Alma 12:28-30 -- On Conversing with God

"And after God had appointed that these things should come unto man, behold, then he saw that it was expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof he had appointed unto them;

Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory.
And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works."
Alma 12:28-30


This is a great chapter, talking about God's plan, death, resurrection and all the rest.  I liked this part because it almost seems like an afterthought... oh, people should know the plan. :)  I know that it wasn't, of course.  I think it just says it this way kind of like the way that it talks about creation.  God made light, and God saw that it was good... it's just like that in the same way that a child's book is written... you have to use simple language, because that is the vocabulary that they have mastered.  You can explain better when they get older, but you also want to talk about it with them *when* they have the questions.  So you try to take all of creation and make it understandable to a toddler.  That's tough.

And I think this is similar to what these verses are talking about with the plan of salvation.  When God converses with us, he has to do it on a level that we are going to understand.  The knowledge of good and evil, the resurrection, faith, death, free agency, judgment, eternity... these are all things that we can only comprehend in part, and as we learn and grow, then God can explain it to us better, and it becomes clearer and clearer.  And that's what it means, I think, when it says that it is made known unto us according to our faith, repentance, and holy works.  As we understand and grasp these concepts, not just mentally, but kinesthetically... in a tactile way, learning to put the ideas into action... then God can help us learn more, and make more things known to us.  In other words, when we get Plan of Salvation 101 down, he can teach us 102, or even 201 if we take the advanced track. :)

Today, let's converse with God.  Let's be open to God's lessons and work to understand life and the gospel on a deeper level.  Let's be active participants in our Earthly experiences, rather than just sitting back and letting things sort of just happen around us.