Day 187 Religious Freedom and Mass Conversion

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 187 on our 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon together.

Today, you're going to be reading Alma chapter 23 and that's it. The entire chapter, not too long. Alma 23 is really interesting because we have kind of this mass transformation happening with the Lamanites.

In fact, several cities are named that are full of Lamanites that convert to the gospel of Jesus Christ and they end up renaming themselves and they put away the name of the Lamanites and instead take on the name of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. That's a great one for you. But the front end of this is really kind of interesting because I believe the floodgates open based on what happens in verses 1, 2, and 3 of this chapter.

And we're going to read just one of those verses obviously for savory salt purposes, but really 1, 2, and 3 tied together. So let's take a look at that for our verse for the day. You're going to be reading Alma chapter 23, verse 2 for our verse.

And again, remember that 1, 2, and 3 are linked together here. But verse 2, well, first of all, it's talking about this king of the Lamanites and he's sending a proclamation and a decree out to the people. And there's several parts to this proclamation and verse 2 is going to talk about a part of that here.

It says, 'He sent a decree among them that they should not lay their hands on them to bind them or to cast them into prison. Neither should they spit upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their synagogues, nor scourge them. Neither should they cast stones at them, but that they should have free access to their houses and also their temples and their sanctuaries.' Now, that's only a fraction of the proclamation.

The first part of the proclamation is in verse 1 where he specifically names the men that you cannot harm. Verse 2, here's the full list of, like, 'Don't hurt these guys.' Don't stop them. And inside of here, that tail end, that free access to their houses, their temples and their sanctuaries, that one is what we're going to get into here.

And then verse three is specifically talking about the ability for these men to go and preach the gospel openly. In other words, what we would refer to as a somewhat freedom of religion, right? This kind of free religious opportunity to hear about God is opened up to the Lamanites.

And I think it's so vital to see the power of religious freedom when it comes to the choice that everyone must make to decide if they are going to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. Religious freedom is a cornerstone of that happening. In order to have choice, there must be freedom of choice.

You must be able to make a choice. It was transformational for the Lamanites in their day. And it also allows others to preach and teach the gods that they want to teach and preach about.

It's a core piece for us to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. I love that and I love that the King of the Lamanites realizes that, opens the floodgates, and then literally thousands of people are going to be converted through the testimonies of these incredible missionaries. I love it.

It gets me all fired up and I hope that religious freedom is something that you can experience wherever it is you live and wherever it is you get the opportunity to practice living the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's all for today, my friends. Remember that by small and simple things, great things are 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.