They had asked, what can we do as we are cast out of the
synagogue? How can we worship God? Alma asked if they believed they could only
worship in their synagogues? Do they
believe they only have to worship once per week?[1]
Their being cast out of their synagogues was a good thing as
it made them humble. Through their
humility, they were ready to learn wisdom.[2] They had been brought to their humility
through their treatment.
The scripture makes it clear to be in tune with the Spirit
and serve the Lord, we must be humble.
It is through our humility we serve the Lord. It is best we become humble before the Lord
on our own. Others have humility forced upon them. Those who humble themselves voluntarily a
more blessed than those who are compelled to be humbled.[3]
Since it was the clothing of the
poor that caused them to be cast out of the synagogues, Alma was proclaiming
that the coarseness of their clothing had compelled them to be humble and was
therefore directly connected to their blessed state. Ironically, by the end of
the story the rich Zoramites would be placed in a similar position to the poor,
having been compelled to be humble through their defeat in battle. However,
unlike the positive example of the poor Zoramites, the narrative never shows
the rich seeking repentance because of that compulsion. These literary ironies are
once again made possible through the contrast in appearance of the poorly and
richly dressed Zoramites.[4]
Now they are humble, they should seek to repent. If they repent, they will find mercy. If they but endure to the end, they will be
saved. Speaking to his son, Shiblon, he
would tell him, “And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you,
because of your steadiness and your faithfulness unto God; for as you have
commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you
will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that endureth to
the end” (Alma 38:2).
By taking Jesus’ yoke upon us and
enduring, we learn most deeply of Him and especially how to be like Him. (See Matt.
11:29.) Even though our experiences are micro compared to His, the process is
the same.
There are so many things to be
endured: illness, injustice, insensitivity, poverty, aloneness,
unresponsiveness, being misrepresented and misunderstood, and, sometimes, even
enemies. Paul reminds us that meek and lowly Jesus, though the Lord of the
universe, “endured contradiction of sinners against himself.” (Heb. 12:3.)
Smaller variations of these contradictions or hostilities will be felt by His
disciples.
We tend to think only in terms of
our endurance, but it is God’s patient long-suffering which provides us with
our chances to improve, affording us urgently needed developmental space or
time. (See Alma 42:4–5.)
Paul observed, “Now no chastening
for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness.” (Heb. 12:11.) Such “peaceable
fruit” comes only in the appointed season thereof, after the blossoms and the
buds.
Otherwise, if certain mortal
experiences were cut short, it would be like pulling up a flower to see how the
roots are doing. Put another way, too many anxious openings of the oven door,
and the cake falls instead of rising. Moreover, enforced change usually does
not last, while productive enduring can ingrain permanent change. (See Alma
32:13–16.)…
[T]rue enduring represents not
merely the passage of time, but the passage of the soul—and not merely from A
to B, but sometimes all the way from A to Z. To endure in faith and doeth God’s
will. (See D&C 63:20; D&C 101:35) therefore involves much
more than putting up with a circumstance. Rather than shoulder-shrugging, true
enduring is soul-trembling. Jesus bled not at a few, but “at every pore.” (D&C
19:18.)[5]
During His ministry to the Nephites, the Savior would tell
them, “Behold, I am the law, and the light.
Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him
that endureth to the end will I give eternal life” (3 Nephi 15:9). “And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth
to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day” (3 Nephi 27:6).
“Alma had emphasized inward
evidences that come by experimenting upon the word of Christ rather than on
outward indications of elect status before God. These inward evidences—made
available through humility and faith (Alma 32:16, 27)—include knowledge
(32:34), feelings of enlightenment (32:34), expansion (32:34), light (32:35),
growth (32:41), and sweetness (32:42).[6]
[1] “And
there was one day in every week that was set apart that they should gather
themselves together to teach the people, and to worship the Lord their God, and
also, as often as it was in their power, to assemble themselves together” (Mosiah
18:25).
[2] “Better
is a little with righteousness than
great revenues without right” (Proverbs 16:8).
“The rich man is
wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out”
(Proverbs 28:11).
[4] The
Zoramites and Costly Apparel: Symbolism and Irony, Parrish Brady and Shon
Hopkin, Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 22/1
(2013): 45.
[5] “Endure
It Well,” Elder Neal A. Maxwell, April 1990 General Conference.
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