Ether 12:13

"Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the prison to tumble to the earth."
Ether 12:13


This is some great imagery.  This chapter talks a lot about faith... but this faith to make the prison walls fall is one of my favorites.  The incredible power that belief has over people.  When you believe something, it changes who you are and how you act... even if what you believe isn't true.  That is why lies can be so damaging.  And faith takes it to a whole other level.  Faith is (this is my definition, don't take it as gospel...) kind of a mixture of belief (in something true) and hope... the two together making this incredible bond that can't be shaken.  So that you believe and hope so much that you might as well know... and then you turn it into action... and you can walk on water and move mountains (literally) ... and be released from every bond... and make the prison walls, no matter how thick and threatening, fall down.  The two thousand stripling warriors had it, and despite overwhelming odds, none of them died in battle.  Belief alone isn't enough... we can believe wholeheartedly and still make a mess of our lives... but faith is different.  When you have faith you have taken that belief and mixed it together with hope and action, and it is something that you can't break or ignore.  Hope, so that you know that your obedience and goodness are leading you to a better place... Action, so that you are making a difference in your own life, and in the world... and that core of super-solid belief in something true... God, for instance, and in his promises to us. :)  God can do anything, and the simplest lesson he has for us here is that... so can we.  So can we.  When we believe, when we hope, when we act... when we have God on our side.  There isn't anything that we can't do or accomplish... or change about our lives, with his help.  Nothing is ever hopeless, nothing is ever lost... nothing is ever inescapable. Because God, and our faith in him... can make the walls of even the biggest and strongest prison (even if it of our own making) fall down... and we can walk out, free.  Today... let's try it. :)  Walk out of whatever personal Hell you are in today... turn off the lights, shut the door... and go on with your life.  No reason to stay there... none at all.