This week, I contemplated a lot about the story of Alma and Amulek in the Book of Mormon. In the city Ammonihah, Amulek feeds Alma, who is a prophet of the Lord, and is converted to the gospel. Because Amulek starts preaching of Christ among his friends and family, who are very hard-hearted and reject the message, Amulek loses everything. Alma 15:16 reads, “And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek, Amulek having forsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious things, which were in the land of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being rejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred;”
Amulek had to sacrifice a lot to remain faithful to the Lord. He gave up literally everything He had—his home, riches, friends, and family. I have often imagined in my mind what hardships and trials I might have to go through—losing my hearing or vision, having a close loved one pass away, losing a child. I know, it’s awful to think about. But I imagine a scenario and think to myself, “If this happened, would I still be faithful and rely on the Lord?” Usually I think, “It would be very hard, harder than I can ever imagine, but I will learn a lot, be humbled, and rely more on the Lord.” I hope by imagining this I am preparing myself to rely on the Lord no matter what happens. But then I thought, why do I have to wait for something big and traumatic to happen before turning more to the Lord? Why can’t I start small and give up what little sins and bad habits I already have? I know I am not perfect and have a lot to improve on, and I can already have the help of the Lord and build a closer relationship with Him. I encourage you all to listen to conference tomorrow with a question of how you can improve and be better in your lives. I know you can start making small sacrifices now—no more TV on Sunday, no more losing my temper—that will help you grow closer to the Lord and strengthen you for whatever the future might bring.
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