A Mother's Faith(Alma 56:46-48)

This passage from the Book of Mormon made me weepy as I read it last night:

For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus.

Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying, We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

I hope that my children do not doubt that I know!

Where Do I Find the Word of God?(Jacob 7:10-12)

And I said unto him: Believest thou the scriptures? And he said, Yea.

And I said unto him: Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ.

And this is not all - it has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen: and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost.

In his encounter with the wicked Sherem, the prophet Jacob testified that a witness of Jesus Christ - His word - is found not only in the scriptures but also in the words of prophets and in the power of the Holy Ghost. My feasting upon His word must include all three:

• The holy scriptures contain the word of God as recorded by His servants in days past.


• Living prophets bear witness of Jesus Christ today, including during the semi-annual General Conference of the Church.


• The Holy Ghost, which can be our constant companion (see D&C 121:46), teaches the truth of all things (see Moroni 10:5) and tells us all things we should do (see 2 Nephi 32:3).

He's Got My Back(3 Nephi 20:42)

"For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight;
for the Lord will go before you, and
the God of Israel shall be your rearward."

An Attitude of Gratitude(Alma 34:38)

"Live in thanksgiving daily."
Consider the account of the loaves and the fishes in Matthew 15 (with emphasis):

32 ¶ Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

Jesus gave thanks - and a miracle followed! "Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things" (D&C 59:7).

Spiritual Preparation(Alma 48:7)

Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.

What does it mean to be spiritual prepared? How can I prepare my mind to be faithful?

Are Mormons Christian?(Alma 46:15)

And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.

As in the time of Captain Moroni (estimated to be about 70 B.C.), those who belong to the Mormon church today, who are true believers in Christ, gladly take upon themselves the name of Christ, or Christian! As stated in the prayer on the bread of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper (the Eucharist or Holy Communion):

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (D&C 20:77; emphasis mine.)

Spiritually Begotten of Christ(Mosiah 5:7)

And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.

What are covenants? What does it mean to be spiritually begotten of Christ? How are our hearts changed through Him? What does it mean to be His son or daughter?

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The Wise Woman Built Her HouseUpon a Rock (Helaman 5:12)

Helaman counseled his sons Nephi and Lehi:

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall (Helaman 5:12).

Jesus taught this same concept during His ministry:

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it (Matthew 7:24-27).

He affirmed the importance of building on His rock - and helped define what that means - in latter-day revelation:

Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven (D&C 6:34, 36-37).

Answers to Prayer(Alma 58:10-12)

Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people.

Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.

And we did take courage with our small force which we had received, and were fixed with a determination to conquer our enemies, and to maintain our lands, and our possessions, and our wives, and our children, and the cause of our liberty.

Answers to prayers come in many ways. I love the answers that Helaman's people received in response to their cries to the Lord. I desire these answers to my own prayers:

• Peace.


• Faith.


• Hope.


• Courage.


• Determination.

The Tender Mercies of the Lord(1 Nephi 1:20)

But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance (1 Nephi 1:20).

The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works (Psalm 145:9).

The Lord's tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

~Elder David A. Bednar (April 2005)

How have you experienced the tender mercies of the Lord?