 |
Audience: Massaponax Ward Sacrament Meeting Location: Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States of America Date: 23 June 2024 |
Introduce Myself
The Trial of Socrates
One of my favorite dictums from antiquity: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
What makes the message of this quote more meaningful is the circumstances these words were uttered.
It happened during the trial of Socrates in 399 BC. Socrates was charged with 2 counts of impiety (or to use another word, blasphemy) and 1 count corrupting the youth of Athens. All 3 charges arose from Socrates constantly questioning things and encouraging his students to question things as well.
These questions challenged some basic assumptions, such as the role of the Athenian gods. He also once questioned if a pure democracy (or a more disparaging term: mob rule) always yields the best decisions. He wondered if genuine knowledge and professional competence, which may only be possessed by a few, would deliver better policies. In the birthplace of democracy, even pondering the question proved to be dangerous.
There is also other historical context, such as regrettable actions of students and friends, his barrage of criticism of respected Athenian leaders, the recent coup of Oligarchic rulers of Athens from 404 to 403 BC, that all play a part in the mindset of Athens, and give nuance to the story, but I won’t go into all of that here.
For the trial, a jury of 501 peers convicted Socrates on all 3 counts, by a vote of 280 to 221. Plato, a close friend and student of Socrates, lamented that if just 30 votes could have been swayed that Socrates would have been saved.
For the punishment, 2 proposals were given. One option was a fine in the amount of 6 times the value of Socrates property. 4 men, including Plato, made a guarantee of payment. The other option was the death penalty. In the end, more jurors opted for the death penalty than who voted to convict him.
This is where the famous quote, “the unexamined life is not worth living” comes into play. The third option for Socrates’ fate was to flee Athens and live in exile. This was a fully expected action, and plans to do so were being made my his friends, followers, and students. But, being in exile, outside of civilization, meant that he could no longer pursue his life long purpose of seeking for better ways to live by examining life and asking questions.
Socrates stood on principle and accepted the punishment and executed his death sentence by drinking the hemlock, as prescribed by the jury.
When I think of the famous ancient Greek philosophers of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, I often also think of Alma the Younger. In my mind, Alma the Younger represents the pinnacle of intellectual thought in the Book of Mormon. His speeches are very well structured. They aren’t just a rambling of thoughts. You can see the flow of logic. He usually begins and ends on the same principle. He often couples an idea with its opposite. For me, reading Alma the Younger is a bit similar to reading something like Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics”.
The Examination by Alma the Younger
Context
So, Socrates stating the unexamined life is not worth living, is an easy jump to Alma, chapter 5. In that chapter I count 42 question marks. Alma clearly also saw the value of examining our lives.
Alma chapter 5 deserves a little bit of context too. A couple of generations before, King Benjamin gave his famous address to his people, where everyone gathered together, and everyone experienced a mighty change of heart and were converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And around that same time, Alma the Elder is converting many living under the wicked King Noah, and in their escape find themselves in bondage, and then finally return to the Land of Zarahemla just a few years into the new King Mosiah’s reign. There Alma the Elder goes around speaking to people, baptizing people, and King Mosiah authorizes Alma the Elder to establish churches throughout the land. This all happens around 120 BC.
Now we fast forward about 34 years to around 86 BC, and Alma the Younger is now the high priest over the church. In Alma chapter 4, it says they began to establish the church more fully, and in the space of a couple of years thousands are baptized into the church.
By the time we get to Alma chapter 5, it is now around 83 BC, and the church was having issues, mostly related to pride. And Alma the Younger decides to go visit the churches throughout the land to quote, “stir them up in remembrance of their duty”, end quote, among other things.
His first stop was to the church in the land of Zarahemla. I mentioned the context so we could understand who he was speaking to. Some of the people are the children and grandchildren of great conversion movements. Others are newly baptized. But, all of them are members of the church. He isn’t speaking to non-members. Essentially, his audience might have looked a lot like who is at church here today. Some here have pioneer stories of their great grandparents, and some here are the pioneers of their family. The 42 question marks of Alma chapter 5 apply to every member.
Some Questions
I want to review some of those questions with you. And as Socrates would advise, examine your own life as we do.
I served my mission deep in the Bible Belt of the South. I was often asked, “Are you born again?” and “Are you saved?” I never liked being asked those questions. I think I felt that only God could judge that of me. But then, while on my mission, I was asked that same question by Alma the Younger, in Alma, chapter 5, verse 14. It reads:
14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?
So, apparently it is a fair question! Maybe the same thing can be asked in a different way though. When you joined the church, or when you experienced your own moments of conversion as a life-long member, were you a different person before and after those events? Did you change? Could others notice the change? Did your heart and desires turn towards God? Maybe all of these questions are just another way of asking if you have repented.
Then, in the next verse, Alma changes from a past tense question to a present tense question. He asks,
15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you?
We often talk about “faith” being an action word. The difference between belief and faith is that one with faith acts on it. How do you continue to act in faith? Do you make decisions and act in ways that would demonstrate to Jesus Christ that you believe in Him and believe in His promise of forgiveness?
And then in verse 26, Alma takes the past tense questions of verse 14, and turns it into a present day question.
26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this is perhaps the most important question Alma asks. If you have been a life-long member, or if you were baptized in the last year, we need to continue to ask ourselves that question. We have had oour experiences of faith, of repentance, of forgiveness. We sit here because at some point we have felt the Spirit testify truth to us. We have felt the peace and comfort of the Spirit. We have felt the love and tender mercies of our Savior. We have felt it so much that we wanted to change our lives and change who we are.
But, when was the last time you felt that way? Maybe the more practical question is, what can we do to retain that feeling, the continual desire to be better, the drive to be a better disciple of Jesus Christ?
In his address, Alma has already given a few answers and he continues on with several more. I’ll list some of the ones I found. The beautiful thing about reading the scriptures prayerfully, asking the Spirit to help you find answers, is that as you read Alma chapter 5, my promise is that the Spirit will whisper to you the one or two things you should focus on in your own life.
A Prescription
My list of 12 ways to keep the fire our testimonies alive from Alma chapter 5:
- Have faith, exercise faith, act in faith
- Repent. Examine your own life and identify where you can improve. Ask for forgiveness and act to improve.
- Remember the things God has done for our forefathers
- Remember the physical rescues
- Remember those physical rescues are a symbol of theirs and ours spiritual rescues
- Know and remember the spiritual conversions of those that came before us
- Live your daily life in a way you would not be ashamed of if you were stand before God today
- Be humble
- Identify ways you are prideful and remove them from your life
- Don’t be envious. Be happy for the blessings of others.
- Don’t make fun of others. We probably don’t do that to peoples faces very much. But it is super easy on social media. It can happen with the news you choose to watch. Don’t mock others, but try to understand each other, and have empathy for others.
- Don’t focus on things of this world. Focus on the eternal rather than the temporary.
- Fast and pray for a testimony. Fast and pray to receive answers to your questions.
- Do things that invite the Spirit into your life. Be sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
- Attend to the needs of the poor and needy. Remember we are all beggars for forgiveness.
A Relationship
I have other thoughts outside of Alma chapter 5 about retaining the fire of our testimonies. As I pondered that question I thought about how this is all about our relationship with Jesus Christ. Any relationship takes work and effort. Perhaps the same kind of question could be asked of a married couple. Remember how you felt on your wedding day, the feelings of a fullness of joy and love. Hopefully the very best day of your life so far. After a year of marriage, or after 50 years of marriage, do you feel the same? Like comparing our baptism day to any average Tuesday, I am sure it is a different feeling. Hopefully it has matured and deepened. It has probably been tested. But hopefully, from time to time, you also still feel the sparks of Day 1. A simple glance of your wife of 27 years and still realizing you can’t live without her. Similar to the re-remembering from time to time just how much we need Jesus Christ too.
I think our relationship with the Savior has some parallels. One thing in common for sure though, is you need to do your part to keep the relationship strong.
Do you have regular conversations with God through prayer?
Do you learn about who the Savior is through regular scripture study?
Do you include the Savior when making decisions or when going through difficult things?
King Benjamin asks his people in Mosiah 5:13, “how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served?” A few chapters earlier in Mosiah 2:17 King Benjamin also taught, “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”
So, how are we serving God? Do we serve God with the intent that it is a way for us to know Him better? Are we serving others? Serving others allows us to treat each other in ways the Savior treats us. Becoming like Jesus Christ, even in very small ways, allows us to know Him better. One of my favorite verses is Moroni, chapter 7, verse 48. In part it reads:
48 that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is;
This ties into another verse that has always fascinated me. In John, chapter 17, Jesus Christ offers the Great Intercessory Prayer. This is where the Atonement begins, where Jesus bridges the gap between God and man, and makes our being one with God possible. Where he makes Eternal Life possible. In verse 3, Jesus prays to His Father:
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Eternal life is knowing Jesus Christ and Our Heavenly Father. Eternal Life is having a relationship with them. We need to develop that relationship here and now!
Conclusion
Back to Socrates. In a personal sense, I believe the “examined life” is one where we act with purpose and intent. We choose to act rather than be acted upon. I think there is great value in that.
But in a Gospel sense, the “examined life” has even greater value. The purpose of Alma’s examining questions was to bring repentance. Taking a hard look at your own life, who you really are, the things you’ve done both right and wrong, can be an uncomfortable exercise. It is much easier to be a bit willfully ignorant. But with any type of growth, the short term discomfort is fully worth it. Repentance is a glorious opportunity given to us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It allows our relationship with the Savior to grow. It allows our testimony and our feelings towards the Savior to deepen. It allows us to be more like Jesus.
It is my testimony that Our Heavenly Father loves each of us very much. He wants us to be happy. He provided to us a Savior, his own Son, Jesus Christ, to overcome the sin, death, and pains of this world. It is important for us to remember this sacrifice and to retain a deep gratitude and love for Jesus offering Himself. It is my belief and faith that Jesus Christ is my Savior. And I testify of that in His name, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Addendum
1 Corinthians 11:28
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.