Mosiah 26-Alma 5; Alma 36:3-24

Quotes of the Week:

"Each child in each generation chooses faith or disbelief.  Faith is not an inheritance; it is a choice."

--Henry B. Eyring, "Inquire of the Lord,"  www.ldsces.org

"Moral standards cannot be changed by battle and cannot be changed by ballot."

--Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, 11/10

"Believe in order to understand, not understand [in order to] believe."

--St. Anselm

Further Reading:

James E. Faust, "Dear Are the Sheep That Have Wandered", Ensign, May 2003, 61–62, 67–68
Howard W. Hunter, “Parents’ Concern for Children,” Ensign, Nov. 1983, 65.
John K. Carmack, “When Our Children Go Astray,” Ensign, Feb. 1997, 7–13; Liahona, Mar. 1999, 28–37
D. Todd Christofferson, "Born Again", Ensign, May 2008, 76–79
Ezra Taft Benson, “Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989, 4
Jeffrey R. Holland, "To Young Women," Ensign, 11/05
Teaching, No Greater Call, Chapter 1
Thomas S. Monson, "Charity Never Faileth," Ensign, 11/10

Handouts:

Mosiah 26:1-3--Rising Generation

A. Theodore Tuttle, CR, 4/84
The things we have done in past years are not now sufficient to protect our children in these critical times.  It has long been taught in this Church that the day will come when no one will be able to stand without an individual testimony of the divinity of this work.  That day is here. . . .
No longer can we expect the Church to assume the major role in teaching our children--parents have this prime responsibility.

Believe in order to understand, not understand [in order to] believe.--St. Anselm

Mosiah 26:20--The Second Comforter

Joseph Smith, as quoted in Unlocking the Book of Mormon, p. 197
What is this other Comforter?  It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time . . .

Mosiah 26:29, 35; 27:31, 35--Confession and Repentance

Bruce C. Hafen, Ensign, 5/04
Some young people assume they can romp in sinful mud until taking a shower of repentance just before being interviewed for a mission or the temple.  In the very act of transgression, some plan to repent.  They mock the gift of mercy that true repentance allows.

Dallin H. Oaks, address given at Temple Square Assembly Hall, 2/7/92
In contrast to the punishment that is the intended result of the judgment of a criminal court, the primary purpose of church discipline is to facilitate repentance--to qualify a transgressor for the mercy of God and the salvation made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. . . .  Church discipline is not an instrument of punishment, but a catalyst for change. . . . The major concern of the laws of God is to perfect the lives of his children.

James E. Faust, "Dear Are the Sheep That Have Wandered", Ensign, May 2003, 61–62, 67–68
Children come into this world with their own distinct spirits and personality traits. Some children “would challenge any set of parents under any set of circumstances. … Perhaps there are others who would bless the lives of, and be a joy to, almost any father or mother.” (quoting HW Hunter)

Orson F. Whitney, as cited by James E. Faust, "Dear Are the Sheep That Have Wandered", Ensign, May 2003, 61–62, 67–68
The Prophet Joseph Smith declared—and he never taught more comforting doctrine—that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and forgiving father’s heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God.

Mosiah 27:11--Visit of an Angel

Wilford Woodruff, as cited by Daniel H. Ludlow,  A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, p. 191
The Lord never did nor never will send an angel to anybody merely to gratify the desire of the individual to see an angel.  If the Lord sends an angel to anyone, He sends him to perform a work that cannot be performed only by the administration of an angel.

Mosiah 27:14-16--Prayer of the Righteous

Jeffrey R. Holland, The Book of Mormon: It Begins with a Family, p. 94-95
We learn that there is majestic, undeniable power in the love and prayer of a parent.  The angel who appeared to Alma and the sons of Mosiah did not come in response to any righteousness on their part, though their souls were still precious in the sight of God.  He came in response to the prayers of a faithful parent.
Parental prayer is an unfathomable source of power.  Parents can never give up hoping or caring or believing.  Surely they can never give up praying.  At times prayer may be the only course of action remaining--but it is the most powerful of them all.
We learn that there is great power in the united faith of the priesthood.  It is not only the elder Alma who prays when his son is laid helpless and insensible before him, but also the priests and, we might assume, other faithful friends and neighbors. . . .
Here is a majestic example of Christlike love.  No one in this group seems delighted that devastating recompense has finally come.  No one here seems pleased to imagine the torment of this young spirit.  Yet this is the young man who has despised their faith, harmed their lives, attempted to destroy the very church of God which they hold dearer than life itself. . . . What we all need we cannot in good conscience or integrity deny another.  So they prayed for him who had despitefully used them.

Mosiah 27:25--Being Born Again

Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, 5/98
As we understand [the concept of being born again], our answer to whether we have been born again is clearly  "yes." . . . In order to realize the intended blessings of this born-again status, we must still keep our covenants and endure to the end.  In the meantime, through the grace of God, we have been born again as new creatures with new spiritual parentage and the prospects of a glorious inheritance.

Jeffrey R. Holland, However Hard and Long the Road, p. 83
Repentance is a very painful process. . . . No one should think that the gift of forgiveness is fully realized without significant effort on the part of the forgiven.  No one should be foolish enough to sin willingly or wantonly, thinking forgiveness is easily available.

Mosiah 29:25-27, 32--The Voice of the People

Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, 5/99
Speaking behaviorally, when what was once the lesser voice of the people becomes more dominant, then the judgments of God and the consequences of foolish selfishness follow. 
Cultural decline is accelerated when single-interest segments of society become indifferent to general values once widely shared.  This drift is facilitated by the indifferent or the indulgent as society is led carefully down to hell.  Some may not join in this drift, but instead they step aside, whereas once they might have constrained, as is their representative right. . . .

Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something, xviii
During recent years, polls and circumstances have suggested that an unprecedented majority of Americans believe that the private lives of public officials need not be considered as a factor in their eligibility for public office, and that private morality has no connection with public behavior and credibility.  I am more deeply concerned about the growing moral deficit than I am about the monetary deficit.

Boyd K. Packer, "Children of God," BYU Women's Conference, 5/5/06
The virtue of tolerance has been distorted and elevated to a position of such prominence as to be thought equal to and even valued more than morality.  It is one thing to be tolerant, even forgiving of individual conduct.  It is quite another to collectively legislate and legalize to protect immoral conduct that can weaken, even destroy the family.
There is a dangerous trap when tolerance is exaggerated to protect the rights of those whose conduct endangers the family and injures the rights of the more part of the people.  We are getting dangerously close to the condition described by the prophet Mosiah [in Mosiah 29:26-27].

Alma 1:3-4--Priestcraft

Dallin H. Oaks, as quoted in Unlocking the Book of Mormon, p. 208
Priestcraft is the sin committed by the combination of a good act--such as preaching or teaching the gospel--and a bad motive.  The act may be good and visible, but the sin is in the motive.  On earth, the wrong motive may be know only to the actor, but in heaven it is always known to God.

Monte S. Nyman, Book of Mormon Symposium, 8/62 p. 76

The anti-Christs such as Sherem and Korihor openly rebel against Christ, while the user of priestcraft claims a belief in Christ but perverts His teachings.

Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, 11/99
A gospel teacher will never obscure [students'] view of the Master by standing in the way or by shadowing the lesson with self-promotion or self-interest.  This means that a gospel teacher must never indulge in priestcrafts, which are 'that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world' (2 Ne 26:29).  A gospel teacher does not preach 'to become popular' (Alma 1:3) or 'for the sake of riches and honor' (Alma 1:16).  He or she follows the marvelous Book of Mormon example in which 'the preacher was no better than the learner' (Alma 1:26).  Both will always look to the Master.

David A. Bednar,  "Seek Learning by Faith," 2/3/06, www.ldsces.org
Anything you or I do as an instructor that knowingly and intentionally draws attention to self--in the messages we present, in the methods e use, or in our personal demeanor--is a form of priestcraft that inhibits the teaching effectiveness of the Holy Ghost.

Jeffrey R. Holland, Ensign, 5/98
To teach effectively and to feel you are succeeding is demanding work indeed.  But it is worth it. We can receive 'no greater call.'  . . . Perhaps that is why President David O. McKay once said, 'No greater responsibility can rest upon any man [or woman], than to be a teacher of God's children.'

Teaching, No Greater Call, p. 3
The responsibility to teach the gospel is not limited to those who have formal callings as teachers.  As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you have the responsibility to teach the gospel.

Alma 3:26-27--Otherworldly Influences in Our Lives

Jeffrey R. Holland, However Long and Hard the Road, p. 13-14
In the gospel of Jesus Christ we have help from both sides of the veil.  When disappointment and discouragement strike--and they will--we need to remember that if our eyes could be opened, we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see, riding at great speed to come to our protection. [2 Kings 6:14-17] They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham's seed.  We have been given this promise from heaven.

Alma 4:19--Pride

Ezra Taft Benson, as quoted in Unlocking the Book of Mormon, p. 217
One of Satan's greatest tools is pride: to cause a man or a woman to center so much attention on self that he or she becomes insensitive to his Creator or fellow beings. . . . Repentance means change, and it takes a humble person to change.  But we can do it.

Ezra Taft Benson, "Beware of Pride," Ensign, 5/89, 4 (italics added)
God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble. Alma said, “Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.” (Alma 32:16.)
Let us choose to be humble.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Pride and the Priesthood", Ensign, Nov. 2010, 55–58
At its core, pride is a sin of comparison, for though it usually begins with “Look how wonderful I am and what great things I have done,” it always seems to end with “Therefore, I am better than you.”
. . . In a sense, pride is the original sin, for before the foundations of this earth, pride felled Lucifer, a son of the morning “who was in authority in the presence of God.”  If pride can corrupt one as capable and promising as this, should we not examine our own souls as well?

Alma 5:7, 12-14--Mighty Change of Heart

Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, 10/89
For every Paul, for every Enos, and for every King Lamoni, there are hundreds and thousands of people who find the process of repentance much more subtle, much more imperceptible.  Day by day they move closer to the Lord, little realizing they are building a godlike life.

D. Todd Christofferson, "Born Again", Ensign, May 2008, 76–79
You may ask, Why doesn’t this mighty change happen more quickly with me? You should remember that the remarkable examples of King Benjamin’s people, Alma, and some others in scripture are just that—remarkable and not typical. For most of us, the changes are more gradual and occur over time. Being born again, unlike our physical birth, is more a process than an event. And engaging in that process is the central purpose of mortality.
At the same time, let us not justify ourselves in a casual effort. Let us not be content to retain some disposition to do evil. Let us worthily partake of the sacrament each week and continue to draw upon the Holy Spirit to root out the last vestiges of impurity within us. I testify that as you continue in the path of spiritual rebirth, the atoning grace of Jesus Christ will take away your sins and the stain of those sins in you, temptations will lose their appeal, and through Christ you will become holy, as He and our Father are holy.

Marion G. Romney, Ensign, 11/75
Conversion--experiencing a mighty change of heart--is a transformation process involving and affecting every aspect of one's life.

Alma 5:27--Humility

Willam W. Parmley, Ensign, 11/03
It is of interest, however, that during the first 30 years of His life in Nazareth, Jesus apparently drew little attention to Himself even though He was living a sinless life.  That should encourage us to do better in our own quiet and humble way without drawing attention to ourselves.