We talked about Alma 32 today. Last night, I noticed that Alma was preaching to the people on the hill Onidah and the phrase “poor in heart” stuck out at me, so I started comparing the two sermons. The similarities go a surprisingly long way.
32:4 onidah / matt 5:1 on the mount, 3 Ne 12 at the temple mount
32:3 poor in heart / 12:3 poor in spirit
32:12 lowliness of heart, compelled to be humble / 12:2 depths of humility
32:13 repenteth / 12:4 mourn will be comforted
32:14 more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word / 12:2 more blessed are they who shall believe in your words
32:16 blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized / 12:2 blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized
32:28 if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, 32:39 your ground is barren / 12:5 blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth
32:42 ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst / 12:6 hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost
32:31 Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness / 12:7 merciful shall obtain mercy
32:41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life. / 12:8 pure in heart, for they shall see God.
35:6 those who were in favor of the words which had been spoken by Alma and his brethren were cast out of the land / 12:10 And blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
32:41 tree of life = menorah / 12:14 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
15 Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;
16 Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
32:43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you. / 12:44 But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven
Then we also talked about how Adam was to labor in tilling the ground & Eve was to labor in childbirth, and Mom’s great exposition of children as the seed and the faith & nurture required to bring them to fruition.
Agency: sometimes a man will repent if he’s compelled to be humble.
Giving place: a friend would not even consider the possibility of God’s existence, thus could not pray and witness the feeling. We need to pay tithing in order to see the blessings from it. I need to allow the possibility that I’ll be better off if I give up my sins.
