1. The Book of Mormon contains
numerous accounts of individuals and societies that were subjected to bondage
in some form. Many of these accounts illustrate that Jesus Christ is the
Great Deliverer and the source of help when escape or rescue seem impossible.
As we draw close to the Lord through repentance, humility, and prayer, we are
more spiritually prepared to call upon and receive God’s power of deliverance.
2. L. Tom
Perry, “The Power of
Deliverance,” Ensign May 2012; Dallin H.
Oaks, “He Heals the
Heavy Laden,” Ensign Nov. 2006; David A.
Bednar, “Bear Up
Their Burdens with Ease,” Ensign May 2014.
3. 1 Nephi 1:1, 20 Why do you suppose
that a person can feel “highly favored of the Lord” even when experiencing
challenges or difficulties? As we exercise faith in Jesus Christ, we
can receive God’s mercy and deliverance.
5. “Many of the stories of the Book of Mormon are stories
of deliverance. Lehi’s departure into the wilderness with his family was about
deliverance from the destruction of Jerusalem. The story of the Jaredites is a
story of deliverance, as is the story of the Mulekites. Alma the Younger was
delivered from sin. Helaman’s stripling warriors were delivered in battle.
Nephi and Lehi were delivered from prison. The theme of deliverance is evident
throughout the entire Book of Mormon” (LTPerry).
6. Alma 36:1–3 ; Alma 36:27–29;
Alma 5:1–12
What insights did you find in these passages that might help someone who is
facing physical or spiritual difficulties? What types of physical or spiritual
bondage do people face today?
7. “Are you battling a demon of addiction—tobacco or
drugs or gambling, or the pernicious contemporary plague of pornography? Is
your marriage in trouble or your child in danger? Are you confused with gender
identity or searching for self-esteem? Do you—or someone you love—face disease
or depression or death? Whatever other steps you may need to take to resolve
these concerns, come first to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Trust in heaven’s promises. In that regard Alma’s testimony is my testimony: ‘I
do know,’ he says, ‘that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be
supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions’ [Alma 36:3]”
(“Broken
Things to Mend,” (JRHolland, Ensign , May
2006).
8. 1 Nephi 6:4- One of the reasons why Nephi was
motivated to write.
9. Limhi's People: Mosiah 21:2, 5, 14-16
Alma's People Mosiah 23:23-24; 24:21
All People Alma
34:9: Helaman 5:9
10. Jesus Christ has the power to deliver us
from our lost and fallen state and from other challenges in mortality.
11. “I wish to bear witness of God’s power of
deliverance. At some point in our lives we will all need that power. Every
person living is in the midst of a test. … Two things will be the same for all
of us. They are part of the design for mortal life. “First, the tests at times
will stretch us enough for us to feel the need for help beyond our own. And,
second, God in His kindness and wisdom has made the power of deliverance
available to us” (“The Power of Deliverance” [HBEyring, BYU devotional, Jan.
15, 2008],
12. Mosiah
24:13–15 Deliverance comes in God’s own way and according to
His timetable.
13. Mosiah 7:33;
Mosiah 29:20;
Alma 58:10–11;
3 Nephi
4:33 : When we turn to God with full purpose of heart
and pray for His help, having a spirit of repentance and humility, we can
access His power of deliverance.
14. “The Lord always wants to lead us to deliverance
through our becoming more righteous. That requires repentance. And that takes
humility. So the way to deliverance always requires humility in order for the
Lord to be able to lead us by the hand where He wants to take us through our
troubles and on to sanctification” ( HBEyring, BYU)
15. When have you or someone you know of turned to the
Lord for deliverance and received it? How has this experience increased your
trust in Jesus Christ?
16. "The Savior said, “Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”
Many carry heavy burdens. Some have lost a loved one to
death or care for one who is disabled. Some have been wounded by divorce.
Others yearn for an eternal marriage. Some are caught in the grip of addictive
substances or practices like alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or pornography. Others have crippling physical or mental
impairments. Some are challenged by same-gender attraction. Some have terrible
feelings of depression or inadequacy. In one way or another, many are heavy
laden. Matt. 11:28–30
When the Savior appeared to the righteous in the New
World, He called for persons to come forward who were lame or blind or had
other physical ailments. He extended the same invitation to those “that are
afflicted in any manner” (3 Nephi 17:7). “Bring them hither,”
He said, “and I will heal them” (v. 7). The Book of Mormon tells how the
multitude brought forward “all them that were afflicted in any manner” (v. 9). This must have included persons
with every kind of physical or emotional or mental affliction, and the
scripture testifies that Jesus “did heal them every one” (v. 9).
The Savior teaches that we will have tribulation in the
world, but we should “be of good cheer” because He has “overcome the world” (John 16:33). His Atonement reaches
and is powerful enough not only to pay the price for sin but also to heal every
mortal affliction. The Book of Mormon teaches that “He shall go forth,
suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that
the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the
sicknesses of his people” Alma 7:11.
His all-encompassing healing power is sought in the
prayerful words of our hymn “Master, the Tempest Is Raging”: Master, with anguish of spirit I
bow in my grief today. The depths of my sad heart are troubled. Oh, waken and
save, I pray! Torrents of sin and of anguish Sweep o’er my sinking soul, And I
perish! I perish! dear Master. Oh, hasten and take control! (Hymns, no.
105)
Although the Savior could heal all whom He would heal,
this is not true of those who hold His priesthood authority. Mortal exercises
of that authority are limited by the will of Him whose priesthood it is.
Healing blessings come in many ways, each suited to our
individual needs, as known to Him who loves us best. Sometimes a “healing”
cures our illness or lifts our burden. But sometimes we are “healed” by being
given strength or understanding or patience to bear the burdens placed upon us.
The people who followed Alma were in bondage to wicked
oppressors. When they prayed for relief, the Lord told them He would deliver
them eventually, but in the meantime He would ease their burdens “that even you
cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will
I do that ye may stand as witnesses … that I, the Lord God, do visit my people
in their afflictions” (Mosiah 24:14).
This same promise and effect applies to you mothers who
are widowed or divorced, to you singles who are lonely, to you caregivers who
are burdened, to you persons who are addicted, and to all of us whatever our
burden. “Come unto Christ,” the prophet says, “and be perfected in him” (Moroni 10:32).
The healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ—whether it removes our burdens or
strengthens us to endure and live with them like the Apostle Paul—is available
for every affliction in mortality.
After I gave a general conference talk on the evils of
pornography:
“There are several lessons I’ve gleaned from my
experience coming out of the darkness of a sin that so thoroughly dominates the
lives of the people it ensnares: (1) This is a major problem that is
unbelievably difficult to overcome. … (2) The most important source of support
and strength in the repentance process is the Savior. … (3) Intense, daily
scripture study, regular temple worship, and serious, contemplative
participation in the ordinance of the sacrament are all
indispensable parts of a true repentance process. This, I assume, is because
all of these activities serve to deepen and strengthen one’s relationship with
the Savior, one’s understanding of His atoning sacrifice, and one’s faith in
His healing power” (letter dated Oct. 24, 2005).
A woman whose marriage was threatened by her husband’s
addiction to pornography wrote how she stood beside him for five pain-filled
years until, as she said, “through the gift of our precious Savior’s glorious
Atonement and what He taught me about forgiveness, [my husband] finally is free—and so am I.”
As one who needed no cleansing from sin, but only sought a loved one’s
deliverance from captivity, she wrote this advice: “Commune with the Lord. … He
is your best friend! He knows your pain because He has felt it for you already.
He is ready to carry that burden. Trust Him enough to place it at His feet and
allow Him to carry it for you. Then you can have your anguish replaced with His
peace, in the very depths of your soul” (letter dated Apr. 18, 2005).
A man wrote a General Authority about how the power of
the Atonement helped him with his problem of same-gender attraction. He had
been excommunicated for serious transgressions that violated his temple
covenants and his responsibilities to his children. He had to choose whether to
attempt to live the gospel or whether to continue a course contrary to its
teachings.
“I knew it would be difficult,” he wrote, “but I didn’t
realize what I would have to go through.” His letter describes the emptiness
and loneliness and the incredible pain he experienced from deep within his soul
as he sought to return. He prayed mightily for forgiveness, sometimes for hours at a time. He was
sustained by reading the scriptures, by the companionship of a loving bishop,
and by priesthood blessings. But what
finally made the difference was the help of the Savior. He explained:
“It [was] only through Him and His Atonement. … I now
feel an overwhelming gratitude. My pains have been
almost more than I could bear at times, and yet they were so small compared to
what He suffered. Where there once was darkness in my life, there is now love
and gratitude.”
He continues: “Some profess that change is possible and
therapy is the only answer. They are very learned on the subject and have so
much to offer those who struggle … , but I worry that they forget to involve
Heavenly Father in the process. If change is to happen, it will happen
according to the will of God. I also worry that many people focus on the causes
of [same-gender attraction]. … There is no need to determine why I have [this
challenge]. I don’t know if I was born with it, or if environmental factors
contributed to it. The fact of the matter is that I have this struggle in my
life and what I do with it from this point forward is what matters” (letter
dated Mar. 25, 2006).
The persons who wrote these letters know that the Atonement
of Jesus Christ and the healing it offers do much more than provide the
opportunity for repentance from sins. The Atonement also gives us the strength
to endure “pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind,” because our
Savior also took upon Him “the pains and the sicknesses of his people” (Alma 7:11). Brothers and sisters,
if your faith and prayers and the power of the priesthood do not heal you from
an affliction, the power of the Atonement will surely give you the strength to
bear the burden.
As we struggle with the challenges of mortality, I pray
for each of us, as the prophet Mormon prayed for his son, Moroni: “May Christ
lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, … and his mercy and
long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your
mind forever” (Moroni 9:25).
(DHOaks)
