Day 41 - Alma 37 - 39

Spiritual Thought:
"When crisis comes in [their] lives—and they will, the philosophies of men interlaced with a few scriptures and poems just won’t do. Are we really nurturing [those we teach]  in a way that will sustain them when the stresses of life appear? Or are we giving them a kind of theological Twinkie - spiritually empty calories? President John Taylor called such teaching ‘fried froth,’ the kind of thing you could eat all day and yet finish feeling totally unsatisfied. (Jeffrey Holland -A Teacher Come from God, Ensign, May 1998, 27)

Daily Focus Scriptures to mark and ponder:
Alma 37:6 - "Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."
Alma 37:37 - "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep..."
Alma 38:5 - "...as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions and ye shall be lifted up at the last day."
Alma 39:12 - "And now the Spirit of the Lord doth say unto me:  "Command thy children to do good, lest they lead away the hearts of many people to destruction:  therefore I command you, my son, (Corianton and us), in the fear of God, that ye refrain from your iniquities."

Daily Questions: 

How can we as parents teach the scriptures to our children so that they will rejoice in the opportunity to study?  Alma fulfills his responsiblity with each of his sons in these 3 chapters, and provides a wonderful example for us to follow.  What can we do to better prepare the minds of our children to hear the word of the Lord? How can youth better prepare themselves to hear the counsel of their parents?

For Kids:
Click here to watch video of Alma counseling his three sons

Food for Thought: 
In the following 3 chapters, Alma gives us an excellent example of how to deal with the different personalities and challenges of each of our children.  (He gave every one his charge "separately").

Alma 37 - Helaman's Humility - Alma bore his testimony to Helaman and admonished him to follow his example.  This was priceless counsel because Helaman was to become the next prophet when Alma died.  He also gave him the charge to keep the records.
Alma 38 - Shiblon Syndrome - Sometimes the righteous kid gets forgotten.  Parents should recognize the good that their children do and praise them for their righteousness.  In spite of Shiblon's steadiness, faithfulness, and long-suffering, Alma still concludes his words to this son with an admonition.  (Alma 38:10-15).  It is important to charge and warn even the most righteous.
Alma 39 - Corianton's Copout - Because of Corianton's wickedness, his counsel was much different than his brothers.  Alma admonished him to Repent and shows us four steps in dealing with our children who have made mistakes.

1.  Show them what led to their sin.  (39:2-4)

2.  Show them the consequences of their actions. (39:7-12)

3.  Show them how to avoid making the same mistakes in the future. (39:9-14)

4.  Express love and offer hope of forgiveness through the atonement. (39:15-17)

BOMING Picture: Some parents will go to all extremes to counsel with their children to read the Book of Mormon! :-)