19 Yea, well did
Mosiah say, who was our last king, when he was about to deliver up the kingdom,
having no one to confer it upon, causing that this people should be governed by
their own voices—yea, well did he say that if the time should come that the
voice of this people should choose iniquity, that is, if the time should come
that this people should fall into transgression, they would be ripe for
destruction.
20 And now I say unto
you that well doth the Lord judge of your iniquities; well doth he cry unto
this people, by the voice of his angels: Repent ye, repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.
21 Yea, well doth he
cry, by the voice of his angels that: I will come down among my people, with
equity and justice in my hands.
22 Yea, and I say unto
you that if it were not for the prayers of the righteous, who are now in the
land, that ye would even now be visited with utter destruction; yet it would
not be by flood, as were the people in the days of Noah, but it would be by
famine, and by pestilence, and the sword.
23 But it is by the
prayers of the righteous that ye are spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out
the righteous from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand; but in his
fierce anger he will come out against you; then ye shall be smitten by famine,
and by pestilence, and by the sword; and the time is soon at hand except ye
repent.
24 And now it came to
pass that the people were more angry with Amulek, and they cried out, saying:
This man doth revile against our laws which are just, and our wise lawyers whom
we have selected.
25 But Amulek
stretched forth his hand, and cried the mightier unto them, saying: O ye wicked
and perverse generation, why hath Satan got such great hold upon your hearts?
Why will ye yield yourselves unto him that he may have power over you, to blind
your eyes, that ye will not understand the words which are spoken, according to
their truth?
26 For behold, have I
testified against your law? Ye do not understand; ye say that I have spoken
against your law; but I have not, but I have spoken in favor of your law, to
your condemnation.
27 And now behold, I
say unto you, that the foundation of the destruction of this people is
beginning to be laid by the unrighteousness of your lawyers and your judges.
28 And now it came to
pass that when Amulek had spoken these words the people cried out against him,
saying: Now we know that this man is a child of the devil, for he hath lied
unto us; for he hath spoken against our law. And now he says that he has not
spoken against it.
29 And again, he has
reviled against our lawyers, and our judges.
30 And it came to pass
that the lawyers put it into their hearts that they should remember these
things against him.
31 And there was one
among them whose name was Zeezrom. Now he was the foremost to accuse Amulek and
Alma, he being one of the most expert among them, having much business to do
among the people.
32 Now the object of
these lawyers was to get gain; and they got gain according to their employ. (Alma
10:19-32)
Amulek continues.
Amulek refers back to the words of King Mosiah, when he
created the chief judgeship, allowing the Nephites to be governed by the voice
of the people. He warned them of the consequences of the voice of the people choosing
iniquity. “And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose
iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea,
then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has
hitherto visited this land” (Mosiah 29:27).
“The Nephites are constantly referring to earlier passages
from their scripture for insight on how they should live (for example, Amulek
in Alma 10: 19 refers to King Mosiah's discussion of leaders and citizens from
Mosiah 29:27; likewise, Alma 9: 13 is one of many instances in which the
Nephites refer back to 2 Nephi 1 :20); not only were the Nephites the ‘original
audience,’ their use of the text shows how quickly the records became canonical
for them.”[1]
The Lord will judge them by their iniquities. The Lord has
cried to this people by the voice of angels, calling them to repent of their
sins.
Were it not for the prayers of the righteous throughout the
land, they would have been visited with destruction by famine, pestilence, and
the sword.
“There are voices
all about us. Some are harsh and raucous, others sweet and penetrating … Rasping
voices proclaiming ‘doctrines of devils,’ saying there is no sin; there is no
devil; there is no God. Saying that we will ‘eat, drink, and be merry’ like the
antediluvians who never believed that the flood would really come.
“Many voices of seducing spirits advocate carnal pleasures
and unrestrained physical satisfactions. Our world is now much the same as it
was in the days of the Nephite prophet who said: ‘… if it were not for the
prayers of the righteous … ye would even now be visited with utter destruction.
…’ (Alma 10:22.) Of course, there are many many upright and faithful who live
all the commandments and whose lives and prayers keep the world from
destruction.”[2]
Should they cast out the righteous, then the Lord will no
longer stay His judgments. They will face His fierce anger and they will be afflicted
by famine, pestilence, and the sword. This will happen soon unless they repent
of their sins.
They became angry with Amulek. He spoke against their “just”
laws and “wise” lawyers they selected. “It is unclear which laws Amulek
supposedly reviled, although it seems likely that the Ammonihahites viewed
Alma’s and Amulek’s ministry as a threat to their community’s right to choose
their own judges. Moreover, they likely took umbrage at Amulek’s declaration
that only the prayers of the righteous, presumably church members, kept the
city of Ammonihah from destruction.”[3]
Amulek broke in and continued preaching to them. Why, he
asked, had they allowed Satan to control them? Why will they yield to him,
allowing him to have power over them and blind their eyes.
“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of
them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is
the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
Why, he asked, do they refuse to understand the words of
truth spoken to them.
Amulek pointed out not only had he not spoken against their
law, he spoke in favor of their law, which will lead to their condemnation.
The foundation for their destruction has already been laid. “And
behold, I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah,
and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say
unto them, except they repent the Lord God will destroy them” (Alma 8:16).
“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
anger, and in his fierce anger he will not turn away” (Alma 9:12).
This foundation was built by their lawyers and judges. Wo
unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against
that which is good, and say that it is of no worth! For the day shall come that
the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day
that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish” (2 Nephi 28:16).
“Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him,
Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.
“And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men
with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with
one of your fingers.
“Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets,
and your fathers killed them.
“Truly ye bear witness that ye allow [GR agree, accord with]
the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their
sepulchres.
“Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them
prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
“That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the
foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
“From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which
perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be
required of this generation.
“Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of
knowledge[4]:
ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered” (Luke
11:45-52).
When Amulek finished, the people were even more angry. They
called him a child of the devil. He lied, claiming he did not speak against
their law when he did. He also reviled their lawyers and judges.
The lawyers were behind this. Mormon tell us, “the lawyers
put it into their hearts that they should remember these things against him”
(Alma 10:30). The lawyers were doing this because they made money when they
were employed by the people.
We meet a lawyer who was “one of the most expert among them,
having much business to do among the people” (Alma 10:31). His name was
Zeezrom.
[1] Scratching
the Surface of Book of Mormon Narratives, Alan Goff, FARMS Review of Books
12/2 (2000): 61.
[2] Voices
of the Past, of the Present, of the Future, President Spencer W. Kimball, April
1971 General Conference.
[3] “And
it came to pass . . .”: The Sociopolitical Events in the Book of Mormon Leading
to the Eighteenth Year of the Reign of the Judges, Dan Belnap, Journal of
Book of Mormon Studies 23 (2014): 115.
[4] “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the
key of knowledge, the fullness of the scriptures; ye enter not in yourselves into
the kingdom; and those who were entering in, ye
hindered” (JST Luke 11:54).
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