6 And it came to pass
that Zeezrom was astonished at the words which had been spoken; and he also
knew concerning the blindness of the minds, which he had caused among the
people by his lying words; and his soul began to be harrowed up under a consciousness
of his own guilt; yea, he began to be encircled about by the pains of hell.
7 And it came to pass
that he began to cry unto the people, saying: Behold, I am guilty, and these
men are spotless before God. And he
began to plead for them from that time forth; but they reviled him, saying: Art
thou also possessed with the devil? And
they spit upon him, and cast him out from among them, and also all those who believed
in the words which had been spoken by Alma and Amulek; and they cast them out,
and sent men to cast stones at them.
8 And they brought
their wives and children together, and whosoever believed or had been taught to
believe in the word of God they caused that they should be cast into the fire;
and they also brought forth their records which contained the holy scriptures,
and cast them into the fire also, that they might be burned and destroyed by
fire.
9 And it came to pass
that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried them forth to the place of martyrdom,
that they might witness the destruction of those who were consumed by fire.
10 And when Amulek saw
the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was
pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and
exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.
11 But Alma said unto
him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for
behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer
that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them,
according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall
exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent
shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at
the last day.
12 Now Amulek said
unto Alma: Behold, perhaps they will burn us also.
13 And Alma said: Be it
according to the will of the Lord. But,
behold, our work is not finished; therefore they burn us not.
Alma 14:6-13
Earlier in this chapter, we learned many were converted and
accepted Alma’s words. We now learn of a
surprising convert. Zeezrom, who did all
he could to destroy Alma, begins to realize what he’s done.
He realized how effective his lies had been. He realized he had caused blindness in those
who listened to him. Jacob’s words
described Zeezrom. “Wo unto the blind
that will not see; for they shall perish also” (2 Nephi 9:32). He was like
the Pharisees who confronted Christ asking Him if they were blind. “And
Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not
might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the
Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we
blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but
now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth” (John 9:39-41).
We saw the blind (Zeezrom) is lead the blind (those who
opposed Alma. [1] “Let
them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind.
And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew
15:14).
His guilt was overwhelming.
He was suffering the pains of hill.
Zeezrom could not sit by silently, watching what was happening. He went out among the people, telling them he
was the guilty party, not Alma and Amulek.
Did the people listen? After all, he was a prominent member of
Ammonihahite society.
Nope. They accused
him of being possessed by a devil. They spit on him and cast him out. Then, they cast out the men who believed in
the words of Alma and Amulek and stoned them.
It wasn’t enough for the evil leaders to cast out the
men. They had to take it to the ultimate
vile step. They took the wives and children of the believers, as well as their
scriptures and murdered them by casting them into fire.
More detail about the male martyrs
cast out and stoned in Alma 14:7–8, rather than on the suffering of their
wives and children in verses 8–9, would have created more admiration for the
men and would have avoided expressions of concern for the women and children.
The tone of the above passages, coupled with [Mormon’s] overt denunciation of
wrongs against women and children, suggests that Nephi, Jacob, Mormon, Alma,
and Moroni felt the same empathy that contemporary readers feel for those women
and children.[2]
Today we see this ultimate evil existing in our world
today. We see so-called “religious”
warriors brutally murdering men and women for nothing more than the fact they don’t
accept their perverted definition of the word of God. Nothing can justify these actions, then or
now. The people doing this have allowed
themselves to become possessed by the spirit of the devil and serve him. Amulek
makes it clear the spirit which possess us in life will also possess at the
final judgment.[3] The
blood of the innocents murdered both then and now will cry unto the Lord for
justice. And, they will receive it.
We also get insight into the composition of the Nephite
scriptures. It is obvious having plates
for the scriptural record was a way to ensure a copy would endure. The Ammonihahites burned the scriptures. This implies the everyday scriptures were not
as enduring as the plates.
The record obtained by Joseph Smith
was engraved on thin metal plates having "the appearance of gold."
However, using such an expensive material to ensure the permanency of a record
was exceptional for the Nephites, not the norm. Jacob 4:2 acknowledges that
"whatsoever things we write upon anything save it be upon plates must
perish and vanish away; but we can write a few words upon
plates. . . ." This is an oblique acknowledgment that the
majority of their writing was on perishable materials. Note that when those who
believed the preaching of Alma2 were being persecuted by the
people of the city of Ammonihah, "they also brought forth their records
which contained the holy scriptures, and cast them into the fire also, that
they might be burned and destroyed by fire" (Alma 14:8).[4]
Those responsible for this horror were not just satisfied
with performing the act, they forced Alma and Amulek to witness this
martyrdom. The ultimate irony for the
Ammonihahites was they were sealing their fate by having Alma and Amulek
witness the event.
The law required officers to
investigate the situation thoroughly, to inquire, 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 the
inhabitants the necessary warning that they would be destroyed if they did not
repent (see Alma 8:16). Then, acting as the two required eyewitnesses (see
Deuteronomy 17:6), Alma and Amulek stood and witnessed the abominable scene of
the burning of the faithful, innocent wives and children of their followers
(see Alma 14:9). This was a revolting experience, but it completed the case
against the city and sealed its fate (see Alma 14:11).[5]
Though those martyred suffered, they received the ultimate
promise from the Lord. “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and
he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:39).[6] They
entered into Christ’s presence for all eternity. “For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment
may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are
lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the
Lord their God” (Alma 60:13).
Cease
from anger,
and forsake wrath:
fret
not thyself in any wise to do evil.
For
evildoers
shall be cut off:
but
those that wait upon the LORD,
they shall inherit the earth.
For
yet a little while,
and
the wicked shall not be:
yea, thou shalt diligently consider his
place,
and it shall not be.
But
the meek shall inherit the earth;
and shall delight themselves
in the abundance of peace.
The
wicked plotteth
against the just,
and
gnasheth upon him
with his teeth.
The
Lord shall laugh at him:
for he seeth that his day is coming.
Psalms 37:8-13
This event has bothered me for a long time. Even though there is an explanation that the
acts committed by the wicked will stand against them at the last day. I had never found that answer satisfactory.
I spent time researching and praying about this. I finally found my answer. One of the essential principles of the gospel
is free agency. God will not take that
away from us.[7] As painful as it is for us, as well as the
Lord, to see this suffering, He cannot take choice away from the wicked as He
gave it to them as well as the righteous.
In the eternities all will be made well.
Alma had to watch this happen. The Lord forbade him to do anything to stop
this. Those who died entered into His
glory. The wicked perform their evil so
their acts will testify against them in the last days.
Amulek turned to Alma and said they may burn us as
well. Alma responded their work was not
finished, so they would not be burned; however, whatever the Lord wills.
[1] “And this Zeezrom began to question Amulek,
saying: Will ye answer me a few questions which I shall ask you? Now Zeezrom was a man who was expert in the devices
of the devil, that he might destroy that which was good; therefore, he said
unto Amulek: Will ye answer the questions which I shall put unto you?” (Alma
11:21).
[2] Women
In the Book of Mormon: Inclusion, Exclusion, and Interpretation, Camille S.
Williams, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 1, 2015.
[3] “Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that
awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit
which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that
same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. For
behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death,
behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal
you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no
place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final
state of the wicked. And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth
not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell; yea,
and he has also said that the righteous shall sit down in his kingdom, to go no
more out; but their garments should be made white through the blood of the Lamb”
(Alma 34:34-36).
[4] The
Book of Mormon as a Mesoamerican Record, John L. Sorenson, Maxwell
Institute, accessed May 1, 2015.
[5] Echoes
and Evidences of the Book of Mormon – A Steady Stream of Significant
Recognitions, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 1, 2015.
[6] “He that
findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake
shall find it” (JST Matthew 10:34).
[7]
This was the cause of the war in heaven.
Christ wanted to give us our free agency; the devil wanted to take our
free agency. He was rejected.
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