Alma teaches the people a lesson on forgetting and remembering. When we forget our God and Savior Jesus Christ, we are left to ourselves. We are led away by the devil (see Alma 46:8). When we are blessed and prospered, we tend to forget God due to the ease of the way (see Helaman 12:2). We are constantly admonished through the scriptures and by our living prophets to remember—remember the commandments, remember the goodness and mercy of God, remember to keep the covenants we have made.
The word remember or a form of that word occurs frequently throughout the scriptures—over 110 times in the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants alone. As we have made covenants with our Heavenly Father, it is clear that the power to do good and be good is tied to our ability to remember these covenants. The ability to keep sacred things in our minds is also a part of our covenants that we might remember the goodness of God and keep the commandments. To remember is more than just recollecting a thought periodically. It means always to have the principle, doctrine, and covenant in our mind continually. In remembering, we should think upon the things of the Lord and in particular our covenants. This is a key point in living the gospel: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverb 23:7). President Kimball reminds us, “When you look in the dictionary for the most important word, do you know what it is? … ‘Remember’ is the word” (“Circles of Exaltation” [Address to religious educators, BYU, 28 June 1968], 8). In the sacred ordinance of partaking of the sacrament we are commanded to remember the Lord Jesus Christ and to keep His commandments, and He promises us the blessing of the Spirit in our lives. Remembering is a key to a righteous life.