younger and the sons of Mosiah and told them to stop rebelling against God
and
stop trying to destroy His church. This angel appeared because of the
prayers
of Alma, his father, who had prayed with much faith regarding his son.
Sometimes it breaks our hearts when we see family members straying from the
gospel and we feel helpless to do anything about it. But a prayer of faith
avails much. They may not get angels sent to testify to them, but over time
hearts can be softened and lives can be changed. I remember many years ago
a
little 7 year old girl in my primary class told me she was very worried
about
her teenaged sister who was smoking. She said she'd tried talking to her
and
begging her to stop smoking but nothing she said did any good. I told the
little girl to continue to pray for her sister, that sometimes that was all
we could do. Several years later the older sister of this little girl got
up in Fast and Testimony Meeting and said she'd given up smoking and it was
all thanks to her little sister who had continued to pray for her all
through
the years and had never given up on her. Prayer might be all we have, but
it is powerful! Mosiah 27:11-18 "And as I said unto you, as they were
going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared
unto
them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with
a
voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood;
And
so great was their astonishment, that they fell to the earth, and
understood not the words which he spake unto them. Nevertheless he cried
again,
saying: Alma, arise and stand forth, for why persecutest thou the church of
God?
For the Lord hath said: This is my church, and I will establish it; and
nothing shall overthrow it, save it is the transgression of my people. And
again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his
people, and
also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed
with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the
knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince
thee
of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might
be
answered according to their faith. And now behold, can ye dispute the power
of God? For behold, doth not my voice shake the earth? And can ye not also
behold me before you? And I am sent from God. Now I say unto thee: Go, and
remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam, and in the land
of
Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in
bondage, and he has delivered them. And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy
way, and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be
answered, and this even if thou wilt of thyself be cast off. And now it
came to
pass that these were the last words which the angel spake unto Alma, and he
departed. And now Alma and those that were with him fell again to the
earth,
for great was their astonishment; for with their own eyes they had beheld
an
angel of the Lord; and his voice was as thunder, which shook the earth; and
they knew that there was nothing save the power of God that could shake the
earth and cause it to tremble as though it would part asunder."
In the Old Testament we read about how the Lord appeared to Moses and told
him that He had heard the cries of the children of Israel and that he would
deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and bring them up to a
promised land. Exocus 3:1-10 "Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his
father in
law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the
desert,
and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord
appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he
looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not
consumed.
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the
bush
is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called
unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said,
Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off
thy
feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said,
I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
And
the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in
Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know
their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the
Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a
large,
unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites,
and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites,
and
the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is
come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians
oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that
thou
mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt."
Some verses with a thought booklet are ones I've often read and quoted, but
they bear an important message--that we should trust in the Lord with all
our heart instead of relying on our own understanding. He will direct our
paths and make them straight if we will ackowledge Him in all our ways.
The
thought that went with this, written by Renee Lannan from York,
Pennsylvania
says: When I turned into a neighborhood of huge poplar trees, my
two-year-old started squealing in his car seat. "We're going to Hayden's
church!" he
exclaimed. I was amazed that he knew where we were. From his vantage
below
the window, he could see only a strip of sky, power lines, and intermittent
treetops, yet he knew our destination because he remembers patterns. Oh,
that I could be so wise and trusting when I can see so little of where God
is
taking me! I need to remember the patterns of our past journeys together:
God's unfailing presence, encouragement, and faithfulness. Lord, help us
remember that we don't need to see the whole picture as we follow you. Our
partial view is enough if we remember to look skyward and focus on you and
how you've navigated our journeys many times before. Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust
in
the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
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