1. Alma 31-32
Faith in Jesus Christ

2. Words that rock your world. Things that make you go ARRGGHH!
The Tribe has spoken
May I please see your license and registration please?
I’m sorry, there’s nothing more we can do
Your father has taken a new job in Hyrum and we are moving
You’re fired
You have been called to serve in the Ogden, Utah mission
Dear John...
To be continued
I thought you’d spend tonight with the family
You have Brother Richards this tri for seminary
Let’s just be friends
Alma 31-32

3. Alma 31-32 Alma 31:5 (look at the missionaries in vs 6-7!)
If you had to narrow the Book of Mormon down to one verse, one which would you choose?
Random Name Generator
Alma 31-32

4. Where do we turn for safe doctrine?
1. Scriptures
2. Official Doctrinal Pronouncements
3. Correlated Sermons of Church Leaders (General Conference)
4. Church Publications (with church logo)

5. “I find that when I get casual in my relationships with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I immerse myself in the scriptures, the distance narrows and the spirituality returns and I find myself loving more intensely.” (“What I Hope You Will Teach My Grandchildren and All Others of the Youth of Zion” (Spencer W. Kimball, address to Church Educational System religious educators, July 11, 1966, 4).

6. “Often we spend great effort in trying to increase the activity levels
“Often we spend great effort in trying to increase the activity levels. We work diligently to raise the percentages of those attending sacrament meetings. We labor to get a higher percentage of our young men on missions. We strive to improve the numbers of those marrying in the temple. All of these are commendable efforts and important to the growth of the kingdom. But when individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, these other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Power of the Word,” Ensign, May 1986, 81).

8. The Zoramites
Alma 31
The beliefs of the Zoramite religion were: (Alma 31:12–21) —v. 9     They did not believe in the law of Moses. —v. 10   They had forsaken daily prayer. —v. 11   They had perverted the ways of the Lord. —v. 12   They practiced their religion only one day per week. —v. 15   They believed God was, is, and always will be a spirit. —v. 16   They did not believe in the traditions of their fellow Nephites. —v. 16   They taught that “there shall be no Christ.” —v. 17   They believed they would be saved but everyone else would not. —v. 17   They believed others are bound by “foolish traditions.” —v. 18   They saw themselves as “a chosen and a holy people.” —v. 21   Rameumptom: They offered public prayers from a “holy stand” in their synagogue.

9. Selfless or Selfish Alma 31 Zoramites
Thou has separated us (see v. 16)
We will be saved; all others will be damned (see v. 17)
Thou has elected us (see v. 16)
Zoramites
We do not believe in Christ (see vv )

10. Selfless or Selfish
Alma 31
President Brigham Young: “The least, the most inferior person now upon the earth…is worth worlds.” (In Journal of Discourses, 9:124.)

11. Selfless or Selfish Alma Alma 31
Grant us success in bringing people to Christ (see v. 34)
Give us patience (see v. 31)
Their souls are precious (see v. 35)
Alma
Give us power and wisdom to bring our brethren to Thee (see v. 35)

12. Believe and be saved the minister said, Believe and be saved and rise from the dead. Through grace ye are saved from sin and from hell, So simply believe and all will be well. The preacher continued and read from the book, How all can reach heaven, both angel and crook. When all had been said and the church recessed; With money collected and everyone blessed; The preacher retired to his spacious new home, In his humble Mercedes with everything chrome. He sat in his study, his thoughts running deep, He dozed for a moment, and died in his sleep.
Alma 31-32

13. He ran to Saint Peter and wearing a grin, Said "I believe in the Savior, so please let me in" "Oh no, not another", said Peter with a sigh, "Satan's sure working, the tolls running high." The preacher looked puzzled, then saw in a flash, God's plan for salvation, beginning at last. Believing is nothing, if nothing is done. In getting to Heaven you follow the Son. To follow a leader, you do what is said, Faith without works is nothing but dead. Satan knows Jesus, believes in him too. So what's the difference between the devil and you? Believe in the Savior, but always recall, Faith is important, but sure isn't all.
Alma 31-32

14. Read Alma 32:21  
What is required to grow fruit from a seed? (make a detailed list)
Alma 31-32

15. Alma 31-32 Create your own analogy from Gardening
Soil Composition Fertilizer Weeds and Pest Control Garden Tools Organic Gardens Tilling the Garden Low Maintenance Plants
Alma 31-32

16. Book of Mormon Evidences
Alma 32
Comparisons

17. Book of Mormon Evidences
Comparison in English is usually expressed this way: a certain thing is more X than a second thing, or a certain thing is Xer than a second thing. The words more and than or the suffix –er are used to express the comparison.
In Hebrew, comparison is translated this way: a certain thing is X from a second thing. For example:
"a land which is choice above all other lands" (1 Nephi 2:20;  see 13:30)
"the tree which is precious above all" (1 Nephi 11:9; see 15:36)
"most abominable above all sins" (Alma 39:5)
"the fruit which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure" (Alma 32:42)

18. Book of Mormon Evidences
The Dresden Codex is one of four surviving pre-Columbian Mayan books. This scene shows a sacrificial victim with a tree growing from his heart, a literal portrayal of the metaphor preached in Alma 32. The Book of Mormon’s metaphors make most sense in the Mesoamerican world. (Debating the Foundations of Mormonism: The Book of Mormon and Archaeology, John E. Clark, Wade Ardern, Matthew Roper, August 2005)

19. Metaphors and the Mesoamerican World
(Dresden codex)
Alma 32
28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart ... it will begin to swell within your breasts ...
30 But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good ...
37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit for us.

20. GERMINATION: To expand into a greater being from a small existence; to begin to grow after a period of dormancy  
Alma 31-32

21. DORMANCY: Lying asleep; inactive; capable of being activated; dormant seeds are ripe seeds that do not germinate because they are subject to external environmental conditions.
Alma 31-32

22. WATER: The uptake of water by seeds is called imbibition, which leads to the swelling and the breaking of the seed coat.
Alma 31-32

23. OXYGEN If a seed is buried too deeply within the soil or the soil is waterlogged, the seed can be oxygen starved. Some seeds have impermeable seed coats that prevent oxygen from entering the seed, causing dormancy.
Alma 31-32

24. Light/darkness Many seeds will not germinate until sufficient light and temperature for growth of the seedling occurs.
Alma 31-32

25. Home Grown vs Store Bought Why does home grown food have more nutrients than store bought food?
Alma 31-32

26. What do we need to germinate our seed of testimony?
ALMA 32:28

27. What do we need to germinate our seed of testimony?
ALMA 32:30

28. “This is good doctrine. It tastes good
“This is good doctrine. It tastes good. I can taste the principles of eternal life, and so can you….I know that when I tell you these words of eternal life as they are given to me, you taste them, and I know that you believe them. You say honey is sweet, and so do I. I can also taste the spirit of eternal life. I know that it is good (Joseph Smith, HC, 6:312).

29. What do we need to germinate our seed of testimony?
ALMA 32:34

30. “Too often we approach the gospel like a farmer who places seed in the ground in the morning and expects corn on the cob by the afternoon” (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Way of the Disciple, Ensign, May 2009, 76-77).

31. What do we need to germinate our seed of testimony?
ALMA 32:37

32. “Several years ago a friend of mine had a young daughter die in a tragic accident. Hopes and dreams were shattered. My friend felt unbearable sorrow. He began to question what he had been taught and what he had taught as a missionary. The mother of my friend wrote me a letter and asked if I would give him a blessing. As I laid my hands upon his head, I felt to tell him something that I had not thought about in exactly the same way before. The impression that came to me was:
Alma 31-32

33. “Faith is not only a feeling; it is a decision.”
(Elder Neil L. Anderson, You Know Enough, October 2008)
Alma 31-32

34. What do we need to germinate our seed of testimony?
ALMA 32:41-42

35. “Latter-day Saints are not obedient because they are compelled to be obedient. They are obedient because they know certain spiritual truths and have decided, as an expression of their own individual agency, to obey the commandments of God. There is an obedience that comes from a knowledge of the truth that transcends any external form of control. “We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see” (Boyd K Packer, Conference Report, Apr. 1983, 89-90).
Alma 31-32

36. “You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness, then the light will appear and show the way before you. “I have learned over and over again that all of us must walk by faith - near the edge of the light. Each of us must learn to take a few steps into the darkness of the unknown before the light begins to appear (Boyd K. Packer, “The Edge of the Light,” Brigham Young University 18 Stake Fireside, 4 Mar. 1990).
Alma 31-32

37. Who do you know (personally or scripturally) that is a pillar or example of faith? In what circumstances has your faith nourished you? Martin Handcart Company
Alma 31-32

38. Francis Webster said: "We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with Him in our extremities! "I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me! I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the Angels of God were there. "Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No! Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company."
Alma 31-32

39. HOLLAND
Alma 31-32

40. Alma 31-32
Faith in Jesus Christ