Alma 16:16-17 -- On Preparing for Equality

"And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming--
That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God."
Alma 16:16-17


This is kind of cool... well, really cool... :) First of all, the part about there being no inequality among them... can you imagine that? No inequality. You couldn't drive a few blocks down the road and find homeless people because there would be none. You wouldn't be afraid to walk alone in one part of town, because they would all be safe. Why would someone mug you when they have the same things you have? No inequality. No-one would walk into a restaurant and get snubbed. No-one would be denied rights, or housing, or medical care... everyone would have food, and shelter, and clothing, and opportunities for quality education... It would be amazing.

Then... the Lord pours out his Spirit to prepare our minds and hearts to receive his word at his coming. We need that same thing today. He is coming, and we need to be prepared. One thing that our minds and hearts need to be prepared for is equality. We talk about it a lot, but I don't think any of us realizes how it would be, or even wants it most of the time. Usually, the only times I think of equality and fairness are when I am not getting as big a piece of the pie as I want. If there really were equality, so many things would change... are we ready for that? Are we willing to share what we have, or will we fight to keep it, no matter what? It's a good question, and something that we need to examine as we endeavor to build Zion... when we build it, are we going to want to live there?

This is why we need the Spirit of the Lord, to prepare our hearts and minds to accept God's plan in the latter days... to fight for it, to build his kingdom... to become what we can be, and have faith in the Lord that it will all work out. :) And the other reason... that we won't be hardened against it when it comes. That we will receive God's word with joy, and create the society that he envisions, and enter into his rest when the time comes (or when no time comes... you know...). :) Anyway, today... let’s try to imagine no inequality. How would our lives change? Is there anything that we can do to encourage that today?