Alma 37

What formed the Yosemite Valley?

How can you relate this picture to Alma 37:6-7?

Alma 37:8 ‘Wisdom’ Test

Alma 37:8 Based on current statistics, how many birthdays does the average human male have? Answer: 1

Alma 37:8 In baseball how many outs are there in an inning? Answer: 6

Alma 37:8 Divide 30 by 1/2 and add 10. What is the answer? Answer: 70

Alma 37:8 If there are 3 apples and you take away 2, how many do you have? Answer: 2

Alma 37:8 Beth’s dad has four children, Fee, Fi, Fo and _____? Answer: Beth

Alma 37:8 How many two cent stamps are there in a dozen? Answer: 12

Alma 37:8 A clerk in a butcher shop is 5'10". What does he weigh? Answer: Meat

Alma 37:8 What was the President's name in 1990? Answer: Barack Hussein Obama

Alma 37:6-8 How do scriptures enlarge our memory…? They teach us about people and events that we did not experience personally. None of us was present to see the Red Sea part and cross with Moses between walls of water to the other side. We were not there to hear the Sermon on the Mount, to see Lazarus raised from the dead, to see the suffering Savior in Gethsemane and on the cross, and we did not, with Mary, hear the two angels testify at the empty tomb that Jesus was risen from the dead. You and I did not go forward one by one with the multitude at the resurrected Savior’s invitation to feel the prints of the nails and bathe His feet with our tears. We did not kneel beside Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove and gaze there upon the Father and the Son. Yet we know all these things and much, much more because we have the scriptural record to enlarge our memory. And as these things penetrate our minds and hearts, our faith in God and His Beloved Son takes root. In [earlier] days, scriptural ignorance abounded because people lacked access to the Bible. Today the Bible and other scripture are readily at hand, yet there is a growing scriptural illiteracy because people will not open the books. Consequently they have forgotten things.” (Elder D. Todd Christofferson, May 2010 Ensign, 32-35).

Read Alma 37:9 What can scriptures do for us? Share one scripture that has: 1.v.8 Enlarged your memory 2.v.8 Brought you to the knowledge God 3.v.9 Convinced you of incorrect habits/thoughts 4.v.9 Made you want to repent and be better

How does Alma 37:6-7 relate to Alma 37:35? President Hinckley Tree: mormon/ alma hinckley-learn-in-thy-youth-750k-eng.mp4

Alma 37:35 What small and simple commandments have you kept since you were young that would be more difficult to begin living today? Can you think of someone who has been blessed throughout their life because they learned to keep the commandments in their youth?

Alma 37:33-37: Seven Suggestions 1.Cry unto the Lord for all thy support. 2.Let all thy doings be unto the Lord. 3.Let all thy thoughts be unto the Lord. 4.Let thy affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord. 5.Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings. 6.When thou liest down at night, liest down unto the Lord. 7.When thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God.

“Give me a young man who has kept himself morally clean and has faithfully attended his Church meetings. Give me a young man who has magnified his priesthood and has earned the Duty to God Award and is an Eagle Scout. Give me a young man who is a seminary graduate and has a burning testimony of the Book of Mormon. Give me such a young man and I will give you a young man who can perform miracles for the Lord in the mission field and throughout his life” (President Benson, C.R., Apr. 1986, 59).

“I have little or no fear for the boy or the girl, the young man or the young woman, who honestly and conscientiously supplicate God twice a day for the guidance of His Spirit. I am sure that when temptation comes they will have the strength to overcome it by the inspiration that shall be given them. Supplicating the Lord for the guidance of His Spirit places around us a safeguard, and if we… honestly seek the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, I can assure you that we will receive it” (Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, 26).

In what ways does the Lord help us become this type of person? Small and Simple Alma 37:38

What is the meaning of Liahona? “L is a Hebrew preposition meaning ‘to,’ “iah is a Hebrew abbreviated form of ‘Jehovah,’ “on” is the Hebrew name of the ‘City of the Sun,’ “L’iah-on” means therefore, literally, ‘To God is Light’; or ‘God gives light” (George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary of the Book of Mormon, 1:229). Liahona

Liahona Tell me everything you know about the Liahona… Alma 37:39-45

Two Spindles? D&C 8:2-3

“An impression to the mind is very specific. Detailed words can be heard or felt and written as though the instruction were being dictated. “A communication to the heart is a more general impression. The Lord often begins by giving impressions. Where there is a recognition of their importance and they are obeyed, one gains more capacity to receive more detailed instruction to the mind. “An impression to the heart, if followed, is fortified by a more specific instruction to the mind. … (Helping Others Be Spiritually Led, August 1998, CES Symposium on the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History).

Wouldn’t it be great if the Lord gave each of us a Liahona to show us the way?  Patriarchal Blessing  Scriptures/Words of the Prophets  Holy Ghost  Our Conscience

Liahona 1. What are two or three ways that … is like the Liahona? 2. What are some things that might cause us to miss important messages from … ? 3. When have you been blessed by following the guidance of … ? 1. Patriarchal Blessing 2. Scriptures/Words of the Prophets 3. Holy Ghost 4. Your Conscience

Liahona Group 1: A Patriarchal Blessing President Thomas S. Monson: “The same Lord who provided a Liahona for Lehi provides for you and for me today a rare and valuable gift to give direction to our lives, to mark the hazards to our safety, and to chart the way, even safe passage—not to a promised land, but to our heavenly home. The gift to which I refer is known as your patriarchal blessing. … “Your blessing is not to be folded neatly and tucked away. It is not to be framed or published. Rather, it is to be read. It is to be loved. It is to be followed. Your patriarchal blessing will see you through the darkest night. It will guide you through life’s dangers. … Your patriarchal blessing is to you a personal Liahona to chart your course and guide your way” (“Your Patriarchal Blessing: A Liahona of Light,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 65–66).

Liahona Group 2: The Scriptures and the Words of Prophets Elder W. Rolfe Kerr: “The words of Christ can be a personal Liahona for each of us, showing us the way. Let us not be slothful because of the easiness of the way. Let us in faith take the words of Christ into our minds and into our hearts as they are recorded in sacred scripture and as they are uttered by living prophets, seers, and revelators. Let us with faith and diligence feast upon the words of Christ, for the words of Christ will be our spiritual Liahona telling us all things what we should do” (“The Words of Christ—Our Spiritual Liahona,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 37).

Liahona Group 3: The Holy Ghost Elder David A. Bednar: “As we strive to align our attitudes and actions with righteousness, then the Holy Ghost becomes for us today what the Liahona was for Lehi and his family in their day. The very factors that caused the Liahona to work for Lehi will likewise invite the Holy Ghost into our lives. And the very factors that caused the Liahona not to work anciently will likewise cause us to withdraw ourselves from the Holy Ghost today” (“That We May Always Have His Spirit to Be with Us,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2006, 30).

Liahona Group 4: Your Conscience “You must realize that you have something like the compass, like the Liahona, in your own system. Every child is given it. When he is eight years of age, he knows good from evil, if his parents have been teaching him well. If he ignores the Liahona that he has in his own makeup, he eventually may not have it whispering to him. But if we will remember that everyone of us has the thing that will direct him aright, our ship will not get on the wrong course and suffering will not happen and bows will not break and families will not cry for food—if we listen to the dictates of our own Liahona, which we call the conscience.” Spencer W. Kimball, “Our Own Liahona,” Ensign, Nov. 1976, 79

When have you experienced direction in your life? Elder Holland: Wrong Roads

Alma 37