Sunday, October 22, 2023

Alma 5:38-41 -- On Choosing the Good Shepherd

"Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.
And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you, that the devil is your shepherd, and ye are of his fold; and now, who can deny this? Behold, I say unto you, whosoever denieth this is a liar and a child of the devil.
For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil.
Therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepherd, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, the same becometh a child of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his voice, and doth follow him."
Alma 5:38-41


I think it is pretty scary to think about joining the fold of, or becoming a child of, the devil. And even though I don't necessarily like the thought, it makes sense that it is either one or the other... we're either getting closer to or further away from God. There is no neutrality in this. Choosing anything but God IS choosing Satan. Luckily Christ interceded for us, and we have our whole lifetimes to figure it out. Today, let's work on doing and becoming good... on choosing God over all the other choices, all of which just get us caught in Satan's web. Let's stick with the good shepherd who can keep us safe and teach us to become good, with a better and happier future than we can imagine.

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