“Alma 29: The Desires of Our Hearts,” Book of Mormon Teacher Manual (2024)
“Alma 29,” Book of Mormon Teacher Manual
Alma 29
The Desires of Our Hearts
How can you tell if your desires for your life are in harmony with what the Lord wants for you? Alma 29 records the desire of Alma’s heart and his reflection on whether his desires are in line with what God wants for him. This lesson can help you evaluate your own desires and align them with the Lord’s.
Build faith in Jesus Christ. When preparing to teach, ask yourself, “Of all the truths that could be emphasized in this block of scripture, which will most help my students draw closer to Heavenly Father and the Savior?” Seek the inspiration of the Holy Ghost to better understand which gospel truths will best accomplish that purpose.
Student preparation: Consider inviting students to read Alma 29:1–6 and to ponder what they learn about desires.
Possible Learning Activities
Wishes for my life
Consider showing a picture of yourself as a child and sharing your answers to the following questions. You might also invite a few students to bring pictures of themselves as young children and to answer the questions.
Alternatively, in many cultures there are fables or stories where someone is asked what they wish for or desire most. Some examples include wishing on a star, requesting wishes from a genie or fairy, or making a wish while blowing out birthday candles. You may want to refer to one of these familiar stories and ask, “If you were able to wish for one of your greatest desires, what would it be?”
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When you were a child, what were some of your greatest desires?
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Now that you are older, how have your desires changed? How might your desires change in the future?
On one side of a page in your study journal, write down several of your desires for your life. (You will use the other side later in the lesson.)
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How do our desires influence our lives?
As we grow and mature in the gospel and come closer to God, some of our desires may change and align more with what He wants for us.
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How can we tell if our desires are in harmony with what God wants for us?
As you study this lesson, ponder your desires. Look to identify desires that align with God’s and those that may need to mature or change.
Aligning our desires with the Lord’s will
In Alma 29, Alma recorded one of his desires. Read Alma 29:1–2, looking for what he described.
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Why did Alma desire to be an angel? What does that tell you about him?
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What do you know about Alma’s past that could have inspired his desire to be an angel? (see Mosiah 27:11–17).
If needed, help students understand Alma’s experience with an angel as recorded in Mosiah 27. One way you could do this is to display the following image and ask students to share what they remember about the account it portrays.
Understanding the context of the verses can give us additional insight. In the chapters before Alma 29, the Lord commanded Ammon to bring the Anti-Nephi-Lehies to live with the Nephites for their protection (see Alma 27:4–12). The Nephites gave the Anti-Nephi-Lehies the land of Jershon to settle in and promised to protect them. The wicked Lamanites followed the Anti-Nephi-Lehies and began a battle. The Nephites defended themselves and their families against the Lamanites. As a result, “tens of thousands of the Lamanites were slain and scattered … and there was a tremendous slaughter among the people of Nephi” (Alma 28:2–3).
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How can this context help you understand why Alma may have wanted to boldly call people to repentance and prevent sorrow?
Read Alma 29:3–6, looking for what Alma understood about desires.
Consider asking students what they learned. Students may share a variety of lessons or principles. If students do not mention it, ask them to summarize what Alma taught in verse 4.
One principle you may have identified is that God allows us to make choices based on our desires.
Consider inviting students to mark in their scriptures the key words or phrases in verse 4 that identify this truth.
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Why is this principle important for us to understand?
To help you compare your desires with the Lord’s, list on the other side of the page in your study journal what the Lord desires for His children. You could read some of the following passages to make this list:
Invite students to share what they wrote. Some examples are that we might hear and come to know the Savior (see Matthew 17:5; John 17:3; 3 Nephi 11:3–7), show our obedience (see Abraham 3:25), do His work (see Doctrine and Covenants 6:6), love others (see Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:37–40), marry and have families (see Doctrine and Covenants 131:1–4; Genesis 1:22), feel joy (see 2 Nephi 2:25), and inherit eternal life with Him (see Moses 1:39).
Look at both sides of your page. Note that the Lord wants us to center our desires on loving and serving Him and our fellow man. Ponder how well your desires align with God’s desires for you.
Though his desire to share the gospel was good, Alma recognized that desiring to share the gospel like an angel to the whole world did not completely align with where and how God had called him to serve. Consider underlining any phrases in Alma 29:3–6 that show that Alma wanted to align his desires with God’s will.
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What do you think it means to be content with what the Lord has allotted us?
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Why, like Alma, do you think we should seek to align our desires with the Lord’s?
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How can we align our desires with God’s will when we may receive a calling to serve in a way other than our own preference?
Later in the chapter, Alma explained that he did not need to be an angel to speak to all the earth because God would teach all nations in His wisdom and timing (see Alma 29:7–8). Read Alma 29:9, 13, looking for what Alma gloried in and how he felt as he aligned his desires with God’s.
The importance of desires
Provide an opportunity for students to deepen their understanding about desires. You might post the following questions and instructions around the classroom. Students could gather near the question they are interested in learning about, follow the instructions, and discuss answers they find to the question in small groups. This could be repeated so students can study more than one question.
How can I increase my desire to follow the Lord?
As you ponder this question, it may be helpful to think of examples of people who were converted to the Lord. Some people you could study are Enos (see Enos 1:1–7), King Benjamin’s people (see Mosiah 5:1–5), and King Lamoni (see Alma 22:15–16).
What should I desire in my life?
As you seek revelation to this question, study the examples of what others have desired or what the Lord hoped they would desire (see Romans 10:1; 3 Nephi 19:7–9; Doctrine and Covenants 6:6–8).
What else do the scriptures teach about our desires?
It may be useful to study “Desire” in the Topical Guide or the Gospel Library app. Or read some of the following verses: Psalm 37:4; Proverbs 10:24; Enos 1:12; Alma 41:5; Doctrine and Covenants 18:38; 137:9.
Invite students to share what they learned. Consider asking if any students have a question they would like the class to help with. Together, seek out scriptures and share experiences and testimonies that could help answer any questions that are asked.
Take a moment to ponder how this lesson applies to you. Write in your study journal what you can do to strengthen your righteous desires and seek the Lord’s help to align any other desires with His will.