April 17 2018 Alma 8-12 by Cynthia Williams

  • “Sometimes we consider changes in our plans as missteps on our journey. Think of them more as first steps to being “on the Lord’s errand.” – Elder Rasband, Oct. 2017 General Conference
  • Corrie ten Boom, the author of “The Hiding Place”

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

    • “I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal. Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know.”    – Pres. Russell M. Nelson, April 2017 General Conference, Revelation for the Church, Revelation for our Lives
    • “Brothers and sisters, how can we become the men and women—the Christlike servants—the Lord needs us to be? How can we find answers to questions that perplex us? If Joseph Smith’s transcendent experience in the Sacred Grove teaches us anything, it is that the heavens are open and that God speaks to His children. The Prophet Joseph Smith set a pattern for us to follow in resolving our questions. Drawn to the promise of James that if we lack wisdom we may ask of God,8 the boy Joseph took his question directly to Heavenly Father. He sought personal revelation, and his seeking opened this last dispensation.  In like manner, what will your seeking open for you? What wisdom do you lack? What do you feel an urgent need to know or understand? Follow the example of the Prophet Joseph. Find a quiet place where you can regularly go. Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.  Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will “grow into the principle of revelation.”9  Does God really want to speak to you? Yes! “….  You don’t have to wonder about what is true.11 You do not have to wonder whom you can safely trust. Through personal revelation, you can receive your own witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this is the Lord’s Church. Regardless of what others may say or do, no one can ever take away a witness borne to your heart and mind about what is true.”     –  – Pres. Russell M. Nelson, April 2017 General Conference, Revelation for the Church, Revelation for our Lives
    • Article to supplement Alma 12:22-34 by Ted L. Gibbons (seminary and institute teacher) on Titled “Because of my transgression my eyes are opened”
  • I cannot repeat enough – God loves you! God loves you!  God loves you!  How grateful I am for knowledge, agency and a Savior that help us make our way back to Him.