Alma 8:14-20
8:14-18 – We left Alma as he was going to Aaron from the city of Ammonihah, having been rejected and abused there, but “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 and angel of the Lord appeared unto him.” Like we talked about yesterday, Alma’s desire to baptize people wasn’t to build up his own following, status, or power, but it was because he wanted to help other people experience the change of heart and peace and joy that he himself felt. And if we look at it from that stand point, and also because he knows what awaits people who refuse to repent, and he himself experiencing great pain and anguish for his own sins, we can see that he was sorrowing and weighed down because of what waits for them and what he knows they can have if they would only repent. The IM says “after having noteworthy success preaching the gospel in other cities, Alma was reviled, spit upon, and cast out of Ammonihah. Then came reassurance from the angel that Alma’s efforts were acceptably to the Lord and that Alma should return and preach again to the people. Commenting to those who sometimes feel that their best efforts are not enough or that they have failed, President Thomas S. Monson stated ‘Do your duty; that is best. Leave unto the Lord the rest. Should there be anyone who feels he is too weak to change the onward and downward course of his life, or should there be those who fail to resolve to do better because of that greatest of fears-the fear of failure- there is no more comforting assurance to be had than these words of the Lord: ‘My grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. Miracles are everywhere to be found when priesthood callings are magnified. When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes.” I hadn’t considered the fact that Alma might have been feeling the same inadequacy that we all feel when something we know should have gone well, goes terribly wrong. Yes, he is sorrowing for the wickedness of the people, but maybe he’s sorrowing because of his own humanity, his own seeming failure. A great example of how people make their own choices, even the profit, a military hero, and a “been there done that” example of conversion, even with his best efforts, he couldn’t persuade the people to repent and then they went to the extreme of assaulting him. But the best part then comes while he’s journeying between the cities for “behold and angel of the Lord appeared unto him saying: Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up they 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.” I love this part, I think this is one of my favorite happenings in the Book of Mormon, when the angel comes to Alma the Younger the second time. I think it’s cute because it almost has the feeling of “hey it’s me, do you remember when I saw your last time?” It’s just really cute, that’s all and it makes me wonder, why him, why this particular angel, twice. I wonder if they were friends in the preexistence or something, and I like that Heavenly Father lets the angel do kind of like a “follow up” later on his work done the first time. The angel tells Alma that he was “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.” This comes to us as some strong words, because we know nothing of Ammonihah anymore than any other city, and if we take into consideration how much we know that God abhors violence, yet he is ready to destroy the city if they don’t repent. This reminds me of when Abinadi came the second time to king Noah and his people. The first time he came and told them “repent or you will be enslaved,” but the second time, when they still hadn’t repented, he told them, “because you didn’t repent the first time, you will surely be enslaved, but repent now or you will be destroyed.” So if we take the concept that God will only destroy if absolutely necessary, then we can assume that the wickedness of the people of that city is pretty substantial, for it to escalate at that level. The reason that the angel gives Alma for the impending destruction is because “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.” So they want to make all the other people slaves to them? Overthrow the liberty of others, sounds familiar.
8:19-20 – The angel departs and “he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah.” This is similar to the time that Jonah was commanded to return to Ninevah. Jonah had a history of violence and oppression with the people of Ninevah and Alma had been assaulted and reject by the people of Ammonihah already, but the Lord likes to give second chances and I’m thankful for that. The speedy return is quite an example to us, he didn’t debate, he didn’t rationalize, he simply and immediately obeyed. I wonder how many times I hem and haw, procrastinate being obedient to the Lord. Kind of like we talked about yesterday with the R rated movies, keeping the small commandments makes us more available for teaching. Likewise our immediate obedience to commandments makes us more available to teaching, because we don’t have to spend so much time being persuaded to obey, we can move forward spiritually. The IM quotes President Henry B. Eyring as teaching “however much faith to obey God we now have, we will need to strengthen it continually and keep it refreshed constantly. We can do that by deciding now to be more quick to obey and more determined to endure. Learning to start early and to be steady are the keys to spiritual preparation…A loving Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son have given us all the help They can to pass the test of life set before us. But we must decide to obey and then do it. We build the faith to pass the tests of obedience over time and through our daily choices. We can decide now to do quickly whatever God asks of us.” We’d like to think that when the Lord calls us it will be for grand gestures, big missions, and prominence, but really here President Eyring says that “we build the faith to pass the tests of obedience over time and through our daily choices.” We choose to obey immediately through our daily choices, how do we do that? What are some commandments that we can choose to quickly and completely obey every single day? Reading and studying the scriptures, praying, speaking of praying, after I saw myself in the “you could improve on your prayers,” lesson yesterday, I went home and decided to do what was taught, to focus on what I was truly grateful for, and by doing that, there is always a request that goes opposite of it. For instance, “I’m grateful for the gospel,” can remind me of the request and really feel it in my heart of “please bless the missionaries find those who are ready, please help me know when and how to share the gospel, and please bless the leaders of the church be able to lead us in your way.” And when I was done, I really felt like I had really communicated with the Lord, what I had said was heartfelt, and that I remembered most of what I’m “supposed” to pray for. So I’d like to think of that as a way that I quickly and thoroughly obeyed. In the October 1984 general conference address entitled “He Returned Speedily” Elder Robert B. Harbertson taught “It says, ‘he returned speedily.’ Maybe his earlier experience with the angel caused him not to tarry or question, but to react immediately. But I believe he was motivated by love for the Lord and his desire to be obedient. Alma’s reaction and attitude to this request has been great strength to me as I strive to serve the Lord. As Alma returned to the city, he met a man who provided him with food and shelter. This man, whose name was Amulek, had received a vision and recognized Alma as a prophet of God… Alma was a blessing to Amulek and his family while he abided with them, and they loved him deeply. Finally, the word came again to Alma, saying, ‘Go,’ and also telling him to call Amulek to travel with him and be his companion in teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amulek obeyed and began his missionary labors with Alma. Here again, brothers and sisters, I am strengthened and guided in how I should live and react to the opportunities the Lord gives me to serve. Amulek had much; he was comfortable and well-to-do, had a good wife and children, had a good position in the community, and yet he responded without hesitation to the call to serve.” I hadn’t considered Amulek as speedily obeying as well as Alma. When Alma gets back to Ammonihah, he sneaks in the back way and saw a man, and Alma asked him “will ye give to an humble servant of God something to eat?” It’s interesting to me that Alma identified himself as a “servant of God,” especially considering the fact that he just left there in a violent manner, I would personally, maybe lay low for a little bit until I get my bearings, but no Alma comes in loud and proud that he is a “servant of God.” Even bolder than Alma’s declaration, is the response that he gets from the man “and the man said unto him: I am a Nephite, and I know that thou art a hold prophet of God, for thou art the man whom an angel said in a vision: Thou shalt receive. Therefore, go with me unto 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.” He starts with “I am a Nephite,” which begs the question, what other groups of people are there? I was thinking at first biologically, Nephite vs. Mulekite vs. Almaite, etc. But then it occurred to me that he was identifying himself as a believer of God. Back when King Benjamin preached, all the people entered into a covenant with God, then the next couple of generations came in and started to drift away until there was a division within the society, of believers and unbelievers. I’m not sure what the unbelievers called themselves specifically, but I would imagine that the believers called themselves “Nephites.” So this man, Amulek, is a believer in God, but more than that, an angel came to him in a vision and told him to receive Alma and care for him. In the October 1977 general conference address entitled “A Vision of the Law of the Fast,” Elder Victor L. Brown taught “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… 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.” I know that verse 26 goes into more about fasting but the fact that Alma’s fast was so quickly profitable was pretty amazing. He’s welcomed into a warm and believing house, he ends up having much more success than he had previously thought that he was going to, enough for the righteous in the city to be “evacuated,” and that makes a lot more sense about why he was so hungry when he approached Amulek. I’m going to stop here, I know I’ve only covered a few verses, but I think that we went through some really good stuff. And I’m tired, so here’s to tomorrow.
8:19-20 – The angel departs and “he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah.” This is similar to the time that Jonah was commanded to return to Ninevah. Jonah had a history of violence and oppression with the people of Ninevah and Alma had been assaulted and reject by the people of Ammonihah already, but the Lord likes to give second chances and I’m thankful for that. The speedy return is quite an example to us, he didn’t debate, he didn’t rationalize, he simply and immediately obeyed. I wonder how many times I hem and haw, procrastinate being obedient to the Lord. Kind of like we talked about yesterday with the R rated movies, keeping the small commandments makes us more available for teaching. Likewise our immediate obedience to commandments makes us more available to teaching, because we don’t have to spend so much time being persuaded to obey, we can move forward spiritually. The IM quotes President Henry B. Eyring as teaching “however much faith to obey God we now have, we will need to strengthen it continually and keep it refreshed constantly. We can do that by deciding now to be more quick to obey and more determined to endure. Learning to start early and to be steady are the keys to spiritual preparation…A loving Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son have given us all the help They can to pass the test of life set before us. But we must decide to obey and then do it. We build the faith to pass the tests of obedience over time and through our daily choices. We can decide now to do quickly whatever God asks of us.” We’d like to think that when the Lord calls us it will be for grand gestures, big missions, and prominence, but really here President Eyring says that “we build the faith to pass the tests of obedience over time and through our daily choices.” We choose to obey immediately through our daily choices, how do we do that? What are some commandments that we can choose to quickly and completely obey every single day? Reading and studying the scriptures, praying, speaking of praying, after I saw myself in the “you could improve on your prayers,” lesson yesterday, I went home and decided to do what was taught, to focus on what I was truly grateful for, and by doing that, there is always a request that goes opposite of it. For instance, “I’m grateful for the gospel,” can remind me of the request and really feel it in my heart of “please bless the missionaries find those who are ready, please help me know when and how to share the gospel, and please bless the leaders of the church be able to lead us in your way.” And when I was done, I really felt like I had really communicated with the Lord, what I had said was heartfelt, and that I remembered most of what I’m “supposed” to pray for. So I’d like to think of that as a way that I quickly and thoroughly obeyed. In the October 1984 general conference address entitled “He Returned Speedily” Elder Robert B. Harbertson taught “It says, ‘he returned speedily.’ Maybe his earlier experience with the angel caused him not to tarry or question, but to react immediately. But I believe he was motivated by love for the Lord and his desire to be obedient. Alma’s reaction and attitude to this request has been great strength to me as I strive to serve the Lord. As Alma returned to the city, he met a man who provided him with food and shelter. This man, whose name was Amulek, had received a vision and recognized Alma as a prophet of God… Alma was a blessing to Amulek and his family while he abided with them, and they loved him deeply. Finally, the word came again to Alma, saying, ‘Go,’ and also telling him to call Amulek to travel with him and be his companion in teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amulek obeyed and began his missionary labors with Alma. Here again, brothers and sisters, I am strengthened and guided in how I should live and react to the opportunities the Lord gives me to serve. Amulek had much; he was comfortable and well-to-do, had a good wife and children, had a good position in the community, and yet he responded without hesitation to the call to serve.” I hadn’t considered Amulek as speedily obeying as well as Alma. When Alma gets back to Ammonihah, he sneaks in the back way and saw a man, and Alma asked him “will ye give to an humble servant of God something to eat?” It’s interesting to me that Alma identified himself as a “servant of God,” especially considering the fact that he just left there in a violent manner, I would personally, maybe lay low for a little bit until I get my bearings, but no Alma comes in loud and proud that he is a “servant of God.” Even bolder than Alma’s declaration, is the response that he gets from the man “and the man said unto him: I am a Nephite, and I know that thou art a hold prophet of God, for thou art the man whom an angel said in a vision: Thou shalt receive. Therefore, go with me unto 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.” He starts with “I am a Nephite,” which begs the question, what other groups of people are there? I was thinking at first biologically, Nephite vs. Mulekite vs. Almaite, etc. But then it occurred to me that he was identifying himself as a believer of God. Back when King Benjamin preached, all the people entered into a covenant with God, then the next couple of generations came in and started to drift away until there was a division within the society, of believers and unbelievers. I’m not sure what the unbelievers called themselves specifically, but I would imagine that the believers called themselves “Nephites.” So this man, Amulek, is a believer in God, but more than that, an angel came to him in a vision and told him to receive Alma and care for him. In the October 1977 general conference address entitled “A Vision of the Law of the Fast,” Elder Victor L. Brown taught “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… 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.” I know that verse 26 goes into more about fasting but the fact that Alma’s fast was so quickly profitable was pretty amazing. He’s welcomed into a warm and believing house, he ends up having much more success than he had previously thought that he was going to, enough for the righteous in the city to be “evacuated,” and that makes a lot more sense about why he was so hungry when he approached Amulek. I’m going to stop here, I know I’ve only covered a few verses, but I think that we went through some really good stuff. And I’m tired, so here’s to tomorrow.
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