Mosiah 26:14-39
26:14- 24 – We left off with Alma being “troubled” in his spirit about the iniquity that had been brought into the church, and since Mosiah declined to deal with it legally, Alma was saddled with the responsibility of taking care of this problem, so he turn to the only place he knew to turn for help, he “poured out his whole soul to God.” Interesting to me that he didn’t just bring the pressing issues to the Lord, but he brought “his whole soul,” for review and assessment, and as we can see, the Lord doesn’t council him only on the matter at hand, but about his conduct in general, his overall achievement with running the church, and basically how God thinks that Alma is doing in general, and it’s a very positive message. I try to put myself in Alma’s position and imagine the feelings and emotions that I have as I go into this meeting with God, and I could imagine that there would be feelings of inadequacy, overwhelmed, and maybe just a chance of feelings that the Lord might be displeased with his handling of the situation thus far, because surely when he poured out his whole soul, there were deep feelings of humility that came out. But the Lord is always kind and generous, and his answer to Alma’s prayer didn’t begin with how to handle the discipline in the church, which would make sense, but the Lord started by encouraging Alma, reassuring him that he was “blessed because of thy exceeding faith in the words alone of my servant Abinadi.” He stood alone against Noah and lost everything worldly that he had, status, possessions, etc. all because he believed in God, and the Lord is letting him know that that hasn’t been forgotten. “And blessed art thou because thou hast established a church among this people,” reminding him that he didn’t have a template to follow, I would imagine that the words of Abinadi were the only scriptures that he probably had for quite some time to go off of, but he was still able to establish a church in concordance with the doctrine of God through not doubt ample prayer and fasting. The Lord is also reminding Alma that that was no small feat. And finally the issue comes up “and because thou hast inquired of me concerning the transgressor, thou art blessed.” At first this phrase might seem a little bit out of place when talking about all of Alma’s other accomplishments, but let’s think about the different options that might have been exercised by different leaders. Given disobedience issues, many leaders wouldn’t have even thought to pray about what to do, they would have thought it out in their minds and that would have shown them to be motivated by their own personal agendas. Let’s take a look at societies that are ruled ruthlessly by religious culture, there is currently Sharia law that governs the middle east, but there was also the Catholic church that ruled in Europe in the middle ages, just as some examples, but disobedience was met with strict and ruthless physical punishment and death. That certainly was an option that Alma could have considered, but he didn’t go that way. The other extreme of that spectrum is to have absolutely NO accountability and a “whatever you do is fine, as long as you say once that you love Jesus,” attitude, which the Lord abhors just as much. So there are two opposite ends of the religious disciplinary spectrum, and Alma honestly could have just taken whatever measure that he wanted to solve the problem, he could have used this to become insanely wealthy, through confession and paying a tribute for sins, he could have used this to become a social icon and have status, but he chose, through marked humility, to earnestly strive to do what God would have him do, because he valued both his relationship with God and with other people. And because of these things the Lord made a “covenant with thee that thou shalt have eternal life.” The IM quotes Joseph Smith as “outlining the process by which one obtains this promise: ‘After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands),… then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John.” I found this to be confusing at first because really isn’t that what we are all striving for, but it seems to me that those who receive this assurance from the Lord, even though maybe not technically an ordinance, it would seem like that kind of thing. You get to a certain point in righteousness and your place is made sure. Continuing on, the Lord’s answer has another part, in which he tells Alma about the worth of the souls in his care. They also are blessed “because of their exceeding faith in the words alone which thou hast spoken unto them.” Like Alma, those who followed him gave up everything because they believed, and maybe a little bit more, they didn’t have that established relationship with God the way that Alma did. There’s a certain level of spiritual certainty that comes with being the prophet, and especially when you have to basically create the church from scratch, but those who followed Alma didn’t have that substantial connection with God, so following him and giving up everything they knew would have been a very monumental task. They believed in Alma when it seemed difficult, and they “are willing to bear my name for in my name shall they be called; and they are mine.” In an April 1985 general conference address called "Taking Upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ," Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught “it is significant that when we partake of the sacrament we do not witness that we take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. We witness that we are willing to do so. The fact that we only witness to our willingness suggests that something else must happen before we actually take that sacred name upon us in the most important sense… Willingness to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ can therefore be understood as willingness to take upon us the authority of Jesus Christ. According to this meaning, by partaking of the sacrament we witness our willingness to participate in the sacred ordinances of the temple and to receive the highest blessings available through the name and by the authority of the Savior when he chooses to confer them upon us… those who exercise faith in the sacred name of Jesus Christ and repent of their sins and enter into his covenant and keep his commandments can lay claim on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Those who do so will be called by his name at the last day… when we witness our willingness to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, we are signifying our commitment to do all that we can to achieve eternal life in the kingdom of our Father. We are expressing our candidacy- our determination to strive for- exaltation in the celestial kingdom.” I guess if we look at it from that angle, both Alma being assured of his place and his people stating their intention to have their place as well, it would make sense that taking upon us the name of Christ is the first step where we are purified and perfected, then maybe what Alma received in terms of being assured eternal life, that is when he actually takes upon him the name of Jesus Christ. Just speculation on my part, but it would make sense for several apparently random verses to be put together in that manner, “Alma you are given eternal life… and your people are blessed because they are working toward that same assurance,” also might translate into “your people are blessed because they are willing to take my name upon them, and you Alma are blessed because you actually have taken my name upon you.” Just as striving for eternal life is the precursor to having eternal life, so maybe the willingness to take upon us the name of Christ, precedes actually being given the mantle of the name of Christ, and makes sense.
26:25-28 - The Lord has talked about those who have taken upon them the name of Christ (Alma,) and those who are willing to do so (the people of the church,) but now he begins talking about the third group, those who are not willing to take upon them His name. They shall come forth “when the second trump shall sound… and then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, that I am their Redeemer; but they would not be redeemed.” There is a more interesting term for them choosing not to “be redeemed” by Christ when given the chance, and that term is “know,” the Lord says that “they that never knew me… and the I will confess unto them that I never knew them.” Seems a little harsh at first, just because they never knew Christ is this lifetime, which is the vast majority of the world population throughout history, they don’t get a chance to come to terms with Him, when in fact this isn’t the meaning at all. “Knowing” God is more than just having heard of him at one point in your existence, the IM quotes Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin as teaching “we can choose to know the Lord by reading the scriptures every day; by communicating with him in fervent prayer at least morning and night, and in times of trial, every hour or more, if needed; and by keeping his commandments. Remember, ‘Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him.’” Elder Wirthlin points out that “we choose to know the Lord,” not “if just by chance you happened to hear something once,” no, that’s not how the Lord works in any way, he’s never, well luck wasn’t on your side, sorry. He greatly desires our happiness and return to him, he makes it as easy as possible for us to come back, but again he respects our agency, and will not force us to participate in salvation. The Lord also states that he is the one who “taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is I that hath created them; and it is I that granteth unto him that believeth unto the end a place at my right hand.” He is the one who took upon himself the sins of the world, so it is he that can administer justice and judgment and decide who can come into the kingdom. He is the ultimate keeper of the gate, and he’s the one that will personally decide.
26:29-39 – Here comes the advice for what to do with his dilemma, confront those who are accused, if they repent “in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also. Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.” There is the protocol, “confess and repent” and be forgiven and welcomed back, choose not to, there’s not crazy punishment, you just are off the records, and your name is “blotted out.” The IM talks about the importance of the two pronged approach of confession and repentance saying “essential to forgiveness is a willingness to disclose fully to your Heavenly Father all that you have done. Kneel before Him in humble prayer, acknowledging your sins. Confess your shame and guilty, and then plead for help.” I wondered why confession was important, like why can’t I just promise to be good from now on, why do I have to go and tell someone what I did? I think there comes a state of mind of humility and acceptance of the Lord’s will when we acknowledge what we’ve done wrong. Because if we say “I did a bad thing, but I promise to be good now,” that’s really insufficient. This concept of confession reminds me of the 5th step in the church’s (and I believe all 12 step programs,) Addiction Recovery program, so I read about it with some interesting insights. It teaches that before confession “we were still left along with the shame of the past. Now until we (confessed) were we able to throw off the shackles of our isolating secrets and gain some perspective on ourselves and the past. Confession began a process of disclosure where we shared expressions of remorse with friends, family, and others. It was part of an ongoing effort to repair and reestablish broken relationships. Confession also involved seeking forgiveness from the Lord through prayer and through any necessary priesthood channels. Postponing it would have been like acknowledging an infected wound without cleansing it… The individuals who listened to our inventories often helped us see lingering areas of self-deception. They helped us put our lives into perspective and avoid exaggerating or minimizing our accountability.” Such an amazing detailing of why confession is vital to true repentance, and life changing behavior. For those who refuse confession, they are no longer numbered with those of the church. The IM quotes Elder Oaks, again, as teaching “church discipline encourages members to keep the commandments of God. Its mere existence stresses the seriousness and clarifies the meaning of the commandments of God. This is extremely important in an otherwise permissive society… The shepherd has a responsibility to protect the flock… That responsibility may require him to deny (the sinner) the fellowship of the Saints or even to sever his membership in the flock.” But there is always mercy AND justice, as the 1985 First Presidency message says “We are aware of some who are inactive, of others who have become critical and are prone to find fault, and of those who have been disfellowshipped or excommunicated because of serious transgressions. To all such we reach out in love. We are anxious to forgive in the spirit of Him who said “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.’ We encourage Church members to forgive those who may have wronged them. To those who have ceased activity and to those who have become critical, we say ‘Come back. Come back and feast at the table of the Lord, and taste again the sweet and satisfying fruits of fellowship with the saints.’ We are confident that many have longed to return, but have felt awkward about doing so. We assure you that you will find open arms to receive you and willing hands to assist you.” While church standards must be upheld, it’s the responsibility of the church leadership, those who have been called and given the keys to administer the discipline, but it is our job to love and forgive. This is what I tell my kids, “we need to choose the right and make good choices for ourselves. What is our job when people make bad choices?” “That’s right, love them.”
26:25-28 - The Lord has talked about those who have taken upon them the name of Christ (Alma,) and those who are willing to do so (the people of the church,) but now he begins talking about the third group, those who are not willing to take upon them His name. They shall come forth “when the second trump shall sound… and then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, that I am their Redeemer; but they would not be redeemed.” There is a more interesting term for them choosing not to “be redeemed” by Christ when given the chance, and that term is “know,” the Lord says that “they that never knew me… and the I will confess unto them that I never knew them.” Seems a little harsh at first, just because they never knew Christ is this lifetime, which is the vast majority of the world population throughout history, they don’t get a chance to come to terms with Him, when in fact this isn’t the meaning at all. “Knowing” God is more than just having heard of him at one point in your existence, the IM quotes Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin as teaching “we can choose to know the Lord by reading the scriptures every day; by communicating with him in fervent prayer at least morning and night, and in times of trial, every hour or more, if needed; and by keeping his commandments. Remember, ‘Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him.’” Elder Wirthlin points out that “we choose to know the Lord,” not “if just by chance you happened to hear something once,” no, that’s not how the Lord works in any way, he’s never, well luck wasn’t on your side, sorry. He greatly desires our happiness and return to him, he makes it as easy as possible for us to come back, but again he respects our agency, and will not force us to participate in salvation. The Lord also states that he is the one who “taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is I that hath created them; and it is I that granteth unto him that believeth unto the end a place at my right hand.” He is the one who took upon himself the sins of the world, so it is he that can administer justice and judgment and decide who can come into the kingdom. He is the ultimate keeper of the gate, and he’s the one that will personally decide.
26:29-39 – Here comes the advice for what to do with his dilemma, confront those who are accused, if they repent “in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also. Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.” There is the protocol, “confess and repent” and be forgiven and welcomed back, choose not to, there’s not crazy punishment, you just are off the records, and your name is “blotted out.” The IM talks about the importance of the two pronged approach of confession and repentance saying “essential to forgiveness is a willingness to disclose fully to your Heavenly Father all that you have done. Kneel before Him in humble prayer, acknowledging your sins. Confess your shame and guilty, and then plead for help.” I wondered why confession was important, like why can’t I just promise to be good from now on, why do I have to go and tell someone what I did? I think there comes a state of mind of humility and acceptance of the Lord’s will when we acknowledge what we’ve done wrong. Because if we say “I did a bad thing, but I promise to be good now,” that’s really insufficient. This concept of confession reminds me of the 5th step in the church’s (and I believe all 12 step programs,) Addiction Recovery program, so I read about it with some interesting insights. It teaches that before confession “we were still left along with the shame of the past. Now until we (confessed) were we able to throw off the shackles of our isolating secrets and gain some perspective on ourselves and the past. Confession began a process of disclosure where we shared expressions of remorse with friends, family, and others. It was part of an ongoing effort to repair and reestablish broken relationships. Confession also involved seeking forgiveness from the Lord through prayer and through any necessary priesthood channels. Postponing it would have been like acknowledging an infected wound without cleansing it… The individuals who listened to our inventories often helped us see lingering areas of self-deception. They helped us put our lives into perspective and avoid exaggerating or minimizing our accountability.” Such an amazing detailing of why confession is vital to true repentance, and life changing behavior. For those who refuse confession, they are no longer numbered with those of the church. The IM quotes Elder Oaks, again, as teaching “church discipline encourages members to keep the commandments of God. Its mere existence stresses the seriousness and clarifies the meaning of the commandments of God. This is extremely important in an otherwise permissive society… The shepherd has a responsibility to protect the flock… That responsibility may require him to deny (the sinner) the fellowship of the Saints or even to sever his membership in the flock.” But there is always mercy AND justice, as the 1985 First Presidency message says “We are aware of some who are inactive, of others who have become critical and are prone to find fault, and of those who have been disfellowshipped or excommunicated because of serious transgressions. To all such we reach out in love. We are anxious to forgive in the spirit of Him who said “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.’ We encourage Church members to forgive those who may have wronged them. To those who have ceased activity and to those who have become critical, we say ‘Come back. Come back and feast at the table of the Lord, and taste again the sweet and satisfying fruits of fellowship with the saints.’ We are confident that many have longed to return, but have felt awkward about doing so. We assure you that you will find open arms to receive you and willing hands to assist you.” While church standards must be upheld, it’s the responsibility of the church leadership, those who have been called and given the keys to administer the discipline, but it is our job to love and forgive. This is what I tell my kids, “we need to choose the right and make good choices for ourselves. What is our job when people make bad choices?” “That’s right, love them.”
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