"...the great goodness of our God..."
I have been reading in Alma in the Book of Mormon, chapter 34 (pg. 293) where Amulek, a missionary at that time in the land of the Americas, is testifying of Jesus Christ to a group of people who had been rejected by their brethren because of their poverty. Because of their rejection that brought them to a greater depth of humility, I feel that their hearts were prepared to hear truth in it's purest form. I have read these verses many times, but this time, this verse struck me with power. There is a different verse in the Book of Mormon that talks about the power of the word of God (in preaching) having a greater effect over the hearts of men than ANYTHING else. (Alma 31:5, pg. 285) I testify that is true. I was reminded of that in reading these verses again and the feelings I felt.
So Amulek is teaching them of the plan-of our purpose here-and Jesus Christ's role in it. He teaches them of the importance of the atonement (the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and all it entails), that all of us would perish without it, because we are not perfect and sin every day. (Alma 34:9) Amulek then continues to expound further on this sacrifice, using words such as 'great and last sacrifice', an 'infinite and eternal'-emphasizing the importance and vitality of what Christ did for us.
In reading these verses, I started to contemplate how blessed I am for such a sacrifice given on my behalf. I imagined living life here on earth without being able to be forgiven for when I have fallen short and having to carry those burdens on my own back throughout my time here on earth. It was as though I could physically feel the weight of all my mistakes in my lifetime on my shoulders as I contemplated all this. I then noticed I had marked a scripture reference from this verse to another part of the scriptures in 2 Nephi 9 (pg. 73), also in reference to what Christ has done for us. This particular section contains the words of a man named Jacob who was teaching his people the words of Isaiah and sharing his own feelings on Jesus Christ.
I LOVE what he says in verse 10: "O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call death of the body, and also the death of the spirit."
Think of the evilest monster you can conjure up in your imagination. Now envsion it is looming over, you about to devour you in your entirety-when along comes someone. Someone who has the strength you lack to fight the monster. He takes that monster and ties him up with the other monsters he's taken captive. You stand there dumbfounded at how your life has just been spared, for everything you can humanly do to show gratitude to this person seems inadequate.
I know this is a feeble attempt to express something I feel so strongly, but I am so grateful for what Jesus Christ has done for me in freeing me from such a monster that could hold me bound and consume me. He DID free me from that and continues to do so. I know that through Him ALL things are possible, for which I am forever in debted to him.
So Amulek is teaching them of the plan-of our purpose here-and Jesus Christ's role in it. He teaches them of the importance of the atonement (the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and all it entails), that all of us would perish without it, because we are not perfect and sin every day. (Alma 34:9) Amulek then continues to expound further on this sacrifice, using words such as 'great and last sacrifice', an 'infinite and eternal'-emphasizing the importance and vitality of what Christ did for us.
In reading these verses, I started to contemplate how blessed I am for such a sacrifice given on my behalf. I imagined living life here on earth without being able to be forgiven for when I have fallen short and having to carry those burdens on my own back throughout my time here on earth. It was as though I could physically feel the weight of all my mistakes in my lifetime on my shoulders as I contemplated all this. I then noticed I had marked a scripture reference from this verse to another part of the scriptures in 2 Nephi 9 (pg. 73), also in reference to what Christ has done for us. This particular section contains the words of a man named Jacob who was teaching his people the words of Isaiah and sharing his own feelings on Jesus Christ.
I LOVE what he says in verse 10: "O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call death of the body, and also the death of the spirit."
Think of the evilest monster you can conjure up in your imagination. Now envsion it is looming over, you about to devour you in your entirety-when along comes someone. Someone who has the strength you lack to fight the monster. He takes that monster and ties him up with the other monsters he's taken captive. You stand there dumbfounded at how your life has just been spared, for everything you can humanly do to show gratitude to this person seems inadequate.
I know this is a feeble attempt to express something I feel so strongly, but I am so grateful for what Jesus Christ has done for me in freeing me from such a monster that could hold me bound and consume me. He DID free me from that and continues to do so. I know that through Him ALL things are possible, for which I am forever in debted to him.
posted by Lynette at
9:42 AM
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