“If Ye Turn Away the Needy . . . Your Prayer is Vain”

Ed J. Pinegar, Richard J. Allen

Prayer alone is not enough: we are to remember those in need. We can never forget the down-trodden and those with unsatisfied needs. If we do, we become hypocrites whose prayers are in vain. Prayer without real intent profiteth nothing (see Alma 33:4–11; Moroni 7:6, 9). Calling upon the Lord regularly is a commandment (see Ether 2:14). We must pray with sincere desire and then exercise our faith by transforming it into action to help bring to pass what we have requested. We remember the needy. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). How are our prayers—regular, with real intent, having faith, with concern for all people? Are we instrumental in helping our prayers come to pass?

Commentaries and Insights on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2

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