Alma 5

1. Alma 5

2. “I . . . fell asleep, and beheld in vision something infinitely sublime. In the distance I beheld a beautiful white city. Trees with luscious fruit, shrubbery with gorgeously-tinted leaves, and flowers in perfect bloom abounded everywhere. The clear sky above seemed to reflect these beautiful shades of color. I then saw a great concourse of people approaching the city. Each one wore a white flowing robe, and a white headdress. Instantly my attention seemed centered upon their Leader, and though I could see only the profile of his features and his body, I recognized him at once as my Savior! There was a peace about him which seemed sublime—it was divine!

3. “The city, I understood, was his. It was the City Eternal; and the people following him were to abide there in peace and eternal happiness.But who were they?“As if the Savior read my thoughts, he answered by pointing to a semicircle that then appeared above them, and on which were written in gold the words, “These are they who have truly….”:

4. President David O. McKay, Conference Report, Apr. 1951, 157, 159 ‘ These Are They Who Have Truly Been Born Again!’

5. Alma 5 There are only 410 questions in the entire Book of Mormon. Alma 5 contains 42 question marks Read silently through Alma 5:6-31, 39, 53, 55 and hold a personal worthiness interview. Take note of which questions are the most poignant to you as you read

6. Alma 5 “‘Mighty’ change is mighty hard work, a labor made more difficult by the unflattering urges of the natural man.”(Neal A. Maxwell, “Encircled in the Arms of His Love,” Ensign, Nov 2002, 16). What did you discover?

7. Alma 5 Reclaimed MORMON MESSAGE: Reclaimed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7V2ET7p5FA

8. Alma 5:14 President James E. Faust, Oct. 2005 “I recently recalled a historic meeting in Jerusalem about 17 years ago. It was regarding the lease for the land on which the Brigham Young University’s Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies was later built. Before this lease could be signed, President Ezra Taft Benson and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, then president of Brigham Young University, agreed with the Israeli government on behalf of the Church and the university not to proselyte in Israel…

9. Alma 5:14 President James E. Faust, Oct. 2005 “You might wonder why we agreed not to proselyte. We were required to do so in order to get the building permit to build that magnificent building which stands in the historic city of Jerusalem. To our knowledge, the Church and BYU have scrupulously and honorably kept that non-proselyting commitment. After the lease had been signed, one of our friends insightfully remarked, ‘Oh, we know that you are not going to proselyte, but what are you going to do about the light that is in their eyes?’ He was referring to our students who were studying in Israel”.

10. Alma 5:19 Theodore M. Burton, “The Need for Total Commitment,” Ensign, Jan 1974, 114 “Sister Burton and I were walking along a street in Rio de Janeiro, when I saw a man walk past us who appeared as though he would make a good Mormon. I thought to myself, “If I could only speak Portuguese, there would be a fine missionary contact.” He stopped ahead of us to look in a shop window and as he did so, he turned facing us. When he saw us he waited until we came up to him and then spoke to us in English. We returned his greeting and he asked us if we were Americans. We replied in the affirmative and he asked, “Are you perchance Mormons?” I replied, “Yes. What do you know about the Mormons?” He told us he was a Mormon also and we had a lovely visit with him. We learned he was a bishop’s counselor in one of the Rio Wards...

11. Alma 5:19 Theodore M. Burton, “The Need for Total Commitment,” Ensign, Jan 1974, 114 “How was it that we could recognize one another among the teeming thousands of people walking along that busy street? If we truly accept God, He will work a mighty change in our appearance and we will begin to appear more like our Heavenly Father, in whose image we have been created. “Could it be this appearance we recognize when we meet men and women who are trying to live close to the Lord?”

12. Three Big Sins Alma 5:28-31 Pride Envy Mockery

13. Alma 5:28 “Are you stripped of pride?” “Pride does not look up to God and care about what is right. It looks sideways to man and argues who is right…Pride is characterized by “What do I want out of my life?” Rather than by “What would God have me do with my Life?” To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts” (President Benson, Cleansing the Inner Vessel” 6-7, Ensign, May 86).

14. Alma 5:28 “Are you stripped of pride?” “I remember one interesting side effect of President Benson’s influential talk. For a while it almost became taboo among Church members to say that they were “proud” of their children or their country or that they took “pride” in their work. The very word pride seemed to become an outcast in our vocabulary. “So what is the difference between this kind of feeling and the pride that President Benson called “the universal sin”?Pride is sinful because it breeds hatred or hostility and places us in opposition to God and our fellowmen. At its core, pride is a sin of comparison, for though it usually begins with “Look how wonderful I am and what great things I have done,” it always seems to end with “Therefore, I am better than you. Pride is the great sin of self-elevation.” President Uchtdorf, “Pride”, October 2010 General Conference

15. Alma 5:29 “Are you stripped of envy?” “Pride turns to envy: we look bitterly at those who have better positions, more talents, or greater possessions than they do. Some seek to hurt, diminish, and tear down others in a misguided and unworthy attempt at self-elevation. When those they envy stumble or suffer, they secretly cheer.” President Uchtdorf, “Pride”, October 2010 General Conference

16. Alma 5:29 “Are you stripped of envy?” “Every day we see allurements of one kind or another that tell us what we have is not enough, that we need to be more handsome or more wealthy, more applauded or more admired than we see ourselves as being. We are told we haven’t collected enough possessions or gone to enough fun places. We are bombarded with the message that we have been weighed in the balance and found wanting…

17. Alma 5:29 “Are you stripped of envy?” “I testify that God loves each of us---insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all. He doesn’t measure our talents or our looks; He doesn’t measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner. I know that if we will be faithful, there is a perfectly tailored robe of righteousness ready and waiting for everyone.” (April 2002 General Conference).

18. Alma 5:30-31 “Do you make a mock of your brother?” “Perhaps there is no better laboratory to observe the sin of pride than the world of sports. The lack of civility in sports is embarrassing. How is it that normally kind and compassionate human beings can be so intolerant and filled with hatred toward an opposing team and its fans? “I have watched sports fans vilify and demonize their rivals. They look for any flaw and magnify it. “My beloved fellow disciples of the gentle Christ, should we not hold ourselves to a higher standard? We must realize that all of God’s children wear the same jersey. Our team is the brotherhood of man. This mortal life is our playing field. Our goal is to learn to love God and to extend that same love toward our fellowman. We are here to build, uplift, treat fairly, and encourage all of Heavenly Father’s children.” President Uchtdorf, “Pride”, October 2010 General Conference

19. Alma 5:30-31 “Do you make a mock of your brother?”

20. Alma 5:30-31 “Do you make a mock of your brother?” Who can testify of the blessing of controlling one’s tongue and not mocking people?

21. Born Again “We must be born again and again in order to know the full happiness.”

22. Born Again Conception begins with two people

23. Born Again One cell in 40 week’s time grows to a baby fetus with tissues, bones, heart, nails, ears, etc.

24. Born Again Anchored in by an umbilical chord

25. Born Again The umbilical cord helps to cleanse, feed, and protect the fetus

26. Born Again The baby sheds lenugo (hairs) and vernixcaseosa (waxy coating)

27. Born Again Baby’s hypothalamus sends message to the pituitary gland to the adrenal glands - release cortisol through umbilical cord to placenta; the fetus initiates process

28. Born Again Occasionally, labor must be induced

29. Born Again Both mom and baby feel pressure and pain

30. Born Again The baby is now in a new environment

31. Born Again The baby is slippery

32. Born Again The baby is covered by blood

33. Born Again Heart changes form and function

34. Born Again 5 times more oxygen available once the baby is outside of the womb

35. Born Again The baby is named

36. Born Again Receives inheritance from parents

37. Born Again  Are you glad you’ve had your umbilical cord cut?

38. Born Again  Are you glad you’ve had your umbilical cord cut?

39. Born Again  Are you glad you’ve had your umbilical cord cut?

40. Born Again If your parents bailed, would you be able to stand on your own?

41. Born Again If your parents bailed, would you be able to stand on your own?

42. Born Again If your parents bailed, would you be able to stand on your own?

43. Born Again If your parents bailed, would you be able to stand on your own?

44. Born Again If your parents bailed, would you be able to stand on your own?

45. Born Again If your parents bailed, would you be able to stand on your own?

46. Born Again

47. Born Again A pickle is a cucumber that has been transformed according to a specific recipe and series of steps. The first steps in the process of changing a cucumber into a pickle are preparing and cleaning. I remember many hours spent on the back porch of my home removing stems from and scrubbing dirt off of the cucumbers we had picked. My mom was very particular about the preparing and cleaning of the cucumbers. She had high standards of cleanliness and always inspected my work to make sure this important task was properly completed.

48. Born Again The next steps in this process of change are immersing and saturating the cucumbers in salt brine for an extended period of time. Cucumbers can only become pickles if they are totally and completely immersed in the brine for the prescribed time period. An occasional sprinkle of or dip in the brine cannot produce the necessary transformation. Rather, steady, sustained, and complete immersion is required for the desired change to occur.

49. Born Again The final step in the process requires the sealing of the cured pickles in jars that have been sterilized and purified. The pickles are packed in canning jars, covered with boiling hot brine, and processed in a boiling-water-bath canner. All impurities must be removed from both the pickles and the bottles so the finished product can be protected and preserved. As this procedure is properly followed, the pickles can be stored and enjoyed for a long period of time.

50. Born Again Through faith in Christ, we can be spiritually prepared and cleansed from sin, immersed in and saturated with His gospel, and purified and sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise.