28 And now behold, my
beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye
have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit
not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those
who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold,
your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do
deny the faith.
29 Therefore, if ye do
not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out,
(it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men.
30 And now, my
brethren, I would that, after ye have received so many witnesses, seeing that
the holy scriptures testify of these things, ye come forth and bring fruit unto
repentance. (Alma 34:28-30)
Amulek continues.
After having given the poor Zoramites a list of things they
must do, he tells them there is more. Should they “turn away the needy, and the
naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if
ye have, to those who stand in need … if ye do not any of these things, behold,
your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do
deny the faith” (Alma 34:28).
“[W]ill you persist in turning your backs upon the poor, and
the needy, and in withholding your substance from them” (Alma 5:55).
“If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren
within any of thy gates [IE cities, towns] in thy land which the Lord thy God
giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy
poor brother:
“But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt
surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth [HEB needs]”
(Deuteronomy 15:7-8).
“He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that
hideth his eyes shall have many a curse” (Proverbs 28:27).
“Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell
that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:
and come and follow me” (Matthew 19:21).
“Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias[1]
prophesy of you, saying,
“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and
honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:7-8).
“For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that
which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall
do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.
“For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.
“For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it
grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the
gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God” (Moroni 7:6-8).
“For the vile person will speak villany [HEB obscenity], and
his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against
the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of
the thirsty to fail” (Isaiah 32:6).
“They profess that they know God; but in works they deny
him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate [unfit,
worthless]” (Titus 1:16).
“After Amulek talked about prayer, he spoke about something
else that is an important element of your conversion—serving others. Otherwise,
he said, ‘your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing.’ In other words, to be
converted, you must not only open your heart to a knowledge of the gospel and
the love of God, you must practice the gospel law. You cannot fully understand
or appreciate it unless you personally apply it in your life. Jesus said that
He came to serve, not to be served. Christ told Peter that when he was
converted, he should strengthen his brethren. So it must be with you. You must
look outward and care about others. You can be compassionate; you can be
friendly; you can share; you can help others in a hundred small ways. As you
do, the gospel of Jesus Christ will become a part of you.”[2]
“When we fast, brethren and sisters, we feel hunger. And for
a short time, we literally put ourselves in the position of the hungry and the
needy. As we do so, we have greater understanding of the deprivations they
might feel. When we give to the bishop an offering to relieve the suffering of
others, we not only do something sublime for others, but we do something
wonderful for ourselves as well. King Benjamin taught that as we give of our
substance to the poor, we retain ‘a remission of [our] sins from day to day.’”[3]
If we don’t have charity, we “are as dross, which the
refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men”
(Alma 34:29).
“And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in
need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that
standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his
petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
“Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself
his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my
food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his
punishments are just—
“But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same
hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done
he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God” (Mosiah
4:16-18).
“It is interesting that Amulek instructed
the oppressed poor to care for the needy. This seems to be a warning that they
should not begin a new community (as was done before) that would merely change
who the elite were. Rather, they were to always care for anyone in need, thus
counteracting effects of a stratified society that marginalized segments of the
population. Amulek then explained, ‘If ye do not remember to be charitable, ye
are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden
under foot of men’ (Alma 34:29).”[4]
Amulek reminded them they had received many witnesses to
gospel truths.
Witnesses are an essential part of the gospel. The Savior’s
last words before ascending to heaven after His resurrection emphasized the
importance of witnesses. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost
is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
When the apostles met to replace Judas, Peter made it clear
the replacement must be a witness to Christ and His ministry. “Beginning from
the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one
be ordained to be a witness [GR must become a witness] with us of his resurrection”
(Acts 1:22).
Through the witness they received, they were to “bring fruit
unto repentance” (Alma 34:30). “Bring forth therefore fruits meet [GR appropriate
to, worthy of] for repentance” (Matthew 3:8).
“And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble
yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, that ye may
also enter into that rest” (Alma 13:13).
[1] “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people
draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have
removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me [OR regard, reverence
for me] is taught by the precept of men” (Isaiah 29:13).
[2] When
Thou Art Converted, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, April 2004 General
Conference.
[3] The
Law of the Fast, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, April 2001 General Conference.
[4] The
Zoramite Separation: A Sociological Perspective, Sherrie Mills Johnson,
Maxwell Institute website.
No comments:
Post a Comment