11 Yea, and if it had
not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his long-suffering towards
us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long
before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of endless misery
and woe.
12 Behold, now I say
unto you that he commandeth you to repent; and except ye repent, ye can in
nowise inherit the kingdom of God. But
behold, this is not all—he has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly
destroy you from off the face of the earth; yea, he will visit you in his banger,
and in his fierce anger he will not turn away.
13 Behold, do ye not
remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: Inasmuch as ye shall
keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye
will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the
Lord.
14 Now I would that ye
should remember, that inasmuch as the Lamanites have not kept the commandments
of God, they have been cut off from the presence of the Lord. Now we see that the word of the Lord has been
verified in this thing, and the Lamanites have been cut off from his presence,
from the beginning of their transgressions in the land.
15 Nevertheless I say
unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for them in the day of judgment than
for you, if ye remain in your sins, yea, and even more tolerable for them in
this life than for you, except ye repent.
16 For there are many
promises which are extended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the traditions
of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance;
therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existence in
the land.
17 And at some period
of time they will be brought to believe in his word, and to know of the
incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be
saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name.
Alma 9:11-19
Continuing speaking to the Ammonihahites, Alma reminds us
were it not for the Lord’s power, mercy, and long suffering, we would have been
cut off. One of the characteristics of
the Lord is long suffering. We read,
“But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith” (Galatians 5:22).
“The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
“Wherefore,
beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found
of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account [GR count, regard]
that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother
Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you” (2
Peter 3:14-15).
“I
say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his
matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering
towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared
from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that
should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his
commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean
the life of the mortal body” (Mosiah 4:6).
Should we be cutoff, with will face “endless misery and woe.” Abinadi made the same point clearly. “If
they be good, to the resurrection of endless life and happiness; and if they be
evil, to the resurrection of endless damnation, being delivered up to the
devil, who hath subjected them, which is damnation” (Mosiah 16:11).
Alma told them the Lord commanded that they repent. Should they not repent, they will not inherit
the kingdom of God. Not only will they
be cut off, they will be “utterly
destroy[ed] from off the face of the earth.”[1]
The Lord will visit them in “his
fierce anger.”
The use of the term “utter destruction” has an interesting
scriptural history.
Because their hearts were grossly
hardened, the people of Ammonihah were condemned several times by Alma to “utter
destruction” (Alma 9:12, 18, 24; 10:18, 22). Alma specifically prophesied that “the
Lamanites shall be sent” to bring about that utter destruction (Alma 9:18). The
words “utter destruction,” “utterly destroy,” and similar phrases appear almost
exclusively in scripture in the Old Testament and in the Book of Mormon. This
expression may have had legal connotations. Its main occurrences in the
Pentateuch refer to the prescribed annihilation of the Canaanite cities during
the Israelite conquest (Numbers 21:2; Deuteronomy 7:2; 12:2; 20:17), and in the
historical and prophetic books it is often associated with destroying
idolaters, notably the heinous Amalekites (1 Samuel 15; Isaiah 2:18).[2]
He referred back to Lehi’s words, reminding them of the
Lord’s promises and warnings.[3] Alma reminded them of the fate of the
Lamanites. They refused to listen to the
Lords word and were cut off from his presence.[4] This occurred at the beginning of the Nephite
history, after Lehi’s party landed in the new world.
After telling them the consequences faced by the first
generation of Lamanites, Alma then says “it
shall be more tolerable for them in the day of judgment.” The Lamanite rejection is done based on
the traditions of their father. This,
and this alone, is responsible for their hatred of the Nephites.
The source of Lamanite failings was
not their natures but their tradition. Alma said it was “the traditions of
their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance” (Alma
9:16). The Lamanites understood their national past erroneously, and so
misconstrued their national purpose. Their history taught them that they had
been wronged and that it was their destiny to right that wrong through
relentless war on the Nephites. The incorrect tradition of their fathers was
the cause of the misspent effort, the untold suffering, and the rivers of
blood. The moral of the Lamanite story has nothing to do with their depravity
but with the terrible consequences of misunderstanding the past.[5]
In short, the Lamanites sin in ignorance. The Savior during His ministry warned the
Jews of the consequences of their rejection of Him, based on their
knowledge. “But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at
the day of judgment, than for you … But I say unto you, That it shall be more
tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee”
(Matthew 11:22, 24).
“Typically, when the scriptures allude to ‘the traditions of
men’ or ‘the traditions of the fathers,’ they are speaking negatively about the
false notions that hinder people from recognizing and accepting the truth.”[6]
Critics of the Book of Mormon claim it is a racist document
because the curse upon the Lamanites was a dark skin. Once again, we see the critics either don’t
understand the Book of Mormon, or intentionally twist it to support their
claims.
What was the curse placed on the Lamanites? Mormon explains the curse clearly. “Thus
they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, and the curse
of God had fallen upon them because of the traditions of their fathers;
notwithstanding the promises of the Lord were extended unto them on the
conditions of repentance” (Alma 17:15).
There is no mention of a dark skin as the curse. There was a simple reason for the dark
skin. “And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed
of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that
they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their
destruction” (Alma 3:8).
It was usually the case Nephite dissidents would align
themselves with the Lamanites and fight the Nephites. An example of a Nephite dissident aligning
with the Lamanites is Amalakiah (his story beings in Alma 46).
But what about the eternal state of the Lamanites? Nephi was very clear, explaining how the Lord
would treat the Lamanites.
“For
the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not
the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death
and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless
torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the
Holy One of Israel” (2 Nephi 9:26).
“For
behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the
transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning
them, or who have ignorantly sinned” (Mosiah 3:11).
So, we see that the Lamanites are in a different category
than the Nephites. They sin in ignorance
while the Nephites knowingly reject the Lord and His commandments. Skin color has nothing to do with anything of
an eternal nature.[7]
[1] The
“utter destruction” of the city had been prophesied by Alma the Younger, former
chief judge of the country (see Alma 9:12, 18, 24; cf. Alma 10:18, 22).
The complete ruin was so devastating that the date is repeated twice in
introducing the account (see Alma 16:1). Evidently, it was a date remembered
for decades afterward. (Marriage
and Treaty in the Book of Mormon: The
Case of the Abducted Lamanite Daughters, S. Kent Brown, Maxwell Institute,
accessed March 17, 2015.)
[2] The
Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon – The Trial of Alma and Amulek, Maxwell
Institute, accessed March 17, 2015.
[3] “And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall
keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not
keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence” (2 Nephi 1:20).
[4] “Wherefore, the word of the Lord was
fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they will not
hearken unto thy words they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And
behold, they were cut off from his presence” (2 Nephi 5:20).
[5] The
Lamanite View of Book of Mormon History, Richard L. Bushman, Maxwell
Institute, accessed March 17, 2015.
[6] Traditions
of the Fathers, Daniel C. Peterson, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 17,
2015.
[7] In
fact, there are times when the Lamanites are held up as a good example. For example, see Jacob 2.
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