"And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?
Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.
And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not.
And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved."
Alma 5:6-9
When we read the scriptures or consider those who have gone before us, we usually consider the positive things that were done. We talk about famous missionaries or disciples after their conversion, rather than before. We consider our ancestors to have been great people, and often they were... but also human. Also "encircled about by the bands of death and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them."
I think that perhaps we are all more alike than we seem, living and dead, past and present. We all have faced darkness, and death, and hell, and we all need Jesus Christ's power which overcomes those powerful impediments in our lives and allows our escape from the darkness, and also our deliverance to life and love and soul-expanding joy.
Today, as we face our own darkness, let's remember the people who have gone before us, and know that with God's help they were able to find a way to happiness and peace... that it is possible, no matter how bleak it sometimes seems, and that as we turn to God and call upon his mercy, we too can overcome obstacles that seem impossibly large and find a way through to the morning (Psalms 30:5).
Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.
And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not.
And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved."
Alma 5:6-9
When we read the scriptures or consider those who have gone before us, we usually consider the positive things that were done. We talk about famous missionaries or disciples after their conversion, rather than before. We consider our ancestors to have been great people, and often they were... but also human. Also "encircled about by the bands of death and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them."
I think that perhaps we are all more alike than we seem, living and dead, past and present. We all have faced darkness, and death, and hell, and we all need Jesus Christ's power which overcomes those powerful impediments in our lives and allows our escape from the darkness, and also our deliverance to life and love and soul-expanding joy.
Today, as we face our own darkness, let's remember the people who have gone before us, and know that with God's help they were able to find a way to happiness and peace... that it is possible, no matter how bleak it sometimes seems, and that as we turn to God and call upon his mercy, we too can overcome obstacles that seem impossibly large and find a way through to the morning (Psalms 30:5).
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