Rest is Not a Luxury — Alma 8–12

Come, Follow Me: Book of Mormon 2024 (June 17–23)

Alma is an example of many aspirational qualities. He discerned his highest priorities by quitting one job, being chief judge, to do a more important one, ministering to his people. He was humble enough to receive, again, the angel who originally converted him and now commanded him to return to the land of Ammonihah. After receiving these instructions, Alma demonstrated great obedience as he speedily returned to the city that spit on him, reviled him, and cast him out. 

He also exemplifies a key to doing hard things–taking time to rest. “And now it came to pass that Alma returned from the land of Gideon, after having taught the people of Gideon many things which cannot be written, having established the order of the church, according as he had done before in the land of Zarahemla, yea, he returned to his own house at Zarahemla to rest himself from the labors which he had performed” (Alma 8:1)

Once in Ammonihah, before he began to preach to the harsh crowd, he “tarried many days” with Amulek, recovering from his fasting, but also resting in preparation for the work ahead of him (Alma 8:27). He took time to prepare, even though the people were “waxing more gross in their iniquities” as the days went on. 

These Alma stories teach two things about rest. Rest is a means to recover from hard work, but is also a necessity for preparing to do hard work. Rest isn’t a luxury, it’s a responsibility, if we want to do our most loving, meaningful work.

There will always be tasks that must be done, but our to-do list cannot supersede the filling of our physical, mental, and spiritual “fuel tanks” to do them. Brigham Young arrived in Salt Lake Valley on a Saturday and knew how much work had to be done to get seeds planted for a fall harvest. But on Sunday, he pleaded with the pioneers to keep the Sabbath day holy and wait until Monday to begin their work. He knew rest for the tired Saints was the most needful activity for both their recovery and preparation. 

What are your best rest practices? Have you learned how to rest to “run and not be weary”?

Do Hard Divinely Better Lesson #22: Make rest a part of your daily life so you can recover and prepare to do hard things.