21 Now there was a
strict law among the people of the church, that there should not any man,
belonging to the church, arise and persecute those that did not belong to the
church, and that there should be no persecution among themselves.
22 Nevertheless, there
were many among them who began to be proud, and began to contend warmly with
their adversaries, even unto blows; yea, they would smite one another with
their fists.
23 Now this was in the
second year of the reign of Alma, and it was a cause of much affliction to the
church; yea, it was the cause of much trial with the church.
24 For the hearts of
many were hardened, and their names were blotted out, that they were remembered
no more among the people of God. And also many withdrew themselves from among them.
25 Now this was a
great trial to those that did stand fast in the faith; nevertheless, they were
steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of God, and they bore with
patience the persecution which was heaped upon them.
The people of the church believed no one belonging to the
church should persecute those who did not belong, nor should there be any
persecution among themselves. Unfortunately, there were some church members who
became a proud people. It’s important to remember, when the Book of Mormon uses
the term “pride,” it is never considered positive. In fact, we will see how
whenever the Nephites became a “proud” people, this led to problems in society.
It would also lead to their destruction.
The great and spacious building in Lehi’s tree of life
vision represents pride. “And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that
the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and
the fall thereof was exceedingly great” (1 Nephi 11:36). “And the large
and spacious building, which thy father saw, is vain imaginations and the pride
of the children of men” (1 Nephi 12:18).
“O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed
up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and
all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo,
wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to
hell” (2 Nephi 28:15).
“O that [God] would rid you from
this iniquity and abomination. And, O that ye would listen unto the word of his
commands, and let not this pride of your hearts destroy your souls” (Jacob 2:16).
“When the Nephites were defeated
by the Lamanites, Mormon explains, “And it was because of the pride of their
hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their
oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding
their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the
cheek, making a mock of that which was sacred, denying the spirit of prophecy
and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery,
rising up in great contentions, and deserting away into the land of Nephi,
among the Lamanites—
“And because of this their great
wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their
own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten,
and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all
their lands” (Helaman 4:13).
Mormon would make it clear pride
led to the destruction of the Nephites. “Behold, my son, I will write unto you
again if I go not out soon against the Lamanites. Behold, the pride of this
nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction…” (Moroni
8:27)/
Moroni wrote to us today, warning
us of the consequences of pride.
“Behold, I speak unto you as if ye
were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto
me, and I know your doing.
“And I know that ye do walk in the
pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift
themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine
apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all
manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become
polluted because of the pride of your hearts” (Mormon 8:35-36).
The pride led to contention among church members. Not only did
they disagree, but they came to blows with those with those whom they
disagreed.
“In the Book of Mormon, material wealth is frequently, but
not universally, connected with prospering. Consistent with the covenant of the
promised land, when wealth is a means to aid the poor, free the oppressed,
comfort the disadvantaged, or strengthen the church—it is a prime virtue.
However, as a means of oppression, a source of social stratification, a symptom
of pride and materialism, or an end in itself, wealth is a great evil. As a
prime example of the corrupting potential of wealth,
"priestcraft"—that is, religious activities for the purpose of ‘getting
gain’—is a particularly reprehensible evil among the Nephites.[1]
These problems occurred two years after Alma became the
chief judge. These problems caused afflictions and trails within the church.
Many wouldn’t repent and the were excommunicated. This is how the Lord had handled
apostasy in the past. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned
against me, him will I blot out of my book” (Exodus 32:33).
“Now I say unto you, Go; and whosoever will not repent of
his sins the same shall not be numbered among my people; and this shall be
observed from this time forward…
“And those that would not confess their sins and repent of
their iniquity, the same were not numbered among the people of the church, and
their names were blotted out” (Mosiah 26:32, 36).
“And it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to the
church that did not repent of their wickedness and humble themselves before
God—I mean those who were lifted up in the pride of their hearts—the same were
rejected, and their names were blotted out, that their names were not numbered
among those of the righteous” (Alma 6:3).
Others voluntarily left the church. “And there were many in
the church who believed in the flattering words of Amalickiah, therefore they
dissented even from the church; and thus were the affairs of the people of
Nephi exceedingly precarious and dangerous, notwithstanding their great victory
which they had had over the Lamanites, and their great rejoicings which they
had had because of their deliverance by the hand of the Lord” (Alma 46:7).
The persecution was a trail for those who kept their faith. “[N]evertheless,
they were steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of God, and they
bore with patience the persecution which was heaped upon them” (Alma 1:25).
No comments:
Post a Comment