Day 181 The Lord's Arm Extended to All Who Repent

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. The message today—hope, hope for you, hope for me, hope for all those that choose to repent and believe on the name of God.

Welcome to day 181 on our 365 day journey through the Book of Mormon together. You're going to read today Alma chapter 19 verses 18 to 36. You're going to finish this chapter and you're going to see the full circle of Ammon and his work with the Lamanite King Lamoni.

Now there are several verses in here that teach perhaps a micro lesson we just do really quick that has nothing to do with our verse for the day. But a micro lesson here that you will see inside of these verses is people will happily jump to conclusions when they don't know what's going on, and they will happily tell you their opinions as though they're the truth. Don't believe me?

Just read some of the verses in here and watch all the different ways people jump to conclusions about what's happening to the king and his wife. And their friends. But that's just a micro lesson.

Let's get into our verse for the day. Today's verse is Alma chapter 19 verse 36. It says: And thus the work of the Lord did commence among the Lamanites.

Thus the Lord did begin to pour out his Spirit upon them, and we see that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on His name. This is a circle, an extension of the arm of the Lord that has lasted for hundreds of years. The Lord has waited for his people to choose to return to Him.

And it started with Ammon and his service. And then we're going to get other stories as well as it spreads throughout different Lamanite communities. This begins the pouring out of the Spirit of the Lord upon the Lamanites.

It got me thinking about a beautiful experience that I had with my family right before my daughter left on her mission. We took an opportunity to go to the temple to do baptisms. It was myself and my wife and three of my daughters.

My youngest is not quite old enough, although she will be here soon, to be old enough to go into the temple and do that service as well. Well, while we were in the temple, dressed in our white clothing and sitting down, another family came in. Presumably, a family.

It looked like a father and a mother and a daughter and a son, but maybe they weren't related. I'm assuming they were a family. As they sat down, you could see the different life that the father had led in his past.

He was heavily tattooed on his arms, his neck, his face, and he sat there and prepared to go in and do baptisms. And I watched him as they went in and he and I assume it's his son, maybe a 16, 17 year old boy, went down into the font and his son baptized him several times. And then they switched places and he baptized his son several times and I sat there with a smile on my face thinking about this type of verse.

The extension of the Lord's hand to everyone that will seek to repent and believe on His name. The Lord wants you in his life. The Lord wants to be in your life.

Repentance and faith on His name open that opportunity. It's a wonderful experience, regardless of your past, regardless of the decisions you've made, to come unto Him and to begin to have His Spirit poured out upon you and your family, just as it happened here with the Lamanites through Ammon and his service. I love it.

What a beautiful message and what a beautiful time to come full circle after hundreds of years of wars and contentions. 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.