Alma 33:21-23 -- On Focus and the Seed of Salvation

"O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?
If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works.
And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye will. Amen."
Alma 33:21-23


Before this selection, Alma mentions the story of Moses raising up the brass serpent, and whoever looked at it would live, so that is what it is referring to right at the beginning... that the brass serpent was a symbol of Christ, and that we can be saved if we look to him.

Keeping that focus on Christ is the primary goal. Being saved might not always be as simple as casting about our eyes, but I think the point here is the same. Like Christ telling us what the great commandments in the law are, there are just a few things that we need to focus on and keep at the forefront of our minds and hearts, and if we do that, all the rest will flow from that.

This also follows the previous chapter, which mentions that faith isn't a sure knowledge (Alma 32:21-22), and talks about planting a seed of faith, even if we can only start an experiment and "desire to believe" (Alma 32:26-28), which is what the selection is talking about in the end. It isn't difficult to start talking to God, to test and see if reading our scriptures and saying our prayers makes our lives better or worse, happier or unhappier, regardless of anything else. What it does require is intellectual and emotional honesty... to not try with a predetermined mindset that the whole idea is ludicrous, or to just not even look because we don't think it will help (Alma 33:20).

Today, as Alma asks us, and as Moroni also offers us (Moroni 10:4), let's plant the word / seed. Let's ask God if these things are true, and as he shows us the truth, let's put his plan of happiness into place in our lives, reaching for the better lives, selves, relationships, and eternity that he offers to us, focusing on that hope and that faith and walking in that direction. As we cast our eyes forward, towards the Lord, and maintain that focus in our hearts and our lives, we can and will be saved.