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Alma 30-31

Quote "Korihor's arguments sound very contemporary to the modern reader, but Alma used a timeless and ultimately undeniable weapon in response- the power of a personal testimony."

~Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Question "How did Alma respond to Korihor's claim that there is no God?"

I love Alma dearly. I know that he suffered painful repentance, and that his heart was so good that it pained him to see others following unrighteous paths. After his sore repentance, he spent his entire life trying to save souls through preaching the gospel, I believe he sincerely did not desire one soul lost.
I couldn't agree more with Elder Holland's quote...we hear these same arguments today, the same things that Korihor said 70 years B.C......"...there is no God; religion imprisons you, and keeps you from truly being free; believing in Christ is just a foolish tradition....etc".
Alma responds to him in wisdom asking him point blank if he believes in God, and in Christ....Korihor responds "Nay". Alma turns the tables on him and says what proof have YOU that there is no God, and no Christ? Alma then bears strong testimony that he knows that there is a God, and a Christ also. That there is plenty of evidence not only by the scriptures and the holy prophets, but just the existence of the Earth, and all of the planets that move in regular form testify that there is a God.
Korihor says he will continue to deny God until a sign should be shown unto him. Well, Alma had an answer for that....."....thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets?.......Behold, I am grieved because of the hardness of your heart, yea, that ye will still resist the spirit of the truth, that thy soul may be destroyed. But behold, it is better that thy soul should be lost than that thou shouldst be the means of bringing many souls down to destruction, by thy lying and by thy flattering words; therefore if thou shalt deny again, behold God shall smite thee, that thou shalt become dumb, that thou shalt never open thy mouth any more, that thou shalt not deceive this people any more."
So, Alma gave Korihor ample opportunity to confess his belief in God, but it took the act of being struck dumb to humble Korihor enough to admit his lies. He ended up confessing about an angel he had seen that told him to go and preach these lies. (On a side note, I find it interesting that someone could see an angel, and the angel tells them that there is no God, and to tell everyone that there is no God.....why would an angel exist if God did not exist? Crazy, to me personally)
After Korihor confesses the truth, he wants Alma to remove his curse, but Alma is wise and basically says "no way, you'll just go out and do it again".
And so we see time and time again, men that preach against the truthfulness of the Gospel. The things that are happening today are not new or original arguments for why we should all just "eat, drink and be merry (and sleep with every person we meet)". But the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has stood the test of time.....because it is TRUE! It hasn't changed. Since the beginning of time we have had a record of what the people on this earth have done, their testimonies and dealings with the Lord and His angels, and there is nothing that is ever going to remove it from the earth....no matter how bad things get....the Gospel is, has been, and always will be true!!!!

Shiflet Family Reunion

So, this weekend we had our annual Shiflet Family Reunion. It was Jeff's oldest brother Bruce's turn to plan it, so we went to Ft. Grant where he lived. We hiked through the back side of Mt. Graham, it was absolutely beautiful up there....then had some really good BBQ pork. Thank you Bruce and Susie for all of your hospitality! :) (And Don for driving us around in your truck!)

Jeff and KT on our hike

Everyone standing around throwing rocks in the creek

The creek was very pretty!

Derek (Mr. D) and Austin
Uncle B taking pics

Kyle on this rickety ol' pipe thing that crosses the creek!

(He actually crossed it!)

Jeff finding an alternate route

The first rain drop of our hike!

The clouds covered the top of the mountain!

Tyler showing off his baby pinecones! He loved those things!

Then....the fall! Jeff carrying Tyler, steps on a slippery wobbely rock, and does a front flip, and sacrifices himself to save Tyler. Tyler had a scrape on his leg, Jeff slid into a tree, and the wobbely rock crashed into his leg....I was right behind and saw the whole thing....I think my heart stopped for a minute. It was steep and slippery out there!
This is the worse leg!

After we got down the mountain...Jeff took Tyler for a ride on the quad...at first he did NOT like the sound of that!

5 min later...he was nothing but smiles...again again again!!!!
Jacob brought his dads Range Rover Offroad Vehicle...so fun!
I thought KT would be too scared of the noise, but Jeff talked her into a ride, and she LOVED it!
The "guys" Dave, Jacob, Bruce, Chad and Jeff
When we first left to come home from Safford, I saw the rays of light coming through the cloud...then I realized a few minutes later where the rays were...
Shining right over the Gila Valley Temple!

This was my first time at the Gila Valley Temple...so pretty!

When we came around the corner, I snapped a pic, and then when I was looking through the pics later I saw this light....doesn't it look like an angel guarding the temple?

Alma 27-29

Quote "True converts are those who "listen to the teachings and testimonies of missionaries and change their lives, leaving the past behind them, and moving forward into a new life."

~President Hinckley

Question "What is zeal? What difference does it make to have "zeal towards God"?"

Zeal is faithfulness, honesty, exactness in keeping the commandments, and doing it with great pleasure! In other words, having no other desire other than doing that which is right and pleasing to God.

I think zeal makes a great difference when you are talking about our attitudes toward God. We can go to church and keep the commandments, and do all that which is required, and receive blessings for our obedience, and still miss the big picture of why we do it all. I think when you add zeal into the mix, you are always consciously thinking about who our Savior is, what He has done for us, and want to do every possible thing you can to show Him that you are willing to do whatever it takes to be faithful and loyal to Him, and show Him gratitude through righteous living.

The people of Ammon were known for their "zeal towards God", that they were completely honest in all of their dealings. Can you imagine a land like that today? Where no one was trying to get ahead by charging a little extra, or selling things that they know will break, or no theft or robbery, no politicians making empty promises and trying to get gain. That sounds pretty great to me!