Alma 36

1. Alma 36

2. When you’re a parent, will you.. ‘air out your dirty laundry’?

3. “To some it may seem strange to see ships of many nations loading and unloading cargo along the docks at Portland, Ore. That city is 100 miles from the ocean. Getting there involves a difficult, often turbulent passage up the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.

4. “Ship captains like to tie up at Portland. They know that as their ships travel the seas, a curious saltwater shellfish called a barnacle fastens itself to the hull and stays there for the rest of its life, surrounding itself with a rocklike shell. As more and more barnacles attach themselves, they increase the ship’s drag, slow its progress, decrease its efficiency.

5. “Periodically, the ship must go into dry dock, where with great effort the barnacles are chiseled or scraped off. It’s a difficult, expensive process. “But not if the captain can get his ship to Portland. Barnacles can’t live in fresh water. There, in the sweet, fresh waters of the Willamette or Columbia, the barnacles die and some fall away, while those that remain are easily removed. Thus, the ship returns to its task lightened and renewed.

6. “Sins are like those barnacles. Hardly anyone goes through life without picking up some. They increase the drag, slow our progress, decrease our efficiency. Unrepented, building up one on another, they can eventually sink us. “In His infinite love and mercy, our Lord has provided a harbor where, through repentance, our barnacles fall away and are forgotten. With our souls lightened and renewed, we can go efficiently about our work and His.”(President Thomas S. Monson, April 2000 General Confernce)

7. Alma 36 • Alma 36: 6-11 • Repentance is… • (discuss with a partner)

8. Tell me what you know about this moment

9. Tell me what you know about this moment

10. If we understood the nature of repentance better, there would be more of it! Neal A. Maxwell, “The Holy Ghost: Glorifying Christ,” Ensign, Jul 2002, 56–61

11. Alma 36 “Racked means ‘tortured.’ Anciently a rack was a framework on which the victim was laid with each ankle and wrist tied to a spindle which could then be turned to cause unbearable pain. (Boyd K Packer, “The Touch of the Master’s Hand,” Ensign, May 2001, 23).

12. If we understood the nature of repentance better, there would be more of it! Neal A. Maxwell, “The Holy Ghost: Glorifying Christ,” Ensign, Jul 2002, 56–61

13. Alma 36 “A harrow is a frame with spikes through it. When pulled across the ground, it rips and tears into the soil. The scriptures frequently speak of souls and minds being ‘harrowed up’ with guilt. (Boyd K Packer, “The Touch of the Master’s Hand,” Ensign, May 2001, 23).

14. If we understood the nature of repentance better, there would be more of it! Neal A. Maxwell, “The Holy Ghost: Glorifying Christ,” Ensign, Jul 2002, 56–61

15. Alma 36 “Torment means ‘to twist,’ a means of torture so painful that even the innocent would confess” (Boyd K Packer, “The Touch of the Master’s Hand,” Ensign, May 2001, 23).

16. We must recognize what is wrong. Read Alma 36:12–13. Define “recognize” • “How can we really feel forgiven until we first feel responsible? How can we learn from our own experiences unless these lessons are owned up to?” (Elder Neal A. Maxwell) • We must feel godly sorrow. Alma 36:14–17.

17. Why such painful terminology for ‘repentance’?

18. We must recognize what is wrong. Read Alma 36:12–13. Define “recognize” • “How can we really feel forgiven until we first feel responsible? How can we learn from our own experiences unless these lessons are owned up to?” (Elder Neal A. Maxwell) • We must feel godly sorrow. Alma 36:14–17. • We must confess our sins. To whom did Alma confess his sins?(Mosiah 27:35) • We must forsake our sins. Alma 36:23–25. • We must make restitution where possible. What did Alma do to make restitution? (Mosiah28:3)

19. The Miracle of Forgiveness What if we can’t make restitution? “Sometimes restitution is not possible, such as when one contributed to another’s loss of faith or virtue. Instead, a subsequent example of righteousness provides a compensatory form of restitution.” (Elder Maxwell, November 1991) What if the person we wronged will not accept our apology? “When your desire is firm and you are willing to pay the “uttermost farthing,” the law of restitution is suspended. Your obligation is transferred to the Lord. He will settle your accounts.” (President Packer, “The Brilliant Morning of Forgivenss, November 1995)

20. Alma 36:19–21. • Do you have to sin to repent?

21. Alma 36 "Many of our Saints don't understand what repentance really is. Repentance is more than just undoing the wrongs you've done. It's a whole change of your outlook on life. You want to think like the Lord. You want to talk like the Lord. You want to act like the Lord. You want to believe, you want to pray, you want to love the way the Lord does. And then you're converted." -Russell M. Nelson, Ensign, June 2005

22. Alma 36 SHUBE (Hebrew): To turn from MATANEOEO (Greek): Change of mind POENITORE (Latin): To punish, strip, cut, mutilate, disfigure, starve or torture

23. Take out your cell phone • What questions do you have about Repentance? • Text “298292” and your answer to 37607 • http://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/DZqmJOl93WdWpzo

24. What if I still ‘remember’ my sin? Am I not forgiven? “Satan will try to make us believe that our sins are not forgiven because we can remember them. Satan is a liar; God did not promise that we would not remember our sins. Remembering will help us avoid making the same mistakes again. “If we stay true and faithful, the memory of our sins will be softened over time. This will be part of the needed healing and sanctification process. “It is our responsibility to avoid anything that would bring back old sinful memories. May we trust that God will ‘remember [our sins] no more’” (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Point of Safe Return,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 101).

25. Is there really a book that angels write that has a list of everything we’ve done? Bruce R. McConkie: "In a real though figurative sense, the book of life is the record of the acts of men as such record is written in their own bodies. It is the record engraven on the very bones, sinews, and flesh of the mortal body. That is, every thought, word and deed has an effect on the human body; all these leave their marks, marks which can be read by Him who is Eternal as easily as the words in a book can be read. (Mormon Doctrine, p. 97.)

26. Is there really a book that angels write that has a list of everything we’ve done? “We are spinning our own fates good or evil, and never to be undone. Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its ever so little scar. Down among his nerve-cells and fibers the molecules are counting it, registering and storing it up to be used against him when the next temptation comes.” (Psychology, Henry Holt I Co., N. Y. 1892, p. 150.)

27. I feel so discouraged when I slip up. What should I do? “We must be careful, as we seek to become more and more godlike, that we do not become discouraged and lose hope. Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible. The scriptures record remarkable accounts of men whose lives changed dramatically, in an instant, as it were: Alma the Younger, Paul on the road to Damascus, Enos praying far into the night, King Lamoni. Such astonishing examples of the power to change even those steeped in sin give confidence that the Atonement can reach even those deepest in despair.” (President Ezra Taft Benson)

28. Alma 36 • Oscar that lived arrivalejos • Come to the living waters, like the ships that make their way to Portland, and let Jesus help you remove those spiritual barnacles.

29. Alma 36