The Power of Prayer
"Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance." (Alma 8:10)I find this verse fascinating. Here is a man who is well versed in prayer. Yet even he -- with his familiarity with this form of communication -- in this situation must wrestle in "mighty prayer" for the people of Ammonihah. What is it about wickedness that requires so much effort in prayer to overcome it?We read later in that same chapter not only were the Ammonihahites very hard hearted (eventually burning women and chi

The Heart's Hidden Wedge
There is a story told of a farmer's boy who found a wedge while out on the homestead. Intending later to bring it home, he placed it between supple young branches of a walnut tree. Later never came.Decades later, the wedge was forgotten. It had been consumed by the tree's growth and rested hidden near the heart of the tree. But when a vicious ice storm blew through those woods, guess which tree fell? That's right--the now gnarled walnut tree, split open by its heavy burden of an old iron wedge.I thought about that