Alma 30:44

In the midst of thinking about my ideas for "Why Atheists are Sometimes Right," I was pondering Alma 30:44 (which I mentioned in the last post), and figured I'd try to do some stickies of it. I'm pretty satisfied with the end result.

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I know that God, our Heavenly Father, created this and all the other worlds, and I know that all of His creations indeed witness that He created them. I'm thankful for the opportunity I have to be here and to enjoy everything He has made. I so say in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

-Elder Richmond

D&C 122

Do you feel as if you're falling? 

Do all of your problems seem to be collapsing on top of you, 

threatening to crush your spirit?

Does the light at the end of the tunnel seem to be dimming?

Do you feel a darkness beginning to surround you?

Does it feel as if you're one step away from being swallowed up by

all the dark and gloom in your life?

If so...

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When Joseph Smith was 14 years old, he had a question. He took this question to prayer, and something miraculous occurred: God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him (more info here, on mormon.org)

After this occurred, Satan decided to turn things up a notch:

"I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects—all united to persecute me." (Joseph Smith--History 1:22)

To be clear, Joseph didn't want to harm anyone. His message was of peace, and yet it was responded to by violence. 

Eventually, Joseph found himself in Liberty Jail, a dark, oppressing dungeon in Missouri. His wife, Emma, was left alone to take care of their children. His friends and family were being driven from their homes and beaten and killed. All of this, in effect, because of the vision he had seen.

It must have felt horrible. Stuck in the jail with no light, poor conditions, and nothing really to do but think about his situation. 

Did Joseph ever doubt the veracity of what he had seen? We don't know. We do know, however, that the oppressive circumstances led him to cry out:

"O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?" (D&C 121:1)

To which our loving Heavenly Father responded:

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

Following these words and other instructions, God counseled Joseph on the reasons for adversity, which we've already described with the stickies (read the full section here)

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So, what can we take from all of this? Unfortunately, bad things are going to happen to all of us. Part of the purpose of this life is so that we can recognize what sorrow is, because it will help us more fully appreciate true joy. 

What I want to share is that there is truly no suffering that comes upon us without a reason. Things will seem black at times. Very, very, very black. We often won't understand why these things happen to us until some time later, but they key is that we Keep Moving Forward until that day comes. And the day will come. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

-Elder Richmond

Alma 32:28-42

Time to dust the dust off the blog a little bit! I've been focusing more on a Spanish blog at the moment (See Here!), but I figured I'd give this one a little TLC.

I thought I'd share something I drew today (Disclaimer: I don't claim to be an artist. However, my dad is! Here's his website [Ron Richmond Fine Art], and here's his business facebook. Enjoy!). As quoted, the pictures are based off of a sermon that the Book of Mormon prophet Alma gave on the topic of Faith.

If you can't read what the stickies say, I'll provide some captions:

1. "Now, we will compare the word unto a seed...(Alma 32:28)"

2. "...If ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold...it will begin to swell within your breasts... (Alma 32:28)"

"...And now, because...it...beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good (Alma 32:33)"

3. "And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care,... that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us... (Alma 32:37)"

4. "...by your faith with great diligence, and with patience... it shall be a tree springing up unto Everlasting Life (Alma 32:41)"

5. "...By and by, ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious... and pure above all that is pure... and ye shall feast upon this fruit, even until ye are filled (Alma 32:42)"

So, what does all this mean?

It means that there is a process we follow to see if something will help us out. We first obtain a seed, either by reading the scriptures or hearing someone's testimony. The seed is the word of God, and it promises us happiness. If we believe it, we then seek to apply it to our lives (we "plant it in our hearts") to see if it really will bring us the promised blessings (and even if we don't believe it, simply the desire to believe in it can be enough to work with (see Alma 32:27)). As it grows, it makes us feel good, and we can then determine that the seed was a good seed; the word is true. But, that isn't the end. We must continue to act on this belief, or "nourish the seed," throughout our lives. At the end, we'll have a giant tree, bearing fruit. And, as we eat this fruit, we will find that it brings us the greatest joy possible: the joy of Eternal Life with our Heavenly Father, His son Jesus Christ, and our families, for eternity.

I know that, even though I haven't tasted the fruit yet, it does exist, and it will be the most wonderful thing we can possibly imagine. I know that patiently nourishing the tree of our faith can be discouraging at times, but I know that it really will be worth it in the end. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

-Elder Richmond