Just a note. The next evenings I have Parent/Teacher’s Conference. My next post will be on Thursday.
18 Now it came to pass that after Alma had received his message from the angel of the Lord he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah. And he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the south of the city of Ammonihah.
19 And as he entered the city he was an hungered, and he said to a man: Will ye give to an humble servant of God something to eat?
20 And the man said unto him: I am a Nephite, and I know that thou art a holy prophet of God, for thou art the man whom an angel said in a vision: Thou shalt receive. Therefore, go with me into my house and I will impart unto thee of my food; and I know that thou wilt be a blessing unto me and my house.
21 And it came to pass that the man received him into his house; and the man was called Amulek; and he brought forth bread and meat and set before Alma.
22 And it came to pass that Alma ate bread and was filled; and he blessed Amulek and his house, and he gave thanks unto God.
Alma 8:18-22 (Emphasis mine)
After receiving the message from the angel, Alma(2) returned to Ammonihah posthaste. He entered the city a different way than he did before.
He was hungry from his journey. In Ammonihah, he saw a man and asked him to feed a humble servant of God. The man responded that he knew he was a holy prophet because he had received a vision telling him about Alma(2)’s arrival. Amulek took him and gave him a meal.
Alma(2) responded to this generosity by blessing Amulek and his house while giving thanks to God.
There is a Book of Mormon question that has been around for decades. That question is: “Were there other people in the Americas when Lehi’s party arrived.” Current thinking is that there were people throughout the lands.
Verse 20 is used to help resolve this issue. John L. Sorenson writes:
“An odd bit of behavior involving the younger Alma on his teaching tour seems to alert us to the presence of ‘others’ at the city of Ammonihah. At that time this was a rather remote part of the land of Zarahemla in the direction of the west sea and the narrow neck of land. At first discouraged at the hostile reception he received, Alma departed, only to be ordered back by an angel (see Alma 8:14–17). When he returned he asked food of a stranger. This proved to be Amulek, whose odd reply was, ‘I am a Nephite’ (Alma 8:20). Why would he say that? Wasn't it obvious? Clearly Amulek had recognized Alma as a Nephite, either by his speech, his appearance, or perhaps the way he had referred to God when he opened the conversation. But to what other social or ethnic category might Amulek have belonged? His abrupt statement makes sense only if most of the people of the place were not Nephites and also if Amulek's characteristics did not make it already apparent to Alma that he was a Nephite.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
Matthew Roper and John L. Sorenson further explain:
“Other statements in the Book of Mormon also indicate that the writers were familiar with, rather than surprised by, the idea of non-Israelites living among the Nephites. The only example we will cite is when Alma visited the city of Ammonihah and Amulek introduced himself with the words, ‘I am a Nephite’ (Alma 8:20). Since the city was nominally under Nephite rule (see Alma 8:11–12, 24) and was a part of the land of Zarahemla at the time, Amulek's statement seems nonsensical, unless many, perhaps most, of the people in the land of Ammonihah did not consider themselves to be Nephites, by whatever criteria.” [2] (Emphasis mine)
If you read recent scholarly publications about the Book of Mormon, you would find that most scholars accept as fact that there were peoples and societies here in the Americas at the time Lehi and his family arrived in the New World.
23 And after he had eaten and was filled he said unto Amulek: I am Alma, and am the high priest over the church of God throughout the land.
24 And behold, I have been called to preach the word of God among all this people, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy; and I was in this land and they would not receive me, but they cast me out and I was about to set my back towards this land forever.
25 But behold, I have been commanded that I should turn again and prophesy unto this people, yea, and to testify against them concerning their iniquities.
26 And now, Amulek, because thou hast fed me and taken me in, thou art blessed; for I was an hungered, for I had fasted many days.
Alma 8:23-26 (Emphasis mine)
After eating, Alma(2) introduced himself and explained his mission to Amulek. He told him about his calling, how he was rejected but later commanded to return. Before returning, he had fasted many days, no doubt to get closer to God and be more prepared to preach to the people. He blessed Amulek for providing for him.
Bishop Victor L. Brown talked about the power of Alma(2)’s fast.
“Consider the great lesson of fasting taught by Alma, who gave up the judgment seat to do the Lord’s work. After great spiritual success in various cities, Alma traveled to the city of Ammonihah … Alma labored much in the spirit and wrestled with God in mighty prayer. Nevertheless, the people reviled him, spit upon him, and cast him out of their city.
“As he was traveling away from the city, Alma was met by an angel of the Lord, who directed him to return again to Ammonihah to call upon the people to repent. Alma followed the angel’s instructions. He reports that this time he fasted many days before re-entering the city.
“His fasting was almost immediately rewarded. He found that righteous forces had been at work, preparing the way before him. When he entered the city again, he met a man, apparently a stranger, of whom he asked, ‘Will ye give to an humble servant of God something to eat?’ The stranger’s response was, ‘I know that thou art a holy prophet of God, for thou art the man whom an angel said in a vision: Thou shalt receive. Therefore, go with me into my house and I will impart unto thee of my food.’
“This was Amulek, who had been specially prepared to receive a prophet of God and who would share in his work. As a result of his fast, Alma was assured by the Lord through the witness of Amulek that heavenly forces were prospering his efforts, and he was filled with the spirit of the Lord’s work. Alma ended his fast, and then he and Amulek did a marvelous work which resulted in the righteous being called out of Ammonihah. The remainder of the city, being left without excuse, was found in the full ripeness of iniquity and destroyed.” [3] (Emphasis mine)
[1] When Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There? John L. Sorenson, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 10, 2011.
[2] Before DNA, Matthew Roper, and John L. Sorenson, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 10, 2011.
[3] A Vision of the Law of the Fast, Bishop Victor L. Brown, October 1977 General Conference.
