Trust in God ... to tase of exceeding joy (Alma 36-38)

In October 2018, President Henry B. Eyring acknowledged the trying times we face now and ahead, but also offered some comfort. He said:

"All of us live in a world where Satan's war against truth and against our personal happiness is becoming more intense. The world and your life can seem to you to be in increasing commotion. My reassurance is this: the loving God who allowed these tests for you also designed a sure way to pass through them. Heavenly Father so loved the world that He sent his Beloved Son to help us." (Try, Try, Try, by Henry B. Eyring).

President Eyring is certainly not the first or the last to offer such reassurances. They build upon the words of Alma the Younger to his son Helaman in Alma 36:3:

".... whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."

Remember, Alma wanted to teach this to everyone he knew with all of his heart because he once preached against his father's words. He was very lucky that his father prayed for him, that because of his father's great faith, an angel came to visit him, and that he listened. There were others before him, like Laman and Lemuel, who were too hard-hearted to listen to an angel of God.

As Alma the Younger recounts his history to Helaman, he shares what his life has been like since that moment when the angel reprimanded him, and when he realized he had been preaching against truth.

"Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost." - Alma 36:24

We need God in our lives more than ever. We need to be reminded that our afflictions are but for a small moment and that if we endure it well, we shall triumph over all of our foes (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-9).

We also read in Alma 37:30 of prophets of the Lord who were murdered for crying repentance to the people. We know that the Lord sent these prophets because it hurts him to see a single soul turn away from him. He gave people every opportunity to repent and turn to him, and in doing so, some of his most beloved followers died for him. Our adversity here on earth isn't simple and the ending isn't always as we might wish, but in Alma 37:46 Alma says: "... The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever."

Alma then talks to his son Shiblon, and this is one of my favorite, most quoted passage of scriptures, the entire chapter of Alma 38. Alma praises Shiblon for being steadfast and faithful in God but explains that this steadfast didn't happen when it was easy to be steadfast, but under trying times.

"I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of they faithfulness and they diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the Zoramites.

 

"For I know that thou was in bonds; yea, and I also know that wast stoned for the word's sake; and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.

 

"And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day." (Alma 38: 3-5)

One of the most impactful talks I have heard in my entire life, that resonated deeply within me, is this talk, "Truly Good and without Guile," given in April 2015, Elder Michael T. Ringwood. I quote it often so if you've ever heard me speak, you've probably heard me talk about Shiblon, the son of Alma the Younger, in the past. You should go back and read the whole talk. I felt then that if we would heed his words, many of the problems we face would melt away. Too often, we let pride stand between us and turning to God. Pride is not always a bad thing but when it takes the shape of self-righteousness, it can do a lot of damage. I don't ever want to be wracked with the grief that Alma the Younger faced for his past mis-deeds when he fully repented.

 Elder Ringwood states of Shiblon:

"It appears that Shiblon was a son who wanted to please his father and went about doing what was right for right's sake rather than for praise, position, power, accolades, or authority." 

"Shiblon was truly good and without guile. He was a person who sacrified his time, talents, and effort to help and lift others because of a love for God and his fellowmen. ... In a world where praise, position, power, accolades, and authority are sought on every side, I honor those wonderful and blessed souls who are truly good and without guile, those who are motivated by a love of God and their neighbors, those great women and men who are 'more anxious to serve than to have dominion.'" 

Elder Ringwood goes on to share a story about a young missionary who misjudged by others his age that should have known better, who thought he wasn't as good or diligent of a missionary because he had was not skillful at learning a new language. When his new missionary companion (the much younger Elder Ringwood) discovered this, and wanted to correct the misperception, his wise mission president reminded him that Heavenly Father already knew. Says Elder Ringwood, 

"This wise mission president taught me what was important in service, and it wasn't praise, position, power, honor, or authority. This was a great lesson for a young missionary who was too focused on titles."

It is so easy to get caught up in the world, after all, we live in it. However, as I read these ancient scriptures, I am reminded, over and over again, that history repeats itself. The prideful enjoyed small moments of pleasure but ultimately fell. The humble were persecuted and suffered many afflictions but were ultimately blessed. The scriptures were diligently recorded and passed on from generation to generation so that we could learn from our ancestors, and from men who spoke to God. Through the scriptures, we can remember, remember (Alma 37:13), and we can know that by "small and simple things are great things brought to pass." (Alma 37:6). We can look to the Lord for exceedingly great joy as we work on the small acts of faith, the simple acts of service, and turning our hearts to Him.

Humbly Serving Others - Two Cool Stories (Team Hoyt and Shiblon)

Last Sunday, I taught a Sunday School lesson that focused on what it means to love like Jesus loved, and follow in his footsteps. While this post highlights only a small fraction of our class discussion, I want to highlight a few of the stories that I used to illustrate the lesson, for further discussion with friends and family. I have also paired this with a family/singing time lesson here: Come Follow Me - Activity and Song.

Humbling Serving Others
When Jesus Christ was here on earth, he humbly served others. Keep in mind that this was the Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Savior of the World - but he didn’t sit in a chair and wear a fancy crown. He walked many miles every day, tirelessly looking for people to serve and teach. He healed the sick, he was often engaged in defending and trying to teach at the same time to hostile Pharisees and Sadducees. Never do the scriptures talk about how the disciples praised him for being such a great teacher, healer, or leader. He wasn’t looking for adoration and praise, he was on a mission to teach everyone he knew as much as he could before he left the earth, so that we would have an understanding of how to return to heaven.

I shared some quotes and stories on Sunday about this topic. I won’t share every single quote and story here but here are the ones I most want to emphasize:

It’s About Following In His Footsteps

“At the final day the Savior will not ask about the nature of our callings. He will not inquire about our material possessions or fame. He will ask if we ministered to the sick, gave food and drink to the hungry, visited those in prison, or gave succor to the weak [see Matthew 25:31-40]. When we reach out to assist the least of Heavenly Father’s children, we do it unto Him [see Matthew 24:40]. That is the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”- Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Great Commandment,” October 2007

http://www.teamhoyt.com/Gallery.html

Team Hoyt Served Each Other and Others

To emphasize this point, I shared a story about Dick and Rick Hoyt. This is a father and son. The son, Rick Hoyt was born a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. He couldn’t talk, walk, or write. It wasn’t until he was about 12 (I have heard different ages between 10-12) that, with $5000 (which is the equivalent of $30,000 today) and a talented group of engineers, they were able to have a special computer built by Tuft University, which allowed Rick to communicate by spelling out letters by pressing his head against a board. Can you imagine not being able to communicate for the first ten years of your life? Or having to communicate so slowly, letter by letter? The famous Helen Keller, both deaf and blind, threw tantrums in her childhood, so great was her frustration that she couldn’t communicate. She had to wait until Anne Sullivan came along and found a way to teach her how to communicate.

Suddenly, like Helen Keller, Rick, had a means to share his intelligence, views, and even humor with the world. In 1977, Rick learned about a 5 mile run for a college lacrosse player that had been paralyzed. Rick asked his dad to participate in the race so Dick, who was not a runner, pushed his son’s heavy wheelchair the full five miles. Dick intended to possibly only push his son around the first corner but Rick loved being in the race. Afterward, he told his dad, “When I'm out running, it feels like my disability disappears,'" Dick Hoyt said. "He called himself 'Free Bird."

Rick and Dick Hoyt went on to run for the next thirty or so years, not slowing down until Dick was in his 70s and Rick was in his 50s. They raced in triathlons, marathons, and more, including 32 Boston Marathons.

When it all started though, Dick Hoyt was criticized. “They said, ‘what are you doing dragging hour disabled son through all these races? Are you just looking for glory for yourself?’ What they didn’t realize, he was the one dragging me through all these races,” said Dick Hoyt in an interview with Associated Press. You can listen to that interview here, on “Cerebral palsy doesn’t dim marathon ambitions.”

There are so many nuances and facets to this story but I share this story now because of that early criticism that Dick faces. Just like the Savior, Dick was accused of ulterior motives. The only motive Dick had was the pure love of Christ.

By humbly serving his son, Dick not only brought joy to Rick, but he brought joy to himself. He also inspired families around the world.

In “Labour of Love Dick and Rick Hoyt,” by producers Joe Perskie and Lauren Gaffney on Real Sports, the narrators share, “These days, hundreds of families are pushing their own disabled children in races, inspired by the Hoyt’s devotion. … The Hoyts are inspiring families without disabled members too. In 12 cities across the country volunteer groups have formed to help disabled athletes who don’t have a family member to compete with them. … volunteer pushers are paired with athletes of all ages.”

For Dick Hoyt, his devotion to his son was something he did humbly, out of pure love.

Shiblon Served Humbly, Too 

One of my favorite General Conference talks of all time is by Elder Michael T. Ringwood, "Truly Good and Without Guile". In April 2015, he talked about Shiblon, the lesser known of the three sons of Alma. After all, we sing songs about Shiblon’s brother Helaman, and his great army, but is there a song about Shiblon? I love what Elder Ringwood says, though, “Shiblon was truly good and without guile. He was a person who sacrificed his time, talents, and effort to help and lift others because of a love for God and his fellowman (see Alma 48:17–19; 49:30). He is described perfectly by the words of President Spencer W. Kimball: ‘Great women and men are always more anxious to serve than to have dominion.’3””

I have come to admire those who serve quietly, who don’t seek for recognition or praise. In this way, they are just like the Savior, who wept for Lazarus when he died, who knew the hated and loved the hated, like Zaccheaus, by name.

May we be like the Savior, who said in John 13:34, “as I have loved you … love one another.”

Team Hoyt References

“When I'm out running, it feels like my disability disappears,'" Dick Hoyt remembers. "He called himself 'Free Bird."
www.massivelive.com

https://www.triathloninspires.com/thoytstory.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTGF5HnuSrg

https://www.triathloninspires.com/thoytstory.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64A_AJjj8M4

“Labour of Love Dick and Rick Hoyt,” by producers Joe Perskie and Lauren Gaffney on Real Sports Mormon Father Son Duo Inspires Millions - Deseret News