Lessons from Mosiah 26

In Mosiah 26 we an account of how Alma sought to solve the great problem they had in the Church with so much iniquity among the members. I believe this chapter has a lot to teach us about how we can similarly overcome the challenges of sin and contention in our own stewardships. Perhaps the first message is this: though we will be tempted to do otherwise, we must take responsibility ourselves for the problems in our stewardship. King Mosiah, who was it seems the ultimate mortal authority among the Nephites, had given Alma responsibility over the Church: “And it came to pass that king Mosiah granted unto Alma that he might establish churches throughout all the land of Zarahemla; and gave him power to ordain priests and teachers over every church” (Mosiah 25:19). When Alma was first confronted with the problem, “he caused that they should be brought before the king,” thinking that it was Mosiah’s place to judge them. But Alma was the head of the Church and had to tackle the problem himself: “King Mosiah said unto Alma: Behold, I judge them not; therefore I deliver them into thy hands to be judged” (Mosiah 26:10,12). In other words, when serious problems arise in our own homes or stewardships, we cannot delegate the responsibility to address the issues. We must face them head on.

               While Alma was addressing a specific issue and received counsel from the Lord for that particular circumstance, there are a few key principles that his experience teaches about how we can face challenges in our own stewardship. The first is simple: we must turn to the Lord for help and answers: “The spirit of Alma was again troubled; and he went and inquired of the Lord what he should do concerning this matter, for he feared that he should do wrong in the sight of God.” Our biggest fear should not be what others think of how we respond to the situation but what God thinks. And Alma did not simply ask the Lord, but he “poured out his whole soul to God.” We must go to the Lord fervently and with all our hearts, or as Alma admonished the people later, “to pray without ceasing” (v13-14, 39). There were two things that Alma learned from the Lord about helping his people who were in iniquity which I think apply very generally. To help those in sin, they needed to hear the voice of the Savior and repent of their sins. The Lord told Alma, “And he that will hear my voice shall be my sheep; and him shall ye receive into the church, and him will I also receive…. Therefore I say unto you, that he that will not hear my voice, the same shall ye not receive into my church” (v21, 28). If he could help them hear the voice of the Lord, then he could help them to take the most important step in solving their problems: repent. That was the key solution, “If he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also.” The Lord declared His willingness to forgive them and us: “Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me” (v29-30). Alma went forth after this and sought to help the people hear the voice of the Lord and to repent: “These things did Alma and his fellow laborers do who were over the church, walking in all diligence, teaching the word of God in all things…. And they did admonish their brethren; and they were also admonished, every one by the word of God, according to his sins” (v38-39). Whatever the challenges we face in our own stewardship with others, surely the two most important things we can help them and ourselves to do is to hear the voice of the Lord—to feel His Spirit and show them how to change—and then to repent because of it.