In His Hands

I've just finished the part in the Book of Mormon where Alma and Amulek are miraculously delivered out of prison.  Prior to their own bondage, they were forced to watch the persecution and martyrdom of the believers who had been cast into the flames including many women and children.
Can you imagine the horror?
Amulek was pained so deeply and "said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene?  Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.  But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto Himself, in glory."  (Alma 14:10-11)

 He promises Amulek that God is just and that this moment will be noted for the righteous sake and for the wicked.
There may have been some comfort in this but I'm sure they still wondered why they were delivered and others were not.  Then the guards brutally beat, mocked, and humiliated Alma and Amulek - scoffing that their faith was useless in a God they couldn't prove the existence of.

"Alma cried saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? Give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance." (Alma 14:26)

God answered his prayer and they broke the bands... and the prison walls fell.
Still, how could one erase from memory all the terror and tragedy they had experienced?  It must have weighed them down with crushing pain on more than one occasion.

This wasn't their only sorrow though... poor Amulek had forsaken everything for the ministry, "all his gold, and silver, and his precious things,... rejected by those who were once his friends and also his father and his kindred." ( Alma 15:16) Alma was well aware of the enormous sacrifice his mission companion was dealing with, he "having seen all these things, therefore... took Amulek...to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord." (Alma 15:18)
I have often wondered how exactly Alma administered unto his friend. Did he give him a priesthood blessing?  And if he did...what did he say in that blessing?
I imagine that Alma shared great faith and testimony with him, that this was the Lord's work, that everything would be alright, and that God was keenly aware of their needs at that time.

One thing I've learned is that we can deal with all kinds of pain but it's the uncertainty that will kill us. The troubles were not taken away and they weren't given all the answers as to what? and how? and why?  But there was peace...
Peace that gave them strength to let go of the anxiety and to trust their future with full submission to their Father in Heaven.  Because amidst all the conflict, there was one thing that remained completely certain: They were in the Lord's hands.

Meekness and submissiveness are twin attributes we must learn in this life.  They are the hallmark of true faith and the gateway to finding rest to the weary soul and peace to the troubled mind .

I'm thankful for the scriptures and words of the prophets that remind me of this.  I'll close this post with some great quotes from Elder Neal A. Maxwell

"Submissiveness also checks our tendency to demand advance explanations of the Lord as a perplexed yet trusting Nephi understood: “I know that [God] loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” (1 Ne. 11:17.)

So did a wondering but submissive Mary: “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38.)

Just as the capacity to defer gratification is a sign of real maturity, likewise the willingness to wait for deferred explanation is a sign of real faith and of trust spread over time.

If faithful, we end up acknowledging that we are in the Lord’s hands and should surrender to the Lord on His terms—not ours. It is total surrender, no negotiating; it is yielding with no preconditions....

The tilt of our souls in first moments is so vital. Will what follows be viewed with disdain or as having some design? Which will we do most, murmur or ponder?...

For the faithful, what finally emerges is an understanding of “things as they really are” (Jacob 4:13), such as the reassuring realization that we are in the Lord’s hands! But, brothers and sisters, we were never really anywhere else!"  - Elder Neal A. Maxwell (Willing to Submit)

-Alicia
All is well. :)

In Your Hands