Alma 22

(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.)

You must be willing to forsake all your sins in order to prepare for eternal life.

1-5. How important is the spirit of the Lord in missionary work? What role does the Holy Ghost play in missionary work? How did the spirit help the missionaries in these verses? When has the spirit directed you to teach or help someone in need?

"If there is one message I have repeated it to my brethren of the Twelve it is that it's the spirit that counts. It is the spirit that matters. I do not know how often I have said this, but I never tire of saying it – it is the spirit that matters most." – Ezra Taft Benson, Address at mission presidents seminar, April 3, 1985

1. What do you remember about Lamoni's father from the previous chapter? 

2-3. Who taught Lamoni's father? How was Aaron received? Why do you suppose that the king was still eager to learn when Aaron came to him instead of Ammon?

5-6. What answers it was the king specifically seeking?

7-14. How do the doctrines that Aaron taught the king answer the Kings questions from verse six?

15. What was the king willing to give up in order to receive joy and eternal life?  What does the Kings offering tell you about the value he began to place on the Savior?  What thoughts do you have as you consider what the king was willing to give up? What are you willing to give up in order to receive joy and eat ternal life?

"Each of us must surrender our sins if we are to really know Christ. For we do not know Him until we become like Hhim. There are some, like this king, who must pray until they, too, have a wicked spirit rooted from them so they can find the same joy. Attaining a righteous and virtuous life is within the capability of anyone of us if we will earnestly seek for it. If we do not have these character traits, the Lord has told us that we should ask, and you shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." – Ezra Taft Benson, GC, October 1983

16. What did Aaron say that the king needed to do?

17-18. How did the king demonstrate his desire to receive eternal life? What do you think it means to give away your sins? Why do you think it is necessary to repent of all of your sins, not only some of them? What can you learn from King Lamoni's father about preparing for eternal life?

"The gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to change. Repent is its most frequent message, and repenting means giving up all of our practices – personal, family, ethnic, and national – that are contrary to the commandments of God. The purpose of the gospel is to transform common creatures into celestial citizens, and that requires change." – Dallin H Oaks, GC, October 2003

"Do you have something in your life that you need to change? You can do this. You can repent because of the saviors infinite atoning sacrifice. He made it possible for you and me to change, to become pure and clean again, and to become like Him. And He has promised that when we do, He will remember our sins and mistakes no more." – Elaine S Dalton, GC, March 2012

5-18. From what you have learned in these verses about what is required to receive eternal life, what do you feel the Lord would ask you to do today so you can draw closer to Him? What evidence do you see that the king had become converted unto the Lord?