Day 191 Conversion: Protected from Life's Storms

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. What are the benefits of conversion, full conversion, the gospel of Jesus Christ?

That, my friends, is what we're going to look at today with Ammon in Alma chapter 26. Welcome to day 191. We are so close to 200 days.

Thank you for joining me today. You're going to be reading Alma 26:4-21 right in the middle of that chapter. And Ammon is going to talk about one of the most wonderful things to him about all of the Lamanites that have found conversion are these benefits in their own lives.

The way that their lives have become better because they converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I want to share one of those verses with you today. It's Alma 26:6.

It says, "Yet they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day, yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds, but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them, yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds, whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them." These are specific blessings given to those that seek to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and seek to follow him. And I love the imagery here because I've experienced some of this imagery. It talks about the storm and the whirlwinds and the fierce winds.

When me and my family lived in Houston, Texas, we lived through several hurricanes. Hurricane season is a common thing from about June to November or so every year. Living through a hurricane is quite a surreal experience.

The storm, the whirlwinds, the fierce winds that surround you as your—what is it saying here? As they gather together in their place. I had experiences, one in particular, where we gathered together as family.

And me and my little family are hunkered down and we've got the windows all taken care of and the storm blew over and the winds howled for hours. And I remember peeking out the front window just a little bit to kind of see where the storm was at. And I could see our massive tree in front of the house.

The branches were, the tree itself was bending so much that the branches could touch the ground back and forth because the winds were so strong. The tree did not break, but it bent back and forth. Now that's the real-life storm in the whirlwinds.

What about the spiritual storm? Today there are a lot of people who are anxious about the world around them. And they see in the news that there's chaos in the streets.

There's revolt and revolution happening in many countries across the world, not just in the United States. There is a general brink of chaos in many places in the world. And one of the things I love about this verse is the promise and the blessing to those that are converted that the storm cannot penetrate to them.

That phrase right there is so empowering. I want to be able to stand with a calm when the storm is around me. And I feel that I can do that best when I embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and I do all I can to keep his commandments and keep the Spirit close in my life.

That's a promise that is available to all those. And Ammon and his brothers got to witness that as they talked about how exciting it was to see the people that they came to love embrace the gospel and be able to stand gathered together in their place so that the storm cannot penetrate to them. That's a promise you and I can have as well.

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.