14 And it came to pass
that while he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading
through much tribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the
people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus
weighed down with sorrow, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him,
saying:
15 Blessed art thou,
Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to
rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from
the time which thou receivedst thy first message from him. Behold, I am he that delivered it unto you.
16 And behold, I am
sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah, and preach
again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the
Lord God will destroy them.
17 For behold, they do
study at this time that they may destroy the liberty of thy people, (for thus
saith the Lord) which is contrary to the statutes, and judgments, and
commandments which he has given unto his people.
18 Now it came to pass
that after Alma had received his message from the angel of the Lord he returned
speedily to the land of Ammonihah. And
he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the south of
the city of Ammonihah.
19 And as he entered
the city he was an hungered, and he said to a man: Will ye give to an humble
servant of God something to eat?
20 And the man said
unto him: I am a Nephite, and I know that thou art a holy prophet of God, for
thou art the man whom an angel said in a vision: Thou shalt receive. Therefore, go with me into my house and I
will impart unto thee of my food; and I know that thou wilt be a blessing unto
me and my house.
21 And it came to pass
that the man received him into his house; and the man was called Amulek; and he
brought forth bread and meat and set before Alma.
22 And it came to pass
that Alma ate bread and was filled; and he blessed Amulek and his house, and he
gave thanks unto God.
Alma 8:14-22
Having experience failure, Alma left Ammonihah with a heavy
heart. Alma’s soul was suffering from
his rejection as well as the wickedness of the Ammonihahites. As we will see, the advice Paul gave the
Romans would have been appreciated by Alma.
“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations
also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and
experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:3-5).
During his journey, an angle appeared to him. He received encouraging
words from the angel. He was told to
rejoice because he had been faithful in keeping God’s commandment since he had
received the first message from the angel back during his wild days. The angel told Alma that he was the angel
that had originally delivered the message to him.
Alma was told to return to Ammonihah and preach to the
people. If they fail to repent, they
will be destroyed.
The [Deuteronomic] law required
officers to investigate the situation thoroughly, to enquire, search, and ask,
to be sure that the offensive condition in fact existed. Alma did this too.
After being rejected, Alma was instructed to return to preach in the city, to
give them the necessary warning that they would be destroyed if they did not
repent (see Alma 8:16).[1]
Not only were the people wicked, but Alma was told they were
conspiring to “destroy the liberty of the
people.” “Because they sought to
destroy the liberty of the people in the land of Zarahemla, the warning decree
set forth nothing less than their own destruction.”[2]
The [Deuteronomic] law applies when
men have led a city to withdraw from God to serve other gods. Alma explains
that certain men in Ammonihah, the followers of Nehor, had undertaken to
pervert their people, to turn them away from the statutes, judgments, and
commandments of the Lord (see Alma 8:17).[3]
After receiving the message, Alma “returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah.”
Isn’t that interesting, brothers
and sisters? It says, “He returned speedily.” Maybe his earlier
experience with the angel caused him not to tarry or question, but to react
immediately. But I believe he was motivated by love for the Lord and his desire
to be obedient. Alma’s reaction and attitude to this request has been of great
strength to me as I strive to serve the Lord.[4]
He went a different way and entered Ammonihah, entering from
the south. He had been fasting and praying for a time, and when he entered the
city, he was quite hungry. He saw a man
and asked him if he would give “a humble
servant of God something to eat?”
The man (Amulek) responded saying he knew Alma was a holy prophet
of God. He had seen an angel and had a
vision, seeing Alma and being told to receive him into his home. He welcomed Alma, saying “I know thou wilt be a blessing unto me and my house.”
Amulek’s first response was an unusual one. He first responded to Alma by saying, “I am a Nephite.” Why would he identify himself as a
Nephite in a city that was, at the least, under minimal Nephite control?
An odd bit of behavior involving
the younger Alma on his teaching tour seems to alert us to the presence of
"others" at the city of Ammonihah. At that time this was a rather
remote part of the land of Zarahemla in the direction of the west sea and the
narrow neck of land. At first discouraged at the hostile reception he received,
Alma departed, only to be ordered back by an angel (see Alma 8:14–17).
When he returned he asked food of a stranger. This proved to be Amulek, whose
odd reply was, "I am a Nephite" (Alma 8:20). Why would he say that?
Wasn't it obvious? Clearly Amulek had recognized Alma as a Nephite, either by
his speech, his appearance, or perhaps the way he had referred to God when he
opened the conversation. But to what other social or ethnic category might
Amulek have belonged? His abrupt statement makes sense only if most of the
people of the place were not Nephites and also if Amulek's characteristics
did not make it already apparent to Alma that he was a Nephite.[5]
Amulek brought him into his home and provided him a meal. Alma ate until he was full. After the meal, Alma gave thanks and blessed
Amulek and his house.
This practice of offering a blessing and thanks after a meal
appears to us today an unusual practice.
In Judaism, while a brief blessing
is recited before eating, a series of longer blessings, the birkat
ha-mazon, follows the meal. Four blessings come after the consumption of
bread, while separate blessings are offered for other foods, depending on their
nature and origin … The amount that one must eat in order to say “common grace”
for a group of people is discussed in Mishnah Berakhot 7:2–3,
wherein the formula for the blessing varies according to how many are present.
In each case, however, it is the Lord who is blessed. Grace after meals is also
noted in several passages of the Zohar.3
Compare this practice with the wording of Alma 8:22: “And it came to pass
that Alma ate bread and was filled; and he blessed Amulek and his house, and he
gave thanks unto God.” Here, too, the blessing and thanks to God are offered
only after being “filled.”[6]
[1] Reexploring
the Book of Mormon – The Destruction of Ammonihah and the Law of Apostate Cities,
John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 10, 2015.
[2] The
Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon – The Trial of Alma and Amulek, Maxwell
Institute, accessed March 10, 2015.
[3] Echoes
and Evidences of the Book of Mormon – A Steady Stream of Significant
Recognitions, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 10, 2015.
[5] When
Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There? John L.
Sorenson, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 10, 2015.
[6] Pressing
Forward with the Book of Mormon – Blessing God after Eating One's Fill, Maxwell
Institute, accessed March 10, 2015.
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