Ideas to Help You Study and Teach Alma 30-31 (July 6-12)
This post may contain affiliate links which means I may be paid for products you purchase through my links. See my full disclosure for more.
Take a deep breath and dive into Come, Follow Me Alma 30-31 “The Virtue of the Word of God” (July 6-12). This week we’ll cover how to confront false teachings, what an Anti-Christ is, how the word of God is more powerful than a sword, and the rameumptom.
Jump Ahead to the Section You Need
We are introduced to Korihor, an anti-Christ. Korihor teaches that there is no God, no consequence for sin, and no Christ. Alma testifies that Christ will come and that all things denote there is a God. When Korihor demands a sign, he is struck dumb. Korihor realizes that the devil deceived him. Alma takes his sons, the sons of Mosiah, and Zeezrom, to preach to the apostate Zormaites. The Zoramites have many false practices including saying a memorized prayer on top of the rameumptom. Some principles you can discuss with your family this week include:
The Book of Mormon reveals the strategy of the adversary. Studying it can help us resist the influence of those who try to deceive us (Alma 30:6-60)
Anti-Christs lead people away from God and His prophets (Alma 30:12-18, 23-28)
All things testify of God (Alma 30:44)
A strong testimony in Jesus Christ and obedience help safeguard us from personal apostasy (Alma 30:19-22, 29-44; 31:8-25)
The word of God is powerful and can lead people to righteousness (Alma 31)
Heavenly Father hears our prayers (Alma 31:8-35)
Disciples of Christ love and serve others (Alma 31:12-38)
You can watch my video on YouTube or by the video player that pops up on this page.
The Book of Mormon reveals the strategy of the adversary. Studying it can help us resist the influence of those who try to deceive us (Alma 30:6-60)
Use my chart and matching game to discuss some of the teachings the adversary uses to trick us. First, write in the box what the false teaching is. In the box next to it, give a modern example of how that teaching is spread today. Then cover the false teaching with a truth card. Note- some verses have several answers but I only picked one per verse. There are additional empty boxes that you could fill in with additional answers.
We know who and what we are fighting against. Why is this important?
If your family is older, try to pick out the truth that counters the falsehood yourself. It’s a great exercise to make your think and feel what you know is true.
What are some truths you have already learned from the Book of Mormon this year? How about last week? Why do you think some truths are repeatedly taught throughout the Book of Mormon? What do you think is the most important truth to always remember no matter what? How can you combat the half-truths?
All things testify of God (Alma 30:44) A strong testimony in Jesus Christ and obedience help safeguard us from personal apostasy (Alma 30:19-22, 29-44; 31:8-25)
One of the best things we can do to protect ourselves from the adversary is to fortify our testimonies. Invite your family to do a week-long exercise routine both spiritually and physically. You can workout physically together but encourage them to do the spiritual part on their own as it’s very much something that needs to be strengthened individually. The last blank row is to jot down at least one way you know God is real each day. For example, you could write how you went on a walk and saw the beautiful sunset thus you know God is real. At the end of the week share your experiences with each other. What was your favorite exercise routine? What did you hate? What do you think actually strengthened you the most? Did any of you include the same evidence in your daily journal spot? How can you continue to strengthen your testimony this next week?
Remember to look for evidence through the testimony of others, the scriptures, and God’s creations.
What experiences helped prepare Alma to deal with Korihor? Divide into groups to skim the following scriptures then meet back together to share your answers: Mosiah 27-29; Alma 1-3; Alma 4-7; Alma 8-16 (you can just read the chapter headings and your highlights). What experiences have helped you withstand modern-day Korihors?
The word of God is powerful and can lead people to righteousness (Alma 31 especially verse 5)
Do you still have plastic swords leftover from last week? Use them for an object lesson. Cover a block or brick- something hard- with a paper that says “The Word of God” on it. Then invite your family to attack the Word and see what breaks first. In what ways is the word of God more powerful than a sword? How can the Word of God help a man more than the sword? What does the sword attack? What does the Word of God “attack”?
The reason why the gospel is more powerful is that it treats the cause, not just the symptoms. The gospel changes our behavior. Symptoms can continue forever if you never treat the cause.
Learn more about different types of swords. Which one would you want and why? Which do you think is the most powerful? Guess what’s even more powerful than all of these swords combined? The word of God. Then discuss how it’s true.
Try some basics of fencing! Discuss what’s required to train and use a sword. Then discuss how the word of God is more powerful. What training must we do to use the word of God effectively?
Review the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document seminary students use. There is a reason we changed from scripture mastery to doctrinal mastery. There are 9 basic doctrines. Invite everyone to share a little bit about each doctrine during your home church or a nightly scripture study. What does that doctrine matter to you? How does it help you? How does it change people?
Heavenly Father hears our prayers (Alma 31:8-35)
We’ll go over prayer next week but since we’re introduced to the rameumptom and the memorized prayer here, it’s a great opportunity to talk about how we are doing with our prayers. Think of this week as priming the pump for discussing prayer more next week. Maybe invite your family to participate in a prayer challenge- don’t say the same phrase twice this week including family mealtime prayers.
What’s the difference between saying your prayers once a week versus daily? Why do you think daily is so important? See Alma 31:10.
Study the differences between Zoramite’s (Alma 31:15-18) and Alma’s prayers (Alma 31:26-36). What are some of the major differences?
Also, we can’t read about the rameumptom without mentioning the best rameumptom song ever performed by the Scripture Scouts. Seriously, love them. You can watch this little video clip and enjoy the song on their website (the song starts about halfway through if you want to skip ahead). There is also a great song about learning how to pray.
You can find recommended videos to go with the lessons on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. They usually load up one month at a time so if it’s not there yet, wait until July. There are usually General Conference talks included with the videos if you are looking for additional things to study.
Remember, the Ensign is also a great resource. Use the digital version to access the weekly additional articles and activity pages.
For additional things to study, see my recommendations of the best Book of Mormon Resources.
- This week in The Red Headed Hostess lesson packet you'll find a scripture object lesson, coloring pages, doctrinal quiz, and more.
- Remember to also check out the Come, Follow Me videos at Living Scriptures. They have a great resource there plus their weekly email gives you more ideas. You can try it out for a month free first (and there are shows you'll enjoy as an adult too).
