Alma 34:17–41

This Life Is the Time to Prepare to Meet God

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Have you wondered what it will be like to meet Heavenly Father after this life? Amulek reminded the Zoramites that “this life is the time … to prepare to meet God” (Alma 34:32) and pleaded with them not to procrastinate the day of their repentance. This lesson is intended to help you in your efforts to prepare to meet God.

Help students see how gospel principles point them to Jesus Christ. When teaching gospel doctrine and principles, connect these truths to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Provide examples of how living gospel principles can help students access the Savior’s power, mercy, and grace. Encourage them to act in faith and choose to live these truths.

Student preparation: Invite students to read Alma 34:32 and think of ways they can follow the counsel in the verse. They could write down some of the ways they are preparing to return to the presence of God and the changes they could make that would help them be better prepared.

Possible Learning Activities

The importance of preparation

Think about something you have had to prepare for in your life, such as a test, a recital, or an athletic event.

Consider inviting students to discuss the following questions with a partner or a small group.

• What were some strategies you used to help you be prepared?

• What were some things that made or could make preparation difficult?

Recall that Alma and Amulek preached to a group of Zoramites who had been cast out of their synagogues because of their poverty. These Zoramites had not previously believed in Jesus Christ (see Alma 31:16), so Alma and Amulek exhorted them to create space in their hearts for a testimony of the Savior to grow (see Alma 32:27–28; 34:4–6). While teaching these people, Amulek shared something we should all prepare for.

Read Alma 34:32, looking for what Amulek taught.

You may want to write the following bolded statement on the board. Encourage students to mark the words of this truth in verse 32.

From Amulek’s teachings, we learn that this life is the time for us to prepare to meet God.

• What are some attitudes and behaviors you would expect of someone who is preparing to meet God?

Give students time to self-assess by considering the following ideas. It is not intended that students share their thoughts.

Take a moment to ponder your feelings about returning to the presence of God. Consider whether you are striving to worthily return to His presence and what could distract you from that goal. As you continue to study, think about ways you can apply the teachings in Alma 34 to help you be better prepared to meet God.

Ways we can prepare to meet God

Many of Amulek’s teachings in Alma 34 help us understand how we can prepare now to meet God.

Invite students to study the following verses, looking for teachings that can help us prepare to meet God. Divide students into small groups and assign each group specific verses to study together. For example, one group could study verses 17–27, another could study verses 28–34, and another could study verses 37–41.

• Alma 34:17–27

• Alma 34:28–29

• Alma 34:30–31

• Alma 34:33–34

• Alma 34:37–39

• Alma 34:40–41

Discuss with students what they learned as they studied these verses. The following questions could be used as part of this discussion.

• What did Amulek teach in these verses that could help you prepare to meet God?

• How can following these teachings help us become more prepared to worthily return to God’s presence?

• What did you learn about the character and desires of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ from the verses you studied?

Examples of responses students may give to the previous question include that God is approachable, no matter where we may be or what we would like to ask (see verses 17–27). They might also point out how quickly the Savior will bless us when we repent (see verse 31).

Do not procrastinate your repentance

Refer to Amulek’s statement in verse 33: “Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end.” Consider marking this phrase in your scriptures.

• Why can it be tempting for some people to procrastinate repentance?

Read Alma 34:33–35, looking for reasons why Amulek urged that we do not delay our repentance.

It may be helpful to invite students to identify questions or concerns someone could have after reading these verses. Consider listing students’ responses on the board. As students study the following resources, they could identify teachings that help resolve those questions or concerns.

We are taught that repentance can occur in the spirit world (see Doctrine and Covenants 138:31, 33, 58). But scriptural and latter-day prophets have emphasized how important it is that we repent in mortality. Elder Melvin J. Ballard [1873–1939] of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles provided this guidance:

Elder Melvin J. Ballard

It is much easier to overcome and serve the Lord when both flesh and spirit are combined as one. This is the time when men are more pliable and susceptible. … This life is the time to repent. (Melvin J. Ballard: Crusader for Righteousness (1966), 212–13; quoted in Dallin H. Oaks, “Cleansed by Repentance,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 94)

• What do verses 33–35 and this statement help you understand about why we should not procrastinate our repentance?

Repentance is an essential part of preparing to return to the presence of God. Remember that the Lord lovingly extends mercy to those who strive to repent, even when they have difficulty overcoming certain sins.

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Elder Neil L. Andersen

Sometimes in our repentance, in our daily efforts to become more Christlike, we find ourselves repeatedly struggling with the same difficulties. … Don’t be discouraged. If you are striving and working to repent, you are in the process of repenting. (Neil L. Andersen, “Repent …. That I May Heal You,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 41)

Before asking the following questions, invite students to imagine that they have a friend who is avoiding repentance because of various reasons, such as embarrassment or a lack of desire to change.

It may be helpful for students to organize their thoughts by answering the questions in their study journals before discussing these questions as a class.

• What could you share from Amulek’s teachings in Alma 34:30–38 that could help someone who is tempted to wait until later in life to repent and change?

• Why do you think repentance is worthwhile, despite the reasons this person may have to not do it?

• What do you know about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that could encourage this person to repent soon and often?

Testify of the truths you have discussed today and of the help the Savior can provide students as they strive to be more prepared to meet God.

Reflect on what you have learned and felt today about preparing to meet God and not procrastinating repentance. Think about actions you want to take because of what you have studied today. Record your thoughts and impressions in your study journal.

Commentary and Background Information

How can I overcome the desire to procrastinate my repentance?

Watch the video “This Day” from time code 0:00 to 1:00. President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency cautioned us that thinking in terms of “someday” can be harmful to our spiritual progress:

What if I’m afraid to repent because I don’t want the truth to hurt my loved ones?

Elder Matthew L. Carpenter of the Seventy explained:

Elder Matthew L. Carpenter

As I have counseled with others seeking to repent, I have marveled that people who were living in sin had difficulty making correct decisions. … I have often heard them share their fear that if their loved ones knew what they had done, they would stop loving them or leave them. When they followed this line of thinking, they resolved to just keep quiet and delay their repentance. They incorrectly felt that it was better not to repent now so that they would not further hurt those they loved. In their minds it was better to suffer after this life than go through the repentance process now. Brothers and sisters, it is never a good idea to procrastinate your repentance. The adversary often uses fear to prevent us from acting immediately upon our faith in Jesus Christ.

When loved ones are confronted with the truth about sinful behavior, while they may feel deeply wounded, they often want to help the sincerely repentant sinner to change and to reconcile with God. Indeed, spiritual healing accelerates when the sinner confesses and is surrounded by those who love them and help them to forsake their sins. (Matthew L. Carpenter, “Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 102–3)

Alma 34:34. What does it mean that the “same spirit” will possess my body when I die?

Spirits carry with them from earth their attitudes of devotion or antagonism toward things of righteousness (see Alma 34:34). They have the same appetites and desires that they had when they lived on earth. (Gospel Topics, “Spirit World,” topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Alternate beginning: Your four minutes

To illustrate the importance of preparing in this life, share the video “Your Four Minutes” from time code 0:53 to 4:01. Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shares the story of Olympian Noelle Pikus-Pace and the four minutes that culminated years of careful and difficult preparation. If the video is unavailable, students could read paragraphs 3–11 of Elder Stevenson’s address (“Your Four Minutes,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2014, 84–86).

Alternate beginning: Are you ready?

Elder Jack N. Gerard of the Seventy shared an experience when he had to reflect on whether he was ready to meet God. Watch the video “Now Is the Time” from time code 0:00 to 1:41. If the video is unavailable, students could read the first three paragraphs of Elder Gerard’s address (“Now Is the Time,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 107–8).

• What thoughts, feelings, or questions might you have had in that moment?

• How do you think surviving such an experience would change a person’s approach to life?

Alma 34:31. Immediate relief

Invite students to mark the word “immediately” in verse 31. Students could contrast this word with the temptation some may feel to procrastinate their repentance, as described in verses 33–34. Help students understand that when individuals choose to repent and turn to the Savior, His Atonement can immediately take effect in their lives. Consider having students look at additional accounts of the Savior taking immediate action when individuals reach out to Him, such as Alma 36:16–21; Matthew 8:2–3; 14:25–31; 20:30–34; or John 5:2–9.