6 Now ye may suppose
that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and
simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many
instances doth confound the wise.
7 And the Lord God
doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very
small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of
many souls.
8 And now, it has
hitherto been wisdom in God that these things should be preserved; for behold,
they have enlarged the memory of this people, yea, and convinced many of the
error of their ways, and brought them to the knowledge of their God unto the
salvation of their souls. (Alma 37:6-8)
After emphasizing the importance of the records Helaman was
about to receive, Alma told him he may assume his emphasis has been foolish. “But
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned [GR examined, tried, judged]” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
But, the Lord frequently use small means to accomplish his
work.
“And there was also written upon [the Liahona pointers] a
new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding
concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to
time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we
see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things” (1 Nephi
16:29).
“Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying
the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which
is great” (D&C 64:33).
“When God works miracles he works them according to his
will. Often, we know, God works in unsensational ways. ‘I say unto you, that by
small and simple things are great things brought to pass,’ Alma tells his son
(Alma 37:6). Often this is understood to mean that great things are brought to
pass by those who are neither powerful nor prominent by worldly standards. In
this sense the ‘simple’ are the humble followers of Christ. I presume something
along these lines is correct, but another possible reading of the term simple
is natural, or organic. God uses natural processes—those explainable without
use of an appeal to divine intercession—to accomplish his purposes. When God
blesses his people with success, it is sometimes through this kind of ‘simple’
means.”[1]
“Over time … I have observed that those who are deliberate
about doing the ‘small and simple things,’ obeying in seemingly little ways, are
blessed with faith and strength that go far beyond the actual acts of obedience
themselves and, in fact, may seem totally unrelated to them. It may seem hard
to draw a connection between the basic daily acts of obedience and solutions to
the big, complicated problems we face. But they are related. In my experience,
getting the little daily habits of faith right is the single best way to
fortify ourselves against the troubles of life, whatever they may be. Small
acts of faith, even when they seem insignificant or entirely disconnected from
the specific problems that vex us, bless us in all we do.”[2]
The Lord does His work through His own way.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, saith the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah
55:8-9).
He again emphasizes by small means he can bring about salvation
for mankind.
When Naaman wanted Elisha to cure his leprosy, he was told
to bathe in the Jordan River seven times. He was angered by this. His servants
asked him, “[I]f if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou
not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be
clean” (2 Kings 5:13).
He humbled himself, did what Elisha told him to do, and was
cured.
It was God’s wisdom their records were preserved. They have
helped the Nephites remember God’s words and dealings with His people. “[T]here
are not any among you, except it be your little children that have not been
taught concerning these things, but what knoweth that ye are eternally indebted
to your heavenly Father, to render to him all that you have and are; and also
have been taught concerning the records which contain the prophecies which have
been spoken by the holy prophets, even down to the time our father, Lehi, left
Jerusalem” (Mosiah 2:34).
“And [King Benjamin] also taught [his sons] concerning the
records which were engraven on the plates of brass, saying: My sons, I would
that ye should remember that were it not for these plates, which contain these
records and these commandments, we must have suffered in ignorance, even at
this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God.
“For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have
remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it
were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of
the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his
children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so
fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time.
“I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things,
which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and
understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes,
that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been
like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these
things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the
traditions of their fathers, which are not correct” (Mosiah 1:3-5).
They have convinced many “of the error of their ways” (Alma
37:8). They have also brought the knowledge of God to the Nephites and they
will bring them salvation.
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written
for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might
have hope” (Romans 15:4).
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable [GR beneficial or useful] for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
“And the Book of Mormon and the holy scriptures are given of
me for your instruction; and the power of my Spirit quickeneth all things”
(D&C 33:16).
“Acknowledging that preserving the records may seem to some
a ‘small and simple’ thing, Alma emphasizes that doing so is nevertheless
crucial to ensure the righteousness of the people. To this end, he witnesses to
his son that the Nephite records ‘[did enlarge] the memory of this people, yea,
and convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them to a knowledge
of their God unto the salvation of their souls’ (Alma 37:8). He further
declares that these complementary benefits of remembrance, repentance, and
knowledge unto salvation will eventually extend to other peoples and to ‘future
generations’ (Alma 37:18) as long as the records are properly preserved. Thus
Alma enjoins Helaman to continued righteousness so that he can successfully
carry out this sacred archival duty and lead the people of God (Alma 37:21–47;
45:2–17).”[3]
“The teacher of righteousness will teach from the holy
scriptures and will teach that which is taught and confirmed by the Holy Ghost
(See D&C 52:9). He will not ‘teach
for doctrines the commandments of men.’ He will not mingle the history and
opinions of men with the scriptures nor spend religious instruction time
teaching speculation or the philosophies of the world, thereby giving Satan’s
views exposure. He will not teach ‘doctrines’ upon which the Lord’s prophet has
not spoken. He knows that the scriptures lead one to faith on the Lord and unto
repentance, which bring a change of heart.”[4]
[1] For the
Peace of the People: War and Democracy in the Book of Mormon, Ryan
W. Davis, Maxwell Institute website.
[2] Whatsoever
He Saith unto You, Do It, Elder L. Whitney Clayton, April 2017
General Conference (emphasis in original).
[4] Spiritual
Guides for Teachers of Righteousness, Elder Gene R. Cook, April 1982
General Conference.
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