July 29-August 4: Alma 36-38
Look to God and Live
Leslie Graff (American, born 1976)
16th Floor (2012)
acrylic on canvas, 24 x 48 inches
Private collection
Used with permission of the artist
Alma confessed his wicked past to his son Helaman in chapter 36 in an emotionally tortured account of events that led to his conversion. He wrote of the experience of remembering his sins, his “pains of a damned soul” and being in the “gall of bitterness,” “encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.” Then, “And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain! Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy” (Alma 36:20-21).
The extremes of Alma’s pain and joy are profound, but each of us faces great contrasts throughout our lives. In her nightscape painting, Leslie Graff writes, “16th Floor is a piece which really explores dualities, inside and outside, containment and expansion, light and dark, the individual and the collective, static and motion. It is only within the context of experiencing both ends of these dualities and tensions that find true understanding. This piece is an invitation to explore that experience personally in contemporary contexts—the oppositions. We can only experience a fullness of something when it is placed in contrasting counterbalance.”
Discussion Questions:
Alma tells his son Helaman that he should always remember the captivity of his fathers and their deliverance (Alma 36:28-29). What experiences from your ancestors should you "always retain in remembrance" to strengthen your faith?
Alma explains that "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass" (Alma 37:6). What experiences in your life evidence this truth?
Alma includes in the end of his counsel to his two sons the simple admonition, "be sober" (Alma 37:47 to Helaman; Alma 38:15 to Shiblon). What do you think it means spiritually to "be sober"? Why do you think Alma would use this phrase as his final salutation to his sons?
Questions for Youth & Children:
The chapters that we studied this week are counsel from a father to his sons about important things he has learned in his life and that will help them in their lives. Who do you trust to give you good counsel? What are the characteristics of this person? What can you do to develop these characteristics in yourself so that you can give good counsel to others when they ask?
Sometimes when we act in a way that is inconsistent with our potential and someone tries to help us correct our path, it is hard to hear the truth. When he was younger, Alma was behaving in a way that was going to destroy him and an angel told him just that (Alma 36: 5-11). How did the angel's words change Alma's course? Why do you think Alma was able to listen? (Contrast this with how Laman and Lemuel responded after an angel visited them; see 1 Nephi 3:28-31).
Alma told Helaman: "Oh, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God" (Alma 37:35). Why is it important to learn to obey the commandments while you are young?
