Alma 12

Alma 12

This chapter is deep and I love it. There are so many things to learn and relearn.
Alma is teaching Zeezroom (and the surrounding crowd) about spiritual death and how it is different from physical death.

My first thought comes from vs. 6 where Alma says to Zeezrom, "what I say unto thee I say unto all."

"...This was a snare of the adversary, which he has laid to catch this people, that he might bring you into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you about with his chains, that he might chain you down to everlasting destruction according to the power of his captivity."

The subtle ways in which Satan tempts me sometimes don't seem that big of a deal. I don't get tempted to go out and kill anyone, but this verse reminded me that the same Satan that tempts me is the one that tempts EVERYONE to do all the evil in this world. No matter what the sin is, it is what Alma describes above. A way for us to lose our freedom. A way for us to lose our eternal goals. I don't know about you, but I don't like to be chained down and it makes me want to try harder to "stick it to the man" by NOT getting caught in his trap.

Second thought: Alma describes how unless we live what we know, the Lord is not going to reveal more to us (vs. 9-11). He specifically talks about hardening our hearts. Verse 13 says:

"Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for them we shall be condemned."

I don't think that I have ever willingly rejected the word of God, but I know for sure that there have been times where it has not been a daily part of me. Instead of the word being written into my heart, there have been songs, shows, work, etc. that have kept me busy. How much of the word is IN ME, or IN THE PERSON THAT I AM? A very reflective question.