Possession

In Alma 30:42, Alma talks about how Korihor was "possessed with a lying spirit," how the Spirit of God had no place in him, and how the the devil had power over him. This weirds me out a little bit. See, I don't know to what extent "possessions" are a real thing, or rather, I don't want to know. I'd love to chalk most modern talk of possessions up as ghost stories and perhaps some occult nonsense, yet there are many scriptures that reference evil/unclean spirits, many of which refer to the spirits as possessing others and/or being cast out. Such possessions have happened and, therefore, are possible.

I find the idea of such possessions disturbing, partly out of fear that such a possession could, theoretically, happen to me, and I'd rather that not be possible, and also partly out of concern for how such possessions affect the agency of those who are possessed. Possession is creepy, and it raises a lot of difficult questions, and I'd rather that it simply not be a real thing. I'd rather believe that it's impossible for an evil spirit to gain control of another person's mortal body. And maybe that's partly true. Maybe evil spirits can only take control if we let them, like how alcohol can only impair our judgement if we drink it, thus making such possessions preventable and partly clearing up the question of agency.

Regardless of how such possessions actually happen and what they mean for those who become possessed, I take some comfort in knowing that such possessions are relatively rare and completely treatable. No matter whether the unclean spirits snuck in, broke in, or were welcomed in, they can all be cast out, and the Holy Spirit can be welcomed in in their stead. Perhaps I don't actually have to worry about these possessions after all. They're not likely to happen to anyone who isn't dabbling in things that they shouldn't dabble in, and even when they happen, they can be undone. As creepy as such possessions are, they are treatable and probably preventable. As long as we treat them seriously and avoid them like the plague, I think we'll be fine.

"He Careth for You"

I was looking for a good scripture about talking with God, and I found this one: 1 Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." It's not quite what I was looking for, but it's still wonderfully profound, isn't it? It's amazing to think that the God who created the universe, including countless planets, the God who is an eternal, ageless being, the God to whom we all kneel, cares about you. God is so far beyond any of us or our mundane, mortal problems, yet He cares about us and what we're going through. He cares about our dumb, brief, mortal lives. He cares how we feel. He cares. I find it wonderful and incredible that God cares about us as much as He does. No matter how insignificant we think we are, God cares. I love that.

Signs Enough

Tonight, my family read Alma 30:44:

But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.

No matter where we look in the heavens and in the natural world, we can see signs of the existence of God. Yet, I think that the greatest sign of the existence of God is in our own hearts. Most all of us have had experiences where we have felt God's presence, power, and love. I, personally, have seen at least two miracles that I can think of off the top of my head (a father's blessing and the midnight miracle, in case I want to refresh our memories by blogging about them in the next day or two), and I have felt the presence and voice of the Spirit more times than I can count. I know in my heart that there is a God, regardless of whether I can prove it with empirical evidence. I don't need a sign to prove that there is a God. Even from just my personal experience, I have had signs enough.

The American Promise

An ancient Book of Mormon prophet name Ether had several good and important things to say about the land that is now called North America, including this following verse:

Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written. -Ether 2:12

 As we in the United States celebrate our relative freedom, we should remember that it took a great blessing from God to make that freedom possible, and that we need to remember and thank Him, or we'll lose it. At its foundation, America was a Christian nation, and while it had (and, arguably, still has) a long way to go before living up to the ideal Christian standard, it is still a good nation, and to the extent that it is good, it will be blessed. It is my hope that America will maintain high moral standards and thus retain the blessings of the Lord. Of course, we have lots of room for improvement, and the trend doesn't always seem to be taking us in that direction, but one can always hope. And, no matter what anyone else is doing, one can always help. Others may not choose to live by high moral standards, but we can, and the more righteous people there are in a given nation, the more blessed that nation will be.

We can help defend the freedom God gave us by serving the God who gave us that freedom.

Be Not Entangled Again

In Galatians 5:1, Paul urges the Galatians to "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." This mirrors the sentiment of the People of Ammon, who, having been forgiven of their previous sins, demonstrated that they would rather die than risk committing any more sins. Jesus Christ can free us from the bondage of sin, but it's up to us to do everything we can to retain that freedom. We need to not only OBtain a remission of our sins, but also REtain it. Freedom is not something we can obtain once and expect to retain forever, and that includes freedom from sin. Unfortunately for the People of Ammon, that often means fighting for our freedom, spiritually, if not also physically. We must be prepared to do whatever it takes to retain our freedom from sin and from bondage, even if that means having to fight for it.

Zealous

Alma chapter 27 ends with the following verses about the people of Ammon, who had sworn to never use weapons again, not even to defend themselves:

Therefore, they would suffer death in the most aggravating and distressing manner which could be inflicted by their brethren, before they would take the sword or cimeter to smite them.

And thus they were a zealous and beloved people, a highly favored people of the Lord.

Alma 27: 29-30

Such a devotion to pacifism isn't what one normally thinks of when one imagines someone who is "zealous." Usually, the word "zealous" applies to those who are active in pursuit of their aims and goals. In fact, those who are called "zealots" are usually aggressively active, even to the point of attacking those who hinder them. Yet, it's entirely possible to be zealous without being a zealot, and it's possible for one's zeal to manifest in unorthodox, and even apparently passive ways. It's possible to be passionate about something without resorting to violence. The people of Ammon were passionate about their beliefs, yet they didn't express them violently. Perhaps that's why they were such "a highly favored people of the Lord."

Glory in the Lord

Tonight, my family read Alma 26, which includes the following verse: 

Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel. (Alma 26:16)

This is something that I would like to do. God is good and just and merciful, and even though life is rough sometimes, God can help us get through it. With God's help, we can accomplish miracles, just like Ammon and his bretheren did. I want to see such miracles happen in my own life, and when I see them, I want to praise God for them.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of Ammon's bretheren were tempted to pat themselves on the back for what they might have considered "their own" accomplishments, or they might have been tempted to focus on the negative aspects of their missionary experience. Yet, Ammon chose to focus on the positives, and to thank God for helping their missionary efforts go so well. I, too, want to focus on the positive aspects of life and to thank God for all His help. His help has been crucial in several important moments in my life, and I want to follow Ammon's example and praise and thank God for it.