Alma 8-16

Alma 8:18 says that Alma “returned speedily” when the Lord commanded him to return to Ammonihah, the place he had just come from where they had, “reviled him, and spit upon him, and caused that he should be cast out of their city.” Not a place I would want to go back to let alone “speedily.”

Elder Henry B Eyring said “however much faith to obey God we now have, we will need to strengthen it continually and keep it refreshed constantly. We can do that by deciding now to be more quick to obey and more determined to endure….

“We must decide to obey and then do it. We build the faith to pass the tests of obedience over time and through our daily choices. We can decide now to do quickly whatever God asks of us. And we can decide to be steady in the small tests of obedience which build the faith to carry us through the great tests, which will surely come.”

I love the examples of God’s mercy in the Scriptures such as with Zeezrom. No matter what we have done there is an example of someone who has repented of a similar sin and been forgiven. This gives us hope for ourselves, and patterns to follow in our own repentant journey.

Alma 12:32 “Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption.”

God gave them the why before the how. Do you have your why? Is it strong enough to withhold the temptations of the world? The feeling in my why gets stronger the more time I spend with the Scriptures.

Alma 14 contains a horrific story, it’s hard to even read, but it’s inclusion in our record is beautiful. We all see and hear horrible things that happen in life. It’s easy to wonder, and many do, how a loving God could allow such things. Along with the horrible story we have Alma’s response, “But Alma said unto him: The spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth my hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.” (Alma 14:11) 

Alma knew it was but a fraction of a moment that would be well worth the Eternal Life to come. God will more than compensate for all our pain and suffering but He must allow people to make their own choices, to prove whom they will follow and how far they will go.

President Spencer W. Kimball speaks of pain and sorrow in this life in his book Faith precedes the Miracle, 97-100. It’s a long quote but I just couldn’t pair it down any more, it’s too important for us to understand amid all the turmoil in our world.

“If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.

“Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?

“If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.

“If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil—all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls.

“Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our selfish desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood.

‘For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things … righteousness … wickedness … holiness … misery … good … bad. …’ (2 Nephi 2:11.)

“Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we were to close the doors upon sorrow and distress, we might be excluding our greatest friends and benefactors. Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery. …

I love the verse of ‘How Firm a Foundation’—

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o’erflow

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

[See Hymns, no. 5]

“And Elder James E. Talmage wrote: ‘No pang that is suffered by man or woman upon the earth will be without its compensating effect … if it be met with patience.’

“The power of the priesthood is limitless but God has wisely placed upon each of us certain limitations. I may develop priesthood power as I perfect my life, yet I am grateful that even through the priesthood I cannot heal all the sick. I might heal people who should die. I might relieve people of suffering who should suffer. I fear I would frustrate the purposes of God….

“With such uncontrolled power, I surely would have felt to protect Christ from the agony in Gethsemane.... I might have saved him from suffering and death, and lost to the world his atoning sacrifice.

“I would not dare to take the responsibility of bringing back to life my loved ones. Christ himself acknowledged the difference between his will and the Father’s when he prayed that the cup of suffering be taken from him; yet he added, ‘Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.’ [Luke 22:42.]^”

Alma 16:16 “And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming”

Does this make you think of any counsel we have received in our day? To immerse ourselves in the scriptures daily and study the conference talks throughout the 6 months but most especially just before conference, putting ourselves in situations for the Lord to pour out His spirit on us, to prepare our hearts and our minds for His word for us. It may be that we are also preparing our hearts and minds for the return of the saviour. We are surely preparing our hearts and minds for our return to Him.

Mosiah 25 – Alma 7

“Remember”

One theme throughout the Book of Mormon is that we must remember. Remember what the Lord has done for you, for you personally and for His people. Remember that Christ paid for your sins, died and was resurrected so that we may be also. Remember that while there will be hard times He will ALWAYS be there for you to strengthen you, to guide you, to deliver you as He has in the past and we have many stories of that in the scriptures. When the light turns on every time you flip the switch enough times you come to believe that it will continue to do so. Light bulbs burnout, God does not. The more times we see and remember His goodness the more sure we can be it will continue.

Mosiah 27:28-29

“28 Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulation repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God.

“29 My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more.”

God will forgive. It can be easy to think we can sin now and repent later because God is so merciful, and He is. The world tells us this is not only true but preferred. Reading these verses, does it sound easier to repent? “nigh unto death” “gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity” “darkest abyss” “eternal torment” These words do not describe experiences I would willingly want to put myself through for a bit of what the world sees as “fun”.

Now we move from Mosiah to Alma. Have we talked about what was on the plates and what was added later and how we know which is which? They made it really easy. Italics is added, that’s it. At least when it comes to book and chapter headings and summaries. The summaries at the beginning of chapter in italics are added to aid us in our study, the intros at the beginning of the book of Alma and before some of the chapters that are NOT in italics were translated from the plates.

Definitions

Ignominious (from Alma 1:15): Very shameful; reproachful; dishonorable; infamous.

Wonderful contention (from Alma 2:5): According to Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary, another word for “wonderful” is “astonishing.” That makes more sense. We know the meaning of words can change over time. It doesn’t seem like it has been long enough to change that much but some words have and referencing a dictionary from the time of translation can improve our understanding when words don’t seem to fit. Thankfully my Book of Mormon study guide has done that for me.

Comments from the Book of Mormon Study Guide 

On Alma 1:23-33

“How can we be strong even when others harden their hearts and withdraw from the Church? Unlike some Nephites who ‘withdrew themselves’ from the Church, others did ‘stand fast.” “How do you remain ‘steadfast and immovable’ during a trial of faith? You immerse yourself in the very things that helped build your core of faith: you exercise faith in Christ, you pray, you ponder the scriptures, you repent, you keep the commandments, and you serve others.

“’When faced with a trial of faith—whatever you do, you don’t step away from the Church! Distancing yourself from the kingdom of God during a trial of faith is like leaving the safety of a secure storm cellar just as the tornado comes into view’ (Neil L. Andersen, “Trial of Your Faith,” 40)”

I thought that was fitting for Oklahoma, an analogy we can relate to right? It’s so important to remember, it’s okay to be unsure, it’s okay to have questions, it’s okay not to have all the answers, it wouldn’t be faith if we did. When you do, don’t abandon what you know. The confirmations you’ve felt in your heart of things that are true. How you feel when you pray, read and study the scriptures and the words of the prophets. Let that carry you through.

In Alma 3 we learn that the Amlicites began to mark themselves to distinguish themselves from the Nephites. We all mark ourselves in some way. The way we dress, act and talk all shows others what we stand for. How do you mark yourselves? As a believer and follower of Christ or the world?

Alma 3:19 Is an important scripture to know.

“19 Now I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the curse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation.”

What is this curse? Separation from God. No one else can cause us to be separated from God, not our friends, not our ancestors, only by our own actions. Along the same lines, Alma 3:26

“…that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad on.”

We may see negative consequences in our life that come from the actions of others, in this life. All eternal consequences are based on our choices and ours alone.

And this comment on Alma 4:15 “….nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him”

“We live in troubled times—very troubled times. We hope, we pray, for better days. But that is not to be. The prophecies tell us that. We will not as a people, as families, or as individuals be exempt from the trials to come. No one will be spared the trials common to home and family, work, disappointment, grief, health, aging, ultimately death…”

That sounds pretty scary. Here’s the good part though.

“We need not live in fear of the future. We have every reason to rejoice and little reason to fear. If we follow the promptings of the Spirit, we will be safe, whatever the future holds. We will be shown what to do’ (Boyd K. Packer, “Cloven Tongues of Fire,” 8)”

Alma 5:7, 12, 13

“7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God.”

“12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart.”

“13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts,”

Notice a theme?

“Webster says… that conversion is ‘a spiritual and moral change attending a change of belief with conviction’. As used in the scriptures, converted generally implies not merely mental acceptance of Jesus and his teachings, but also a motivating faith in him and in his gospel, a faith which works a transformation, an actual change in one’s understanding of life’s meaning and in one’s allegiance to God—in interest, in thought, and in conduct. While conversion may be accomplished in stages, one is not really converted in the full sense of the term unless and until he is at heart a new person” (Marion G. Romney, “According to the Covenants,” 71)

Alma 5 is full of questions. It’s sort of a self-evaluation. Someone put in a nice list if you want to look at just the questions and see where you are at with them.

http://toadland.net/read/alma5_50questions.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2lYuhLPGBVdGuJPM8bm3bLE52P0FZVuoWMT0Hq24NPpZl6qjw5mnlML9k

A few that stood out to me.

Alma 5:30 “And again I say unto you, is there one among you that doth make a mock of his brother, or that heapeth upon him persecutions?”

How do we treat others? From the popular kids to those seen by some as losers to the homeless?

Elder Quentin L. Cook said: “We are all equal before God. His doctrine is clear. In the Book of Mormon, we read, ‘All are alike unto God,’ including ‘black and white, bond and free, male and female’ (2 Nephi 26:33). Accordingly, all are invited to come to the Lord” (“The Eternal Everyday,” 51)

ALL!

Do you ever wish you could see an angel? Remember with greater knowledge come greater responsibility and not necessarily conversion. Laman and Lemuel saw angels and yet were never converted. Alma saw and angel but does not attribute his conversion to the angel alone.

Alma 5:46 “Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself.”

The angel may have been a wake up call but was not enough for conversion.

Joseph Fielding Smith said, “Christ has himself declared that the manifestations we might have of the Spirit of Christ, or from a visitation of an angel, a tangible resurrected being, would not leave the impression and would not convince us and place within us that something which we cannot get away from which we receive through a manifestation of the Holy Ghost. Personal visitations might become dim as time goes on, but this guidance of the Holy Ghost is renewed and continued, day after day, year after year, if we live to be worthy of it.”

Alma 7:10 “And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers…”

Wait a minute…. Jerusalem? Wasn’t Christ born in Bethlehem?

Take a breath, both are correct. It doesn’t say Christ was born IN Jerusalem. This would be like if you asked where I’m from I’d tell you Portland, OR or the Portland area. I actually lived 45 minutes from Portland but if I told you I’m from Vernonia would you have any idea where in Oregon that was? But many people have some idea where Portland is. Bethlehem was a small town 5-6 miles from Jerusalem, a lot closer than I ever lived to Portland, and they were a lot further away from either than we are from Oregon.

Alma 7:11-12

“11… he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people."

"12… and he will wake upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”

We all know Christ died and was resurrected so that we can be too and that he suffered for our sins so that we can return to God if we repent and strive to follow Him. Sometimes we miss that he also felt all our pains and sorrows, not like someone who went through something similar but exactly as you feel them. Not so that he can say, I know how you feel it’s not so bad, buck up buttercup. So that he could “succor his people”. What does Succor mean? “Succor is used often in the scriptures to describe Christ’s care for and attention to us. It means literally ‘to run to.’ What a magnificent way to describe the Savior’s urgent effort in our behalf. Even as he calls us to come to him and follow him, he is unfailingly running to help us?” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Come unto Me,” 22)