Alma 4

Alma 4

Compare and contrast the behavior of the members of the church in Alma chapter 1 and in Alma chapter 4:

In the Book of Mormon this is called the “Pride Cycle” which we will see repeated many times. The people are righteous, the Lord blesses them, they prosper, eventually they become prideful and vain, they backslide into wickedness, the Lord sends or allows some trial to humble them (this will come!), they repent and become righteous again, repeat cycle. Right now the Nephites are in the “backslide into wickedness” stage of the cycle. And of course when the people of the church begin acting selfishly and arrogantly, you can image what a turn-off that is for people who don’t belong to the church, as well as a license for the non-believers to act the same way (vs. 11). How much do we see this in our society? I know many people who feel leery of religion because of the awful way they have seen some people behave who profess to be religious. This has always been so sad to me, and I can’t blame people for feeling that way! But I also feel like they are missing out on the peace, direction, and hope that true doctrine and faith will bring them, because their image of religion has been morphed by bad experiences with bad examples (who aren’t really living as their faith teaches). 

Alma, who is the chief judge of the land as well as the high priest of the church, is very worried enough about the downward-slide of the people. He decides to give up his position as chief judge so he can focus completely on his role as high priest of the church.

 19 And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.

Alma 2-3

Alma 2

We are already moving on to the next big trouble-maker like Nehor, and his name is Amlici. He is a cunning man, and is able to attract a lot of followers/supporters who begin to promote Amlici to be the king of the land (remember they don’t have kings anymore, they have judges). This alarms the people of the church and those who don’t support Amlici, because they know his intent is to destroy the church and take away their religious liberty. 

Voting day arrives, and the majority of the people vote against Amlici becoming king, but his followers won’t accept this outcome and gather secretly (and illegally) and consecrate Amlici to be king over his group of supporters.

Amlici and his followers name themselves Amlicites and actually go to war against the Nephites! This is no small war, as 12,500 Amlicites and 6,500 Nephites are slain just in the first day. When night comes, both sides cease fighting and pitch their tents. Alma, who is leading the Nephite armies, sends out spies to determine what the Amlicites are doing. The spies return in a panic, saying that the Amlicites have joined up with the Lamanites (who are always much more numerous than the Nephites), and their combined armies are headed toward the Nephites’ main city, Zarahemla.

Through the strength of the Lord, the Nephites are able to conquer even though all odds say they shouldn’t. Alma even slays Amlici himself.  But I’m afraid this is not the last battle between the Nephites and Lamanites… not even close. And some battles get even uglier for the Nephites at times when they are not living worthy of the Lord’s help. Isn’t that like life? We all have lots of “battles” of different kinds to fight throughout life. They are all hard, but the ones during the times I turn to the Lord always turn out better than the ones where I am angry, distracted, or self-absorbed and not able to have the Lord’s help with me.

Alma 3

I see these as the two main lessons from this chapter:

 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.

I don’t think the Lord usually works in terms of “curses” (keep in mind this is back in Old Testament times), but he certainly allows consequences, and we often bring our own consequences upon our own heads and sometimes without realizing it. But the Lord warns us, and His word is always fulfilled! And the second main lesson from the chapter (mentioned by the author because so many people were killed in battle that year):

 26-27 And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, 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 one. For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey.

I believe there is a God, and I also believe there is a devil. And if we are not following God we are vulnerable to the influences of the devil (and he is actually even more dangerous when we don’t recognize or acknowledge his influence). Both God and Satan have very clear teaching/philosophies, ways they influence, and ways they can reward. And we will each receive rewards from the one we choose to follow--and in the long-run, Satan has nothing but misery to award. This reminds me of a great verse in 2 Nephi 2 that we already read:

27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

Alma 1

Alma 1

A new guy briefly enters the scene—his name is Nehor. He practices “priestcraft,” or the act of preaching for personal gain, popularity, or wealth. But in addition to his selfish motives for preaching, his doctrine is rather selfish too:

4 And he also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life.

 5 And it came to pass that he did teach these things so much that many did believe on his words, even so many that they began to support him and give him money.

 6 And he began to be lifted up in the pride of his heart, and to wear very costly apparel, yea, and even began to establish a church after the manner of his preaching.

I think the majority of the time when someone claims it doesn’t matter what we do or that all we have to do is “believe” or claim the Lord as Savior, really that person just doesn’t want to go to the effort of learning what God really teaches or doing what He really asks us to do. And of course it is a popular thing to teach, because people like to be told they don’t have to put any effort into life and can do whatever they want.

Legally, Nehor is allowed to teach whatever he believes, but he goes tragically too far when he gets into a religious argument with Gideon, the old advisor of King Limhi. In the heat of the argument he kills Gideon with his sword. He is brought before Alma to be judged, and sentenced to death according to the law.

But unfortunately Nehor’s influence does not die with him, and priestcraft begins to spread throughout the land. You will see throughout the rest of the Book of Mormon people who are “after the manner of Nehor,” meaning they preach for their own gain and they preach incorrect doctrine for their own benefit.

The people of the church begin to be persecuted by those who are not in the church. Some don’t handle it very well and they fight back. Those people end up bitter and angry and many leave the church. But many respond in the way true Christians should:

 25 Now this was a great trial to those that did stand fast in the faith; nevertheless, they were steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of God, and they bore with patience the persecution which was heaped upon them.

27 And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely.

 29 And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly rich, having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood in need—an abundance of flocks and herds, and fatlings of every kind, and also abundance of grain, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and abundance of silk and fine-twined linen, and all manner of good homely cloth.

 30 And thus, in their prosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were naked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need.

Verse 30 reminds me of the welfare program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today. I love the church welfare program! It gives substantial, meaningful, and impactful service to thousands of people across the world, regardless of their religion. You can read about it here if you’re interested: http://www.lds.org/topics/welfare

Mosiah 28-29

Mosiah 28

The sons of Mosiah have been preaching throughout the land, trying to repair the damage they did in their rebel years. But it isn’t enough for them… they want to go preach to the Lamanites because “they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thought that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble (vs. 3).” What a deep conversion they have had!

Now keep in mind, the Lamanites HATE the Nephites and will just as soon eat them as listen to them talk about the gospel. And for this reason, Mosiah is not keen on the idea of his sons going to sacrifice themselves to these people who surely won’t benefit from their preaching anyway. But his sons persist in wanting to go, so Mosiah goes to the Lord to ask for advice. He receives this answer:

7 And the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites.

And with this reassurance from the Lord, Mosiah allows his sons to go. Incredible missionary adventures await us in the chapters ahead! And can I just say I am astounded at the courage and the LOVE the sons of Mosiah have—what an unselfish desire! And I also love the complete trust that Mosiah has in the Lord to keep his promise to deliver his sons out of the hands of the Lamanites. We will see some cool ways that promise is fulfilled.

In this chapter we also learn about Mosiah’s God-given ability to be able to translate, and he translates the records brought to him by the people of Limhi which they found back when they sent a small group to search for the land of Zarahemla while they were in bondage (Mosiah 21:27). We will get to read an abridgment of this translated record in the book of Ether, toward the end of the Book of Mormon.

Mosiah 29

King Mosiah is old, but none of his sons are willing to take the throne after him because they want to be missionaries instead. Mosiah uses this difficult dilemma as an opportunity to open up a new political era for the Nephites—the reign of the judges. As you read the chapter you’ll learn all the reasons Mosiah feels that a system of judges is safer than a king, because if you get one bad king he can cause a lot of trouble and wickedness (take King Noah for example!). A system of judges allows the people to rule themselves, and they will be safe as long as the majority of the people desire good:

25 Therefore, choose you by the voice of this people, judges, that ye may be judged according to the laws which have been given you by our fathers, which are correct, and which were given them by the hand of the Lord.

 26 Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.

 27 And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.

So the people elect judges, and Alma (the younger) is elected as Chief Judge of the land, and he is also head of the church. Both King Mosiah and Alma’s father (Alma the Elder) pass away from old age.

 47 And thus ended the reign of the kings over the people of Nephi; and thus ended the days of Alma, who was the founder of their church.

Mosiah 27

Mosiah 27

Meet Alma the Younger—son of Alma (the converted priest of wicked King Noah who is now head of the church in the land of Zarahemla). Alma the Younger is the ultimate rebel—not simply disobeying his father or rejecting the church, but intelligently and intentionally working to destroy the church. His partners-in-crime (and it is literally crime because it is against the laws of the land to persecute anyone for their beliefs, so they do their dirty work secretly) are the sons of Mosiah, the king, who is also a righteous leader. You can imagine what a heart-break these boys are to their families:

8 Now the sons of Mosiah were numbered among the unbelievers; and also one of the sons of Alma was numbered among them, he being called Alma, after his father; nevertheless, he became a very wicked and an idolatrous man. And he was a man of many words, and did speak much flattery to the people; therefore he led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities.

 9 And he became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; stealing away the hearts of the people; causing much dissension among the people; giving a chance for the enemy of God to exercise his power over them.

 10 …he did go about secretly with the sons of Mosiah seeking to destroy the church, and to lead astray the people of the Lord, contrary to the commandments of God, or even the king—

But the Lord intervenes with a miracle. One day as Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah are going about doing their dirty work, an angel appears to them in dramatic fashion with thunder and power. The men fall to the ground in fear and astonishment as the angel basically tells them off for their efforts to destroy the church. But the most important part of the angel’s message is WHY he is there:

 14 And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith.

This is one of the most powerful examples I know of that the Lord really does hear the prayers we speak on behalf of those we love. He won’t usually intervene in such a dramatic fashion as sending an angel to shake up our loved ones who are ruining their lives, but in His own time and fashion He does answer those prayers. So don’t stop praying for your loved ones who need it—it may take a long time, just like it did for Alma the Younger. Who knows how many years he had been the ultimate rebel before the Lord sent this miracle.

After the angel departed, Alma the Younger was basically in a coma, and his friends had to carry him to the house of his father. They told his father all that had happened, and—I love Alma’s reaction—he rejoiced! “For he knew that it was the power of God (20).” His son was brought to him in a coma, but Alma was delighted because he knew God was working miracles with his son.

After two days and two nights in a coma, and family, friends, and priests gathering in prayer and fasting, Alma awoke and he was singing a totally different tune. Later in the Book of Mormon—in the book of Alma—we will get to hear more about what Alma went through while he was in this coma because he shares the experience with his son. But for now we learn that the Lord spoke to him and taught him about repentance, being born again, and redemption from sin.

And from this time forward, Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah worked tirelessly to right their wrongs—to share the word of God and to build up the church. We will read amazing stories about each of them in the book of Alma, coming up! This story teaches me to believe in change. People can change, and people do change, and the Lord hears our prayers that we speak on behalf of those we love. I have a loved-one that I have been praying for for years, yet he continues to hurt his family and himself. But this story gives me hope… someday those prayers will be answered, in the time that is best.

Mosiah 25-26

Mosiah 25

Limhi and his people, and Alma and his people, are now safely rejoined with the main body of Nephites in the land of Zarahemla, governed by King Mosiah. Mosiah reads to all the people the record of Zeniff (which includes Zeniff leaving Zarahemla originally, then his wicked son Noah, then his good son Limhi—basically everything we just read from Mosiah chapters 9-24) and also the record of Alma and his people who broke off after Alma was converted by the preaching of Abinadi (who was burned at the stake by wicked King Noah). The Nephites are amazed at God’s blessings to these groups, like Limhi and Alma’s deliverance from bondage, and deeply saddened by the tragedies these people experienced.

But now they have a new start. The church is strongly organized in the land, and  the Nephites experience a period of great peace and prosperity.

Mosiah 26

Alma faces a new dilemma—many of the rising generation do not believe in God (they were not old enough to remember the powerful spiritual experiences the people have been through over the past decades), and they begin to influence many members of the church to commit serious sins. These church members are brought before Alma to be judged, but Alma doesn’t know what to do and tries to pass them over to King Mosiah to judge them. But Mosiah refuses to judge them because he is not the leader of the church, and passes them back to Alma.

So Alma approaches the Lord, pleading for guidance to handle this new wave of sinners in the church. He receives this answer:

 29 Therefore I say unto you, Go; and whosoever transgresseth against me, him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed; and if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also.

 30 Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.

 32 Now I say unto you, Go; and whosoever will not repent of his sins the same shall not be numbered among my people; and this shall be observed from this time forward.

The Lord’s approach to sinners is simple—and relieving! If a man or woman is humble and sorry for their mistakes, and will work to repent—or change and not commit that sin anymore—the Lord will forgive them. But keep in mind—repenting doesn’t not just mean confessing or saying “sorry” and then continuing on with the bad behavior with no real intention or desire to change. But if a person sincerely is attempting to change their ways, the Lord will forgive them as many times as it takes, as long as they are sincere in their desires to change. How amazing that the offer is “AS OFTEN AS MY PEOPLE REPENT, I will forgive them.” It is never too late for any of us!

There is one more important requirement in order to receive forgiveness:

 31 And ye shall also forgive one another your trespasses; for verily I say unto you, he that forgiveth not his neighbor’s trespasses when he says that he repents, the same hath brought himself under condemnation.

How can we expect the Lord to forgive us of our mistakes if we don’t forgive others? It reminds me of the parable of the unmerciful servant who was forgiven of his enormous debt (equivalent to millions of dollars) by the king, but then the same servant went out and threw a man into prison who could not repay his debt of about $15 (see Matthew 18:23-25). We will always have more to be forgiven of than we have to forgive of others.

Alma takes this instruction from the Lord and confidently implements it. 

Mosiah 23-24

Mosiah 23

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. 

Mosiah 24

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.

Mosiah 21-22

Mosiah 21

The Lamanites have taken an oath to not go to war against Limhi’s people again, but they begin to hang out in the borders of the land and make life miserable for the Nephites:

3 Now they durst not slay them, because of the oath which their king had made unto Limhi; but they would smite them on their cheeks, and exercise authority over them; and began to put heavy burdens upon their backs, and drive them as they would a dumb ass—

 4 Yea, all this was done that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled.

Verse 4 reminds us that the Lord warned them—over and over again through Abinadi—that this would happen if they did not repent of their wicked lifestyles. It was like Abinadi said in Mosiah 16:12, “for the arms of mercy were extended towards them, and they would not; they being warned of their iniquities and yet they would not depart from them; and they were commanded to repent and yet they would not repent.” God doesn’t give us commandments to restrict us or to flex his mighty arm of authority. He gives us commands because he loves us and sees the natural trouble we will bring on ourselves if we disregard them. He also cannot be with us and help us through our struggles when we are blatantly disregarding his commands. 

The Nephites grow tired of these conditions and plead with their king to let them fight the Lamanites off. The king finally grants permission, but the Nephites fail miserably in their battle attempts and many men are killed.  They try to fight the Lamanites two more times, and each time they fail and more men are slain. Their anger and fear eventually turn into humility, and they begin to turn to the Lord.

Now the story comes full circle—this was the state of the people of Limhi when Ammon and his team arrive from Zarahemla. They were thrown into prison because the king first assumed they were the priests of Noah, who had been sneaking into the land at night and stealing food and supplies. But when King Limhi discovered who Ammon and his men were, he was overjoyed because he needed their help to escape from bondage from the Lamanites. These people are ready to repent, change, and start over. Now they just need help getting there (and I believe the Lord always sends help when we are ready to change). 

Mosiah 22

King Limhi and his people escape! They gather their possessions and sneak out of the back gate of the city because the Lamanite guards there are drunken and passed out. They travel many days in the wilderness and arrive in the land of Zarahemla and King Mosiah joyfully receives them.

In the meantime, the Lamanites have awaken and discovered that Limhi and his people have escaped, and they are searching for them in the wilderness… (Limhi and his people are safe now, but the story isn’t over for another set of Nephites you may remember)