Day 175 Joyful Reunion: Brethren Strong in the Lord

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. You know, I call you my friends and my family.

Today, it's time for you to find out how I do that. Even if you're listening to this and I don't know who you are. You say, "Allen, how can I be a friend?" How can I be family?

Today, you're going to find out because one of the verses today, inside Savory Salt, is one of my favorite verses when it comes to friends and family. Welcome to day 175 on our 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon together. You're going to read Alma 16:11–21 and see all the amazing success that Alma and Amulek have in some of the cities that they do.

They establish it, and there is great peace, great joy, and life is great in the 14th year of the reign of the judges. And then you're going to read Alma 17:1–3. Now usually I tell you when it's that small to just roll that into the next day.

But we can't do that because Alma 17:2 and 3 are so awesome. In fact, 1, 2 and 3 are almost separate from 4 and beyond in terms of the verses. We're actually going to take a look at Alma 17:2 with you understanding that 1, 2, and 3 are really tied together here.

Let's take a look at it because it just gets me so excited and fired up. Alma is journeying after all of his success and he comes across the Sons of Mosiah. These are his buddies, his chums, his pals.

These are the guys that he has had an incredible repentance process with. And this is what happens in verse 2: Now these Sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him. Therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren.

And what added more to his joy? They were still his brethren in the Lord. Yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth.

For they were men of a sound understanding, and they had searched the Scriptures diligently, that they might know the Word of God. And then it continues into verse 3, and you find out that one of the reasons they're so excited to see each other is because they are all still strong in their testimonies of the Lord. They all waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth.

They stuck to it. So when I say hello, my friends and family, and even if I don't know you, you are a friend of mine because Savory Salt is doing exactly what we're all trying to do. We're all trying to stay strong in the Lord.

We're trying to read on a daily basis and gain knowledge of the truth and a sound understanding. And I love this because I see this in my life. I've talked openly about some of my friends and sometimes I don't see my friends for months at a time.

But when I see them, I always imagine this Alma and Sons of Mosiah moment when they see each other and they give each other a hug. And you know, my daughters would laugh. They talk about the bro hug, right?

Where you shake hands and then slap each other on the back. But I see this happening with Alma and the Sons of Mosiah. And I see them realizing that all of them have gotten better in their own testimonies of the Lord.

They've gotten stronger even though they've experienced angels in the past, their own experiences have continued throughout their life. They've continued to fast and pray. They've continued to study the scriptures.

They searched them diligently, it says, that they might know the Word of God. I love this because this to me is a foundation for an incredible friendship. It's a foundation for an incredible relationship.

If you want to increase in your friendship, if you want to be a better friend, dive into the scriptures, fast, pray often, get to know the Lord more and you'll become a better friend for it. I love this. My friends, my family, those of you that listen to this, whether I know you personally or not, know that I consider you a friend because you and I are trying to do exactly what Alma 17:1–3 talks about.

We're trying to get closer to the Lord and by doing so, it's drawing us closer in our friendships as well. I love it and I'm so grateful to have that as a foundation of friendship in my life. 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.