Alma 5
“I . . . fell asleep, and beheld in vision something
infinitely sublime. In the distance I beheld a
beautiful white city. Trees with luscious fruit,
shrubbery with gorgeously-tinted leaves, and
flowers in perfect bloom abounded everywhere.
The clear sky above seemed to reflect these
beautiful shades of color. I then saw a great
concourse of people approaching the city. Each
one wore a white flowing robe, and a white
headdress. Instantly my attention seemed
centered upon their Leader, and though I could
see only the profile of his features and his body, I
recognized him at once as my Savior! There was
a peace about him which seemed sublime—it was
divine!
“The city, I understood, was his. It was the City Eternal;
and the people following him were to abide there in
peace and eternal happiness. But who were they?
“As if the Savior read my thoughts, he answered by
pointing to a semicircle that then appeared above them,
and on which were written in gold the words, “These are
they who have truly….”:
President David O. McKay, Conference Report, Apr. 1951, 157, 159
‘ These Are They Who Have Truly Been
Born Again!’
Alma 5
There are only 410 questions in the
entire Book of Mormon. Alma 5
contains 42 question marks
Read silently through Alma 5:6-31,
39, 53, 55 and hold a personal
worthiness interview.
Take note of which questions are the
most poignant to you as you read
Alma 5
What did you discover?
“‘Mighty’ change is mighty hard work, a labor made
more difficult by the unflattering urges of the natural man.”
(Neal A. Maxwell, “Encircled in the Arms of His Love,” Ensign, Nov 2002, 16).
Alma 5
Reclaimed
MORMON MESSAGE: Reclaimed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7V2ET7p5FA
Alma 5:14
President James E.
Faust, Oct. 2005
“I recently recalled a historic meeting in
Jerusalem about 17 years ago. It was
regarding the lease for the land on which the
Brigham Young University’s Jerusalem Center
for Near Eastern Studies was later built.
Before this lease could be signed, President
Ezra Taft Benson and Elder Jeffrey R.
Holland, then president of Brigham Young
University, agreed with the Israeli government
on behalf of the Church and the university not
to proselyte in Israel…
Alma 5:14
President James E.
Faust, Oct. 2005
“You might wonder why we agreed not to
proselyte. We were required to do so in order
to get the building permit to build that
magnificent building which stands in the
historic city of Jerusalem. To our knowledge,
the Church and BYU have scrupulously and
honorably kept that non-proselyting
commitment. After the lease had been signed,
one of our friends insightfully remarked, ‘Oh,
we know that you are not going to proselyte,
but what are you going to do about the light
that is in their eyes?’ He was referring to our
students who were studying in Israel”.
Alma 5:19
Theodore M.
Burton, “The Need
for Total
Commitment,”
Ensign, Jan 1974,
114
“Sister Burton and I were walking along
a street in Rio de Janeiro, when I saw a man
walk past us who appeared as though he would
make a good Mormon. I thought to myself, “If
I could only speak Portuguese, there would be
a fine missionary contact.” He stopped ahead
of us to look in a shop window and as he did
so, he turned facing us. When he saw us he
waited until we came up to him and then spoke
to us in English. We returned his greeting and
he asked us if we were Americans. We replied
in the affirmative and he asked, “Are you
perchance Mormons?” I replied, “Yes. What do
you know about the Mormons?” He told us he
was a Mormon also and we had a lovely visit
with him. We learned he was a bishop’s
counselor in one of the Rio Wards...
Alma 5:19
Theodore M.
Burton, “The Need
for Total
Commitment,”
Ensign, Jan 1974,
114
“How was it that we could
recognize one another among the teeming
thousands of people walking along that
busy street? If we truly accept God, He
will work a mighty change in our
appearance and we will begin to appear
more like our Heavenly Father, in whose
image we have been created.
“Could it be this appearance we
recognize when we meet men and women
who are trying to live close to the Lord?”
Three Big Sins
Alma 5:28-31
Pride
Envy
Mockery
Alma 5:28
“Are you stripped of pride?”
“Pride does not look up to God
and care about what is right. It looks
sideways to man and argues who is
right…Pride is characterized by “What do
I want out of my life?” Rather than by
“What would God have me do with my
Life?” To the proud, the applause of the
world rings in their ears; to the humble,
the applause of heaven warms their
hearts” (President Benson, Cleansing the Inner Vessel” 6-7,
Ensign, May 86).
Alma 5:28
“Are you stripped of pride?”
President Uchtdorf,
“Pride”, October 2010
General Conference
“I remember one interesting side effect of
President Benson’s influential talk. For a while it
almost became taboo among Church members to say
that they were “proud” of their children or their
country or that they took “pride” in their work. The
very word pride seemed to become an outcast in our
vocabulary.
“So what is the difference between this kind of
feeling and the pride that President Benson called
“the universal sin”? Pride is sinful because it breeds
hatred or hostility and places us in opposition to God
and our fellowmen. 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. Pride is the great sin of self-
elevation.”
Alma 5:29
“Are you stripped of envy?”
President Uchtdorf,
“Pride”, October 2010
General Conference
“Pride turns to envy: we look
bitterly at those who have better
positions, more talents, or greater
possessions than they do. Some
seek to hurt, diminish, and tear
down others in a misguided and
unworthy attempt at selfelevation. When those they envy
stumble or suffer, they secretly
cheer.”
Alma 5:29
“Are you stripped of envy?”
“Every day we see allurements of one
kind or another that tell us what we have
is not enough, that we need to be more
handsome or more wealthy, more
applauded or more admired than we see
ourselves as being. We are told we
haven’t collected enough possessions or
gone to enough fun places. We are
bombarded with the message that we have
been weighed in the balance and found
wanting…
Alma 5:29
“Are you stripped of envy?”
“I testify that God loves each of us--insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all.
He doesn’t measure our talents or our
looks; He doesn’t measure our
professions or our possessions. He
cheers on every runner. I know that if we
will be faithful, there is a perfectly
tailored robe of righteousness ready and
waiting for everyone.” (April 2002 General
Conference).
Alma 5:30-31
“Do you make a mock of your brother?”
President Uchtdorf,
“Pride”, October 2010
General Conference
“Perhaps there is no better laboratory to observe
the sin of pride than the world of sports. The lack of
civility in sports is embarrassing. How is it that normally
kind and compassionate human beings can be so
intolerant and filled with hatred toward an opposing team
and its fans?
“I have watched sports fans vilify and demonize
their rivals. They look for any flaw and magnify it.
“My beloved fellow disciples of the gentle
Christ, should we not hold ourselves to a higher
standard? We must realize that all of God’s children
wear the same jersey. Our team is the brotherhood of
man. This mortal life is our playing field. Our goal is to
learn to love God and to extend that same love toward
our fellowman. We are here to build, uplift, treat fairly,
and encourage all of Heavenly Father’s children.”
Alma 5:30-31
“Do you make a mock of your brother?”
Alma 5:30-31
“Do you make a mock of your brother?”
Who can testify of the
blessing of controlling
one’s tongue and not
mocking people?
“We must be born again and
again in order to know the full
happiness.”
Born Again
Conception begins with two people
Born Again
One cell in 40 week’s time grows to a
baby fetus with tissues, bones, heart,
nails, ears, etc.
Born Again
Anchored in by an umbilical chord
Born Again
The umbilical cord helps to cleanse,
feed, and protect the fetus
Born Again
The baby sheds lenugo (hairs) and
vernix caseosa (waxy coating)
Born Again
Baby’s hypothalamus sends message
to the pituitary gland to the adrenal
glands - release cortisol through
umbilical cord to placenta; the fetus
initiates process
Born Again
Occasionally, labor must be induced
Born Again
Both mom and baby feel pressure and
pain
Born Again
The baby is now in a new
environment
Born Again
The baby is slippery
Born Again
The baby is covered by blood
Born Again
Heart changes form and function
Born Again
5 times more oxygen available once
the baby is outside of the womb
Born Again
The baby is named
Born Again
Receives inheritance from parents
Born Again
Are you glad you’ve had your
umbilical cord cut?
Born Again
Are you glad you’ve had your
umbilical cord cut?
Born Again
Are you glad you’ve had your
umbilical cord cut?
Born Again
If your parents bailed, would you be
able to stand on your own?
Born Again
If your parents bailed, would you be
able to stand on your own?
Born Again
If your parents bailed, would you be
able to stand on your own?
Born Again
If your parents bailed, would you be
able to stand on your own?
Born Again
If your parents bailed, would you be
able to stand on your own?
Born Again
If your parents bailed, would you be
able to stand on your own?
Born Again
Born Again
A pickle is a cucumber that has been
transformed according to a specific recipe and series of
steps. The first steps in the process of changing a
cucumber into a pickle are preparing and cleaning. I
remember many hours spent on the back porch of my
home removing stems from and scrubbing dirt off of
the cucumbers we had picked. My mom was very
particular about the preparing and cleaning of the
cucumbers. She had high standards of cleanliness and
always inspected my work to make sure this important
task was properly completed.
Born Again
The next steps in this process of change
are immersing and saturating the cucumbers in salt
brine for an extended period of time. Cucumbers can
only become pickles if they are totally and completely
immersed in the brine for the prescribed time period.
An occasional sprinkle of or dip in the brine cannot
produce the necessary transformation. Rather, steady,
sustained, and complete immersion is required for the
desired change to occur.
Born Again
The final step in the process requires
the sealing of the cured pickles in jars that have been
sterilized and purified. The pickles are packed in
canning jars, covered with boiling hot brine, and
processed in a boiling-water-bath canner. All
impurities must be removed from both the pickles and
the bottles so the finished product can be protected and
preserved. As this procedure is properly followed, the
pickles can be stored and enjoyed for a long period of
time.
Born Again
Through faith in Christ, we can be
spiritually prepared and cleansed from sin,
immersed in and saturated with His gospel, and
purified and sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise.
Born Again
Alma 5