Retain in Remembrance

Today I read Alma 36, the first part of Alma's talk to his son, Helaman. A couple of things caught my attention this read through that I'm not sure I noticed last time. The first one is part of Alma's conversion story. I have read this chapter many, many times. And always before I had noticed that all it took for Alma to receive release from his torment was to cry out to Jesus Christ and then he was granted peace from his sins.

However, this read through I'm not so sure. I could be entirely wrong, but it sure seems to me that for 3 days Alma is paying the price for his personal sins. We read in the scriptures that those who choose not to take advantage of the Atonement must eventually pay the price for their own sins. Generally speaking, even those who do take advantage of the Atonement are racked with guilt and sorrow for the things they have done.

And yet as I write this, my mind is led to the book of Enos. I remember when one of my older brothers was taking the discussions from the missionaries. He had been inactive in the church most of his life and was coming back to church and he asked how do you deal with the guilt of a sinful life. I remember at that time I felt inspired to share with him Enos 1:5-6 where God forgives Enos of his sins and Enos says that his guilt was swept away.

Just as Alma records actually. So I can't help but wonder if the guilt and pain those of us who are truly remorseful feel are part of that process. If maybe it is just a small, small portion of what the Savior felt when he paid the price for all of our sins. I've often felt though that paying the price for your sins was to feel the pain that other person felt, be it physical or spiritual or emotional, the pain we inflicted on them. That would seem like justice to me. It would also explain why the Savior needed to feel every pain and sickness we would ever feel. But it's just a thought and I have no idea if it is true or not.

The second part that stood out to me, is the fact that Alma really emphasizes the fact that he retains in remembrance the great things the Lord has done for his people in freeing them from captivity, over and over again. I can't help but wonder why Alma thought this was important enough to mention to his son 3 times. One could argue that if we do not learn from our past we are doomed to repeat it, but I think there is more to it than that. It's not just Alma the Younger who asked his people to remember the great things the Lord has done in delivering them from bondage.

The answer that I keep coming up with, is it is an object lesson. One meant to teach that without God's help we are truly helpless and can do nothing. Each time the Nephites get into bondage with the Lamanites, it is only with the help of the Lord that they are able to escape. And each time, the prophets ask the people to remember this fact. Partly I think this is because humans are fallible. But there may be more to it than that. It may have to do with the way God rescued the people. I honestly don't know.

I just think it is interesting that the prophets remind us to remember how the Lord has already blessed our lives, especially in the case of those who were at one point in bondage to someone else. I do think that it is because humans are so fallible and so prone to forget and turn away from the Lord. But that is my own personal opinion. It has merit though if you think about it. How many people do you personally know who have served missions and yet today want nothing to do with the church? My guess is like me, it's far, far too many. So, as Alma said, retain in remembrance the great things the Lord has done for you. Until tomorrow.