Lesson 24: Give Us Strength According to Our Faith-in Christ

Purpose:
To help class members better understand how the Atonement provides deliverance from trials and how the priesthood and following the counsel of prophets helps us enter into the rest of the Lord.

Reading Assignment:

• Alma 13-16
• The Power of Deliverance - Pres. Henry B. Eyring
• In the Strength of The Lord - Elder David A. Bednar
  (I know, I know...we've already read this one...but it is so good and applicable, we get to read it again.)
• Enter into The Rest of The Lord - Elder W. Craig Zwick

Questions to Ponder:

Alma 13 & Elder W. Craig Zwick

• When are men first “called and prepared” to be ordained to the priesthood? (See Alma 13:3.)
• How did men demonstrate in premortal life that they were worthy to be foreordained to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood? (See Alma 13:3–5.)
• What must we do in this life to remain worthy of our foreordination? (See Alma 13:8–10.)
• How should Alma’s teachings about foreordination affect the way we sustain those who are called to preside over us? How should these teachings affect our response when priesthood leaders extend callings or other assignments to us?
• What does it mean to "enter the rest of the Lord?"
  • How can we become worthy to enter into His rest?
  • If we understand the necessity of repentance, why do many of us procrastinate the day of our repentance? How can we overcome this tendency?
  • How is entering into the rest of the Lord connected to the Priesthood and Gospel ordinances? To teaching the Gospel?

Alma 14, David A. Bednar & Henry B. Eyring

• Why do some people become angry when they are called to repentance? (See 1 Nephi 16:1–3.)
• What did Zeezrom do when he saw what “he had caused among the people”? (See Alma 14:6–7.) How did the people respond when Zeezrom confessed his guilt and defended Alma and Amulek? (See Alma 14:7.)
• What did the wicked people in Ammonihah do to the people who believed in the word of God? (See Alma 14:7–9.) Why does the Lord allow tragedies to happen? (See Alma 14:10–11; 60:13.)
  
  Spencer W. Kimball Wrote: "Now, we find many people critical when a righteous person is killed, a young father or mother is taken from a family, or when violent deaths occur. Some become bitter when oft-repeated prayers seem unanswered. Some lose faith and turn sour when solemn administrations by holy men seem to be ignored and no restoration seems to come from repeated prayer circles. But if all the sick were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended.
  
   "If pain and sorrow and total punishment immediately followed the doing of evil, no soul would repeat a misdeed. If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil--all would do good and not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, no Satanic controls.
  
  "Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our selfish desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death; and if these were not, there would also be an absence of joy, success, resurrection, eternal life, and godhood." 
  Improvement Era, Mar 1966, p180 & 210) 
• After being persecuted in prison for many days, how were Alma and Amulek finally delivered? (See Alma 14:26–29; Ether 12:12–13; David A. Bednar & Henry B. Eyring)
  • What are some things from which we need to be delivered?
  • Why must our faith be centered in Christ to lead us to deliverance? (See Mosiah 3:17; Moroni 7:33.)

Alma 15-16

• What did Zeezrom ask of Alma and Amulek? (See Alma 15:5.) What does this reveal about his trust in them? In whom did he need to place his trust in order to be healed? (See Alma 15:6–10.)
• What can we learn from Zeezrom’s actions after he was healed? (See Alma 15:11–12.)
• What did Amulek give up by choosing to live the gospel and serve as a missionary? (See Alma 15:16.) What did he gain? (See Alma 8:30; 34:1, 8; Ether 12:12–13.) What sacrifices have you made in choosing to live and teach the gospel? How have you been blessed for this?
• What did Alma do for Amulek once the Church was established in Sidom? (See Alma 15:18.) What does this act reveal about Alma? In what ways can we administer to others and strengthen them in the Lord?
• (See Alma 16:2–3, 9–11.) How was this a fulfillment of Alma’s prophecies? (See Alma 9:4–5, 12, 18.) What prophecies have we seen fulfilled in our day?
• (Alma 16:13–21). How does the Lord prepare people’s hearts to receive His word? (See Alma 16:16.)
• How can we ensure that we preach the word of God “in its purity”? (See Alma 16:21; see also Mosiah 18:18–20; D&C 52:9.)