Quotes from Alma 5 Lesson

1. Ezra Taft Benson said: “Can human hearts be changed? Why of
course! It happens every day in the great missionary work of the Church. It is one of the most
widespread of Christ’s modern miracles. If it hasn’t happened to you - it should. The Lord works from
the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums.
Christ takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world
would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their
environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.” (The
Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, pp. 77-78.)

2. An image is not just an outward
visual impression but also a vivid representation, a graphic display, or a total likeness of something. It is
a person or thing very much like another, a copy or counterpart. Likewise, countenance does not simply
mean a facial expression or visual appearance. The word comes from an old French term originally
denoting “behavior,” “demeanor,” or “conduct.” In earlier times the word countenance was used with
these meanings in mind. Therefore, to receive Christ’s image in one’s countenance means to acquire the
Savior’s likeness in behavior, to be a copy or reflection of the Master’s life. This is not possible without
a mighty change in one’s pattern of living. It requires, too, a change in feelings, attitudes, desires, and
spiritual commitment. This involves the heart. Andrew Skinner, Studies in Scriptures, 7:301.

3. Ted Gibbons – LDS Living, lesson 22:
The multitude of questions Alma asks are worth a careful, personal look. But it seems clear that there is
one question in the sermon, what we might call the critical question, that must be answered correctly.
That question is asked five different times toward the end of the sermon. The question is in verses 53-56
and it is this: if you are doing any of these things that are contrary to the teaching of the gospel, will ye
persist? If you have found something in this sermon that needs your attention, or that needs repentance,
will you repent? Or will you persist in rebelling against the commandments of God?

4. Elder David A. Bednar: Brothers and sisters, it is possible for us to have clean hands but not have a pure heart. Please notice that both clean hands and a pure heart are required to ascend into the hill of the Lord and to stand in His holy place.

Let me suggest that hands are made clean through the process of putting off the natural man and by overcoming sin and the evil influences in our lives through the Savior’s Atonement. Hearts are purified as we receive His strengthening power to do good and become better. All of our worthy desires and good works, as necessary as they are, can never produce clean hands and a pure heart. It is the Atonement of Jesus Christ that provides both a cleansing and redeeming power that helps us to overcome sin and a sanctifying and strengthening power that helps us to become better than we ever could by relying only upon our own strength. The infinite Atonement is for both the sinner and for the saint in each of us. Nov. 2007 Ensign