Book of Mormon Lesson
# 23 Alma 8–12
More Than One Witness
Introduction
Alma’s
experience in Ammonihah always reminds me of Abinadi—Alma tries to preach but
is forced to leave. He is sent back by the Lord and makes a powerful convert,
Zeezrom. However, this time he has a missionary companion, and before Zeezrom
is converted he challenges Alma and Amulek and exposes the corruption that was
ripe in this Nephite city. There are powerful images in this account, which we
will look at over the next week or so, but none more so than prison walls
crumbling after Alma cries out in his suffering in words that Joseph Smith
echoes: “How long . . . O Lord” (Alma 14:26; cf. D&C 121). I have always
found it difficult to separate Alma and Amulek when they are team-teaching.
Hopefully this lesson will help us with that. But their message is the
same—repent and be saved through the Atonement of Christ.
Perhaps
more than any other section, the richness of the detail about such things a the
Nephite monetary system and the conversion of Zeezrom serve to establish the
Book of Mormon as a work of translation, not fiction.
1.Alma calls the people of Ammonihah to repentance, but they reject him. Alma 8–9
It is reasonable to suppose that the people of
Ammonihah had been influenced by the teachings of Nehor and possibly also the
Amlicites who had escaped to the wilderness. At any rate, “Satan had gotten
great hold” on their hearts (Alma 8:9). In response, the record tells us that
Alma “labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he
would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would
also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance” (8:10). What constitutes
“laboring in the spirit” and “mighty prayer”? Elder Wirthlin enlightens us: “May
I ask you today to consider the effectiveness of your prayers? How close do you
feel to your Heavenly Father? Do you feel that your prayers are answered? Do
you feel that the time you spend in prayer enriches and uplifts your soul? Is
there room for improvement? There are many reasons our prayers lack power.
Sometimes they become routine. Our prayers become hollow when we say similar
words in similar ways over and over so often that the words become more of a
recitation than a communication. This is what the Savior described as ‘vain
repetitions’ (Matthew 6:7). Such prayers, He said, will not be heard. … Do your
prayers at times sound and feel the same? Have you ever said a prayer
mechanically, the words pouring forth as though cut from a machine? Do you
sometimes bore yourself as you pray? Prayers that do not demand much of your
thought will hardly merit much attention from our Heavenly Father. When you
find yourself getting into a routine with your prayers, step back and think.
Meditate for a while on the things for which you really are grateful”
(“Improving Our Prayers,” in Brigham
Young University 2002–2003 Speeches [2003], 160). Can we make all our
prayers “mighty”?
You will remember a few weeks ago we talked
about what causes the Lord to send angels. Alma had already been the recipient
of one angelic visitation, and as he left Ammonihah, feeling that he had
failed, “being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and
anguish of soul,” that an angel again came to him. Interestingly this time,
Alma’s anguish was not of his own making, but was for the people of Ammonihah—such
was the strength of his conversion. President Monson: “Should there be anyone
who feels he is too weak to change the onward and downward course of his life,
or should there be those who fail to resolve to do better because of that
greatest of fears—the fear of failure—there is no more comforting assurance to
be had than these words of the Lord: ‘My grace is sufficient for all men that
humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have
faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them’ [Ether
12:27]. Miracles are everywhere to be found when priesthood callings are
magnified. When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish
striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes” (Ensign, Nov. 1999, 50).
Alma turns back, obeying the call and finds
his great missionary companion who had also recently been converted by an
angel. In my thoughts, as Alma was sent to “bear down in pure testimony” to his
people, so too is possibly the same angel sent to aid him in this endeavor.
2. Amulek preaches to the people
of Ammonihah. Alma 10
When Alma returns he met Amulek who was sent to meet him. One of the
puzzles, if you will, is the almost throwaway mention of one of Amulek’s
ancestors, Aminadi, a descendant of Nephi, but at least 3 generations before
Amulek, who was obviously known since he, “interpreted the writing which was
upon the wall of the temple, which was written by the finger of God” (vs. 2).
There is no other mention of Aminadi in what we have of the Book of Mormon, and
it raises a whole lot of questions that presumably will be answered eventually.
But it serves to remind us that there is a lot more to Nephite history than we
have in our Book of Mormon. Alma 10 is Amulek’s introduction to himself and the
manner of his conversion. He establishes himself as one with those he is
teaching, but also sets himself apart. We do not know how long Amulek’s
preparation for his mission with Alma was, but while Alma was staying with him,
but Alma “blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my
children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he
blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the
words which he spake” (vs. 11). Is it our duty to be a blessing to those we
live with, work with, study with, visit? Is this what it means to be “in the
world, but not of the world?”
And now the lawyers start to contend with Amulek. They already dismissed
Alma on his previous visit, but they are now confronted with a second witness.
Lest we think this is a condemnation of the legal profession, the text makes it
clear that these were “cunning” men who sought to fabricate a “crime which they
could make appear or witness against them”
and “make him cross his words” (vss. 13,16). Amulek delivers a stunning
condemnation of them and their practices, and by extension the people of
Ammoniah who would have been destroyed except for “the prayers of the
righteous” (vs. 22–23). And in so doing foretells their eventual fate (see Alma
16:9–11). There is an interesting article by Jack Welch on the Book of Mormon
Central website about the destruction of apostate cities as mandated in Deuteronomy.[1] Alma
himself was saved by the prayers of his righteous parents. A question to
ponder, posed by the teacher’s manual is How do you think the prayers of the
righteous help counter the effects of wickedness today? President Kimball,
“There are many many upright and faithful who live all the commandments and
whose lives and prayers keep the world from destruction” (Ensign, June 1971, 16).
3. Amulek contends with Zeezrom
and testifies of Christ. Alma 11
These chapters are full of interesting insights into Nephite life. Not
the least of which is the monetary system. Here is a link to a comprehensive
treatment of this subject, again by Jack Welch.[2]
I mentioned earlier about trying to separate Alma’s and Amulek’s
teaching. The teacher’s manual provides us with a helpful chart:
|
Doctrine
|
Amulek’s Witness
|
Alma’s Witness
|
|
The
Atonement
|
||
|
Repentance
|
||
|
Judgment
|
||
|
Resurrection
|
Now Zeezrom enters the scene—the lawyers have put up their heaviest
hitter and Zeezrom uses all the corrupt whiles of his profession to try to
confound Amulek. But, having learned from Alma, and with the added advantage
of knowing of their design and
perceiving their thoughts (Alma 10:17), Amulek “bears down in pure testimony.” Perhaps
the best contrast between Zeezrom (as he was then) and Amulek is in these
verses, “Now Zeezrom was a man who was expert in the devices of the devil, that
he might destroy that which was good. . . .And Amulek said unto him: Yea, if it
be according to the Spirit of the Lord, which is in me; for I shall say nothing
which is contrary to the Spirit of the Lord” (Alma 11:21–22). Elder
Christofferson explains, “Inasmuch as we follow Christ, we seek to participate
in and further His redemptive work. The greatest service we can provide to
others in this life, beginning with those of our own family, is to bring them
to Christ through faith and repentance so they may experience His
Redemption—peace and joy now and immortality and eternal life in the world to
come. The work of our missionaries is a magnificent expression of the Lord’s
redeeming love. As His authorized messengers, they offer the incomparable
blessings of faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the
Holy Ghost, opening the way to spiritual rebirth and redemption.”[3]
4. Alma further explains Amulek’s
words and warns against hard-heartedness. Alma 12
Now it is the senior companion’s turn and we see the conversion process
in Zeezrom from 11:35 where he tries to twist Amulek’s words and stir the
people up against them, to 11:46 where Amulek’s strong testimony of resurrection
starts to win the people over and Zeezrom begins to tremble, to 12:7 with Alma
talking directly to Zeezrom who by now “was convinced more and more of the power of God,” and
instead of cross-examining them as a lawyer, “began to inquire of them
diligently, that he might know more concerning the kingdom of God.” It is
powerful dialogue and once more a testimony to the reality of the Book of
Mormon as a translation, not fiction.
We have talked several times about the “mysteries of God,” but
since Alma brings it up here, here are a couple more quotes to help us
understand what is meant by this term. Joseph Fielding Smith: “The Lord has
promised to reveal his mysteries to those who serve him in faithfulness. … The
Gospel is very simple, so that even children at the age of accountability may
understand it. Without question, there are principles which in this life we
cannot understand, but when the fulness comes we will see that all is plain and
reasonable and within our comprehension. The ‘simple’ principles of the Gospel,
such as baptism, the atonement, are mysteries to those who do not have the
guidance of the Spirit of the Lord” (Church
History and Modern Revelation, 2 vols. [1953], 1:43).
Bruce R. McConkie: “There is also a restricted and
limited usage of the expression mysteries;
it is more of a colloquial than a scriptural usage, and it has reference to
that body of teachings in the speculative field, those things which the Lord
has not revealed in plainness in this day. It is to these things that reference
is made when the elders are counseled to leave the mysteries alone” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed.
[1966], 524).
Alma talks about several things that are so relevant to us
today: not hardening our hearts, what happens when we do not repent—the inevitability
of the last judgment, why is there a need for redemption and what is the plan
of redemption. Surely this chapter is a great guide for explaining what we
believe. Here is Elder Maxwell, “The end rule is “according to [our] desires …
shall it be done unto [us]” (D&C 11:17), ‘for I, the Lord, will judge all
men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts’ (D&C
137:9; see also Alma 41:5; D&C 6:20, 27). One’s individual will thus
remains uniquely his. God will not override it nor overwhelm it. Hence we’d
better want the consequences of what we want! Another cosmic fact: only by
aligning our wills with God’s is full happiness to be found. Anything less
results in a lesser portion (see Alma 12:10–11). The Lord will work with us
even if, at first, we ‘can no more than desire’ but are willing to ‘give place
for a portion of [His] words’ (Alma 32:27). A small foothold is all He needs!
But we must desire and provide it.”[4]
Elder Oaks elucidates on judgment, “The prophet Nephi
describes the Final Judgment in terms of what we have become: ‘And if their
works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it
must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God’ (1 Nephi 15:33).
Moroni declares, ‘He that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is
righteous shall be righteous still’ (Mormon 9:14; see also Revelation 22:11–12;
2 Nephi 9:16; D&C 88:35). The same would be true of ‘selfish’ or
‘disobedient’ or any other personal attribute inconsistent with the
requirements of God. Referring to the ‘state’ of the wicked in the Final
Judgment, Alma explains that if we are condemned by our words, our works, and
our thoughts, ‘we shall not be found spotless; … and in this awful state we
shall not dare to look up to our God’ (Alma 12:14). From such teachings we
conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of
good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final
effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for
anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants
of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly
account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what
our Heavenly Father desires us to become” (Ensign,
Nov. 2000, 32).
Elder Ballard gives us the “take away” from this chapter, “By
focusing on and living the principles of Heavenly Father’s plan for our eternal
happiness, we can separate ourselves from the wickedness of the world. If we
are anchored to the correct understanding of who we are, why we are here on
this earth, and where we can go after this mortal life, Satan cannot threaten
our happiness through any form of temptation. If we are determined to live by
Heavenly Father’s plan, we will use our God-given moral agency to make
decisions based on revealed truth, not on the opinions of others or on the
current thinking of the world.”[5]
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