Alma 10:1-11

Chapter 10

Lehi descended from Manasseh—Amulek recounts the angelic command that he care for Alma—The prayers of the righteous cause the people to be spared—Unrighteous lawyers and judges lay the foundation of the destruction of the people. About 82 B.C.

1  NOW these are the words which Amulek preached unto the people who were in the land of Ammonihah, saying:

2  I am Amulek; I am the son of Giddonah, who was the son of Ishmael, who was a descendant of Aminadi; and it was the same Aminadi who interpreted the writing which was upon the wall of the temple, which was written by the finger of God.

3  And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the land of Jerusalem, who was a descendant of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren.

4  And behold, I am also a man of no small reputation among all those who know me; yea, and behold, I have many kindreds and friends, and I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry.

Alma 10:1-4 (Emphasis mine)

Amulek next began speaking to the people.

He begins by identifying himself and his descent.  He is a descendent of Lehi and of Manasseh, don of Joseph.

He is a well-known man.  He is relying on his reputation and success in life in Ammonihah as making his words more credible.

We are introduced, briefly, to a Book of Mormon prophet, Aminadi.  The finger of God wrote a message on the wall of a temple.  Aminadi interpreted the writing.  Was this a part of the lost 116 pages?  I tend to think it was.  My thinking is that if Mormon included a reference to Aminadi, he did so because he was a part of the abridgement.

Hugh Nibley made some observations about Amulek.

“So then Amulek stood forth and began to preach to them. Amulek introduced himself, and he is a very striking character. These vignettes, these character sketches in the Book of Mormon, are very clearly marked. He was the most respected citizen you could possibly imagine. He was a blueblood. Alma 10:2: ‘I am Amulek …  a descendant of Aminadi, . . . and Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi.’  He was proud of his genealogy. And here we have an extremely important genealogical note. Lehi was a descendant of Manasseh, who was half Egyptian … He had been a successful businessman, and made himself very rich. He had been very successful and very respected. He was la creme de la creme.” [1] (Emphasis mine)

5  Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his mysteries and marvelous power.  I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation of the lives of this people.

6  Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges.

7  As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a chosen man of God; for he has fasted many days because of the sins of this people, and he is an hungered, and thou shalt receive him into thy house and feed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the blessing of the Lord shall rest upon thee and thy house.

8  And it came to pass that I obeyed the voice of the angel, and returned towards my house.  And as I was going thither I found the man whom the angel said unto me: Thou shalt receive into thy house—and behold it was this same man who has been speaking unto you concerning the things of God.

9  And the angel said unto me he is a holy man; wherefore I know he is a holy man because it was said by an angel of God.

10  And again, I know that the things whereof he hath testified are true; for behold I say unto you, that as the Lord liveth, even so has he sent his angel to make these things manifest unto me; and this he has done while this Alma hath dwelt at my house.

11  For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake.

Alma 10:5-11 (Emphasis mine)

Amulek confesses to the people that he had been called many times by the Lord, but he had hardened his heart and did not hear the calling.  It was only when an angel of the Lord came to him, and told him about Alma(2), that he began to understand his calling. 

He then testifies both of Alma(2)’s calling as a holy man and his words.  Now the people no longer have the word of only one person.  They have the testimony of two; one of the two was known by the people.

In verse 11, we have a reference to how the people lived.  We see an entire family unit together in one home.  Brant Gardner explains that there is archeological evidence to show that this type of a dwelling was not unusual in Mesoamerica.

“Mesoamerican dwellings were basically compounds for multiple family units. How well does this archaeological feature fit with the rare Book of Mormon descriptions of dwelling units? We find the following in Alma: ‘For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake’ (Alma 10:11). When Amulek describes Alma's blessing, he paints a picture of how Amulek perceives his kin connections. These descriptions fit the general picture of Mesoamerican households…

“The first term Amulek uses is ‘my house.’ For kin-based societies, this typically is as real as it is symbolic of the family. Kin-based societies frequently live in compounds. Excellent documents allow anthropologists to visualize some Aztec households close to the time of the Conquest. … One account from 1580 indicates that houses typically contained six or seven married couples besides unmarried youth.

“The archaeological discovery of living areas that clearly contain multiple buildings led archaeologists to the conclusion that such an area was a family compound, which is a very common feature of the archaeological sites of the Maya area dating to the Book of Mormon time period … Amulek may plausibly have lived in a typical Mesoamerican household compound … When Amulek speaks first of Alma blessing his ‘house’ and then lists specific groups, we are justified in assuming that these are people who are living in the same ‘house,’ which would mean the entire dwelling area, not a single structure.” [2]      (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Lecture 47: Alma 5-10. Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 18, 2011.

[2] Behind the Mask, Behind the Curtain: Uncovering the Illusion, Brant Gardner, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 18, 2011.

Alma 8:11-17

11  Nevertheless, they hardened their hearts, saying unto him: Behold, we know that thou art Alma; and we know that thou art high priest over the church which thou hast established in many parts of the land, according to your tradition; and we are not of thy church, and we do not believe in such foolish traditions.

12  And now we know that because we are not of thy church we know that thou hast no power over us; and thou hast delivered up the judgment–seat unto Nephihah; therefore thou art not the chief judge over us.

13  Now when the people had said this, and withstood all his words, and reviled him, and spit upon him, and caused that he should be cast out of their city, he departed thence and took his journey towards the city which was called Aaron.

Alma 8:11-13 (Emphasis mine)

As Alma(2) preached to them, he got quite a response from the people.  We know you, Alma(2).  We don’t believe in your “foolish traditions.”  Not only that, you’re not the chief judge anymore.  You have no power over us.  We can do whatever we please, within the law.

So, they abused him (both verbally and physically), spit on him, and ran him out of town.  And that was the end of Alma(2)’s work there, or so they thought.

Thomas Valletta describes the people of Ammonihah.

“They were a hard-hearted people who were familiar with Alma and yet rejected his authority as the high priest, believing that he had no power over them (see Alma 8:11–12). Their disagreement with Alma was vehement to the point of bigoted derision and physical abuse (see Alma 8:13).” [1] (Emphasis mine)

Hugh Nibley also discussed the people of Ammonihah.

“No thank you. They were very frank about it—very rude, as a matter of fact. [There is a saying that] nothing is worse than a great man who has lost his clout, and here he had. ‘Thou hast no power over us.’ They leaned over backwards to insult him because they knew he had no power, by the constitution he himself agreed on. He could not use any religious compulsion on anyone. ‘And thou hast delivered up the judgment seat unto Nephihah [and you're not chief of the army anymore]; therefore thou art not the chief judge over us.’ He had lost his clout, and what did they do? They reviled him. They spat on him ‘and caused that he should be cast out of their city.’ They threw him out.” [2]     (Emphasis mine)

12  And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:

13  Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.

1 Corinthians 4:12-13 (Emphasis mine)

14  And it came to pass that while he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying:

15  Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy first message from him.  Behold, I am he that delivered it unto you.

16  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.

17  For behold, they do study at this time that they may destroy the liberty of thy people, (for thus saith the Lord) which is contrary to the statutes, and judgments, and commandments which he has given unto his people.

Alma 8:14-17 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) is really down in the dumps.  Discouragement is a great tool the devil uses to keep us from doing what’s right.  Then, he saw an old friend.

The same angel who had first visited him appeared to him again.  He had cause to rejoice since he had been so faithful.  (This was a much different message then he lasted delivered to Alma(2).) 

Then, he was commanded to return to the city to call them to repentance and warn them that they would be destroyed if they failed to repent.  Why would the Lord destroy them?  How wicked were they?  Verse 17 tells us that “they do study at this time that they may destroy the liberty of thy people.”  The liberties of the people were threatened by those in Ammonihah.

Ryan Davis writes:

“The Book of Mormon is replete with leaders who incite conflicts in which their constituents are made to suffer for their leaders' gain. A mere mention of the names Laman, Amalickiah, Ammoron, Gadianton, Zerahemnah (and, less conspicuously, Giddianhi, Tubaloth, and Amlici) is probably sufficient. Typically leaders have a profound and possibly deterministic effect on society's direction. The judges and lawyers of Ammonihah conspired to roll back the state's democratic institutions and were willing to resort to violence to achieve their goals (see Alma 8:17; 10:27).” [3] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Conflicting Orders: Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah, Thomas R. Valletta, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 9, 2011.

[2] Lecture 47: Alma 5-10, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 9, 2011.

[3] For the Peace of the People: War and Democracy in the Book of Mormon, Ryan W. Davis, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 9, 2011.

Alma(2) and the Sons of Mosiah (Mosiah 27:8-37)

There's so much in the Book of Mormon, that it's hard to decide about what I should write.  As I was looking through it, the conversion story of Alma(2) and the sons of Mosiah caught my attention.  It's a great story.  Then, I started looking through Alma and noticed that these five men accomplished much and were great teachers.  They brought many to the gospel and taught great gospel principles.  I decided that I'd like to spend the next few posts talking about these five spiritual giants.

Let's start with their story.  Why is their story important to us today?  Hugh Nibley wrote:

"The experience of Alma [the Younger] and his friends is our experience. We must all decide how seriously we are going to take this side or the other side ... He was at the top of his form, on the top of a wave. He was the darling of the city; everybody was following him around. The [four] most important young men, the sons of the king, were with him, and he was the son of the high priest. They were going around raising hell ... all of a sudden (whether in a narrow street or outside, I don't know) he was stopped cold ... an angel stopped him dead in his tracks ... The angel caught him 'dead to rights' here and rebuked him ... The only thing he did is just stand there and go blank with a foolish look on his face. He was frozen stiff and couldn't do anything—he was paralyzed ... Is he going to explain to the angel and try to talk himself out of it, or something like that? You don't do that to an angel. 

"... Why do these rascals get to see an angel, and none of the rest of us do? This is very important. There are lots of people who have lived righteously all their lives, and none of them are going to see an angel. But you will notice throughout the Book of Mormon and elsewhere that angels only appear in times of great crisis to reverse the course of history. They turn it around. Whether it was the Angel Moroni to Joseph Smith, or the Angel Gabriel to Zachariah, it [the appearance] started things going in a reverse direction. It reaches a point where everything has to be changed, and this has great results." (Emphasis mine)
Lecture 41 - Mosiah 27-29 - Alma's Conversion, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed August 14, 2011. 

Let's read Mormon's account.

8  Now the sons of Mosiah were numbered among the unbelievers; and also one of the sons of Alma was numbered among them, he being called Alma, after his father; nevertheless, he became a very wicked and an idolatrous man.  And he was a man of many words, and did speak much flattery to the people; therefore he led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities.
9  And he became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; stealing away the hearts of the people; causing much dissension among the people; giving a chance for the enemy of God to exercise his power over them.

Mosiah 27:8-9 (Emphasis mine) 

 

In the October 1998 session of General Conference, Elder Robert D. Hales said:

"Alma had been rebellious, even so much that he and the sons of Mosiah went about 'seeking to destroy the church of God' (Alma 36:6). Imagine the pain and heartache of Alma’s parents and more importantly of Heavenly Father and Jesus, who finally sent an angel to tell him, 'If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy the church of God' (Alma 36:9). It was painful enough that Alma should choose disobedience, but he was also causing others to rebel against the word of God. (Emphasis mine) 

This was about to change.

10  And now it came to pass that while he was going about to destroy the church of God, for he did go about secretly with the sons of Mosiah seeking to destroy the church, and to lead stray the people of the Lord, contrary to the commandments of God, or even the king—
11  And as I said unto you, as they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood;
12  And so great was their astonishment, that they fell to the earth, and understood not the words which he spake unto them.
13  Nevertheless he cried again, saying: Alma, arise and stand forth, for why persecutest thou the church of God?  For the Lord hath said: This is my church, and I will establish it; and nothing shall overthrow it, save it is the transgression of my people.
14  And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith.
15  And now behold, can ye dispute the power of God?  For behold, doth not my voice shake the earth?  And can ye not also behold me before you?  And I am sent from God.
16  Now I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of HelamNephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in bondage, and he has delivered them.  And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy way, and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be answered, and this even if thou wilt of thyself be cast off.
17  And now it came to pass that these were the last words which the angel spake unto Alma, and he departed.

Mosiah 27:10-17 (Emphasis mine)

In answer to prayers from both Alma(1) and the people, an angel came as an answer to their prayers; the angel makes sure that Alma(2) and the sons of Mosiah understood this.  The message that was given to them was repent or they would be cast off.  The angel wasted little time delivering his message and then he departed.

18  And now Alma and those that were with him fell again to the earth, for great was their astonishment; for with their own eyes they had beheld an angel of the Lord; and his voice was as thunder, which shook the earth; and they knew that there was nothing save the power of God that could shake the earth and cause it to tremble as though it would part asunder.
19  And now the astonishment of Alma was so great that he became dumb, that he could not open his mouth; yea, and he became weak, even that he could not move his hands; therefore he was taken by those that were with him, and carried helpless, even until he was laid before his father.
20  And they rehearsed unto his father all that had happened unto them; and his father rejoiced, for he knew that it was the power of God.

Mosiah 27:18-20 (Emphasis mine)

 

All were shocked by the experience; Alma(2) was struck dumb and paralyzed.  He had to be carried home to his family.  I would imagine that sons of Mosiah expected that concern would be shown for Alma(2) after being struck down by the angel.  Instead, they saw Alma(1) rejoice because he knew his prayers were answered.

 

21  And he caused that a multitude should be gathered together that they might witness what the Lord had done for his son, and also for those that were with him.
22  And he caused that the priests should assemble themselves together; and they began to fast, and to pray to the Lord their God that he would open the mouth of Alma, that he might speak, and also that his limbs might receive their strength—that the eyes of the people might be opened to see and know of the goodness and glory of God.
23  And it came to pass after they had fasted and prayed for the space of two days and two nights, the limbs of Alma received their strength, and he stood up and began to speak unto them, bidding them to be of good comfort:

Mosiah 27:21-23 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(1) called the people together so they could see what had happened to his son and the sons of Mosiah.  Then, there was two days of fasting and prayer that Alma(2) would be restored and the people would see the goodness of God.  The prayers were answered.

 

Alma(2) stood up and spoke to the people.

 

24  For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit.
25  And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;
26  And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
27  I say unto you, unless this be the case, they must be cast off; and this I know, because I was like to be cast off.
28  Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God.
29  My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity.  I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God.  My soul was cracked with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more.
30  I rejected my Redeemer, and denied that which had been spoken of by our fathers; but now that they may foresee that he will come, and that he remembereth every creature of his creating, he will make himself manifest unto all.
31  Yea, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him.  Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess that he is God; then shall they confess, who live without God in the world, that the judgment of an everlasting punishment is just upon them; and they shall quake, and tremble, and shrink beneath the glance of his all–searching eye.

Mosiah 27:24-31 (Emphasis mine)

 

During the two days, it's obvious Alma(2) heard much.  His heart was changed and he repented of his sins.  His first act was to preach to the people and proclaim Christ.

32  And now it came to pass that Alma began from this time forward to teach the people, and those who were with Alma at the time the angel appeared unto them, traveling round about through all the land, publishing to all the people the things which they had heard and seen, and preaching the word of God in much tribulation, being greatly persecuted by those who were unbelievers, being smitten by many of them.
33  But notwithstanding all this, they did impart much consolation to the church, confirming their faith, and exhorting them with long-suffering and much travail to keep the commandments of God.
34  And four of them were the sons of Mosiah; and their names were Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni; these were the names of the sons of Mosiah.
35  And they traveled throughout all the land of Zarahemla, and among all the people who were under the reign of king Mosiah, zealously striving to repair all the injuries which they had done to the church, confessing all their sins, and publishing all the things which they had seen, and explaining the prophecies and the scriptures to all who desired to hear them.

Mosiah 27:32-35 (Emphasis mine)

What a change!  From tearing down the church, Alma(2) and the sons of Mosiah went out and preached the gospel.  They confessed their sins and taught truth instead of wickedness.

Mormon concludes the chapter with this:

36  And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer.
37  And how blessed are they!  For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth.

Mosiah 27:36-37 (Emphasis mine)

Mormon then tells us that the four sons of Mosiah went to their father and "... desired of him that he would grant unto them that they might, with these whom they had selected, go up to the land of Nephi that they might preach the things which they had heard, and that they might impart the word of God to their brethren, the Lamanites—" (Mosiah 28:1). 

We can infer that Mosiah was less then enthusiastic about this request because they had to plead with him a number of times (see 28:5).  Mosiah went to the Lord and he was promised that his sons would be spared if they went into the lands of the Lamanites (see 28:7).  With this promise, Mosiah gave his permission.

This was a very significant decision, not only spiritually but politically.  We learn that there was no one to become king.  None of his sons would accept the kingdom (see 28:10).  Mosiah would establish a government controlled by judges to replace the king (see 29:25).  

While the sons of Mosiah and their group were preaching to the Lamanites, Alma(2) was chosen the first chief judge by the people.  He was also the high priest of the church, taking over from his father.

These men made a miraculous change through a miraculous experience.  The sons of Mosiah wanted to serve the Lord rather than be the king.  They chose to preach the gospel to the sworn enemies of the Nephites - the Lamanites.  They were willing to risk all in service of the Lord. 

Alma(2) also served, in a dual  role.  He became the first elected Chief Judge, serving the people in a political position.  He also continued to serve the people as the leader of the church.  

I really like this description of these five - "And thus did the Spirit of the Lord work upon them, for they were the very vilest of sinners" (28:4).  From the vilest of sinners to being remembered as some of the greatest servants of the Lord.  What a change!

 

We will see just how great they became by studying their experiences and their words.