One of my most favorite times with my kids is when we are reading and studying the scriptures. Sometimes this is casual and feels like we are just going through the motions. But usually I try to make it more focused and meaningful and exciting.
Today, before school, we were discussing the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s in Alma. We talked about how this people’s hearts were so converted to the Lord that they refused to fight. They couldn’t go back to that life anymore, no matter what. Their conversions was so strong that they knelt down and prayed while being slaughtered. They didn’t even run away.
We also talked about the Amalekites and Amulonites and how they had once been Nephites and knew and felt the gospel in their lives. They had once known God’s love. We read the verse in Alma 24:30, “And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things.” And then we discussed why they thought it was so hard for people to come back to God once they’ve chosen to leave Him.
We talked about the psychological factors, guilt, shame, justification, anger. And we talked about how all of these things make our hearts grow hard. Then, if uninterrupted, they grow harder and harder.
Afterword, I pondered my morning with my kids. I thought about how strong the Spirit witnesses to my children any time we make time to study and read from the Book of Mormon. But it made me wonder what exactly the Spirit was testifying of. The Spirit, no doubt, was teaching them, but what exactly was He teaching?
My kids love hearing and learning the in depth scripture stories. They are full of examples of life lessons. I think the Spirit testifies of this, of the truthfulness of these stories so we will all know where to look for examples in our own lives and situations. No doubt, my kids will have difficult times in their lives when their hearts will want to go hard. Life is hard enough that it eventually happens to all of us, but hopefully through these scripture stories and the Spirit that testifies of them and implants that feeling of them inside my children’s hearts and minds, they will remember these stories and examples and be able to apply the life lessons from them to their lives and situations. People remember how you make them feel. The Spirit knows this. 🙂
Our God is a genius! The depth of love that has been incorporated into this plan is far beyond our capacities. I am forever grateful to get to be a part of it…
