40 Days: Day 31

"Forty Days Closer to Christ" 

Day 31: "The Savior is not a silent observer. He Himself knows personally and infinitely the pain we face."

Reading for today: Helaman 15- 3 Nephi 4
Mark and ponder: 3 Nephi 11:14-15

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Most people love Alma 32 because of its discourse on faith and the whole experiment upon the word analogy, but my favorites are 33 and 34 because we learn who we should have faith in and why. This is the meat of the gospel and plan of salvation!

Last year when I was preparing my talk on overcoming challenges, I discovered these verses in Alma 33 and just loved them, esp verses 21-23:

19 Behold, he was spoken of by ^aMoses; yea, and behold a ^btype was ^craised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.
 20 But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would ^aheal them.
 21 O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in ^aunbelief, and be ^bslothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?
 22 If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and ^abegin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to ^batone for their sins; and that he shall ^crise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the ^dresurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be ^ejudged at the last and judgment day, according to their^fworks.
 23 And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall ^aplant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, ^bspringing up in you unto ^ceverlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your^dburdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye ^ewill. Amen.