Skip to main content

I Was Called, But I Would Not Hear (Alma 10:6)



Many people can relate to Amulek, one of the lesser known people in the Book of Mormon.  After Amulek joined Alma in preaching the gospel to the people of Ammonihah he shared his conversion story with the people and made this profound statement. 

"...for I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart," (Alma 10:6)

When I read the portion of this verse that stated "I would not hear", I immediately thought of a similar scripture in Matthew 11:15

15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 11:15)

This commandment to "Let him hear" is interesting in light of the discussion in the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants starting in verse 34.  

Many are called but few are chosen.  
Why?  Because of their hearts.  
What's wrong with their hearts? They are set on the things of this world and they aspire to the honors of men. 
What are the things of this world?  The things of this world is anything you can buy with money. 

That is exactly what exactly what Amulek was saying.  His heart was clouded with wickedness and he would not (or could not) hear the call.  Consider this quote by Elder Kim B. Clark about having ears that hear.  

"If we will look to Christ and open our eyes and our ears, the Holy Ghost will bless us to see the Lord Jesus Christ working in our lives, strengthening our faith in Him with assurance and evidence. We increasingly will see all of our brothers and sisters the way God sees them, with love and compassion. We will hear the Savior’s voice in the scriptures, in the whisperings of the Spirit, and in the words of the living prophets. We will see the power of God resting upon His prophet and all the leaders of His true and living Church, and we will know with a surety that this is God’s holy work. We will see and understand ourselves and the world around us the way the Savior does. We will come to have what the Apostle Paul called “the mind of Christ.” We will have eyes to see and ears to hear, and we will build the kingdom of God." (Kim B. Clark, "Eyes to See and Ears to Hear", October 2015 LDS General Conference)  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Marking Scriptures in Gospel Library

The other day as I was reading my scriptures and using a few of the available colors to do some highlights when I realized that I wasn't fully utilizing the entire pallet of colors. In the Gospel Library app there are 10 colors available.  Each of these colors can be used in the underline, highlight, or text color mode.  I asked extended family what they do and one of my niece's responded with this color code: Red- doctrine Orange- clarifications or explanations of doctrine Yellow- commandments and specific instructions Purple- promised blessings and how to attain them Grey- power phrases Blue- favorites Dark blue- ones with a deeper meaning (I always attach a note with a dark blue)  Pink- examples of Gods love/charity Brown-specific for our day Green - Not used This "Come, Follow Me" color code seems to be all over Pinterest.  I'm not sure where it came from, but it is based on the 12 colors in a small box of crayons. Here is a color coding
Post a Comment
Read more

Bajio, Cafe Rio, or Costa Vida?

It is time for the showdown.  Which one is best: Bajio, Cafe Rio, or Costa Vida?  Or is it (as was my opinion) that they are all exactly the same? I decided to do a taste test.  Six people participated.  Three were salad testers and three were burrito testers.  None of the people who participated have any food judging experience although a couple of them have competed in cooking contests and have a couple of first place finishes to their name.   Each couple went to a different restaurant and picked up a Sweet Pork Salad and an Steak Burrito to go.  We ordered each salad with black beans and their creamy green dressing (whatever they happened to call it).  The steak burritos were ordered enchilada style with black beans. Then we all met at a central location and judged each dish on the following: Value Score = Weight (oz)/Cost($) Overall Appeal (visual appeal, aroma, garnish) Recipe (Cooking, ingredient combination, too moist or dry) Taste (Flavor combination, Seasoning, Texture
14 comments
Read more

No, I am not a vegan

Why I'm not a vegan (or a vegetarian for that matter).  After my previous post about the Word of Wisdom , I felt I should write an additional post covering this topic.  First, the word "vegetarian" means nothing.  There are so many levels, tangents, and offshoots of vegetarianism that applying the label to yourself or anyone only causes confusion.   Some vegetarians eat dairy, some don't.  Some eat fish, some don't.  Some eat eggs, some don't.  Some are weekday vegetarians, and some only honor meatless Monday.  And the list goes on and on.  Labeling yourself as a vegetarian is simply a label that brings on a confusing discussion.  So, I don't use it.   I'm not a vegan either.  You see, vegans typically fall into three categories: - They are in it for their own good health - They are doing it to be kind to animals, promote animal rights, avoid animal cruelty, etc.  - They are doing it do save the planet The trouble with many vegans
3 comments
Read more