10-13-11 “He did deliver me from bondage” p. 105, Day 3

10-13-11    “He did deliver me from bondage” p. 105, Day 3

Alma 7

How did Alma know what their state of righteousness was?  This was the first time he visited them, and so many times he says “I trust that you…” referring to the state of their heart.  I find this curious.  Do I trust the feelings I get when I talk to others?  I am so afraid of “judging” them that I find I don’t trust the feelings I get.  I think maybe I don’t know what to do with them.  Maybe it would be for the purpose of knowing how to help them progress- like a pre-test at school.  Just knowing where they are at so I can help them, not condemn them.  Hum.  Food for thought…

Thoughts on v. 15

Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth ^abeset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.

I remember the feeling I had four years ago when I was beginning my journey to come unto the Savior.  I had a very deep longing to be close to Him, to grow closer to Him; to let Him heal me.  At the time I read “The Dreamgiver” by Bruce Wilkinson.  I loved the part about Sanctuary.  That is exactly where I was in my life and it hit me so hard.  I was willing to change anything and everything just so I could be closer to Him.  I needed to be close to Him more than anything else. 

If we are willing to repent then we want to change.  The opposite would be being afraid of being scolded.  An invitation to repent is a chance to change so we can be more like our Savoir.  He is not rejecting us by asking us to repent.  He is not scolding us and putting us in ‘time-out’ because we have been bad.   He is inviting us closer because He wants us to be with Him, just as much as we long to be close to Him. 

I taught a lesson on Sunday in Gospel Principles class and I shared for the first time my Z model and the correlating X.  It worked surprisingly great.  I really think they saw it.  Let me see if I can explain it as it relates to this choice.

The X:

Imagine a large X in your mind or draw it on paper.  I relate the middle sections left and right of the cross-section as our path and our choice of obedience.  On the left side of the X is when we feel like we’re being compelled.  The commandments feel like restrictions that are holding us back.  We look forward in our path and see this tiny strait before us, and it is not exciting to our list of prospects.  We are obedient mostly because we fear the consequences of sin.  Here our blessings of doing the right things are greatly limited because we give not a willing heart.  At the cross-section of the X is like the eye of the needle.  As we pass through it we become changed, and our hearts are changed.  We are a new creature, born again through the grace and Atonement of our Savoir.  After humbling ourselves, and emerging from this process, we find that life looks different.  The trees look different, people look different.  We no longer feel compelled to keep the commandments and we find that they are a joy; we no longer want to be ‘somewhere else out there’ because we know that this is where we belong and where we are safe.  We know the commandments are for our benefit and not to hold us back.  On this side of the strait our view before us looks like a widening world of possibilities.  We are aware of all the blessings that God is eagerly waiting to give us and we are working toward receiving them through our faith and desires.  As we grow, our freedom continues to expand and our light and knowledge increase.  We are coming unto Christ.

19 For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his ^apaths straight.