17 Now they knew not
that Amulek could know of their designs.
But it came to pass as they began to question him, he perceived their
thoughts, and he said unto them: O ye wicked and perverse generation, ye
lawyers and hypocrites, for ye are laying the foundations of the devil; for ye
are laying traps and snares to catch the holy ones of God.
18 Ye are laying plans
to pervert the ways of the righteous, and to bring down the wrath of God upon
your heads, even to the utter destruction of this people.
19 Yea, well did
Mosiah say, who was our last king, when he was about to deliver up the kingdom,
having no one to confer it upon, causing that this people should be governed by
their own voices—yea, well did he say that if the time should come that the
voice of this people should choose iniquity, that is, if the time should come
that this people should fall into transgression, they would be ripe for
destruction.
20 And now I say unto
you that well doth the Lord judge of your iniquities; well doth he cry unto
this people, by the voice of his angels: Repent ye, repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.
21 Yea, well doth he
cry, by the voice of his angels that: I will come down among my people, with
equity and justice in my hands.
22 Yea, and I say unto
you that if it were not for the prayers of the righteous, who are now in the
land, that ye would even now be visited with utter destruction; yet it would
not be by flood, as were the people in the days of Noah, but it would be by
famine, and by pestilence, and the sword.
23 But it is by the prayers
of the righteous that ye are spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out the
righteous from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand; but in his
fierce anger he will come out against you; then ye shall be smitten by famine,
and by pestilence, and by the sword; and the time is soon at hand except ye
repent.
Alma 10:17-23
The lawyers of Ammonihah are going to attempt to trip up
Amulek by getting him to contradict his words.
What they didn’t know was that, through the Lord, knew what they were
planning. He called the lawyers a “wicked and perverse generation.”[1] They
were hypocrites because they are attempting to trap a servant of the Lord.[2] He was echoing the words of Alma.[3]
They had perverted the ways of “the righteous.” This would
bring destruction upon all residents of Ammonihah.[4]
The Ammonihahites represented King Mosiah’s warning against
an unrighteous king.[5] They had chosen sin over righteousness and destruction
was in their future.[6] The Lord set down the reasons why a society
would be destroyed.
When iniquity ripens fully the
cursings come. But what constitutes being ripe in iniquity? The Book of Mormon
gives specific conditions: (1) when "the voice of this people should
choose iniquity" (Alma 10:19); (2) when the people "turn aside the
just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that
it is of no worth" (2 Nephi 28:16); (3) when they reject "every word
of God" (1 Nephi 17:35); and (4) "when [they] shall cast out the
righteous from among [them], then shall [they] be ripe for destruction"
(Helaman 13:14).[7]
The Lord judges them because of their wickedness. The message is to repent, for the kingdom of
God is at hand. The Lord “will come down among my people, with equity
and justice in my hands.”[8]
Only the prayers of the righteous kept them from being
destroyed.[9] If they are destroyed it will not be by
flood. It would be through famine,
pestilence, and the Sword.[10]
The prescribed mode of execution of
the inhabitants of an apostate city was by the "sword, destroying it
utterly" (Deuteronomy 13:15). This is the only text in the law of Moses
that calls for slaying by the sword. Significantly, Amulek twice focused his remarks
on the manner in which the people of this city would be killed: "Ye would
even now be visited with utter destruction; yet it would not be by flood, as
were the people in the days of Noah, but it would be by famine, and by
pestilence, and the sword" (Alma 10:22, and again in
verse 23).[11]
This is a constant message in the Book of Mormon.
Over and over again we find this
theme in the Book of Mormon: conversion and reconversion come by remembering;
dedication, sacrifice, and covenant are one with memory. Sermon after sermon
begins with a prophet reminding his listeners or readers of what the Lord has
already done for them. They remind us of the flood (Alma 10:22), of the exodus
from Egypt (Mosiah 7:19), and of the journey across the ocean (2 Nephi 10:20).[12]
President Kimball warned us about the voices to which we
listen.
There are voices all
about us … rasping voices proclaiming “doctrines of devils,” saying there is no
sin; there is no devil; there is no God. Saying that we will “eat, drink, and
be merry” like the antediluvians who never believed that the flood would really
come. Many voices of seducing spirits advocate carnal pleasures and
unrestrained physical satisfactions. Our world is now much the same as it was
in the days of the Nephite prophet who said: “… if it were not for the prayers
of the righteous … ye would even now be visited with utter destruction. …” (Alma 10:22).[13]
(Emphasis in original)
But it is by the prayers of the righteous that ye are
spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out the righteous from among you then
will not the Lord stay his hand; but in his fierce anger he will come out against
you; then ye shall be smitten by famine, and by pestilence, and by the sword;
and the time is soon at hand except ye repent.
The Ammonihahites must have been trying to cast out the
righteous from their city as Amulek warned them they were the only people who
were saving them. If they did, the Lord
will judge them and they will face “his
fierce anger.”[14]
[1] The
Savior would use similar wording. “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and
Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers [GR
crop of serpents], who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew
3:7).
[2]
The same thing happened to our Savior. “But
when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason
ye in your hearts?” (Luke 5:22).
[3] “Behold, O ye wicked and perverse generation,
how have ye forgotten the tradition of your fathers; yea, how soon ye have
forgotten the commandments of God” (Alma 9:8).
[4]
When dealing with Elymas, the Sorcerer Paul said, “And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the
devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the
right ways of the Lord?” (Acts 13:10).
[5] “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” (Mosiah 29:27).
[6] The
Book of Abraham teaches that the promise of the land to Abraham's posterity was
conditional, "I will give unto thy seed after thee for an everlasting
possession, when they hearken to my voice" (Abraham 2:6). When the
iniquity of the descendants of Abraham was full, God would allow them to be
destroyed and scattered from their promised land as well (1Nephi 17:43; cf. Alma
10:19; Ether 2:9–10).[6]
[7] Hubris and Atē: A Latter-day Warning from the Book of Mormon, Richard
D. Draper, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 29, 2015.
[8]
Abinadi also taught this principle. “And now, did they .understand the law? I say unto you, Nay, they did not all
understand the law; and this because of the hardness of their hearts; for they
understood not that there could not any man be saved except it were through the
redemption of God. For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the
coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have
prophesied ever since the world began—have they not spoken more or less
concerning these things? Have they not said that God himself should come down
among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man, and go forth in
mighty power upon the face of the earth?” (Mosiah 13:32-34).
[9] The
prayers of Alma1 and the people of the church led to Alma2’s
conversion. “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. And now behold, can ye dispute the power of God? For behold, doth not my voice shake the
earth? And can ye not also behold me
before you? And I am sent from God. Now
I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam,
and in the land of Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them;
for they were in bondage, and he has delivered them. And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy way,
and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be answered, and
this even if thou wilt of thyself be cast off” (Mosiah 27:14-16).
[10] Moroni
told Joseph Smith about the destruction that would occur. “He commenced, and again related the very same things which he had done
at his first visit, without the least variation; which having done, he informed
me of great judgments which were coming upon the earth, with great desolations
by famine, sword, and pestilence; and that these grievous judgments would come
on the earth in this generation. Having
related these things, he again ascended as he had done before” (JS-History 1:45).
[11] Warfare
in the Book of Mormon – Law and War in the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch,
Maxwell Institute, accessed March 29, 2015.
[13] Voices
of the Past, of the Present, of the Future, President Spencer W. Kimball, April
1971 General Conference.
[14]
Writing to Moroni, Mormon describe the Nephite people. “But O my son, how can a
people like this, whose delight is in so much abomination—How can we expect
that God will stay his hand in judgment against us?” (Moroni 9:13-14).
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