Alma 32
Reading for class on Tues. Feb. 6: Alma 32
Learning Activities:
1. Ponder these questions as you read Alma 32:
- Why is is important to remain humble?
- What is faith? Why is it important to know that?
- Why is it bad to demand a sign before you will believe?
- What is the experiment that Alma proposes? Will you try it?
2. Copy this quote from Pres. Eyring into Alma 32:35
“You have felt the quiet confirmation in your heart and mind that something was true. And you knew that it was inspiration from God. … It may have come during a talk, lesson, or hymn in church. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Truth. You feel peace, hope, and joy when He speaks to your heart and mind that something is true. Almost always I have also felt a sensation of light. Any feeling I may have had of darkness is dispelled, and my desire to do right grows” (Henry B. Eyring, “Gifts of the Spirit for Hard Times,” Ensign, June 2007, 18).
Want More?
1. Alma 32:21–22, 26–27. Faith as a choice
Bishop Richard C. Edgley of the Presiding Bishopric taught that faith is a choice:“Because of the conflicts and challenges we face in today’s world, I wish to suggest a single choice—a choice of peace and protection and a choice that is appropriate for all. That choice is faith. Be aware that faith is not a free gift given without thought, desire, or effort. It does not come as the dew falls from heaven. The Savior said, ‘Come unto me’ (Matthew 11:28) and ‘Knock, and it shall be [given] you’ (Matthew 7:7). These are action verbs—come, knock. They are choices. So I say, choose faith. Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen, and choose faith over pessimism.
“Alma’s classic discussion on faith, as recorded in the 32nd chapter of Alma in the Book of Mormon, is a series of choices to ensure the development and the preservation of our faith. Alma gave us a directive to choose. His were words of action initiated by choosing. He used the words awake, arouse, experiment, exercise, desire, work, and plant. Then Alma explained that if we make these choices and do not cast the seed out by unbelief, then ‘it will begin to swell within [our] breasts’ (Alma 32:28).
“Yes, faith is a choice, and it must be sought after and developed. Thus, we are responsible for our own faith. We are also responsible for our lack of faith. The choice is yours” (Richard C. Edgley, “Faith—the Choice Is Yours,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 31–32).
2. Alma 32:40–43. Seeking a living testimony
President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency identified ways we can nourish our testimonies:“Testimony requires the nurturing by the prayer of faith, the hungering for the word of God in the scriptures, and the obedience to the truth we have received. There is danger in neglecting prayer. There is danger to our testimony in only casual study and reading of the scriptures. They are necessary nutrients for our testimony. …
“Feasting on the word of God, heartfelt prayer, and obedience to the Lord’s commandments must be applied evenly and continually for your testimony to grow and prosper. All of us at times have circumstances beyond our control that interrupt our pattern of scripture study. There may be periods of time when we choose for some reason not to pray. There may be commandments that we choose for a time to ignore.
“But you will not have your desire for a living testimony granted if you forget the warning and the promise in Alma [32:40–43]” (Henry B. Eyring, “A Living Testimony,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 127–28).
3. Alma 32:41–43. The tree of life
READ Alma 32:41–43, looking for Alma’s description of the tree and the fruit.- Where else does the Book of Mormon include a description of a tree with fruit that is “sweet above all that is sweet”? (See 1 Nephi 8:11–12 and 1 Nephi 11:9–24.)
- In Lehi and Nephi’s vision of the tree of life, what do the tree and the fruit represent?
- In Lehi and Nephi’s vision, how do the people arrive at the tree? How is this like Alma’s comparison of the word of God to a seed?