Alma 33-34

Alma 33

14 Now behold, my brethren, I would ask if ye have read the scriptures? If ye have, how can ye disbelieve on the Son of God?

Alma teaches the Zoramites that the prophets and scriptures all testify of the Son of God and the need for a Savior. He draws upon the writings of 3 ancient prophets as examples. One of them is familiar to most people—Moses. He references the time the children of Israel were plagued and bitten by fiery flying serpents (Numbers 21:5-9). God told Moses the antidote was to make a serpent of brass and put it up on a pole, and anyone who believed enough to look at it would be healed. Those who looked were healed, those who didn’t, died.

 

This was a “type,” or symbol, of Jesus Christ who would come, who would be raised up on a cross and would heal all those who believed in Him.

19 Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

21 O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?

 22 …then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works.

We don’t have the writings of Moses that explain the symbolism behind this miracle, but Alma did. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we “believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly” (see Article of Faith 8). We believe the word of God was delivered completely and perfectly to the prophets, but over the years some truths have been lost through translation, and some parts of holy writings have been removed completely. The other 2 ancient prophets referred to by Alma would fall in that category—Zenos and Zenock—because we don’t have their writings anywhere in the bible. All we have are a few references/quotes here from Alma:

3 Do ye remember to have read what Zenos, the prophet of old, has said concerning prayer or worship?

 4 For he said: Thou art merciful, O God, for thou hast heard my prayer, even when I was in the wilderness; yea, thou wast merciful when I prayed concerning those who were mine enemies, and thou didst turn them to me.

15 For it is not written that Zenos alone spake of these things, but Zenock also spake of these things—

 16 For behold, he said: Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies which thou hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son.

 17 And now, my brethren, ye see that a second prophet of old has testified of the Son of God, and because the people would not understand his words they stoned him to death.

Alma 34

 8 I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world...

Amulek teaches and testifies of the most important subject in the books: the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The atonement is the word that refers to the all-encompassing sacrifice performed by the Son of God on behalf of mankind, which includes both suffering for sins so that we may repent and be forgiven, and dying on the cross and being resurrected so that all mankind may be resurrected. This chapter focuses on the first part, being able to be forgiven of our sins. 

The Dictionary defines atone accordingly:

1. to make amends or reparation, as for an offense or a crime, or for an offender

2. to make up for errors or deficiencies

The atonement is deep and complex, and there are aspects I may never be able to explain. But I know and have experienced enough to be able to say it is real. Jesus Christ made it possible for me to have second chances, a clean slate, and new beginnings. And this gift is made available to everyone who will have faith in Jesus Christ and do their part.

These are some of the basics about the atonement that Amulek teaches us in Alma 34:

Q: Who will Christ’s atonement save?

A: Those who have faith enough to repent

15 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name…and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.

 16 And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.

Q: Who would perish without the atonement?

A: Everyone

9 For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.

Q: When do I need to take advantage of the atonement of Jesus Christ?

A: Now!

 31 Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.

 32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

 33 …therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

 34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.

Learning about Christ and accepting Christ isn’t just a nice hobby option in this life. We are here on “testing grounds” to become more like Him. In the next life, we will have the same desires and attitudes as we did before we died, so it is imperative that we work NOW to become the people we want to be and should be, because nothing automatically changes in the next phase of existence. I know that the atonement of Jesus Christ lends us the power and strength we need in order to under-go the deep and lasting changes we seek within ourselves. I have experienced that changing power many times in my life, and I will need to continue to use it.

Alma 32

Alma 32 

 28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief... behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed... for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

This chapter is all about FAITH, and is one of my favorites in the Book of Mormon! Alma finds that the poor Zoramites are willing to listen to him, and these are some of the powerful lessons he teaches them:

Humility and Willingness to Believe:

Alma teaches the poor Zoramites it is good their poverty has led them to be humble… but even better is if people CHOOSE to be humble, rather than being forced to be humble by their circumstances. What does it mean to you to be humble?

 13 And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved.

 14 And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?

16 Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.

Faith:

Alma 32 is famous for its teachings on faith. I could read (and have read) this part of the chapter over and over again. Now that I think of it, my husband and I used excerpts from this chapter in our wedding, because it went beautifully with our decor theme of fruit, and we saw great application to marriage from the teachings about experimenting and nurturing to grow something good together.

What is it?

Alma teaches us that “faith” does not mean knowing something for certain. It means you hope for something you can’t see, that is true (meaning it isn’t technically faith if you’re hoping for something that isn’t true).

21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.

How do you begin to develop faith?

I love this analogy! If you want to develop faith, start small with a desire! Then experiment and see what feelings or other recognizable results develop to help you identify if the “seed” is good or not. (emphasis added below to key phrases)

 26 Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first…

 27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

 28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

 33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.

Should you expect your faith to be perfect when it first starts to grow?

Faith is developed one step, one issue, one day at a time. And it can backslide, too, if you neglect it, so it requires a steady effort to continue to develop.

 35… and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect?

 36 Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.

 37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us.

What can cause faith to die?

Sometimes it isn’t the seed’s fault when it dies… it’s yours!

38 But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.

 39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.

What are the rewards of cultivating faith?

What do you think the fruit analogy represents? When you patiently cultivate faith, what is the fruit you receive in the end?... or even along the way? I'll say this much... the rewards of hope, peace-of-mind, healing, and big-picture-perspective that I've received from my seed of faith (and it is still growing!) are my greatest possessions. They are worth every effort and sacrifice.

41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.

 42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

 43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.

Alma 31

Alma 31

Alma gathers a team of missionaries to preach to the Zoramites—a group of Nephites who have broken away from the church (these are the same people who trampled and killed Korihor at the end of the last chapter). 

When Alma and team arrive in the land, they find the Zoramites gathered in their synagogues to worship, but they are shocked at what they see inside. They have built a tall stand/tower—called a Rameumptom—that is just big enough for one person at a time. The person on top of the Rameumptom prays out loud, and this is the gist of the prayer:

16 Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us from our brethren; and we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren, which was handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers; but we believe that thou hast elected us to be thy holy children; and also thou hast made it known unto us that there shall be no Christ… and thou hast elected us that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are elected to be cast by thy wrath down to hell;

This is shocking and concerning to Alma and his brethren—both because the people are openly denying the coming of Jesus Christ, but also because of the pride and arrogance of their ridiculous belief that they are better than other people in the eyes of God. Then to top off the irony, after the worship services the people “returned to their homes, never speaking of their God again until they had assembled themselves together again to the holy stand, to offer up thanks after their manner.” (v23) These people exhibit hypocrisy at its finest. 

Alma is very upset by what he sees, and he prays a long and dramatic prayer to the Lord. When we are frustrated or exhausted by the decisions or behavior of other people, we can also pray for help and strength to know how to handle the situation:

31 O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.

Alma 29-30

Alma 29

Have you ever wished to be more than you are? Have you ever been frustrated at how weak and limited you are in accomplishing good goals and desires? That’s how Alma feels, and he wishes to be a mighty angel from heaven to preach repentance to the earth with a voice of thunder:

 1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

 2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

 3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

I don’t know that I fully understand all the lessons I should be learning from Alma here, but I think the big one is that God gives us and makes us enough to accomplish what He wants us to accomplish.  So on one hand I can’t use my personal limitations as an excuse to not do good. And on the other hand, I shouldn’t pine away for different circumstances, abilities, or responsibilities than what God has given me. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts about what this chapter means.

Alma 30

New trouble comes to town—an “anti-Christ” named Korihor. He travels around the Nephites and the People of Ammon preaching there is no God, no Christ, and no consequence for sin so people should do whatever they want (vs. 13-18). People like to be told they can do whatever they want, so Korihor is successful in getting many to follow and support him. 

The People of Ammon are the smartest. They don’t listen to Korihor, and take him to speak to the high priest of the church and the chief judge of the city.

 22 And it came to pass that the high priest said unto him: Why do ye go about perverting the ways of the Lord? Why do ye teach this people that there shall be no Christ, to interrupt their rejoicings? Why do ye speak against all the prophecies of the holy prophets?

I like the line, “why do ye teach this people that there shall be no Christ, to interrupt their rejoicings?” That’s what I want to ask people who dedicate their lives and precious time to tearing down faith—to tearing down something I love that brings me joy? 

Korihor responds with a tirade of ridiculous and inaccurate accusations, full of arrogance, pride, and disrespect toward God. These leaders don't know what to do with him, so they send Korihor to Zarahemla to talk to the head honchos: the chief judge over all the land, and Alma, the head of all the church. Korihor continues to make nonsensical accusations against the church. For example, he accuses Alma and the other church leaders of “glutting on the labors of the people (v31)” or preaching for the sake of getting rich. Alma reminds him that none of the brethren are paid for their service in the church, so that argument doesn't make sense. 

Alma counter-argues Korihor’s challenge of “what evidence do you have that there is a God,” with this great insight:

40 And now what evidence have ye that there is no God, or that Christ cometh not? I say unto you that ye have none, save it be your word only.

41 But, behold, I have all things as a testimony that these things are true;

43 And now Korihor said unto Alma: If thou wilt show me a sign, that I may be convinced that there is a God, yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words.

 44 But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.

The question of the day is—Are you like Korihor? Do you require a “sign” from heaven to believe that God exists? Or will you accept the signs, witnesses, and evidences all around you that there is a God?

Korihor pushes Alma for a sign, and Alma says the only sign he will get is to be struck deaf and dumb. Korihor continues pushing, and finally God grants the sign—and Korihor is struck deaf and dumb. At this point he confesses he really believes in God, and asks Alma to remove the curse.

 55 But Alma said unto him: If this curse should be taken from thee thou wouldst again lead away the hearts of this people; therefore, it shall be unto thee even as the Lord will.

 56 And it came to pass that the curse was not taken off of Korihor; but he was cast out, and went about from house to house begging for his food.

 59 And it came to pass that as he went forth among the people, yea, among a people who had separated themselves from the Nephites and called themselves Zoramites, being led by a man whose name was Zoram—and as he went forth amongst them, behold, he was run upon and trodden down, even until he was dead.

 60 And thus we see the end of him who perverteth the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell.

Alma 26-28

Alma 26

This is my favorite verse from this chapter, spoken by Ammon who is praising the Lord for the miracle among the Lamanites he and his brethren have been a part of:

12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things;

This is true for all of us. By ourselves, we are incredibly limited and weak. But with the Lord’s help we can do anything He desires for us to accomplish. The key is being humble and forfeiting our personal desires for what the Lord wants.

Alma 27

Remember the angry Lamanites who first attacked the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, and then felt bad and went to war against the Nephites instead? Well, they have lost the battle with the Nephites and have started attacking the defenseless Anti-Nephi-Lehies again. At this point Ammon begs the king of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies to go to the Nephities to seek protection. The king isn’t keen on this idea because he remembers all the plunder and murder his own people committed against the Nephites before they converted, and he doesn’t think the Nephites will accept them. But Ammon inquires of the Lord what they should do, and they are commanded to go to the Nephites to ask for help.

The Nephites are touched by the conversion and sacrifice of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies who have buried their weapons of war, and they give them a whole city—Jershon—and agree to protect them with the Nephite armies if they will contribute with finances and supplies. From here on out, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies are called the People of Ammon (another name change). I just love the people of Ammon, and I’m inspired by their faith, conviction, and goodness. I believe the Lord watches over and rewards people like this, and we will see examples of his blessings in later chapters.

27 And they were among the people of Nephi, and also numbered among the people who were of the church of God. And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end.

 28 And they did look upon shedding the blood of their brethren with the greatest abhorrence; and they never could be prevailed upon to take up arms against their brethren; and they never did look upon death with any degree of terror, for their hope and views of Christ and the resurrection; therefore, death was swallowed up to them by the victory of Christ over it.

 30 And thus they were a zealous and beloved people, a highly favored people of the Lord.

Alma 28

The Lamanites come to attack the people of Ammon, and the Nephites protect them for the first time in a big, ugly battle. The Nephites win, but many Nephites are killed and tons of Lamanites are killed. The book of Alma has a big chunk of chapters later on that are known as the “war chapters” but we will take a break from war for awhile now and read about some more preaching and missionary efforts of Alma and Amulek.

Alma 24-25

Alma 24

This is one of the most powerful stories of sacrifice and humility I know. I have always felt very tender, and even reverent, about this chapter.

The Lamanites, Amulonites, and Amalekites who were not converted to the Lord get all riled up against the Lamanite converts. They feel betrayed by them because they converted to the same faith as the Nephites. So the angry Lamanites prepare to go to war against their converted brethren.

But the Lamanite converts—now called the Anti-Nephi-Lehies—refuse to fight their brethren. They won’t even prepare for war. Their king gives a speech to all the Anti-Nephi-Lehies expressing gratitude for their new life and new faith, and he helps us understand why his people refuse to fight in battle now:

10 And I also thank my God…that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

 12 Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren.

15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.

 16 And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.

This isn’t just talk. After the king’s speech, the people literally do what he had suggested—they dig a giant pit and bury all their former weapons of war to demonstrate to God that they refuse to go back to their old, murderous ways now that they have repented, even if it costs them their lives.

 18 And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.

 19 And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin;

The Anti-Nephi-Lehies are true to their commitment, because the Lamanites do come to war against them, and they really refuse to fight, even if death is the consequence. I am deeply touched by the faith and perspective of these new converts, and by the effect their faith has on others who were initially angry enough to kill them. These words deserve to be taken straight from the book:

21 Now when the [Anti-Nephi-Lehies] saw that [the Lamanites] were coming against them they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword.

 22 And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.

 23 Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword—

 24 Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done.

 25 And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.

 26 And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved.

Alma 25

The angry Lamanites decide to stop attacking the converted Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s, and take out their anger on the Nephites instead. They first attack the city of Ammonihah, and wipe out the entire city before the Nephite army can gather to fight back (This was the wicked city that burned all the believing women and children with their scriptures, if you remember— it was wiped out in Alma 16:9. We back-tracked through time to learn about Ammon and Aaron’s missionary efforts with the Lamanites, and now we are catching up to the time period we read about with Alma and Amulek).

After the Nephites win the war, the Lamanites begin to turn against their Amulonite leaders who have been influencing them to hate the Nephites and they start hunting them down to kill them, which was actually prophesied by the prophet Abinadi who was burned at the stake by King Noah and his High Priest, Amulon (see Mosiah 17:18). What goes around comes around (especially when a prophet warns you and you do bad stuff anyway)!

After the war ends, most of the Lamanites end up joining the Anti-Nephi-Lehis, and they enter into the same covenant of peace and bury their war weapons, too. Absolutely incredible! The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Alma 22-23

Alma 22

While Ammon is building up the church is the land of Ishmael with King Lamoni, Aaron and his other brothers go to teach the king of all the land (Lamoni’s father—remember him from last time?), who has been curious and perplexed ever since Ammon spared his life. This King has had a drastic change of heart—the man who once tried to kill his own son because he was angry that he was helping a Nephite is now ready and willing to believe anything that Aaron and his brothers teach him.

These two verses just breeze over a summary of the things Aaron teaches to the King, but after you read them I want to point out a few really important points that are buried in here:

 13 And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name.

 14 And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king.

First point—Aaron taught the King from the scriptures, even though he probably knew the scriptures like the back of his hand and could have just told the stories himself. There is power in reading the scriptures word-for-word. I believe that. So high-five to you if you have been reading the actual Book of Mormon verses from each chapter and not just my second-rate summary of them. 

Second point—the Plan of Redemption through Jesus Christ—which is God’s plan for helping his children through this earth life and enabling us to return to Him after we die—was planned out a LONG time ago, “from the foundation of the world.” God knew He would send His Son, Jesus Christ, as the key element of his plan before Adam and Eve were ever placed in the Garden of Eden.

Third point—The sufferings and death of Jesus Christ allowed Him to conquer 2 things, (1) death and (2) sin. His gift of resurrection, or overcoming death, will be a free gift for everyone someday. But to overcome sin we have to do our part by having faith in Christ, repenting, being baptized, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Verse 14 just says “through faith and repentance and so forth” assuming that his audience knows the full list. This is a topic worth spending more time on later!

The King is deeply touched by these things that Aaron teaches him. Do you remember when Ammon almost killed the King, and he offered in desperation to give Ammon ½ of his kingdom if he would spare his life? Well check out what the King is willing to give now in order to have joy and eternal life:

 15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.

He is willing to give up everything to know God. What a great example he is! The Lord doesn't actually ask the King to forsake his Kingdom - but He does ask for something else. Aaron tells him to repent and pray to God with faith to ask for the hope and joy he desires.

 17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying:

 18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee.

I love that he is willing to “give away all his sins” to know God—because that is what God really wants from us. Are you willing to give away all your sins to know God?

The King is so overcome by the Spirit of God that he collapses to the ground like he is dead (sound familiar)? But Aaron is able to awaken him because the Queen is panicking and trying to convince the guards to kill Aaron and his brethren (but they know better because they’ve been watching everything that happened).

Once the King is awake he preaches to the whole palace, as well as many people in the town. The wide-spread conversion which first started with Ammon and King Lamoni’s people is continuing to spread throughout the Lamanites!

Alma 23

With the King of all the Lamanites converting to the Lord, this opens the door wide to all his people because he sends forth a proclamation to all the Lamanites forbidding them to harass, abuse, stone, or cast-out the Nephite missionaries when they are trying to teach.

And as a result, the missionaries begin to see incredible success. These Lamanite converts become my favorite people in the Book of Mormon, and you’ll see how heroic they are soon. But for now we are told that all the Lamanites who convert are faithful to the end of their lives—that is the remarkable part to me! You probably know lots of people who have a change of heart at some point in their lives, but how many of them remain changed, and how many go back to their old ways when things get hard?

 5 And thousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord, yea, thousands were brought to believe in the traditions of the Nephites; and they were taught the records and prophecies which were handed down even to the present time.

 6 ... yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.

 7 For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren.

These converted Lamanites take on a new name—they become the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.

I think it's very interesting that none of the Amalekites or Amulonites were converted (they are the Nephite-deserters), and that none of the Lamanites who lived in the same cities as Amalekites or Amulonites were converted either. Our society, and especially our friends and family, can have an enormous effect on our perspective and our beliefs. Even in modern times, you can see different cultures and regions that are more disposed to faith and others who are more ambivalent or even hostile toward God. It is important for each of us to be able to recognize the kinds of people we surround ourselves with each day and the kind of influence they may have on us.

Alma 20-21

Alma 20

Ammon is told by the Lord that his brethren have been thrown in prison in the Lamanite land of Middoni. Lamoni offers to go with Ammon to get them out of prison because the king of Middoni is a friend. So they go, and on the way to Middoni, they cross paths with Lamoni’s father, who is king over all the Lamanites. Lamoni's father is angry that Lamoni missed a great feast earlier that week, and he's even more furious that Lamoni is with a Nephite and helping to free other Nephites from prison.

Lamoni’s father is so furious that he draws his sword to kill his own son, but Ammon steps up to protect him and overpowers the king quickly (if you haven't noticed, Ammon is really strong!). In desperation the king offers half of his kingdom if Ammon will spare his life. Ammon agrees to spare the king’s life if he will let his brethren out of prison in Middoni, and if he will not be angry with Lamoni and leave him free to govern his own land however he wants without being under the direction of his father.

 25 Now when Ammon had said these words, the king began to rejoice because of his life.

 26 And when he saw that Ammon had no desire to destroy him, and when he also saw the great love he had for his son Lamoni, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Because this is all that thou hast desired, that I would release thy brethren, and suffer that my son Lamoni should retain his kingdom, behold, I will grant unto you that my son may retain his kingdom from this time and forever; and I will govern him no more—

 27 And I will also grant unto thee that thy brethren may be cast out of prison, and thou and thy brethren may come unto me, in my kingdom; for I shall greatly desire to see thee. For the king was greatly astonished at the words which he had spoken, and also at the words which had been spoken by his son Lamoni, therefore he was desirous to learn them.

Lamoni and Ammon make it to Middoni and free Ammon’s brethren from prison. They are naked and starving and suffering greatly. They were less fortunate than Ammon and had gone to a more hard-hearted group of Lamanites.

Alma 21

We rewind in vs.1-14 to when Ammon and his brethren originally split up to teach the Lamanites, and this time we follow Ammon’s brother, Aaron, and a few more who went with him. It was Aaron’s luck to go to a harder group of Lamanites who lived among the Amalekites and Amulonites (dissenting Nephites) who are the hardest of all, and so Aaron and his few companions travel uselessly from city to city trying to preach until they are thrown in jail in Middoni, and then saved by Ammon and King Lamoni.

These guys are so brave—they go out to try preaching AGAIN, even after all this harassment and abuse, but this time the Lord begins to bless them with success! Also, Ammon and King Lamoni return to the land of Ishmael and begin to build up the church of God among his people and teach them that they are free to worship and believe however they desire now. I love King Lamoni's people because, “they gave heed unto [the] word, and they were zealous for keeping the commandments of God (v23).” I want to be zealous for keeping the commandments of God! What a great word.