Lesson 19: None Could Deliver Them but the Lord

Here are questions from the teacher’s manual to help guide you in your reading of the scripture block for Sunday. As you read, continually ask the question, “Why did the Lord include this for us in our day?”

Book of Mormon: Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, (1999), 84–88

What did Alma teach at “the place of Mormon”? (See Mosiah 18:7.)

What did the people desire after Alma taught them? (See Mosiah 18:8.)

What does it mean to “come into the fold of God, and … be called his people”? (See Mosiah 18:16–17; see also Hebrews 8:10; Alma 5:60.)

What were the people willing to do as members of “the fold of God”? (Mosiah 18:8–9) 

What does it mean “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places”? (Mosiah 18:9).

After Alma preached to the people, what did he invite them to do? (See Mosiah 18:10.)

What is a covenant?

President Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “A covenant is a contract and an agreement between at least two parties. In the case of gospel covenants, the parties are the Lord in heaven and men on earth. Men agree to keep the commandments and the Lord promises to reward them accordingly” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1970, 91; or Improvement Era, Dec. 1970, 26).

Referring to Mosiah 18:8–13, President Marion G. Romney said, “I know of no better explanation of the baptismal covenant” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1975, 109; or Ensign, Nov. 1975, 73).

According to Mosiah 18:8–13, what do we covenant to do when we are baptized? (See also Moroni 6:2–3; D&C 20:37.)

What does the Lord promise to do when we are baptized and keep our baptismal covenant? (See Mosiah 18:10, 12–13; see also 2 Nephi 31:17.)

How did the people respond to Alma’s invitation to be baptized? (See Mosiah 18:11. If you are using the picture of Alma baptizing, display it now.) What can we do to help others receive this great joy?

After the people were baptized, Alma commanded them to have “their hearts knit together in unity and in love” (Mosiah 18:21). What can we do at home and in our ward or branch to follow this command? (See Mosiah 18:19–21.)

What did King Noah do when he saw the advancing Lamanites? (See Mosiah 19:7.)

Who was Noah most concerned about? (See Mosiah 19:8.) How does this compare to people today who, like Noah, try to lead us away from the Lord and His prophets?

What had Abinadi prophesied about King Noah’s death? (See Mosiah 12:3.) How was this prophecy fulfilled? (See Mosiah 19:18–20.)

After two years of peace, the Lamanites waged war against Limhi’s people (Mosiah 20:7–10).

Why did the Lamanites seek to destroy Limhi’s people? (SeeMosiah 20:1–6.)

When the Lamanites learned that they had misjudged Limhi’s people, they returned to their own land in peace (Mosiah 20:17–26). However, “after many days the Lamanites began again to be stirred up in anger against the Nephites” (Mosiah 21:2). What did the Lamanites do to the Nephites rather than break their king’s oath that they would not kill them? (See Mosiah 21:3.)

How did the bondage of Limhi’s people fulfill prophecies made by Abinadi? (compare Mosiah 21:3–5, 14–15 with Mosiah 11:20–25and 12:2, 4–5.)

Why were Limhi’s people brought into bondage? (See Mosiah 7:25–32; 20:21.)

After failing three times to defeat the Lamanites in battle, what did Limhi’s people finally do? (See Mosiah 21:13–14.)

Why was the Lord slow to respond to their cries? (See Mosiah 21:15; see also D&C 101:1–9.)

Although the Lord did not deliver them immediately, what did He do for them? (See Mosiah 21:15–16.) 

How does the Lord sometimes permit us to “prosper by degrees”?

How did Limhi’s people escape from the Lamanites? (See Mosiah 22:3–12.) How were they received by the people in Zarahemla? (See Mosiah 22:13–14.)

How did Alma respond when the people asked him to be king? (See Mosiah 23:6–7.)

How had Alma learned the danger of “one man think[ing] himself above another”? (See Mosiah 23:8–14.)

What can we learn from Alma and his people to help us avoid this error? (See Mosiah 23:15.)

How did the bondage of Alma’s people fulfill prophecies made by Abinadi? (See Mosiah 12:2, 4–5.)

In what ways can our poor choices bring lingering consequences even after we have been forgiven of our sins?

Elder Marvin J. Ashton said: “Our freedom to choose our course of conduct does not provide personal freedom from the consequences of our performances. God’s love for us is constant and will not diminish, but he cannot rescue us from the painful results that are caused by wrong choices” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1990, 24; or Ensign, Nov. 1990, 20).

Why does the Lord chasten His people? (See Mosiah 23:21; D&C 95:1–2.) How should we respond when the Lord chastens us? (See Mosiah 23:22.)

What did Alma’s people do when Amulon threatened to kill them if they prayed? (See Mosiah 24:10–12.)

How did the Lord answer their silent prayers? (SeeMosiah 24:13–16.)

How did this help them “stand as witnesses” for the Lord, as they had covenanted in the waters of Mormon? (See Mosiah 24:14.)

Why are our burdens easier to bear when we “submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord”? (Mosiah 24:15).

In what ways has the Lord strengthened you to help you “bear up [your] burdens with ease”?

How has this helped you stand as a witness of God?

Why did the Lord bless Alma’s people while they were in bondage more quickly and abundantly than He blessed Limhi’s people? (Compare Mosiah 21:5–15 with Mosiah 23:26–27; 24:10–16.)

How does this apply in our lives?

How is iniquity, or sin, a kind of bondage? What can we learn from Limhi’s people and Alma’s people about receiving deliverance from the bondage of sin? (See Mosiah 7:33; 21:14; 23:23;29:18–20; see also D&C 84:49–51.)