Day 172 The Power of Our Choices Amidst Suffering

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from. Thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. Welcome to day 172 on our 365 day journey through the Book of Mormon together.

Today, you're going to read some very challenging verses in Alma chapter 14, verses 7 through 23. This is some of the hardest moments to read through inside the Book of Mormon in my life. I do have to mention that verse 19 came through my mind here a little bit as perhaps something you may read there as sometimes the best response is silence.

But that's not our verse for today. We're actually going to read together verse 11. And this is where they are standing and witnessing the massacre of these people and Amulek saying, "Alma, we have to do something." And in Alma 14:11, here's Alma's response.

Verse 11 says, "But Alma said unto him, The Spirit constraineth me, that I must not stretch forth mine hand. For behold, the Lord receiveth them up unto himself in glory. And he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just.

The blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day." Now if you've served a mission or been in any sort of missionary situations, there's times where people say, "If God exists, why does he let bad things happen?" And this is a very, very common verse to share. But really the lesson we pull out of here is that we truly do have agency. We all have choices to make.

And my friends, I wonder how you will use your choices today. It made me think of a lesson I learned from an incredible human being, a friend of mine in the speaker and coaching world, named Jodi Brown. She has a book where she records her journey of faith and challenge called "The Sun Still Shines." And inside of it, she has a journey through her survival and brain cancer.

So there she is. Alma 14, an amazing experience to read, and there are so many lessons inside of it. Jodi's kind of mantra in life is from something she learned during her brain cancer, and she says.

All of the residual effects of the brain cancer that she's gone through, she still lifts and shines and shares the light of Christ with those that she meets and interacts with every time I see her. It's a powerful reminder to me of the power that we each hold inside of our choices every day. So, my friends, while Alma and Amulek are sitting and watching such horrors happen in their lives, I encourage you and I to sit in reflection a little bit about how we will use our agency today.

What choices will we make to lift someone else? I truly do believe Jodi's admonition that every interaction is an opportunity to change a life. And I think that each one of us holds far more power in a positive effect than we give ourselves credit for.

Take hold of that choice today. See all of the interactions you make on a daily basis. How many of them can you be more deliberate about lifting and lightening those around you so that their lives are changed for the better because they know you?

That's all for today, my friends. Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow, and I hope you are too.