We now rewind a little and return to the record about
Alma—the priest of King Noah who believed Abinadi and ran away—and the people
who chose to follow him. Remember, they first hid in the wilderness by a place
called the Waters of Mormon, but then they got word that the King’s armies had found
them and were coming after them, so Alma & his people took off deeper into
the wilderness. That’s where we last left off.
Now we learn that Alma & his people chose a new area to
settle in. They were blessed to build up a prosperous city called Helam, and
they thrived there for some time. But then—spoiler alert!—Mormon (who is
abridging this history) inserts a comment about what is about to happen with Alma
and his people.
19-20 And it came to pass that they began to prosper exceedingly in the land…and they built a city, which they called the city of Helam.
21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith.
22 Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people.
Sometimes the Lord allows bad things to happen to good
people, because their patience and faith need to be tested. BUT if they put
their trust in God, they will be “lifted up at the last day,” as the scripture
says. Notice it doesn’t just say “they will get through it.” I believe it says
we will be “lifted up”, because we can be made better/stronger/smarter/purer
through our tests and trials. They are not punishment
from God, but an opportunity.
For Alma and his people, their test comes in the form of the
Lamanite army who stumbles—by accident, actually—upon Alma and his people in
the land of Helam. Remember how the Lamanite army went chasing after King Limhi
and his people who escaped in the middle of the night?... well, the Lamanite
army got lost in the wilderness for a few days, and then they stumbled across
the wicked priests of King Noah who have been camping out in the wilderness
with the Lamanite women they stole (remember that part in Mosiah 20?). The Lamanites take them in as equals and even give
them leadership positions. After these two groups are united, they continue to
wander lost through the wilderness and stumble across Alma and his people. They
promise to spare their lives if they will tell the Lamanite army how to get
back home, but then they don’t keep their promise and they keep Lamanite guards
in the city to surround it. Alma and his people are now in bondage to the
Lamanites and the wicked priests of King Noah.
Amulon, one of the wicked priests, is given a lot of power by the Lamanite King. He has authority over Alma and his people, and he begins to persecute them, and teach his children to persecute their children, and give them grueling tasks with cruel task-masters watching over them. We don’t know details, but the afflictions are so great that the Nephite prisoners cry out-loud to God for help, which causes Amulon to forbid prayer amongst the Nephites. But the Nephites don’t stop praying in their hearts, and of course God can hear them.
And then comes one of my VERY FAVORITE passages in the Book
of Mormon:
13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.
Notice that the Lord does not immediately take away their
burdens—instead, he strengthens the people so the burdens become light. Their
actual circumstances haven’t changed at all—but THEY have changed, and to me
that is more powerful and beneficial than just having a challenge removed. I
remember a time in my early 20’s when I was drowning in challenges, working
harder than I’ve ever worked, praying harder than I’ve ever prayed, and living
thousands of miles from home and feeling queasy with homesickness. This passage
of scripture became very applicable to me at that time as I realized that the
Lord wasn’t going to change my circumstances any time soon… so what I
needed Him to do was change ME. And He did. And just like these verses say, I
can now “stand as a witness for Him hereafter, and I know of surety that the
Lord God does visit his people in their afflictions.” (vs. 14)
And eventually, when God knows the time is right and we have
learned what we need to learn from our trials, He can completely deliver us
from our challenges. And this is what he did for Alma and his people, after
they had shown they could bear their burdens with cheerfulness:
16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.
Then, similarly to King Limhi and his people, the Lord
helped them to escape into the wilderness in the middle of the night. But this
time was an even greater miracle (which He will do for people with even greater
faith) because they didn’t use wine to knock-out their guards at night. The
Lord just caused a deep sleep to come over all of them. Pretty cool, I think!
And after the guards woke up, the Lord caused them to get lost after a certain
point so they couldn’t chase Alma’s people any further. And so Alma and his
people made it safe and sound to the land of Zarahemla to join Mosiah, and
Limhi, and all the other Nephites.
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