Day 29 - Alma 2-4

Spiritual Thought:

“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take

people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out

of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who

then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change

human nature.”

                                     (Ezra Taft Benson: Ensign, Nov. 1985, p. 6).

Daily Focus Scriptures to mark and ponder:

Alma 2:16,18 - "Now Alma, being the chief judge and the governor of the people of Nephi...Nevertheless the Lord did strengthen the hand of the Nephites..."
Alma 2: 19 - "Now I would that ye should see that they (Amlicites) brought upon themselves the curse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation."
Alma 2:27 - "For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it be according to the truth."

Daily Questions: 

What are some things we do (like the Amlicites who marked themselves with red) that might show an association with the world rather than an association with the Lord and his people? Why is it important

for Latter-day Saints not to have these distinguishing characteristics? Is it possible that certain kinds of jewelry and clothing and haircuts mark us in much the same way that the Amlicites marked themselves?

What could we do more to distinguish ourselves as Latter-day saints and stand out in a crowd?

For Kids:

Click here to watch video of the Amlicites

Food for Thought:  RADIO TUBES - The Spirit they List to Obey
"In my home I have a beautiful instrument called a Radio.  When everything is in good working order we can dial it to a certain station and pick up a speaker or the voice of a singer all the way across the continent or sometimes on the other side of the world, bringing them into our front room as though they were almost right there.  But, after we had used it for a long time, there were some little delicate instruments or electrical devices on the inside called radio tubes that began to wear out.  When one of them wears out, we get a kind of a static - it isn't so clear.  Another wears out, and if we don't give it attention it fades in and out…  and then another one wears out. Well, the radio sits there looking quite like it did before, but something happened on the inside.  We can't get any singer.  We can't get any speaker.
 "'...You and I have within our souls something like what might be said to be a counter-part of those radio tubes.  We might have what we call a 'Go-to-Sacrament-Meeting' tube, 'keep-the-Word-of-Wisdom' tube, 'Read-the-Scriptures' tube, 'Pay-Your-Tithing' tube, 'have your-Family-Prayers' tube, and as one of the most important, that might be said to be the master tube of our whole soul, the 'Keep-Yourself-Morally-Clean' tube.  If one of these becomes worn out by disuse or is not active - we fail to keep the commandments of God - it has the same effect upon our spiritual selves that that same worn out instrument in the radio in my home has, upon the reception that we otherwise could receive from a distance.
"...We get our answer from the source we "list to obey."  If we're keeping the commandments of the Devil, we'll get the answer from the Devil.  If we're keeping the commandments of God, we'll get the answers from our Heavenly Father for our direction and for our guidance."  --Pres. Harold B. Lee - "Divine Revelation" - Speeches of the Year 1952. pg. 4-6)

BOMING Picture:   The Amlicites marking themselves