Are we not all beggars? (Mosiah 4:19) I certainly am. I can never do enough to come near balancing the scale with what Christ has done for me. I am not required to do so.
Are we not all beggars? Elder Holland
Alma the Elder was a beggar until Abinadi reached into his heart with the message of the Savior. He was converted and repented of his sins. He devoted the rest of his life to Jesus Christ, sharing Abinadi's testimony with his own to hundreds of others.
Alma the Younger was a beggar until an angel thundered and knocked him to the ground. Is was only after 3 days in a hell in his own mind that he remembered the lessons of his father and reached out for Jesus. The angel got his attention. Jesus Christ saved him.
In this week's reading, Alma's son, Corianton, was the beggar, having forsaken his mission and gone after the harlot, Isabel. It was then Alma's opportunity to reach out for his wayward son and bring him back into the fold of God. Although he was the prophet, he didn't reach out to him as a prophet so much as he reached out to him as a father.
He holds him accountable and doesn't minimize his sins, but he does so with such incredible love unfeigned that Corianton listened and turned his life around.
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| More tough than love |
So often when we hear of wayward children, particularly when addiction is involved, we hear about "tough love." I have an issue with that term because it is often used to with a lot more "tough" than love. The term became popular in 1969 with the publication of the book by that name written by Bill Milliken. I have read his book and find that the "tough love" I sometimes see in families testifies to the fact that they have not read it.
It was written about one man's journey to help others, only to discover that he needed the relevance of Christ's love himself.
If you want to see a perfect example of appropriate "tough love," don't read modern books that attempt to define it: read Alma 39 to 42. If you have a wayward soul you wish to reach, do it as Alma did, with Christ's love, unconditional and unfeigned. His is the perfect example.
(In the links below, watch Alma's body language. It communicates volumes.)
Alma teaches his son why God's commandments are important
Alma teaches his son about resurrection and judgment
Alma teaches his son about justice and mercy
© Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson July 2020
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