Come Follow Me - Alma 17-22 (part 1): "Instruments in the Hands of God"

Part 1 of a 3-part verse-by-verse study of Alma 17-22, which recounts the mission of the sons of Mosiah among the Lamanites. Part 1 covers Alma 17 and examines remaining "brethren in the Lord," finding comfort and courage through trust in God, servant leadership, gathering scattered sheep, and relying on the strength of the Lord. Join Jared Halverson for your weekly Come Follow Me study of the Book of Mormon!
Disclaimer: The content of these videos is the sole responsibility of their creator and does not reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the Church Educational System. Images used herein are intended for educational purposes alone and remain the intellectual property of their creators.

[@dinocollins720]

Thanks brother Halverson! Powerful lesson!

[@dinocollins720]

Love the pictures!

[@sarahfierro8637]

I’m just coming back to church after being away for about 7 years. It is so great to learn more and more about the church.

[@Unshaken]

Welcome home! The Church is better with you as a part of it. And I agree--learning more is an incredible blessing!

[@dinocollins720]

Welcome back! You’re awesome!!!

[@billiepardoe908]

I love your lessons. You are an instrument in the hand of God. I am going to go back and listen to them again. Love the sons of Mosiah.

[@Unshaken]

The sons of Mosiah are definitely worth spending our time with! I wish we had more stories from their 14 years among the Lamanites!

[@josephinehanse9841]

its late but im so happy to see you had a great day today i seen my mom and dad and daughter and next week i hope to see my son after all the dark times i was in i see some light again ill watch this now and nr2 on sunday befor church and 3 after hope you and your loved ones are doing well love you and god bless

[@Unshaken]

I'm so glad that you had a great day! We need those to help remind us that the sun is still up there shining, even when it's often obscured by clouds.

[@sharipeterson3654]

The active Saints are strong in Las Vegas! I lived there for 21 years until we moved to Utah. Same good and unfortunate issues are alive and active in both places. Thanks for all of your examples, interpretations, lessons and love for the Gospel!

[@Unshaken]

Amen! Good people everywhere you go--and the Vegas Saints are a great example of that, focusing on the Light of the world even when surrounded by so much "artificial light" (and even downright darkness). We all need spiritual strength, no matter where we live!

[@jeredchua8922]

I'm grateful for these lessons! :) I watch these videos and read my scriptures while putting my baby to sleep. I gotta say, your voice is better than any lullaby for her, haha! She loves them too! I have been wanting to be more confident in my sharing of the gospel with members in particular. Lately, I have felt shy to teach because, ha! I'm so imperfect and others must see that. Who would want to listen to me or trust in my faith? Certainly, making our lives in alignment with God's will is necessary...but as prophets have said. We aren't going to be perfect here. We just have to keep striving. So then, how can we confidently share the gospel when we don't perfectly live it? I think it's the recipe that was explained...fasting, prayer...striving to be worthy of the Spirit and growing in our testimony. It's fully relying on Christ and recognizing our mortality and His grace. Anyway! I want to support this channel so I made it a goal to write comments 🤣 Mostly just rambling. But thank you for continuing these series of videos! :)

[@Unshaken]

I love everything you said, Jered, but honestly, my favorite part was picturing you putting your baby to sleep. I love seeing incredible students become amazing adults! I know what you mean about that natural hesitance to share the gospel because of our own imperfections. In fact, in editing the video for Alma 18-19, I felt that was a principle I really should have hit but didn't. I'm hoping to squeeze it into next week's video, so thanks for the second witness that we need that principle!

[@harmonywoodrome9911]

Thank you!👏😍

[@Unshaken]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@sophieclinnick95]

Hey, your prayer came to pass because you teach with power with these KZbin clips! :) Also, you might not remember this but you causally challenged us to pick an apostle or prophet and go through their past talks to find if they focus on a topic. I picked Russell M. Nelson....it's been such an amazing experience learning more about our prophet teachings...so thank you!

[@Unshaken]

You rock! Thanks for taking the challenge--and for getting something so powerful out of it! We all seem to be "wired" to resonate with particular doctrines. I love seeing the apostles and prophets gravitate toward certain truths--loving and teaching them all, but going back to certain ones over and over. Thanks for reminding me of that!

[@aintbeeable]

So happy to see the icon to cast this to my smart tv! Is this the first lesson that can be cast? First time I noticed it. Now my husband and I can watch it together. Thanks!

[@Unshaken]

Good question! I'm not sure how all the technology works, but I haven't done anything different on my end. But I'm glad that it's working better for you! Hopefully your husband can put up with me as long as you do!

[@aintbeeable]

@@Unshaken we both enjoy your lessons a great deal. We were watching separately on our kindles but are looking forward to watching together this evening on our tv. Even though you didn't do anything different we are happy it came about.

[@gregbergesen2365]

Brother Halvorson, I really enjoy you lessons each morning as my wife and I do scripture study by going through the chapters verse by verse, while following you. I know this might be asking a lot, but is there a chance that you can also do 1-2 Nephi or have I missed it on KZbin.. your lessons are wonderful thank you for what you are doing

[@Unshaken]

Thanks for your encouragement and support! I taught 1-2 Nephi in my live classes at the beginning of the year, but didn't start the KZbin channel until COVID-19 forced us online. So my videos start in Jacob. Others have also requested videos for 1 and 2 Nephi, to have a "full set," and I'd love to do that, but it'll probably be a while before I can fit that in. Video editing takes so much time that I'm barely keeping up. But we'll see what the future brings. Again, thanks for being a hungry student! It's a teacher's dream come true!

[@tomnibley5698]

Bro. Halverson I greatly appreciate all the work you put into your videos. I have been edified and enlightened by your insights, wide education and personal experiences. Thank you. And having sincerely said those things to show that I am not just a cavilling sniper I now must say something about a pattern that I see, not only in your teaching but one that I see in other teachers in the church. Brace yourself, I'm about to rant. You first introduce the preparation and devotion of Alma and the sons of Mosiah from Alma 17 but then say. "the end of verse two seems to suggest... it's almost like the sons of Mosiah and Alma are feeling we need to know the Word of God so we can teach..." Seems!? These missionaries clearly are sure, steadfast and firm, undeviating in their devotion. They are set squarely on the rock of a sure foundation. But with an airy "seems, almost" they are blasted onto sand, mush, a wobbly unterfooting that can easily excuse lack of success by saying, "Well I decided to go all the way." "I thought a lot about my assignment, that to have been a pretty good effort." Oh what a convenient hook of an excuse to the vacillating are the words and their ilk. With those weasel words added to the teachings how easy it is to be shaken and yet feel justified! And now, after the fashion of the curmudgeonly, I shuffle off muttering, "Seems? Almost? Bah!" under my breath.

[@isabellee7212]

We have the spirit with us or we don't. How can we have a portion of the spirit?

[@sophieclinnick95]

Elder Oaks said, Our spirits also require nourishment. Just as there is food for the body, there is food for the spirit. The consequences of spiritual malnutrition are just as hurtful to our spiritual lives as physical malnutrition is to our physical bodies. Symptoms of spiritual malnutrition include reduced ability to digest spiritual food, reduced spiritual strength, and impairment of spiritual vision. www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2001/08/nourishing-the-spirit?lang=eng this talk might help you!

[@Unshaken]

Awesome talk! Thanks for sharing! And awesome question, Isabel! The Spirit is more like a "dimmer switch" than a regular light switch. It's less a matter of "off and on" and more a matter of "how much." D&C 109:15 talks about "growing up in God" and "receiving a fulness of the Holy Ghost," which suggests that a "portion" of the Holy Ghost is what we usually enjoy--as we engage in the process of growing closer to God and receiving a greater portion of His Spirit. D&C 50:24 is another great place to see this process: receiving "more light" and having that light "grow brighter and brighter until the perfect day." I hope that helps!

[@jcpuentepr]

Hermano, ha pensado grabar éstas lecciones en Español?

[@Unshaken]

Me encantaria hacerlos en el idioma celestial! Necesito mas horas en el dia!

[@jcpuentepr]

@@Unshaken Te entiendo hermano! Yo vivi en Puerto Rico cuando serviste tu misión alla. Mi familia y yo asistíamos a Toa Baja. Saludos!

[@user-ki6rd2rw7s]

I think Lamoni probably was offended, or he wouldn't have sent Ammon off to to tend the sheep, when so many of the sheep tenders that Lamoni sent off previously were killed. It sounds to me like Lamoni was saying, fine, don't be her husband, but I'll probably kill you. Reminds me to the Dred Pirate Roberts, wink, wink.

[@nilesjeppesen2712]

Can we hear about the Load instead of how great you are.

[@reneesmith5619]

What we hear about him and his mission is a testimony of the Lord and His work among his people.

[@reillydevine12]

He is saying everything good about him comes from the Lord, he knows his complete dependence on Christ

[@Unshaken]

Thank you for that feedback. The last thing I would ever want to do is to stand in front of the Person I am trying to introduce. Some have asked to know more about the teacher, so I'm trying to honor that request, but I definitely want the spotlight to be on the Savior. I'm not sure how much you were able to watch, but I'd be curious about your impression of the lesson as a whole, or of other lessons, to see if I'm doing better at striking that balance. Thanks again!

[@dawnschween9331]

Unshaken I Really Appreciate the stories of your experience & the relevance to the BOM... That is the point to connect these ancient scriptures with our lives today ... Students DO want to know & relate to the teacher ... So Thank you for letting us rob”Get to know you” Please continue :)

[@robertbarrus8400]

I don't believe Jared is boasting about how great he is. What he is doing is teaching us about the Lord. I love the lessons.