Yea, Cry Unto Him

I love the words of Amulek the great missionary companion to the Prophet Alma in The Book of Mormon.  In the 34th Chapter of Alma Amulek instructs the people and teaches the importance of crying unto the Lord continually.  We read these verses tonight from Alma 34 tonight in our family scripture study.

Alma 34: 17-27

17. Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;

18. Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.

19. Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.

20. Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.

21. Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.

22. Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.

23. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.

24. Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.

25. Cry over the flocks of you fields, that they may increase.

26. But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in you closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.

27. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.

As we read I shared the story of Habakkuk Mdolo from Ezibeleni, a township outside of Queenstown, South Africa.  Brother Mdolo was a faithful man who desired very much to make a difference in his community.  He was a boxer and a farmer and a man of great faith and trust in the Lord.  Brother Mdolo traveled a great distance to take care of his families farm and he used to share stories of having to use his boxing skills against rival farmers in the area.  He held his own as he protected the family farm.  That is another story. 

In Ezibeleni he started a garden in an effort to teach the people that they could grow their own crops and take better care of themselves.  He put together quite the garden on an acre or so of land there. It was impressive.  One day we as missionaries went out to work with him in the garden.  In fact, it was right around this time of year back in 1994.  I remember that because it was the same day the Queenstown Branch was having a special Thanksgiving activity.  There we were at the garden area and before we began working brother Mdolo offered up a prayer and cried unto the Lord over the crops of his fields and also for the well being of himself and those around him.  We went to work.  After a few hours we had to leave and Brother Mdolo remained.  We saw him at the activity later that day and he shared with us that a Puff Otter snake had struck out at him.  He was able to dodge the strike and take care of the snake.  Through that experience we saw some great things and our testimonies of faith were increased. 

Tonight we discussed this story and I talked to the fam about the importance of crying unto the Lord.  I talked to them about how our schooling is our current field or farm and that we can pray specifically for help over our crops or the different subjects we are studying like math, spelling, writing etc.  The Lord will bless each of us as we cry unto him and involve him in the things we do.