Mosiah 27

 (Below is a list of questions and quotes that help me think about each verse as I read it. The numbers represent the verses in the chapter.)

The Lord responds to your faithful prayers for others as you continue to pray for those you know and love who choose to act contrary to the teachings of the Lord. The Lord hears your prayers and responds in His own way and time and yet allows each person his or her agency. Each of us must e born again through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. (This means that the Spirit of the Lord causes a mighty change in your heart so that you have no more desire to do evil, but rather desire to seek the things of God.) Being born of God is more of a process than an event. To repent we must confess, feel sorrow, forsake the sin, make restitution, forgive others, and have a change of heart. Repentance brings spiritual rebirth and the joy of the Lord’s forgiveness. To truly repent, a person must do everything possible to repair the damage he or she has done. Even those who rebel against the Lord and His teachings can be forgiven.

Think about those you know who do not have testimonies of the gospel or have fallen away from the church. What would you do if one of them refuse all of your efforts to help him or her? How can this chapter encourage those who feel they cannot repent and come to the Lord? How might this chapter help people who believe that people can't change begin to realize that characters change through the process of repentance and faith on the Lord?

1-7. Would you like to have the Lord visit your home tomorrow? What kinds of things would you do to prepare? What things did the Nephites do that made it possible for the Lord to visit them and prosper them? How many of the items on your list have to do with the quality? Why do you think unity and equality are essential to having Jesus Christ visit you? (See D&C 38:27, 70:14) 

6. What additional blessing came as a result of the Nephites obedience? What can you do in your home to bring this peace so you can be prepared for the Lord to visit you? What is the relationship between unity, equality and peace?

8-10. What was the mission of Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah? How did this mission affect Alma and his friends? What were Alma and the sons of Mosiah trying to do to the church and its members? How did it influence other people? How did it influence the church? Why do you think of some people rebel against that which is good?

11-14. Not everyone who needs to repent and not everyone for whom you pray will receive the visitation of an angel. The Lord response to your faithful prayers for others according to His own wisdom. Do you think that the Lord would have sent an angel to Alma and the sons of Mosiah if it would've added further condemnation upon their heads? Why or why not? How is the message of repentance given to you? When have you felt that your prayers made a difference in someone's life? How can believing that the Lord responds to your faithful prayers in behalf of others affect how you pray?
12-13. Why do you think it is important to recognize when you have sinned? Why do you think remorse, or godly sorrow, is necessary for repentance?

14. Who might be praying for your welfare? How might the Lord want you to change? What do you need to do for that change to occur?

11-24. What did Alma and the four sons of Mosiah here and feel? How did Alma's father feel when his son was carried in unconscious and helpless? How long did they fast and pray for the unconscious Alma the younger? How had Alma the younger changed after he received his strength? Does one require an experience similar to his to be converted? How have you been converted to the gospel of Christ?

"We must be careful, as we seek to become more and more godlike, that we do not become discouraged and lose hope. Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible. The Scriptures record remarkable accounts of men whose lives changed dramatically, in instant, as it were: Alma the younger, Paul on the road to Damascus, Enos praying far into the night, King Lamoni. Such astonishing examples of the power to change even those steeped in sin give confidence that the Atonement can reach even those deepest in despair. But we must be cautious as we discussed these remarkable examples. Though they are real and powerful, they are the exception more than the rule. 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. They live quiet lives of goodness, service, and commitment. They are like the Lamanites, who the Lord said were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not." -Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, October 1989

23-25. What evidence shows that Alma forsook his sins? How easy do you think it is to forsake sins? Why? How can you develop the power to forsake your sins?
24-31. What changes did Alma the Younger experience as a result of the visit of the angel? What words or phrases in these verses describe Alma's spiritual condition before and after his change of heart? What is one phrase that you hope will describe you throughout your life? Why? Why is it important to understand what you must do as you seek to change your life and also what the Lord will do for you in this process?
25-27. What is a 'new creature'? How have you been changed through the Atonement as you have repented and tried each day to follow the Savior? What is one thing you can do to better come to the Lord and allow the Atonement to make a difference in your life?

"We learn that when repentance is complete we are born again and leave behind forever the self we once were. To me, none of the many approaches to teaching repentance falls more short than the well-intentioned suggestion that 'although a nail may be removed from a wooden post, there will forever be a hole in that post.' We know that repentance (the removal of that nail, if you will) can be a very long and painful and difficult task. Unfortunately, some will never have the incentive to undertake it. We even know that there are a very few sins for which no repentance is possible. But where repentance is possible and its requirements are faithfully pursued and completed, there is no “hole left in the post” for the bold reason that it is no longer the same post. It is a new post. We can start again, utterly clean, with a new will and a new way of life. Through repentance we are changed to what Alma calls “new creatures.” (Mosiah 27:26.) We are “born again; yea, born of God, changed from [our] carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters.” (Mosiah 27:25; see also Mosiah 5:1–12.) Repentance and baptism allow Christ to purify our lives in the blood of the Lamb and we are clean again. What we were, we never have to be again, for God in his mercy has promised that “he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.” (D&C 58:42.) ... Christ is the power behind all repentance." - Jeffrey R Holland, Ensign, March 1977

 “We begin the process of being born again through exercising faith in Christ, repenting of our sins, and being baptized by immersion for the remission of sins by one having priesthood authority. … After we come out of the waters of baptism, our souls need to be continuously immersed in and saturated with the truth and the light of the Savior’s gospel. Sporadic and shallow dipping in the doctrine of Christ and partial participation in His restored Church cannot produce the spiritual transformation that enables us to walk in a newness of life. Rather, fidelity to covenants, constancy of commitment, and offering our whole soul unto God are required if we are to receive the blessings of eternity. … Total immersion in and saturation with the Savior’s gospel are essential steps in the process of being born again” - David A Bednar,GC, April  2007

“We are born again as we die as pertaining to unrighteousness and when we live as pertaining to the things of the Spirit. But that doesn’t happen in an instant, suddenly. That … is a process. Being born again is a gradual thing, except in a few isolated instances that are so miraculous that they get written up in the scriptures. As far as the generality of the members of the Church are concerned, we are born again by degrees, and we are born again to added light and added knowledge and added desires for righteousness as we keep the commandments. … As members of the Church, if we chart a course leading to eternal life; if we begin the processes of spiritual rebirth, and are going in the right direction; if we chart a course of sanctifying our souls, and degree by degree are going in that direction; if we chart a course of becoming perfect, and, step by step and phase by phase, are perfecting our souls by overcoming the world, then it is absolutely guaranteed—there is no question whatever about it—we shall gain eternal life. Even though we have spiritual rebirth ahead of us, perfection ahead of us, the full degree of sanctification ahead of us, if we chart a course and follow it to the best of our ability in this life, then when we go out of this life we’ll continue in exactly that same course” - Bruce R McConkie, “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” Brigham Young University 1976 Speeches, Sept. 5, 1976, 5–6, speeches.byu.edu

28-29. How do you think Alma’s joy after he repented compared to the misery he felt before? Do you believe this kind of change can occur in people today? Why or why not?
28-31. How did Alma describe the joy that comes from repentance? What advantages do you see in repenting and being forgiven before Christ comes? What does forgiveness free you from? Can you think of any commandments that you would not be willing to live to have that freedom?
32-37. How can you tell when someone has become a 'new creature'? What blessings came to Alma and the sons of Mosiah because of their deep conversion? What blessings do you receive from your full conversion? What can you do to deepen and strengthen you level of conversion in the gospel of Christ? What actions will you engage in that will show the Lord and others of the level of commitment that you have to Him? As you think about how you can be changed through the Atonement, consider how you can repent and make restitution for your sins?
35. To whom did Alma confess his sins? How do you think his confessions helped the people he had injured? What blessings do you believe come as a result of appropriately confessing your sins? What does the word restitution mean? What did Alma do to make restitution for his sins?

_________________________________________________________________________________

Each of us has need to repent

“Repentance [is] one of the most vital and merciful doctrines of the kingdom. It is too little understood, too little applied by us all. … Personal repentance is part of taking up the cross daily (see Luke 9:23). Without it, clearly there could be no ‘perfecting of the Saints’ (Ephesians 4:12). … Repentance is a rescuing, not a dour doctrine. It is available to the gross sinner as well as to the already good individual striving for incremental improvement. … Real repentance involves not a mechanical checklist but a [reining in] of the natural self. Often overlapping and mutually reinforcing, each portion of the process of repentance is essential. This process rests on inner resolve but is much aided by external support.” - Neal A Maxwell, GC, November 1991

We must recognize what is wrong

“There can be no repentance without recognition of wrong. Whether by provocation, introspection, or wrenching remembrance, denial must be dissolved. As with the prodigal son who finally ‘came to himself’ (Luke 15:17), the first rays of recognition help us begin to see ‘things as they really are’ (Jacob 4:13). … Recognition is a sacred moment, often accompanied by the hot blush of shame.” - Neal A Maxwell, GC, November 1991

We must feel godly sorrow

“After recognition, real remorse floods the soul. This is a ‘godly sorrow,’ not merely the ‘sorrow of the world’ nor the ‘sorrowing of the damned’ when we can no longer ‘take happiness in sin’ (see 2 Corinthians 7:10; Mormon 2:13). … “There can be no real repentance without personal suffering and the passage of sufficient time for the needed cleansing and turning. This is much more than merely waiting until feelings of remorse subside. … “Real remorse quickly brings forth positive indicators, ‘fruits meet for repentance’ (Matthew 3:8; see also Acts 26:20; Alma 5:54). In process of time, these fruits bud, blossom, and ripen.” - Neal A Maxwell, GC, November 1991

We must confess our sins

“True repentance also includes confession. … As confession lets the sickening sin empty out, then the Spirit which withdrew returns to renew. … “All sins are to be confessed to the Lord, some to a Church official, some to others, and some to all of these. A few may require public confession. Confessing aids forsaking. We cannot expect to sin publicly and extensively and then expect to be rescued privately and quickly, being beaten with only a few stripes (see D&C 42:88–93).” - Neal A Maxwell, GC, November 1991

We must forsake our sins

“In real repentance, there is the actual forsaking of sinning. ‘Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin’ (Ezekiel 18:30). … Thus, when ‘a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them’ (D&C 58:43). Genuine support and love from others—not isolation—are needed to sustain this painful forsaking and turning!” - Neal A Maxwell, GC, November 1991

We must make restitution where possible

“Restitution is required too. “‘Because he hath sinned, … he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found’ (Leviticus 6:4). Sometimes, however, restitution is not possible in real terms, such as when one contributed to another’s loss of faith or virtue. Instead, a subsequent example of righteousness provides a compensatory form of restitution.”  - Neal A Maxwell, GC, November 1991

Great blessings follow repentance

“As we do repent, however, special assurances await: ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool’ (Isaiah 1:18). ‘All his transgressions … shall not be mentioned unto him’ (Ezekiel 18:22). ‘I, the Lord, remember [their sins] no more’! (D&C 58:42). Along with all the foregoing reasons for our individual repentance, Church members have a special rendezvous to keep, brothers and sisters. Nephi saw it. One future day, he said, Jesus’ covenant people, ‘scattered upon all the face of the earth,’ will be ‘armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory’ (1 Nephi 14:14). This will happen, but only after more members become more saintly and more consecrated in conduct” - Neal A Maxwell, GC, November 1991