Alma 6:6-8, 7:1-4 (3/30/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  Kindness Begins With Me
Prayer:  Shaylee

Alma 6:6-8, 7:1-4

What we learned...

"Alma was glad that unlike the people of Zarahemla the people of Gideon were following the ways of righteousness." (Kenyon)

"Alma was very thankful that someone was able to take his spot as chief judge so that he could preach full time to the people." (Shaylee)

"Alma went and traveled over to the land and city of Gideon, named after the man Nehor killed." (Brandon)

"Alma traveled to the city of Gideon." (Jaron)

"Alma was grateful that he was prophet and could solely focus on preaching to the people." (Mom)

"The people of the church were commanded to fast and pray for the welfare of the souls that knew not God."  (Dad)

Alma 6:1-5 (3/29/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Kenyon, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  Kindness Begins With Me
Prayer:  Kenyon

Alma 6:1-5

What we learned...

"Alma ordained priests and elders to preside and watch over the church." (Kenyon)

"The people that were following Jesus were listening to Him." (Maycee)

"The people who repented and got baptized became part of the church." (Jaron)

"Those who were not members and repented were baptized." (Mom)

"Those members of the church who refused to repent were excommunicated from the church so that they would not lead others astray."  (Dad)

Alma 5:56-62 (3/28/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  Teach Me to Walk in the Light
Prayer:  Brandon

Alma 5:56-62

What we learned...

"Just like a shepherd will kill a wolf to get rid of him so it won't come back the Lord said not to let wolves among you." (Kenyon)

"Somebody who is part of the church and acts like a good person but is wicked on the inside but wants to destroy the sheep is known as a sheep in wolves clothing." (Shaylee)

"We should try to avoid being influence by the wicked. Though we can be with them we shouldn't participate in their wicked doings." (Brandon)

"The people who follow Jesus are his sheep and the people who aren't and try to destroy the sheep and the church are wolves." (Jaron)

"Those who persist, or continue in wickedness without repenting, will be cast off from the Lord. They are warned to speedily repent until it's too late."  (Dad)

Alma 5:49-55 (3/27/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?
Prayer:  Brandon

Alma 5:49-55

What we learned...

"The Spirit told Alma to tell the people to repent or else they can't return to the kingdom of heaven." (Kenyon)

"Love your neighbor is one of the top two most important commandments so we need to make sure we're following that commandment to be saved." (Shaylee)

"Forgiveness is a huge and essential part of the plan of salvation." (Brandon)

"If we won't listen to the Lord then we are trampling Him under our feet, and they wouldn't listen." (Maycee & Dad)

"The Lord doesn't judge you by how rich and smart you are but who you follow." (Jaron)

"We need to make sure we're loving those that come to church, not judging them, leaving judgment to Heavenly Father." (Mom)

"If we are proud, persecute the humble, and care about material things than them then we are not prepared to meet God and will not enter the kingdom of heaven. We all need to repent, be born again, be humble and bring forth works meet for repentance to enter heaven, which includes helping the poor and needy like the Savior did. "  (Dad)

Alma 5:35-48 (3/26/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  I Am a Child of God
Prayer:  Mom

Alma 5:35-48

What we learned...

"We can receive the Holy Spirit by fasting and praying." (Kenyon)

"If you have your doubts about the gospel and you go out and start breaking the commandments you won't have the Holy Spirit, which will give you the answers to your questions." (Shaylee)

"If you're helping others, it's not just the help that matters but also the reasons." (Brandon)

"If you don't follow the good shepherd, Jesus, then you're following Satan." (Maycee)

"If you're going to do the right thing you also need to do it for the right reason instead of something else." (Jaron)

"You can receive eternal life by following the good shepherd, or spiritual death by following the devil." (Mom)

"The natural man is an enemy to God and doesn't want to follow the good shepherd and keep the commandments. He wants to follow after his own appetites and desires. He wants to be a sheep without a shepherd. However, as Alma taught if we're not following the good shepherd, Jesus, then we're following the devil because he is trying to lead us away from the good shepherd so that we are denied eternal life."  (Dad)

Alma 5:28-34 (3/25/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  I Love to See the Temple
Prayer:  Dad

Alma 5:28-34

What we learned...

"If we mock other people we need to repent or we won't be saved." (Kenyon)

"You shouldn't be insulting or mocking your siblings or anybody else." (Shaylee)

"Despite the sins that people do commit the Lord extends His hands of mercy allow us to repent and come unto Him." (Brandon)

"The tree of life represents Jesus and His atonement." (Maycee & Dad)

"You're not ready to see the Lord yet if you're persecuting people." (Jaron)

"We shouldn't envy others because we never know when we are going to die then we will not have eternal life." (Mom)

"Alma listed a whole bunch of conditions that keep us from being prepared to return to God and have eternal life. The good news is that the Lord isn't trying to condemn us because of our sins and imperfections but wants to save us. He has invited us to come unto Him and repent so that we can partake of His atonement and have eternal life. It's all up to us on whether we will accept His invitation."  (Dad)

Alma 5:21-27 (3/24/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree
Prayer:  Maycee

Alma 5:21-27

What we learned...

"We need to repent often and ask others to forgive us of our sins and not do it right before sacrament." (Kenyon)

"Alma told the people to ask themselves if they died today would they be humble and ready to be saved." (Shaylee)

"We need to be always asking ourselves in our mind what we need to repent of and if we are on our way to being worthy to enter the Lord's kingdom and doing what we can to bring us there." (Brandon)

"We can be forgiven of our sins if we repent and take the sacrament each week." (Maycee & Mom)

"Alma asked the people even more questions and one of them was if you died would you be humble or not humble." (Jaron)

"Alma asked if those who had been born of God and had a change of heart in the past still felt the same. It's not enough to just experience that change of heart once or to be baptized and then check the box thinking that we're saved and can do whatever we want be lukewarm in living the gospel. We need to press forward with faith in Christ and continue to repent in order to maintain that change of heart or else we will go back to becoming more like the natural man instead of like God. That's why enduring to the end is so important, and Alma asks a lot of questions in chapter 5 that will help us determine how we are doing in enduring to the end."  (Dad)

Alma 5:15-20 (3/22/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  The Wise Man & The Foolish Man
Prayer:  Jaron

Alma 5:15-20

What we learned...

"You can have the image of God engraven upon your countenances by being spiritually born of God." (Kenyon)

"Alma asked the people if they think that they'll be saved telling lies to God." (Shaylee)

"Alma gives a series of question for people to think of whether they're ready to face the Lord or not." (Brandon)

"Alma asked the people if they thought they could live wickedly following the devil and that God would save them or that they would pure heart and clean hands. The answer is obvious." (Maycee & Dad)

"Alma asked the people a bunch of questions." (Jaron)

Alma 5:1-14 (3/21/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  Kindness Begins With Me
Prayer:  Shaylee

Alma 5:1-14

What we learned...

"Alma's father taught the people's fathers and it brought a change of their hearts ,and they humbled themselves and put their trust in God." (Kenyon)

"Alma is preaching to the people full time so he can hopefully turn them back to gospel." (Shaylee)

"Alma was able to get where he is due to the teachings of the prophet like Abinadi, and that set Alma into a new direction and changed a bunch of people's lives." (Brandon)

"Alma's father had a change of heart when he listened to Abinadi. Alma the Younger said that the people could also have a change of heart." (Maycee & Mom)

"Alma was preaching to the people." (Jaron)

"Alma the Younger asked the people if they like their parents have been spiritually born of God, and if so, did they have God's image in their countenance meaning that we have the Lord's Spirit with us, and people can feel it and noticed it in us."  (Dad)

Alma 4:16-20 (3/20/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  Kindness Begins With Me
Prayer:  Kenyon

Alma 4:16-20

What we learned...

"Alma gave up his position to Nephihah so that he could preach." (Kenyon)

"Nephihah took the place of chief judge from Alma so he could preach full time to the people." (Shaylee)

"Why Alma had to preach to the people was because they were very wicked, they were very prideful and contended with one another." (Maycee)

"Alma gave up his job being chief judge and give the job to Nephihah so he can focus on one job instead of two, that being the leader of the church." (Jaron)

"Alma served as chief judge for nine years while serving as the high priest of the church or prophet. But he realized that he could no longer do both if he were to reclaim the people from their wickedness so he gave up his job as chief judge. Alma had his priorities straight. He desired more for his people to be saved than having worldly power."  (Dad)

Alma 4:8-15 (3/19/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron, Maycee & Elias
Hymn:  Teach Me To Walk In The Light
Prayer:  Brandon

Alma 4:8-15

What we learned...

"The poor people instead of hating people that didn't help them were focusing on enduring to the end so they could have eternal life." (Kenyon)

"The people inside the church were more wicked than outside the church." (Shaylee)

"It's just as wicked to be rich and not help the poor out then to despise and hate the rich." (Brandon)

"Alma was in a special position because he already done these things so he knew what they were going through and also what they needed to do to get back." (Elias)

"Even though we'll go through hard times we can rely on the Lord to help us endure to the end." (Maycee & Mom)

"The people in the church were a lot worse than the people outside." (Jaron)

"Because of the wickedness of the people in the church those outside of the church did not want to join it. Therefore the church began to fail in it's mission to bring souls to God because of the bad example of the members. The same thing can happen today so we need to be living the gospel not just for our own salvation but also to help others do the same."  (Dad)

Alma 4:1-8 (3/18/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron, Maycee & Elias
Hymn:  Give Said the Little Stream
Prayer:  Mom

Alma 4:1-8

What we learned...

"The people in the church began to persecute others who didn't believe the same things that they did." (Kenyon)

"Just because you're righteous doesn't mean that you'll have no trials, but it does mean that when you do have trials that God will be with you." (Shaylee)

"A ton of people joined the church, and they got a lot of riches. But the bad thing is that they started thinking that they were better than everyone else." (Jaron)

"There was finally peace after the wars, which was good, but it was a hard time since the people were left to rebuild their lives after having lost loved ones, their flocks and their fields. The Nephites were humbled, which led them and the church to prosper, but they forgot the Lord in their prosperity becoming prideful."  (Dad)

Alma 3:21-27 (3/17/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  I Love to See the Temple
Prayer:  Dad

Alma 3:21-27

What we learned...

"Alma was injured in the war and was not able to go to battle. But he sent out numerous people to make up his absence and so they would end up successful." (Shaylee)

"After tens of thousands of died from the war based on their acts they ended up in spiritual paradise or spiritual prison." (Brandon)

"Numerous means big, a lot." (Maycee)

"There started to be peace in the land after the war." (Jaron)

"After all the wars they had a period of peace." (Mom)

"Everyone receives wages from who they obey. Those who obey the Lord will receive the wages of Eternal Life, which is more than we can ever earn or deserve. The Lord is willing to give us all He has if we will but trust in and obey Him. The devil cannot offer wages of eternal blessings. He offers only fleeting lusts and passions that will not fulfill but will result in the wages of spiritual death."  (Dad)

Alma 3:14-20 (3/16/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree
Prayer:  Maycee

Alma 3:14-20

What we learned...

"The Nephites and Amlicites were battling, and the Lamanite army sent in more reinforcements." (Kenyon)

"The Lamanites and Amlicites their skin color was marked as a difference between the Lamanites and Nephites." (Shaylee)

"When one tries to blame the Lord for not being loving when people are cursed, but they are the ones that bring it upon themselves." (Brandon)

"The Lamanites went to battle with the Nephites again in the same place a few days later. They never learned their lesson to live and let live." (Maycee & Mom)

"The people who were wicked were cursed." (Jaron)

"These verses build upon last night's where it explains that the curse is not the difference in  skin color between the Lamanites and Nephite but rather wickedness. At that time the Lord set a mark so that they would be distinguished from each other so that the righteous would not intermingle with the wicked or else their seed would become wicked. It even says how the Amlicites unknowingly set the mark upon themselves by putting red on their foreheads to distinguish themselves as being a part of the Lamanites even though they were by blood Nephites and had the same skin color as the Nephites."  (Dad)

Alma 3:7-13 (3/15/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  I Am a Child of God
Prayer:  Jaron

Alma 3:7-13

What we learned...

"The Nephites were told not to intermarry with the Lamanites, not because of their skin color but because of their traditions." (Kenyon)

"The Amlicites who were originally born Nephites had a red mark on their foreheads so that everyone would know they were with the Lamanites." (Shaylee)

"When one with the gospel marries one without the gospel it can cause the children to be cursed on which parent to follow." (Brandon)

"The people who did not believe in the correct gospel were cursed." (Jaron)

"The wording of these verses can cause some to interpret that it's saying those with dark skin are cursed, but by reading all these verses in context it's clear that the curse is believing in incorrect traditions or not believing the true gospel, which is what the Lord was concerned about. It doesn't say that the Lord didn't want their children to have dark skin but that He didn't want them to believe in incorrect traditions. This is shown throughout the Book of Mormon where the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's, Samuel the Lamanite and other Lamanites were more righteous and favored of the Lord than the Nephites."  (Dad)

Alma 3:2-6 (3/14/17)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee
Hymn:  Happy Family
Prayer:  Shaylee

Alma 3:2-6

What we learned...

"The difference between the Lamanites and the Amlicites was that the Lamanites' heads were shaved, but both of them had red on their forehead." (Shaylee)

"The Lamanites did not wear a lot of clothes except for armor." (Maycee)

"Many women and children died from the war." (Jaron)

"A lot of the Amlicites were killed and their bodies were thrown into the waters of Sidon and their bones were in the depths of the sea." (Mom)

"In the war the Lamanites and Amlicites killed women and children and flocks of animals and also destroyed crops. War is ugly and very bad things happen. It should be avoided if at all possible but is sometimes necessary to prevent atrocities from aggressors like the Lamanites and Amlicites were."  (Dad)