"But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.
And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance. And they broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them."
I was really struck with how much Alma and Amulek suffered waiting upon the will of the Lord. They were made to watch women and children being burned to death, and were constrained by the spirit to not stretch forth their hands and exercise the power of God to save them from the flames. They were smote on the cheeks and had to remain silent as they were told they and their God had no power to save the people from fire. They were judged and cast into prison and had to remain silent still. Then leaders and judges visited them multiple times asking questions and again they were constrained by the spirit to remain silent. They withstood being smote, spit on, and mocked. They had food and water withheld from them. Their cloths were taken so they were naked and bound with strong cord. I think one of the very worst is to be told over and over your God doesn't have the power to save others and they died, and you can't save yourself and the whole time you know it was the will of the Lord and you must remain silent until he says otherwise. That takes a lot of faith to endure all that. Then when moved by the spirit you can stand and bare witness of the power of God. Then the prison walls shook and fell down to the earth.
This all made me think of our day, and first how many are showing they have no patience to endure. That what matters is their will instead of waiting for the power of God. I do not know what will become of them. Yet, I wonder on the other hand how many saints are learning to become like Alma and Amulek. How many spiritual giants are growing silently behind their prison doors? I am so grateful for the many lessons I have had to learn patience these past few years. Learning to trust in the Lord and his timing. I had no idea back then that I would face what is around us today. I had to learn to accept a new normal sitting in a wheelchair. Now I'm out of the wheelchair but living a new normal under COVID-19. Right now we are going through such an amazing opportunity for spiritual growth and coming to understanding the will of the Lord is greater than our own. The Lord will deliver us from our afflictions, after we have proven our faith by submitting to His will.
Day 1872
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