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LESSON #1 TRUE CONVERSION
OBJECT/ICEBREAKER
An object lesson this time to begin our lesson and what you’re going to need for this is two packages of unpopped microwave popcorn. A bowl, and a microwave. And you can start by holding up a packet and asking if anybody wants some popcorn. More than likely, you’ll get a lot of yeses. So you say, “All right, let me get you some.” And you take the packet and rip it open. Inside you’re going to find a big mess of oil, kernels, and salt. And you can ask “All right, who’s hungry?, Anyone interested?”. I’m pretty sure nobody is going to want to eat it. Ask why not? The answer’s obvious. It’s not popped. It’s not ready. And you say, “Exactly. It needs to undergo a transformation first before it’s ready, before it’s appetizing. Is the potential there though? Yes.”
“This is like us,” you explain. “God has given all of us the necessary ingredients to become a certain kind of people. We all have the potential to become the best version of ourselves, with delicious lives. But in order to make that happen, we need to undergo a transformation. And there’s another word for transformation we could use here. A synonym. We could call it a CONVERSION. And that’s only going to happen with power. Not our power, but God’s power. (At this moment, I point to the microwave). However, I have to make the conscious decision to place myself within his power, to recognize the wisdom of his commandments and his plan for my life, to entrust myself to his mercy and his guidance through the Spirit. (Here you place the other unopened packet into the microwave and turn it on). Now something miraculous can happen. And once you’ve placed the packet inside the microwave, you know it’s going to be awhile before the popcorn kernels ever start popping. While you’re waiting, you might say, “Wait a second, nothing’s happening. Why not?” And they’ll tell you that it’s going to take a while before the popping starts. Then ask them what how that relates to conversion. It takes time, and patience before we really begin to recognize the results. Conversion is not an overnight, quick change.
David A. Bednar said:
"For many of us, conversion is an ongoing process and not a onetime event that results from a powerful or dramatic experience. Line upon line and precept upon precept, gradually and almost imperceptibly, our motives, our thoughts, our words, and our deeds become aligned with the will of God. Conversion unto the Lord requires both persistence and patience.”
(CR, October 2012)
So, (you say), when we are willing to place our lives into God’s hands, and trust his power and grace, what will he cause to happen in our lives. (The popcorn should begin popping at this point). A transformation will start to take place. We’ll become different. Better. Happier. Our lives may not be simple or trouble free, but they will be far less messy. We’ll be more able to face the challenges and temptations of mortality.
When the popcorn is done popping, you can pull it out and open the bag and pour it into the bowl. The smell should permeate the room and mouths will begin to water. You may even want to eat a little in front of them and say. Hmmm, this is much better than trying to eat it before the change. All of us, whether we are born into the church or not need to undergo this change, this conversion. And when we do, I believe we’ll notice how much better life is converted. God doesn’t intend us to be kernels our whole lives. We either need to be popped or eventually go bad. And of course, at some point during the lesson, you may want to share some popcorn with the class.
Today we’re going to take a look at a group of people that changed, that underwent that phenomenal transformation. Popcorn people! In the church we often use the words conversion and convert. Conversion is the process of changing or causing something to change from one form to another. And we use the term convert to describe those who encounter the restored gospel later in life. But don’t we all need to be transformed by the gospel? Whether we are lifelong members or we just met with the missionaries for the first time yesterday, we all need to be converts. The questions I want you to ask yourself today are “Have I been converted by God’s power yet?” And “How will I know when I have? I can’t think of a better people anywhere in the scriptures that show us what true conversion looks like—in their attitudes and in their hearts—than the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They are a great standard by which we can measure our own conversion. They going to show us what it means to be truly converted.
There's something in Alma 23:6 that I believe all missionaries would love to say about those they teach, that all parents would love to be able to say about their children, all teachers about their students, all church leaders about their congregations, and what God would love to say about all of us. And hopefully, what we all desire to be able to say about ourselves. Can you see what it is? They never did fall away. That’s the kind of conversion we want. That’s deep conversion. It's the kind of conversion the Anti-Nephi-Lehies exemplify.
In my study of Alma 22-29 I’ve identified seven different attitudes of the deeply converted that the Anti-Nephi-Lehies show us. The Seven habits of highly effective converts. I’m sure there are more, but let’s just focus on these seven. And as we go through each, consider your own conversion. My hope is that this will help inspire all of us in some way today to deepen our conversion.
Teachers, if you only have one lesson period to teach this lesson, you may not have time to do all 7 attitudes, or you may choose to summarize some and spend more time on others. Use your judgment and follow the Spirit on where to best spend your time.
SEARCH-Handout
But one way you can approach this is with a handout. You could use this as a place for your students to keep track of the seven attitudes you cover, or you could send them in with the references to look for the attitudes themselves. So #1. The first attitude of true conversion is shown to us by the King of the Lamanites. King Lamoni’s father. And we discussed this briefly last week, but I felt that thematically it fit better here. What was he willing to give for the gospel’s sake? Alma 22:15
15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
The attitude of true conversion here? A willingness to give everything for God’s kingdom.
Now that sounds fairly extreme doesn’t it. Give away all your worldly possessions to follow Christ. And how many examples can you give me whether in scripture or church history where God actually called in that payment. Where he actually asked somebody to give up all that they had to follow him. You’re not going to find many. One such instance though is the story of the rich young ruler in the New Testament. This young man asked a similar question to Lamoni’s Father didn’t he. (Luke 18) What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus’s answer was to sell all that he had, give it to the poor and follow him. And you may remember that that young man went away sorrowing because he had great possessions. Now personally, I believe that that was probably just a test of faith—that Jesus probably would not have really required this of him. Joseph F. Smith once suggested that. And think about it, in order to be a temple worthy member of the church, do we have to give away all our worldly wealth, give it to the poor, and serve in the church continually? No, God doesn’t require that of us. What is required though? The willingness to give all. That’s true conversion, to be willing to do so. So are we willing to give all? And how will we and God know if we are? I think to answer that we only need to ask ourselves one question. Am I willing to give up the things that he HAS asked of me? To make the sacrifices that are less than giving all. So God says, “I didn’t require that you give away all your financial gain for my kingdom, but I did ask for 10%. Were you willing to do that?” I didn’t require that you dedicate your entire life to full time missionary service, but I did ask for two years. Were you willing to give that?” I didn’t require that you spend all your waking hours in church worship and gospel study, but I did ask you for two hours each week on Sunday, were you willing to give that? I didn’t ask you to give up all forms of media and entertainment, but I did ask you to give up certain kinds, were you willing to do that? And on and on. And the implication is, if we were willing to give up the smaller things that God required, then that’s a fairly good indication that we would have been willing to give all, if he asked it. But if we aren’t willing to abide by the smaller requests, it stands to reason that we probably wouldn’t comply with a greater one.
So attitude #1 A willingness to give all that God asks.
Attitude #2
22:18 King Lamoni’s father again. What’s he willing to give up here? Something even more precious than all his worldly wealth.
18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead.
Here’s the real sacrifice we have to make. Giving up all our worldly possessions is nothing compared to what giving up what King Lamoni’s father is willing to give. And I would say it like this, “In order to obtain God’s kingdom we are all going to need to sacrifice our most precious things.” And what are our most precious things? Our sins. And I know that sounds strange to label our sins as precious, but that’s what they are if we consider precious to be, that which we will hold on to above all else. Are there individuals out there who are willing to give up great blessings in order to hold onto their sins? Yes. People will sacrifice their health in order to hold onto their addictions. People will sacrifice their families and relationships in order to hold onto their moral sins, such as pornography or adultery. People will sacrifice their sense of peace in order to hold onto their hatred and anger. People will sacrifice the companionship of the Spirit in order to hold onto their distasteful movies and music. People will give up eternal life in order to hold onto their beloved sins. But the truly converted individual recognizes that what God has to offer, in the long run, is far greater than anything the world or sin can give.
I love the story that C.S. Lewis tells in his delightful book, “The Great Divorce”. As a teacher, I’ve found that summarizing this little story is an effective and entertaining of way of helping my students understand the principle of sacrificing our sins in order to know God. And the book is about a group of sinners from hell who are starting to get tired of it and begin to wonder what heaven is like. And so, if you’re in hell and you want to check out heaven, how do you do it? You take a bus ride, of course. And so they go to the bus stop and get on the bus to heaven. And once the bus arrives, the people are told that they don’t have to go back down to hell if they don’t want to. This doesn’t have to be just a visit. But they’re informed that aren’t yet inside heaven but that it’s just over the hills and they can go there. The catch is though, that, before they can enter heaven, they need to be willing to change the things about themselves that sent them to hell in the first place. But that should be much easier now that they know what hell is really like. That should give them the motivation to change, wouldn’t it? The interesting thing about the book is that most of the characters, for one reason or another, decide that they can’t or won’t change and they end up getting back on the bus to return to hell. But there’s one man with a red lizard on his shoulder. The lizard was Lewis’s symbol for sin. It’s a good one too! We all seem to have our little pet sins that we carry around with us. Things that part of us finds embarrassing and wishes were gone, but another part of us can’t bear to part with. The lizard speaks to the man and whispers in his ears and tells him what to do. Well in the story, an angel approaches the man and asks if he’d like to go to heaven. The man says, of course, but you know, I don’t think I could go with this little guy. And the angel says, you’re right, so shall I kill it for you. And what follows is this fascinating exchange and wrestle between the man, the angel, and the lizard. Finally the man gives the angel permission, and he reaches out and rips the lizard from his shoulder, that digs it`s claws in as he’s pulled. What might the implication be there? Repentance and letting go of our pet sins can be painful and difficult. In Alma 22:15 King Lamoni’s father asks to have the wicked spirit in him rooted out of his breast. That’s a graphic word. Have you ever pulled weeds before? You want to get at the root, or it will just eventually come back. But to root it out, requires digging, and pulling, and twisting and clawing. And God can’t do that for us against our will. We have to give him permission to kill our sins. So in the story, the angel pulls the lizard free from the man’s shoulder and kills the lizard as the man crumples to the ground in pain. But then an amazing “transformation” takes place. A conversion, as the man begins to radiate with light, and his shoulder wounds close up and he stands up shining with glory. Something happens to the lizard too. It transforms and changes into a beautiful white stallion, perhaps symbolizing that God can take our weaknesses and turn them into strengths. The man then mounts the horse and rides triumphantly into heaven. I think, in a symbolic way, that’s what happens to King Lamoni’s father, and what needs to happen to all of us. We need to allow God to root the wicked spirit, the natural man, out of our breasts, and rip the lizards from our shoulders. If you have the time, before you teach that story, familiarize yourself with it and read it in Chapter 11 of C.S. Lewis’s “The Great Divorce”.
The truly converted can do this. They have a willingness to give away their sins in order to know God. They know what has higher value in the grand scheme of things. That’s attitude #2.
Attitude #3
There’s a phrase that's repeated many times in these chapters regarding the Anti-Nephi-Lehies that describes their conversion. Let’s see if you can find it in the following verses, and I encourage you to mark it in a unique color when you find it.
Alma 19:16, 19:31, 22:23, 23:6, 23:8, 23:13, 24:6
What’s the phrase? They were converted unto the Lord. Now that’s a significant phrase there. They weren’t just converted, but converted unto the Lord. And why do you think that’s an important distinction? I believe there are other types of conversion that we may encounter that are less effective and less capable of creating converts that “never did fall away”. People sometimes end up converted to people or things rather than the Lord. Can you think of any examples?
Here are a few that I can think of:
As a missionary, I knew of people who stopped attending church as soon as the missionaries that initially taught them had left. Who were they converted unto? They were converted unto the missionaries
When Joseph Smith died, some members left the church, and couldn't accept Brigham Young as a new prophet.
Who were they converted unto? They were converted unto Jospeh Smith, unto the charisma of a church leader.
When the practice of polygamy was stopped, some members continued to practice it without the consent of the prophet and even formed their own churches to continue living it.
What were they converted unto? They were converted unto a specific practice or policy.
Maybe someone leaves their community or country, and goes somewhere where the church isn't well established, where there are no programs, no social support, no other members. Maybe nobody even knows that they are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, and they fall away.
They were converted unto the programs of the church or the social structure.
But what kind of disciples never fall away? Those that are converted unto the Lord. There are certain things we’ll do for the Lord that we won’t do for anyone else. Christ is unchangeable and unfailing. If we’re converted unto him, then missionaries can leave, policies can change, people can apostatize, leaders can falter, and we can remain true because we've built our faith upon the Rock of our Redeemer—on Christ. The only sure foundation on which to build. A rock “whereon if men build they cannot fall” as Helaman taught us. So attitude #3 of the deeply converted. They are converted unto the Lord.
Attitude #4
We talked about this attitude extensively in my Alma 1-4 video where we compared the Anti-Nephi-Lehies to the Amlicites, so we’ll only cover it briefly here. It comes from 23:16 and 27:27 where we discover how they distinguished themselves. They distinguished themselves by name, refusing to call themselves Lamanites and all that entailed, and took upon themselves the names of Nephi and Lehi. Individuals they wished to pattern their lives after. They were also distinguished by their zeal towards God and all men, their honesty, and their faith. The truly converted wish to be distinguished from the world in righteous ways. Not aloof, or separate, or feel like they're better than, but distinguished. They understand that a commitment to Christ meant being a different kind of person. They seek to distinguish themselves by their character and not in the outward ways of the world.
Attitude #5
Is an attitude of repentance. Even the deeply converted err and falter. But they approach their imperfections and their mistakes in a specific way. What do you notice from the following verses:
24:11
11 And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do, (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain—
24:15
15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.
24:18
18 And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man's blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.
27:8
8 And the king said unto him: Yea, if the Lord saith unto us go, we will go down unto our brethren, and we will be their slaves until we repair unto them the many murders and sins which we have committed against them.
These people were guilty of some fairly serious sins. Murders even before they were converted. But how do they approach those past sins? They are willing to do all they can to make restitution for their errors. To do as much as they can do. They wish to repair the past as much as possible. I really love 24:18 where they seek to balance their past sin with present good works. And they match up. Rather than taking life, they are willing to give up their own. Instead of taking things, they give, and instead of being idle, now they labor abundantly. This is a perfect illustration of the principle of restitution. Rather than just getting rid of the bad in their lives, they seek to fill its place with good. We would be wise to remember that in our own efforts to repent. Don’t just stop sinning, start doing good things to fill the void that the sin leaves behind. If we really struggle to get sin out of our lives, and then fill that space with good deeds and being anxiously engaged in a good cause. Then, there won’t be any room for that sin to return.
And since they approach their errors with this attitude, the atonement covers them! Is the blood of Christ’s atonement even powerful enough to cleanse the blood of murder? Under certain circumstances, yes. And it did in these circumstances. I love how they described themselves as the most lost of all mankind. I can’t imagine any of us would fit that description. But if the atonement can cleanse the most lost, then certainly it can cleanse us.
So attitude #5, They do as much as they can to repair the damage their sins have caused.
Attitude #6
Is a second attitude related to repentance and is probably the act the Anti-Nephi-Lehies are most known for. What were they willing to do with what 23:13 calls the weapons of [their] rebellion, their swords and cimeters? They were willing to bury them deep in the earth. This is the attitude of “Not only am I going to seek to repair the damage caused by my sins, I’m going to do everything in my power to prevent myself from even coming close to doing what I once did.” Now they could have just hidden their swords in their closets or under their beds. But where is the wisdom in burying them deep in the earth? Well if I hide my sword in my closet, what might I be tempted to do in a moment of weakness or when a battle arises? It’s not too difficult to grab my sword out of my closet or from under my bed. But if it’s buried deep in the earth, it’s nigh impossible for me to get to it. I’ve distanced myself significantly from my temptations. Sometimes when it comes to abandoning sin, restraint may not be enough. Sometimes we need to place constraints in our lives to overcome them. We would be wise to do this same kind of thing with our weapons of rebellion. If we truly wish to repent, it’s wise to place the instruments of our rebellion as far from ourselves as possible. We may need to burn some bridges and cut some ties.
If you’re struggling to liken the scriptures here, let’s do a little case study activity. Give the following individuals advice on how they could bury the "weapons of their rebellion" deep. Some are fairly straightforward while others may require some thought and creativity. And, I’m not going to give you my thoughts this time. I just want you to ponder how you would counsel these people to bury their weapons deep.
I’ve decided to quit smoking, but I know it’s going to be difficult. How can I keep myself from returning to my addiction?
The friends I hang out with swear, talk about inappropriate things, listen to bad music, and get into a lot of trouble. I’m starting to notice myself doing the same things. What do I do? I don’t have any other friends and I like them; we have a good time.
I have trouble looking at pornography on the Internet, I don’t want to do it anymore, but I can’t just throw my computer away, I need it for school. What do I do?
I realize that I’ve been a jerk to a lot of people for a long time. I’ve made fun of others who are different or poorer. I guess I’ve just thought that I’m better than they are because I have more money and more friends. How can I change?
Now that’s one way of looking at and applying the burying of their weapons of war. But I have one more thought on burying your sins deep in the earth. There’s an alternate way of looking at that action. I’m not so sure that the #1 purpose of them burying their weapons was because they were worried they might return to them, like they just knew that in a moment of weakness in the future they were going to want to go and grab them. There may be some of that purpose in it, but look at Alma 24:16. The king says:
16 And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.
They buried them as a testimony. As a symbol of their changed hearts. In a sense, they were burying the past. That’s not us anymore. We’ve experienced a mighty change of heart and we’re not going back. They are forgotten, buried, covered. And not only were they seeking to forget that former lifestyle, so had God. They are a perfect illustration of Doctrine and Covenants 58:42-43 which says:
42 Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.
43 By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins, behold, he will confess them and forsake them.
The anti-Nephi-Lehies have certainly confessed and forsaken their sins, therefore, the Lords grace had covered, buried, and left them forgotten. We would do well to remember this when we repent. When we’ve repented and buried our sins, we need to allow Christ’s atonement to cover them. We need to give Christ his victory over our sins. He paid a great price so that he could say the words “I forgive you”. Sometimes we hold onto our guilt and continue to carry our sins with us even after forgiveness has been granted. What good is forgiveness if we're constantly pulling our sins out and examining them and condemning ourselves anew. C.S. Lewis said "“I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal (or judge) than Him.” So when you repent, bury your sins deep and find joy in Christ’s forgiveness. Bury the past. Let it go. Look back in verse 10. They say that God had "taken away the guilt from their hearts”. They weren’t holding onto their guilt, they let Christ take it away. I suggest we allow Him to do the same for us as well.
So Attitude 6. They bury the weapons of their rebellion deep.
Attitude #7
I think it’s important to consider the circumstances under which the Anti-Nephi-Lehies are burying their weapons of war. They weren’t just acting at any random time as just as a reaction to their past sins. At this particular time, they are under threat of attack. The unbelieving Lamanites aren’t too thrilled about this sudden change of heart in their leaders, and they plan to go to war against them. They see them as traitors to the Lamanite culture and tradition, manipulated by these lying Nephites. They’re also being spurred on by the apostate Amalekites and Amulonites, Nephite dissenters who always seem to be the biggest instigators of trouble between the two nations. So, this isn’t a very opportune time for them to bury their swords. When they do it, they know full well what's likely to happen. But that doesn’t deter them. In verse 19, Mormon explains it to us:
19 And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.
They'd rather die than go back to their old way of life. And we might say, “No, wait a second. Self-defense is not a sin. This would a different kind of fighting.” But that’s not how they see it. They have left killing behind. Whether justified or not. They’ve had enough of shedding blood. We’ll die, then, rather than returning to that frame of mind. And a large number of them do. At the end of chapter 24, 1005 of them are slain by the attacking Lamanites while they are in the act of calling upon God, putting up no resistance. That’s true conversion. That’s commitment to righteousness. Interestingly, the attacking army is so moved by this display of faith and sacrifice, that they throw down their weapons, stung by their murders, and more people join the Church of God that day than were lost. This reminds me of the peaceful resistance movements of Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. where the refusal to turn to violence is what actually changes the hearts of the oppressor. What a sacrifice those people made. I’m not sure if they knew that that would be the effect of their non-violent resistance, but maybe they did and were willing to give their lives to help their brethren see the senselessness of hate.
And in the face of this tragic ordeal, look at the attitude in the words of the king. What do you notice?
8 And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have opened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites.
9 And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders which we have committed.
10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.
Look at how many times he expresses gratitude. The truly converted are capable of feeling gratitude in the face of trial. They recognize that following Christ does not guarantee a problem and pain free life. In fact, our discipleship may even create pain and hardship. This may be one of the hardest attitudes to cultivate as a disciple of Christ. Discipleship may not guarantee us freedom from opposition, pain, sorrow, or tragedy, but it does guarantee us mercy, light, truth, comfort, and eternal salvation. So our final attitude. The truly converted demonstrate gratitude even in the face of opposition.
TRUTH
For the truth, I would just display the chart we’ve put together here. This is what deep discipleship looks like. This is what a mighty change of heart looks like. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies have given us a perfect example of what it means to be converted. Not just influenced, not just partially altered, not just socially motivated, but converted.
TAKING IT TO HEART
To take this lesson to heart, take a closer look at each of the attitudes of true conversion that we’ve discussed here, and ask yourself which you feel you most need to develop? Pick at least one that connected with you on a deeper level and then consider the accompanying question or challenge from this list.
· Think of a God-requested sacrifice that you previously have not been willing to make. Start making it this week and note what happens.
· Is there a sin you’ve been holding onto? Will you give it away in order to know God better?
· If you don’t feel that you are converted unto the Lord, think of one way you could make Christ a stronger foundation for your faith?
· Make a goal to more fully develop a Christlike quality that will distinguish you from the world.
· Think of something you could do to repair the wrongs your misdeeds have caused.
· Think of one of your weapons of rebellion and devise a plan to “bury it deep”.
· Cultivate gratitude regardless of your circumstances by expressing thanks to God every morning this next month.
THE TAKEAWAY
I hope these suggestions can help us to become different. Remember that we are all meant to be converted and transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. The potential lies in all of us. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies set an inspiring example for us to follow. So what kind of popcorn are we going to be? Will we choose to remain just oily kernels or will we allow the power of God’s words and mercy change us into something far greater. Like the faithful people in these chapters. And like them, hopefully it can also be said of us, and our students, and our children, “they never did fall away”.
LESSON #2 THE ULTIMATE HOMECOMING TALKS (Alma 26, 29)
OBJECT
For an object to this second lesson, I just like to wear one of my old missionary name tags while I teach the lesson that day. If you don’t have one or can’t arrange to borrow one, you could always just print one out on paper and tape it to your shirt if you like.
ICEBREAKER
And then for an icebreaker to this section, I like to do the following activity. Since we’re obviously going to be talking about missionary work today, then you’re all going to need a companion to work with. Missionaries don’t work alone. There is safety and strength in going two by two. So here’s a fun way to divide everyone up into pairs. You are going to give each person in the class a card with a name on it. Their job is to go and find their companion. Now the cards have famous duos on them. For example, if your card said Batman, who would you be looking for? Robin, right? If your card said Mario, you should be looking for Luigi? See how that works? This obviously works better if you have a larger class, but it works with smaller classes as well. Some other famous pairs I’ve included in the handouts this week.
Woody/Buzz
Bert/Ernie
Tom/Jerry
Han Solo/Chewbacca
Bacon/Eggs
SpongeBob/Patrick
Sherlock/Dr.Watson
You get the picture? I’ve made enough of these to cover a class of up to 40 people. If you have an odd number of people in the class, you may need to have a companionship of 3, which sometimes actually happens in the mission field as well. In that case, I will give one card to two people to work together to find their third companion.
Once they’ve found their companions, you can introduce them to the chapters they’ll be studying together that day. I would dub the following two chapters in the Book of Mormon “The Ultimate Homecoming Talks”. Alma 26 and Alma 29. In those chapters we get to hear the thoughts and feelings of some of the greatest missionaries of all time as they reflect on their efforts to preach the gospel. That famous duo? Ammon and Alma the Younger. And though they weren’t missionary companions, they were great friends. And when they reunite after years of working with people, Alma serving stateside, and Ammon foreign (so to speak), they express what their missionary service taught them and how they feel about it. And we’re going to begin our study of these chapters by examining a poignant question that Ammon asks at the beginning of his address in 26:2. What’s the question?
2 And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell?
That’s the first question we want to answer today. What is the worth of the work?
SEARCH
Assignment #1
So your companionship’s first assignment is a marking activity. I’ve pulled out some specific power phrases from these chapters and what you will do is take turns reading the phrases out loud, marking them, and then deciding together what the blessing is in one word. And then write that word next to that phrase in their scriptures. What does that phrase indicate as a blessing of missionary work for the missionary themselves.
So here are the phrases.
:3 How many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God”
:3 We have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work
:5 Ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor.
:9 These our dearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly beloved us.
:12 I know that I am nothing, as to my strength I am weak . . . in his strength I can do all things.
:27 When our hearts were depressed . . . behold, the Lord comforted us.
:28 We have been patient in our sufferings . . .relying . . .upon the mercies of God.
:37 I will give thanks unto my god forever.
Then, their next task is to choose which of those phrases was their favorite and share their answer with their companion and why they chose it. You could also encourage some of them to share their answer with the entire class as well.
Here are my thoughts on those phrases.
:3 Conversion. The first blessing he mentions after asking that question was to recognize how many people had been changed by the power of the gospel. The blessing is seeing conversion in others. I like that. We don’t do missionary work for the selfish reason of bringing blessings to ourselves. The focus is outward. It’s not about us. Although there are great blessings to the missionary, and that should help motivate us, hopefully our major motivation is to see other’s lives change for the better. Watching that light enter into their lives causes that same light to shine more brightly within us.
:3 Usefulness. One of the blessings of missionary work is to become an instrument in the hands of God. We talked a little about this last week. You get the privilege of being guided by him, utilized by him, and become an extension of him and his power. Doctors and Dentists use instruments, builders use instruments, engineers use instruments. These things allow the master to do their work more efficiently and effectively. What a trusting and generous God that allows us to work with him and aid Him in his work. At times, it seems like I’ve felt the hand of God reach out, take hold of me, and use me according to his will and wisdom. Thoughts come to my mind, words form in my mouth, his will takes hold of my actions. And I’m so grateful when that kind of thing happens that I am considered a worthy instrument in his hands.
:5 Work. Missionary work teaches you how to work hard. It’s called labor in the vineyard for a reason. It’s labor, like farming labor, yard work. The kind of work that makes you sweat and your muscles ache. I don’t think I’ve ever worked harder in my life than my full-time missionary service. Missionary service will teach you the value and the satisfaction of hard honest fulfilling work.
:9 Love. You will experience love and how to be loved in missionary work. You feel a deep love for those you teach, and they love you. There is a special, everlasting bond that forms between missionary and convert, between shepherd and the lost sheep, between rescuer and the saved. And I imagine that bond will continue throughout eternity.
:12 Humility and reliance on God. Missionary work will humble you. It will make you realize that on your own, you are nothing, but with God, you are everything. I remember doing a role play in the MTC where I was practicing the teaching of a discussion. And I was feeling the power of the principle I was teaching and bearing testimony, and I noticed a tear start to form in the eye of this sister missionary. And, I’m ashamed to admit it, but my first thought was, Gosh, I’m good. And immediately I felt a withdrawal of the Spirit, and I began to stumble over my words, and the power left, and the connection was severed. I’m glad I learned that lesson early in my service. Without God’s help, we are nothing, but with it, there is nothing we can’t accomplish.
:27 Comfort. Missionary work can certainly be discouraging at times. I imagine that most individuals that seek to teach and change others will face great opposition and disappointment in their efforts. There will be times when you may want to turn back, give up, or throw up your hands in exasperation. You may feel like you’re not doing any good. It’s at those moments where the comforting power of the Holy Spirit can enter into your heart and console you. I felt that comfort at a particularly dark point in my mission where the Spirit seemed to lift me up to view the work from Heavenly Father’s perspective. I was mourning over the hard heartedness of a small population of his children. I imagined how he must feel about all of his children the world over and throughout history that have rejected his message and the happiness that accompanies it. And that helped me to connect with my Father in Heaven in a way I had never experienced before. Together, we mourned for his children and that comforted me and gave me the strength to push forward.
:28 Patience. Missionary work will teach you patience. As I said last week, people don’t usually change overnight. Missionary work will teach you patience with others, patience with God, and hopefully, patience with yourself.
:37 Gratitude. Missionary work will make you more grateful. Grateful for the truth you understand. Grateful for the opportunity you have to teach that truth. Grateful for what you leave behind and sacrifice in order to serve others. Grateful for the people who listen to you and grateful to the God that supports you. Missionary work will fill you with the spirit of thanksgiving daily.
Assignment #2
Now to add one more blessing of missionary work. The big one. There is one set of words or an idea that seems to come up more than any other in these chapters regarding the blessings of missionary work. It’s all over them. In fact, it’s the very first thing Ammon mentions and we’re going to find it in every single one of the following verses. With their companions, encourage your students to find and mark that idea in a new color and to be the first ones to do so. It’s a bit of a marking race. Then you as a teacher can go through and check to see if they got them all if you can find 22 separate markings in that color. You may even offer a small reward to the companionship who wins.
26:1
26:4
26:10
26:11
26:13
26:16
26:30
26:35
26:37
27:16
27:17
27:18
27:19
27:26
28:8
28:12
28:14
29:9
29:10
29:13
29:14
29:16
But what’s the idea? It’s joy. Missionary work brings rejoicing. The word joy is found 134 times in the Book of Mormon, and 1/3 of those “joys” are use in connection with the Sons of Mosiah.
Now we won’t review every verse but a here’s a sampling of a few that stand out.
In 26:16 Ammon’s joy is so great that he’s says he cannot say the smallest part of which he feels. I know I felt that way when I saw the power of the gospel change lives while serving my full-time mission. I’ve felt that way as I’ve seen members in my ward’s over the years return to full activity. I’ve felt that way as I’ve worked and taught students and seen their testimonies bloom and grow. I feel it when I share my testimony and thoughts from the scriptures with all of you every week. It’s hard to even express how wonderful it is. It feels rewarding, fulfilling, enjoyable and above all, joyful.
In 27:15 Ammon’s joy is so great that he is overpowered by it and falls to the ground. Which is kind of a thing with Ammon, he always seems to be passing out. But that’s just how joyful he feels!
In 28:8 it’s referred to as incomprehensible joy.
Missionary work = Joy .
So take a look at that list again. The decision to serve as a missionary, whether full-time or as a member, should be one of the easiest decisions we ever make. Just look at the promises. Look at the blessings. Any effort we expend, any sacrifice we make, will be worth it.
For me personally, I never really got over that joy of missionary work. That’s why I chose the profession I did. I love teaching the gospel. That’s why I love teaching seminary. That’s why I love teaching my children. That’s why I love teaching all of you. It’s my passion. It’s my joy. And how grateful I am for a Father in Heaven that has granted these opportunities so graciously to me. I feel like the luckiest person on earth that I get to do this so often. I am not able to express even the smallest part of what I feel.
Assignment #3
For our next assignment, we’re going to do a bit of a mini-icebreaker. Invite your students to share with their companion their answer to the following question. If you could have any superpower, what would it be. You could even say that whichever of the two in their companionship whose birthday is coming up next, has to share first. But after that, encourage them to look in Alma 29:1-2 for the superpower that Alma wished he had. What did he want to be able to do?
1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.
Of all the superpowers he could wish for, Alma just wants to be a better missionary. He wishes that he could speak with the tongue of angels. A few weeks ago we talked about the different voices of God. The still, small voice, the voice of his servants, and the voice of nature. It sounds like Alma wishes he could tap into that third voice, that voice of thunder and earthquake. He feels that If he could just teach with that same power, maybe he could save more souls. Maybe he would be able to convince more people to change. After all, it was the voice of an angel that had power to shake the earth that saved him. Wouldn’t it be wonderful, he dreams, if all could be provided that opportunity. And with that voice, perhaps he could eliminate some of that sorrow and darkness upon the earth.
Now Alma 29 is just so pure, so from the heart. There are a few chapters in the Book of Mormon where you really get to see inside the soul of the author, where they open themselves up and show the innermost parts of their hearts with some vulnerability. Nephi in 2 Nephi 4, Enos in Enos, Moroni in Mormon 8. And here you really get to feel of Alma the Younger’s character and soul. It’s a phenomenal missionary homecoming talk.
So the activity here is to just play that chapter in its entirety to your class. Doesn’t take long. You can do so on your phone or laptop by going to that chapter in the gospel library app or the scriptures page on the Church website and clicking the little headphones button at the bottom of the page. A narration of the chapter will then begin. And while they listen, encourage them to pick out one verse or phrase that stands out to them. Something they learned from it or enjoyed. And there’s lots of great things to choose from here.
Alma’s recognition that he ought to be content with the powers and opportunities that he HAS been granted with.
His confidence in the Lord’s justice and wisdom.
His exceeding joy in the opportunities he’s had to be an instrument in God’s hand.
His exceeding joy in seeing the effect the gospel has had in the lives of those he taught.
And his exceeding joy in his brethren’s success, not just his own.
It’s a powerful talk with a lot to take in from it.
Assignment #4
One final quick assignment. I find this is a great way to conclude this missionary lesson, and it takes us back to chapter 28. This is a problem/solution section in the scriptures. You’ve heard me say it many times over in our studies together. The Lord never presents a problem in the scriptures without also sharing the solution somewhere nearby. So starting in verse 10 and ending in verse 13, what’s the problem Alma highlights. And these are fairly dark verses. Alma laments the tragedies that he’s beheld in his life. In the past 15 years, what has he witnessed? Destruction, an awful scene of bloodshed. Mourning, fear, endless wo, inequality, transgression, the power of the devil, his cunning plans ensnaring people. And isn’t that just like our day? Don’t we see the same thing? That’s all we seem to hear. Bad news, and a lot of it. But God offers a solution to the world’s problems. What is it? Verse 14 holds the solution.
14 And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life.
So what’s the solution to the world’s evils? How do we fight back? We labor in the vineyard. That is the solution. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing powerful enough to fight sadness, pain, inequality, bloodshed, and the cunning plans of the devil. So if we look around us and all we find is discouragement and sorrow and bad news, is there anything we can do about it? YES! We can seek to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with our fellowman. And just look at the effect that had in Alma’s world! In the midst of all that badness and death and hatred came five idealistic boys and their companions who were willing to sacrifice and work and serve and teach. This is also OUR answer back to the evils, and the destruction, and the bloodshed we see in the world around us.
VIDEO
If you wish to hammer this point home in the hearts of your students, you may consider showing a video. The following video entitled “The Value of a Full-Time Mission” features many young men and young women extolling the blessings of missionary service. You could ask the following: What blessings of missionary service can you spot?
If you’re teaching a different age group where full time missionary work isn’t as much of an option for them at that point in their lives. The following video about member missionary work is a good alternative. It’s entitled “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go” and features scenes of people doing missionary work in lots of different ways. You could ask: How many different ways of doing missionary work can you spot?
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2013-06-1031-ill-go-where-you-want-me-to-go?lang=eng
TRUTH
Missionary work = blessings, joy, and solutions to life and the world’s problems.
TAKING IT TO HEART
What blessings have you already experienced as a result of your missionary efforts?
I WILL GO AND DO
You could hand everyone a sticky note to put in their scriptures and ask them the following question: From the principles we’ve discussed today, write down one thing you feel the Savior wants you to do.
THE TAKEAWAY
Well, that concludes some of the greatest chapters in all scripture on the power and beauty of missionary work. I know that it has reenergized me to put more effort into this work as I’ve studied it. There are certainly people in my sphere of influence that I could do more for. Missionary work is worth it! Sharing the gospel will spreads joy and light throughout the world, for us, and everyone we speak to. You wanna save the world? Share the gospel with someone.
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