15 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, 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.
17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
Alma 34:15-17 (Emphasis mine)
Amulek teaches the concepts of justice and mercy. Through the atonement of Christ, salvation will be brought to those who believe in Him and his sacrifice, which is the core of mercy. Mercy overcomes and satisfies the demands justice and salvation comes through faith and repentance.
He continues explaining if you have no faith and refuse to repent, you must experience the demands of justice. Only those who have faith and repent, you can receive redemption.
10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
Psalms 32:10 (Emphasis mine)
Eugene England explains how Amulek’s word help clarify the concept of the atonement.
“The point the Book of Mormon makes much more clearly than I find made in the Bible is this: To continue experiencing the atonement of Christ after we have received his grace, we must extend grace to others. Christ makes us into new creatures, into persons strong enough not to act contrary to what we know—that is, not to sin— if we will merely accept Christ's merciful, undeserved love; he gives us power to repent, the ‘means’ by which we can ‘have faith unto repentance’ (Alma 34:15). But if we then continue judging others, we will unconsciously judge ourselves. We must constantly give mercy to be able to accept it. We must never exact revenge, even in the name of perfect justice. We must not take vengeance, even upon ourselves, the sinners whom we inwardly know most certainly deserve it.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
Dennis Largey further explains:
“While Paul taught that men are justified by the blood of Christ, which will save them from wrath, Amulek explained the doctrine of justification by teaching that the intent of Jesus' sacrifice was to initiate a plan of mercy which would overpower justice and enable men to have faith and repent. The result of this, Amulek continued, is that mercy can satisfy justice and encircle the repentant person in the arms of safety (thus saving him from the wrath Paul mentioned), while ‘he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice’ (Alma 34: 15—16; see Romans 5:9).” [2] (Emphasis mine)
Amulek uses Zenos’s teachings (see Alma 33:4-11) as the basis for his next comments.
18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid–day, and evening.
22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.
23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.
24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.
25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
26 But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.
Alma 34:18-26 (Emphasis mine)
Marilyn Arnold calls Chapter 34 on of the “most moving doctrinal chapters in the Book of Mormon..”
“Certainly Alma 34 is one of the most moving doctrinal chapters in the Book of Mormon, and all forty-one verses are devoted to Amulek's sermon. Some might glance at verse 1 and assume this discourse to be merely a postscript to Alma's splendid sermon on faith and the word as a seed. Believe me, it is much more than that, and Mormon must have recognized that a summary would not do. We should never forget, either, that Amulek, a once-prominent and -prosperous man in the apostate city of Ammonihah, has given up everything for the gospel—home, family, friends, worldly possessions—to join the younger Alma on a mission to bring backsliders to faith and repentance.” [3] (Emphasis mine)
I’ll conclude with one last item from Sister Arnold’s lecture.
“I am grateful to Mormon for also including Amulek's words about prayer to these poor Zoramites who had been forbidden to worship in churches they helped build, and therefore apparently assumed they could no longer approach God. In what can only be described as poetry (at least by me), Amulek enjoins the outcast Zoramites to pray to the Lord wherever they are, whenever they can, over all aspects of their lives. And if they can't speak their prayers aloud, they should speak them silently. I won't cite the entire passage, but you remember that verse after verse begins with ‘Cry unto him,’ whether it be over crops, flocks, and household, or against enemies that threaten, or even the devil himself (see Alma 34:18–27).” [4] (Emphasis mine)
[1] A Second Witness for the Logos: The Book of Mormon and Contemporary Literary Criticism, Eugene England, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 7, 2011.
[2] The Book of Mormon, An Interpretive Guide to the New Testament, Dennis Largey, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 7, 2011.
[3] The Book of Mormon: Passport to Discipleship, Marilyn Arnold, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 7, 2011.
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