Amulek continues to explain it is essential for us to use
this life to repent and obey God’s commandments. “And then shall it come to
pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have
no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil
works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them,
and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer
darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this
because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil. Now
this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of
awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them;
thus they remain in this estate,
as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection”
(Alma 40:13-14).
When we stand before God, we will not be able to repent and
turn to God. The spirit that possess
your body at the time of death will also possess your body in the next. “For sin shall not have dominion over you:
for ye are not under the law, but under grace.[1] What
then? shall we sin, because we are not
under the law, but under grace? God
forbid [GR May it not be!]. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto
death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the
servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which
was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of
righteousness” (Romans 6:14-18).
What does Amulek mean when he says “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?” (Alma
34:34). Concerning this, Nephi wrote,
For the kingdom of the devil must
shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or
the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up
to anger, and perish; For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of
the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good. And
others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will
say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil
cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell. And behold,
others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto
them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears,
until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no
deliverance. Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell,
and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the
throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go
into the place prepared for them, even lake of fire and brimstone, which is
endless torment. (2 Nephi 28:19-23).
Having become subjected to the spirit of the devil, you are
sealed as his.
“And our spirits must have become
like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the
presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto
himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth
himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto
secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness” (2
Nephi 9:9).
“And it came to pass that the
people did still remain in wickedness, notwithstanding the much preaching and
prophesying which was sent among them; and thus passed away the tenth year
also; and the eleventh year also passed away in iniquity” (3 Nephi 2:10).
The Spirit of the Lord has withdrawn as there is no place in
you for His Spirit. You have now
subjected yourself to all the power of the devil.
Traditionally, the spirit which possess you at the time of
your death is your spirit. What every addictions and frailties you have will follow
you into the next life. This
interpretation ignores verse 35. We
learn only one spirit can possess us at a time.
If we allow the devil to possess us, there is no room for the Spirit of
the Lord and we will be cast out for all eternity.
“It is true that some Latter-day Saints have misread Alma
34:34 as meaning that a person's spirit remains the same from the time of death
until the resurrection. But the ‘same spirit which doth possess your bodies’ in
mortality, ‘that same spirit [that] will have power to possess your body in
that eternal world,’ is not the individual's spirit, but, as verse 35 makes
clear, ‘the spirit of the devil,’ to whom the wicked ‘have become subjected.’
who ‘doth seal you his’ and who ‘hath all power over you.’ So we are dealing
here only with those who have rejected God and opted to follow the devil, not
with people who ignorantly sin or who sin but have not rejected God.”[2]
The Lord cannot dwell in holy temples. He dwells in the hearts of the righteous.
King Benjamin said, “And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have
known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go
contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the
Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom's
paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved—I say unto you, that the
man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God;
therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all
righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in
unholy temples” (Mosiah 2:36-37).
Alma said, “And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither
can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of
God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at the
last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness” (Alma 7:21).
Describing the Nephites around 30 B.C., Mormon wrote, “And
they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren, the Lamanites,
and that the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had
withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy
temples” (Helaman 4:24).
The righteous will sit in his kingdom, their garments made
white thorough the blood of Christ. “And the great dragon was cast out, that
old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he
was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard
a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the
kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;
and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:9-11).
Amulek told them to remember his words. They should work out their salvation with
veneration before God. “Wherefore, my
beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it
is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the
midst of a crooked and perverse nation [GR generation], among whom ye shine as
lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the
day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain”
(Philippians 2:12-16).
And, cease to deny the coming of Christ.
No longer oppose the Holy Ghost; receive it.
“Cast me not away from thy
presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me” (Psalms 51:11).
“Quench [GR Extinguish, Hinder,
Suppress] not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
“But, beloved, remember ye the
words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How
that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk
after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual,
having not the Spirit” (Jude 1:17-19).
“And now, I say unto you, my
brethren, that after ye have known and have been taught all these things, if ye
should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do
withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in
you to guide you in wisdom's paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and
preserved” (Mosiah 2:36).
Take on the name of Christ and humble yourselves.
“And under this head ye are made
free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby
salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of
Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be
obedient unto the end of your lives” (Mosiah 5:8).
“Behold, I say unto you, that the
good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which
is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good
shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of
the good shepherd” (Alma 5:38)
Worship God in the spirit of truth and give thanksgiving
daily.
“I will praise the name of God with
a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs”
(Psalms 69:30-31).
“But ye are commanded in all things
to ask of God, who giveth liberally; and that which the Spirit testifies unto
you even so I would that ye should do in all holiness of heart, walking
uprightly before me, considering the end of your salvation, doing all things
with prayer and thanksgiving, that ye may not be seduced by evil spirits, or
doctrines of devils, or the commandments of men; for some are of men, and
others of devils” (D&C 46:7).
Thank the Lord for the mercies and blessing He gives them.
“I am not worthy of the least of
all the mercies [OR I am unworthy of all the mercies], and of all the truth,
which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this
Jordan; and now I am become two bands” (Genesis 32:10).
“And when the Jews heard these
things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom
they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that
they might take it away. But behold, I,
Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all
those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even
unto the power of deliverance” (1 Nephi 1:20).
“And again, to some it is given by
the Holy Ghost to know the differences of administration, as it will be
pleasing unto the same Lord, according as the Lord will, suiting his mercies
according to the conditions of the children of men” (D&C 46:15).
Be watchful and pray continually that you will not be led
astray by the devil. “But exhort one
another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13).
Pray you will not be led away by the temptations of the
devil. He gives you no reward. “And thus we see the end of him who perverteth
the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not support his
children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell” (Alma 30:60)
Amulek closed telling them to have patience in all manner of
afflictions they suffer. Do not despise those
who cast them out because of their poverty.[3] If they do, they will become sinners like
them. Have a firm hope one day they will
obtain a rest from their afflictions.
“Amulek then closed with an admonition similar to Alma’s.
Rather than urge the people to leave Antionum or to rebel against the elite,
Amulek told them to be patient and ‘bear with all manner of afflictions; that ye
do not revile against those who do cast you out because of your exceeding
poverty, lest ye become sinners like unto them; but that ye have patience, and
bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from
all your afflictions’ (Alma 34:40–41).[4]
[1] “For
in
so doing sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the
law, but under grace” (Joseph Smith Translation, Romans 6:14).
[2] “The
Dead Shall Hear the Voice,” John A. Tvedtnes, FARMS Review of Books 10/2
(1998):188-189.
[3] “Therefore
they were not permitted to enter into their synagogues to worship God, being
esteemed as filthiness; therefore they were poor; yea, they were esteemed by
their brethren as dross; therefore they were poor as to things of the world; and
also they were poor in heart” (Alma 32:3).
[4] The
Zoramite Separation: A Sociological Perspective, Sherrie Mills Johnson, Journal
of Book of Mormon Studies 14/1 (2005):84.
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