The Mighty Change

9 And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved.
10 And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?
11 Behold, I can tell you—did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the mouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe them?
12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.
13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.
14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? (Alma 5:9-14)

Alma 5 is a much-loved passage of scripture. Alma asks many questions in his words to the church of his time that we can ask ourselves today and get something of a measure of where we are on our strait and narrow path back to our Heavenly Father.

Our church meetings and our General Conferences (and other conferences) teach us all the things we need to do in order to experience this mighty change of heart--we just have to do them. We have to put these things, such as prayer and scripture reading for two examples, into action.

Some things are hard for us and some are fairly easy. We are all on different timelines in our spiritual growth, and we all have different gifts from our Father in Heaven with which to work. Our job is to persist and be diligent. And to be charitable to ourselves and others along the way. Charitable and patient.

I really like that phrase "mighty change of heart." It gives me hope that I will be able to keep improving and that it is possible to change.

Further Miscellany

We had a bit of a recess from spring this past week. It has been rainy, stormy at times, cool, and windy. We needed the rain, so I cannot complain about that, but we could have done without the stormier portions of the weather. What would we complain about if we couldn't complain about the weather?!!

Allergies continue to give me trouble. Would anyone like to trade sinuses with me? Healthy ones only need apply.

I enjoyed seeing Jettboy's post of "Literary Suggestions for Mormon Reading" at his Straight and Narrow Blog. Not that I'm a bookworm or anything...! His list is a good one.

At Messenger and Advocate Guy has put up another wonderful post (with photos!) from the West Africa Ghana mission. I am linking to the West Africa Ghana category at his blog so that you can see all of the mission posts he has put up. Thanks for sharing the words and pictures, Guy!

I have got to learn to put photos in my blog posts!

A fairly new blog (begun in January 2007) that is interesting to read is BoM Groupies, a study of the Book of Mormon, beginning with 1 Nephi. Follow along and offer comments!

Another blog of interest is LdsWebguy. This blog highlights information about the Church's website and other articles and information about the Church on the web. As the subtitle says:

Promoting the appropriate use of the Web to spread information about The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

I hope you will enjoy the above links!

Thanks, s'mee!

My friend s'mee has graciously nominated me for a Thinking Blogger award. I am surprised, but grateful for the kind things she said in her post at knot in the string. Thank you, s'mee!

Now I need to nominate five people whose blogs make me think. Hmmm. Let me see....

1. Amira at The Golden Road to Samarqand: Thoughtful Spot is a favorite blogger. Her posts cover a wide variety of topics and are always interesting. She makes me think about new things. Her perspective is world-wide, and she has a kind heart.

2. Guy Murray at Messenger and Advocate is another favorite. He writes intelligent posts and is interesting to read, even when I don't agree with him. He provides me with a different view of some things, which can only help me broaden my horizons.
Like Amira, he has a kind heart.

3. Michelle at Mulling and Musing provides me with some really spiritual thinking. Her posts are full of insights and ideas that strengthen my soul. I really appreciate her for what she has to say and for her kindness to me. She also posts at A Prayer of Faith and guests at Blogger of Jared.

4. Naiah at Naiahdot is another blogger who writes well and has interesting insights to share. Her posts are found on other blogs as well (such as A Prayer of Faith and Blogger of Jared) and she covers a lot of ground. I admire her a lot for all she contributes. And she, too, is a kind soul.

5. Titus Todd of BResponsible is yet another blogger who makes me think. He writes about politics and society and urges us all on to responsibility in our thinking and doing. And, yes, he is a kind man, too! He also blogs at Trekking.

There are many others whose blog posts mean a lot to me and who make me think and have offered me their friendship. But I really need to stop at five so everyone else will have someone to nominate!!

To the five above, you can go here to get your button and to read the rules (they're simple!).

Again, thank you, s'mee, not only for the nomination, but for the opportunity to pass it on!

Holy Week and Easter Weekend

This week and this weekend mark an important event for Christians everywhere. We commemorate the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and we celebrate His resurrection, which broke the bands of death and made possible an atonement with Him and with our Heavenly Father.

There are things we don't fully understand about the need for the Savior's sacrifice, but we do know it was necessary. It has made it possible for us to progress and to make corrections along our way through life. It has assured us of more life to come after this one is finished.

The focus this week on Easter and the preceding days brings to our minds so many things for which we can be grateful to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It reminds me of Christ's entire life and teachings and the example He set for us. Repentance and forgiveness are much on my mind and I ponder how to do a better job of applying these to my life. How can I better repent, be forgiving, and follow Christ's example?

At our General Conference last weekend, our prophets and apostles and other leaders spoke on many of the topics that I am thinking of and also gave counsel and direction for improving our lives in these and other areas. It occurs to me that being truly converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ is important for helping us to realize the necessity of all the other work we need to do on ourselves. The gift of the Holy Ghost helps us see our weaknesses and how to strengthen ourselves. Scriptures and prayer do the same.

Coming as it does near the beginning of spring, of rebirth, Easter is a very special time of year. It is a time to recommit and go forward.