Meridian Magazine--Come Follow Me Latter-day Saint Podcast

July 13-19

Alma has a hidden message in this week’s readings.  You all are familiar with the concept he teaches of having a particle of faith and planting a seed and nurturing it that it may grow.  But what is that seed to grow into?  What is the metaphor he wants us to understand?  As we read and study this week’s material you might think Alma the Younger is one of Lehi’s students—he takes a chapter right out of the vision of the tree of life—and if you miss that part of the lesson, you miss one of the greatest teachings in the scriptures.  Let’s explore further.

July 6-12

It is surprising  that an idea can at once be so popular, attracting people to give it passionate devotion, and at the same time be completely false. Why are people so often crazy enough to jump on a trend that is destructive or just plain foolish against their own best interests? Again and again, the Book of Mormon presents us smooth talking, powerful, intellectuals whose words corrupt the nation. Every one of them grabbed power and the hearts of many people, reminding us that there is nothing more dangerous than a lie preached with power.

June 29-July 5

It’s intriguing to me to ponder about why the great abridger of the ancient records, the Prophet Mormon, included some stories and not others in the text.  No one in ancient times had the Book of Mormon.  This book was written for us—for our day—for our time.  So, why did Mormon include the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis?  What possible application does this have for our time?  What are we to learn from this almost unbelievable group of people who turned their whole souls to the Lord Jesus Christ and never waived thereafter?  Let’s explore this further.

June 22-28

Can you imagine if today you opened a mission call and it was for a 14-year mission to a violent people whose aim was to destroy you? You might think twice about that kind of call. Yet, the sons of Mosiah, Nephite princes who could have had a very different life, chose to go to preach to the Lamanites, a people described as “wild and a hardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering the Nephites” (Alma 17:14). No wonder Mosiah was concerned about the safety of his sons, and sought counsel from the Lord, who gave him a promise. 

“Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will adeliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites’ (Mosiah 28:7). They would need it.

June 15-21

Have you ever thought about Alma and Amulek watching the believers in Ammonihah burn? It is not just the pain that these are their tender converts. Could it be that Amulek’s own family was among that group because he is in particular anguish after the event?

June 8-14

Here’s an irony. In our day, when someone wants to change everything that is wrong with the world, they run for president.  In the Book of Mormon, Alma hoping to pull down the pride and craftiness and contentions among his people, saw no way to reclaim them except to give up his office.

June 1-7

I’ve always loved Alma chapter 5.  It could be taken as the most introspective chapter in all of holy writ.  Alma asks more than 40 questions of his listeners and really wants them to probe their spirituality in a deep way.  But Alma wasn’t just talking to the people in Zarahemla—he is talking to us!  So, to put it in our language and context today:  If you have received a witness of this great work, if you have felt those wonderful feelings of the Spirit in your life, if you came to know something was true at some point in your life; can you feel so now?  Let’s explore Alma’s teachings together.

May 25-31

Hugh Nibley calls Mosiah 29 one of the most important treatises on political power ever written. In fact, the Book of Mormon has plenty to say about good and bad political leaders. Why does a spiritual book have so much to say about politics? We’ll find out in this episode.

May 18-24

When I was growing up and first learning about the story of Alma the Younger’s conversion in the Book of Mormon, I always pictured him as a rebellious teenager who hung out with the four sons of Mosiah and together, the five of them wreaked havoc on the Church.  If you look closely at the record and put the facts together, you come to know something altogether different.

May 11-17

I have often wondered what was on Abinadi’s mind as the fire that would engulf and kill him burned hotter and hotter.  Did he wonder if he’d been a good missionary, because after all, there wasn’t a rush of converts from King Noah’s court.