overbearance” (Alma 38:12).

Alma’s counsel to “use boldness” means to teach the word of God without fear (see Philippians 1:14). President James E. Faust (1920–2007) of the First Presidency taught how we can avoid being overbearing: “I do not believe that we need to be … loud, pushy, or insensitive in our approach [to missionary work]” (in James P. Bell, In the Strength of the Lord: The Life and Teachings of James E. Faust [1999], 373).
Write your answers to the following questions in your class notebook or study journal:
  • How can a person be bold without being overbearing?
  • How could being bold but not overbearing help you be successful in teaching and serving others?
  • How will you specifically apply the counsel to be bold but not overbearing as you teach and serve others?

4. “Bridle all your passions” (Alma 38:12).

A bridle is the headgear used on a horse. It includes reins and sometimes a bit, which give the rider control. A passion is a strong emotion. A bridle is intended to direct—not destroy—desires and passions. “Alma taught his son: ‘See that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love.’ (Alma 38:12; emphasis added.) He did not say eliminate or even suppress your passions, but bridle them—harness, channel, and focus them. Why? Because discipline makes possible a richer, deeper love” (Bruce C. Hafen and Marie K. Hafen, The Belonging Heart: The Atonement and Relationships with God and Family [1994], 302).
Write your answers to the following questions in your class notebook or study journal:
  • Why do you think it is important for us to bridle our passions?
  • How do you think bridling your passions can help you be filled with love?
  • What will you do to follow Alma’s counsel to “bridle all your passions”?

5. “Refrain from idleness” (Alma 38:12).

To be idle is to spend time doing nothing of significance. “Idleness can lead to inappropriate behavior, damaged relationships, and sin. One form of idleness is spending excessive amounts of time in activities that keep you from productive work, such as using the internet, playing video games, and watching television” (For the Strength of Youth[booklet, 2011], 40).
Write your answers to the following questions in your class notebook or study journal:
  • What are some activities that may keep you from productive work?
  • How will refraining from idleness help you teach and serve others more effectively?
  • What is a specific way you will refrain from idleness, starting today?