Alma 9:12-34
9:12-19 - Alma leads here with the “carrot and the stick” approach that we’ve talked about before. When I first read verse 12, especially in the light of their previous rationalizing statements, Alma tells them “Behold, now I say unto you that he commendeth you to repent; and except ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.” I read that and I thought that “they don’t care about inheriting the kingdom of God, they just want to be wild.” But then we get to the next part where he continues “But behold, this is not all-he has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly destroy you from off the face of the earth; yea, he will visit you in his anger,” and here’s the stick. I think that there is a subtle example here of the different motivators. Surely God does not like to motivate out of fear, yes, he will be destroy, but he really really really tries to avoid that at all cost, and there are so many examples of God “cutting off the snake’s head,” figuratively, where he will destroy the wicked leadership and then give the people time and resources to repent, the transition of the people under king Noah to Limhi is a good example of that, and the Old Testament has several examples where the wicked kings of Israel and Judah are killed in battle and then the people are taken as slaves, to be broken to turn back to God, but they are always protected by the hand of the Lord. So we can see that he’s capable of destruction, but when he does destroy, he keeps it to a bare minimum, so clearly he wants people to be righteous because they love him and love themselves and love others, but sometimes people aren’t capable of those feelings initially, so their only motivational option is fear. It’s the same as people trying to lose weight, some are motivated by the smoking hot body that they want to achieve, and some people are motivated by their doctor telling them that they are pre-diabetic, and then there are others, who bury their heads in the sand and refuse to make any changes and so they suffer the consequences of their actions. And Alma continues to remind the people of the covenant the Lord make with their father Lehi that “Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.” In an April 1986 general conference talk entitled “In the Lord’s Own Way,” Elder Russell M. Nelson reminds us that this covenant is still in effect today for those who love the Lord, saying “Missionary work throughout the world is part of his plan. It brings the light of the gospel to those who embrace the truth. Then, as Saints learn and obey the commandments of God, they will prosper. This promise has been recorded by prophets throughout time and in diverse places.” We don’t know what blessings the Lord has in store for people, and especially when it comes to our own missionary efforts, we might see the “happiest” people on the planet, rich, loving, happy family, and judging that they don’t need the gospel is the same as looking at a drug addict and judging that they don’t deserve the gospel. I guess I should keep that in mind the next time I think “they are so happy, they will never think they need the gospel,” because I would never say “they have sinned too much, they will never think they need the gospel,” but really, in essence the judgment is made, and the people deprived of perhaps a gospel message, regardless of whatever I think about their circumstances. Alma transitions this nicely by comparing those who sin ignorantly (the Lamanites) to the people of Ammonihah “if ye remain in your sins.” This was probably a huge slap in the face to the people of Ammonihah, who no doubt held themselves in higher esteem then the lowly Lamanites. It’s like when Jesus told the Jews that they were more wicked then the gentiles, it was outrageous, but the message was clear and is consistent. The Lamanites were not held to the same behavioral standards as the Nephites because “it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existence in the land.” The IM teaches “Alma warned that although the Lamanites were a wicked people at that time, the Lord would look more favorably upon them than upon the people of Ammonihah on the Day of Judgment. The Lamanites were following incorrect traditions that had been handed down to them, while the Nephites in general and the people of Ammonihah in particular had been ‘a highly favored people of the Lord;… above every other nation, kindred, tongue, or people. What great blessings come great responsibilities. Sister Sheri L. Dew, then a counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, taught: ‘Unto whom much is given much is required,’ and at times the demands of discipleship are heavy. But should we expect the journey towards eternal glory to this world and our casual attempts to grow spiritually by trying to console each other with the notion that living the gospel really shouldn’t require all that much of us. The Lord’s standard of behavior will always be more demanding than the world’s, but then the Lord’s rewards are infinitely more glorious- including true joy, peace, and salvation.’” I feel that verse 17 speaks to two different concepts that is inclusive of all of those who "because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in the state of ignorance," and here Alma is saying that the Lamanites, and by extension, all others who die without knowing God, "at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his words, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved." When I read this the first time, I assumed that Alma was talking about the restoration of the gospel in this dispensation, but then I thought "but there's still 1900 years of Lamanites who didn't have the gospel, aren't they important too?" Of course they are, which brought me to the thought of, when would these Lamanites be brought to the knowledge of the gospel? In the spirit world, after they die. And really that's what is going to happen for all those who died without a knowledge of the gospel, they will be given the opportunity to accept or reject the gospel of Jesus Christ, with full light and knowledge, the same way that the rest of us did. So not only will the Lamanites be preserved when the wicked Nephites will not, but guess who will be doing the destroying of the Nephites? That's right, the Lamanites. That must be a huge shock to the people of Ammonihah, I'm assuming they believe themselves to be better than the Lamanites, and here is Alma telling that that not only are they NOT better than the Lamanites, they will be destroyed BY the Lamanites, "for he will not suffer you that shall live in your iniquities, to destroy his people." I guess the question that came to me is, if the Lamanites can live in daily sin and be pretty consistent with it, why can't the Nephites as well. I mean, if the Lamanites are living ignorantly, they aren't on the verge of destruction or societal collapse at any given moment, like the Nephites are. It seems like the Nephites are usually only a decade or so away from complete destruction, whereas the Lamanites, except for the constant war, are at a pretty consistent level of wickedness all the time. Why is it that the Nephites are all or nothing, righteous or wicked to the point of destruction, at any given moment in their 1000 year history? I'm not exactly sure what the answer to that question is, but it seems to me that there's the concept of escalation at play here. Maybe it's because God is all powerful and all important, the spirit desperately wants to be back with our Father, maybe a subconscious part of our spirit remembers what it was like to be loved and cared for and protected with our Heavenly Father. Maybe if you haven't seen the light, if you haven't tasted the fruit of the tree of life, then you're still on a different search, you're still trying to find your happiness in your daily life. But once your spirit has been awakened to the reality of God and his love, once we remember how amazing it was before we left, and how unspeakably amazing it will be when we get back, once our spirit has a taste of that again, it cannot turn away, it refuses. Once the spirit has been given the spark of life from God, the only way to turn to wickedness is to kill the spirit, and there's no status quo once you kill your spirit. We all know that the spirit dies when we are born, as we are out of the Father's presence, so it's one thing to simply maintain that same, always been dead spirit, it's unhappy for sure, but it's a simple maintenance of what you've always had. But once the spirit is alive again, once the spirit has been born again, it refuses to turn away from it's maker, God, the only way to live in wickedness after that is to kill your spirit, spiritual suicide. This is why we see generations of nonbelievers existing and sometimes even thriving, they are doing their best and Heavenly Father loves them. But this is also why we see those who have been spiritually reborn, not be able to simply go back to the life of ignorance, the spirit will not do it, so the only way to be able to live wickedly is to poison your spirit a little bit at a time, pride, aggression, humiliation, then it escalates into absolute madness. I'm not saying anyone is perfect, no one except Jesus is, and that's a gift that Heavenly Father gave us in order to be successful in this life, but making mistakes, recognizing them, repenting and adjusting to do better, is different than committing evil acts, premeditated usually, and living in that wicked state without regard for the commandments of God. This is why, once the spirit is reborn, just like a baby, it needs constant attention and care, the spirit can wither away from neglect. This is why it is so vitally important to feed our spirits daily with prayer, scripture study, personal refinement, etc. The spirit has to eat, we either carefully nourish it and grow it, or Satan will poison it and it will wither away and die, but not the way it died when we were born, this death is intentional, either through omission or commission.
9:20-25 - Alma continues teaching them about why the Lord will allow those who have been given so much light and knowledge to be destroyed if they will not repent, and interestingly, it's similar to what we just talked about. The Nephites "having been such a highly favored people of the Lord; yea, after having been highly favored above every other nation, kindred, tongue, or people; having had all things made known unto them, according to their desires, and their faith, and prayers, of that which has been, and which is, and which is to come." We've talked about this quite extensively before, the concept of personal righteousness dictating the level of knowledge the Holy Ghost can give us. If the Holy Ghost is asked to leave by listening to offensive music, or R rated movies, or immodest dress, or temper tantrums (my personal favorite,) or if the Holy Ghost has to spend his time teaching us the purpose of obedience to basic commandments, there's not a whole lot of room left for advanced teachings. But when the Spirit is welcomed and given the space to teach higher concepts, then he has the opportunity to do so. I think we've talked about why the Nephites were taught concepts like "the law of Moses is a similitude and that true salvation comes through the Atonement," when the Nephites could learn this while the Jews in Jerusalem struggled with the believing that salvation came through the Law of Moses. They could be taught it because they weren't having to be taught basic "keep the commandments or you'll be destroyed" stuff. Here, Alma is telling them that they've been given knowledge that no other people in the world were given, they were given blessings that no one else was given they had "been visited by the Spirit of God; having conversed with angels, and having been spoken unto by the voice of the Lord; and having the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and also many gifts, the gift of speaking with tongues, and the gift of preaching, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the gift of translation; Yea, and after having been delivered of God out of the land of Jerusalem, by the and of the Lord; having been saved from famine, and from sickness, and all manner of diseases of every kind; and they having waxed strong in battle, that they might not be destroyed; having been brought out of bondage time after time, and having been kept and preserved until now; and they have been prospered until they are rich in all manner of things." They had been given all these blessings, their spirits fed and given the opportunity to thrive, and yet do they not only kill their own spirits and rebel, but they want to destroy the rest of the people, enslave them, because like the angel tells us in chapter 8 the people of Ammonihah "do study at this time that they may destroy the liberty of thy people." I would imagine that this means making kings again, like Noah, wicked leaders, and this would in turn encourage the people to become wicked, and the Lord wasn't having it. I mean if we think about it, Zarahemla, Gideon, Melek, and all the land around Melek by the wilderness, had been converted to the Lord, many many baptized, made commitments to Him, they were a righteous people. And now we know that the Lord protects his people when they are righteous, and since they are being righteous right now, the Lord will protect them, and to let the people of Ammonihah go unchecked, and let them destroy and enslave the believers is not going to happen. So here all the people who believers and worshippers of God have no idea that in another part of the country their own neighbors and citizens are plotting ways to enslave them, and here the Lord is taking care of it. This is similar to all the times in our own lives when there are miracles, and we know how much back, preparation work had to be put into this happening. The Lord knows what's going on, he knows what we need and when, and he will provide for and protect his people, even when we are completely oblivious to what's going on around us.
9:26-34 - Using the carrot and the stick analogy, the punishment seems minimal until there is a sense or urgency attached to it, and Alma gives that urgency by declaring "and not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory." He lists the Saviors attributes beautifully, "and his glory shall be the glory of the Only begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers." He's giving them more carrot, by enticing them with the favor of God when they keep his commandments, but he's also giving them stick, though subtly, by reminding them that Christ is coming and he will take care of his people, who just happens to be the people that the Ammonihah-ites are trying to enslave. Alma continues "and behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on his name." Interesting here that Alma doesn't say anything ambiguous, it's very clear, Jesus is coming to redeem his people, not those who rebel against him. We know that the Atonement was made for all mankind, every single one, he's paid the price, but now he requires obedience in order to be partakers of redemption. It's like the Lord is standing under his tree of life, handing out free fruit, all we have to do is take it and keep eating, but he's not going to force us to take the fruit, like L&L would not, he won't make us. Here's where Alma ends, and the people are furious, as would be imagined, and Amulek begins speaking, and that's where we will pick up tomorrow.
On a side, personal note, ever since I got into that fight with my brother last week, I've been pretty unrestrained in what I say to people. I know that Jesus would have some sarcastic, aggressive comeback when someone gives him attitude, and I really want to be like that too. I'm trying and I was doing pretty well for a while, but today I realized that I've let my mouth run away with me again. I don't want to be a fighter anymore, I want to be no drama. I was watching the Bachelor, the TV show while I was getting dressed at the gym, and I didn't catch exactly what happened but it seemed like the girls were fighting with each other and running back and forth to the guy complaining and I thought, "that's awful, I never want to be a part of that." And he was asking the girls if there were problems in the house, (yes I got all that from the 3 minutes it took me to change my clothes,) and I thought "if he asked me, I would say no, because I don't think that I would get sucked into that drama." I want to be drama free, I want to be secure enough in myself and in my relationship with God that nothing anyone else says or does effects me, I'm the one in charge of my own emotions, my own feelings, I set the tone of my life. I'm going to reengage in that struggle of mine starting now.
9:20-25 - Alma continues teaching them about why the Lord will allow those who have been given so much light and knowledge to be destroyed if they will not repent, and interestingly, it's similar to what we just talked about. The Nephites "having been such a highly favored people of the Lord; yea, after having been highly favored above every other nation, kindred, tongue, or people; having had all things made known unto them, according to their desires, and their faith, and prayers, of that which has been, and which is, and which is to come." We've talked about this quite extensively before, the concept of personal righteousness dictating the level of knowledge the Holy Ghost can give us. If the Holy Ghost is asked to leave by listening to offensive music, or R rated movies, or immodest dress, or temper tantrums (my personal favorite,) or if the Holy Ghost has to spend his time teaching us the purpose of obedience to basic commandments, there's not a whole lot of room left for advanced teachings. But when the Spirit is welcomed and given the space to teach higher concepts, then he has the opportunity to do so. I think we've talked about why the Nephites were taught concepts like "the law of Moses is a similitude and that true salvation comes through the Atonement," when the Nephites could learn this while the Jews in Jerusalem struggled with the believing that salvation came through the Law of Moses. They could be taught it because they weren't having to be taught basic "keep the commandments or you'll be destroyed" stuff. Here, Alma is telling them that they've been given knowledge that no other people in the world were given, they were given blessings that no one else was given they had "been visited by the Spirit of God; having conversed with angels, and having been spoken unto by the voice of the Lord; and having the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and also many gifts, the gift of speaking with tongues, and the gift of preaching, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the gift of translation; Yea, and after having been delivered of God out of the land of Jerusalem, by the and of the Lord; having been saved from famine, and from sickness, and all manner of diseases of every kind; and they having waxed strong in battle, that they might not be destroyed; having been brought out of bondage time after time, and having been kept and preserved until now; and they have been prospered until they are rich in all manner of things." They had been given all these blessings, their spirits fed and given the opportunity to thrive, and yet do they not only kill their own spirits and rebel, but they want to destroy the rest of the people, enslave them, because like the angel tells us in chapter 8 the people of Ammonihah "do study at this time that they may destroy the liberty of thy people." I would imagine that this means making kings again, like Noah, wicked leaders, and this would in turn encourage the people to become wicked, and the Lord wasn't having it. I mean if we think about it, Zarahemla, Gideon, Melek, and all the land around Melek by the wilderness, had been converted to the Lord, many many baptized, made commitments to Him, they were a righteous people. And now we know that the Lord protects his people when they are righteous, and since they are being righteous right now, the Lord will protect them, and to let the people of Ammonihah go unchecked, and let them destroy and enslave the believers is not going to happen. So here all the people who believers and worshippers of God have no idea that in another part of the country their own neighbors and citizens are plotting ways to enslave them, and here the Lord is taking care of it. This is similar to all the times in our own lives when there are miracles, and we know how much back, preparation work had to be put into this happening. The Lord knows what's going on, he knows what we need and when, and he will provide for and protect his people, even when we are completely oblivious to what's going on around us.
9:26-34 - Using the carrot and the stick analogy, the punishment seems minimal until there is a sense or urgency attached to it, and Alma gives that urgency by declaring "and not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory." He lists the Saviors attributes beautifully, "and his glory shall be the glory of the Only begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers." He's giving them more carrot, by enticing them with the favor of God when they keep his commandments, but he's also giving them stick, though subtly, by reminding them that Christ is coming and he will take care of his people, who just happens to be the people that the Ammonihah-ites are trying to enslave. Alma continues "and behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on his name." Interesting here that Alma doesn't say anything ambiguous, it's very clear, Jesus is coming to redeem his people, not those who rebel against him. We know that the Atonement was made for all mankind, every single one, he's paid the price, but now he requires obedience in order to be partakers of redemption. It's like the Lord is standing under his tree of life, handing out free fruit, all we have to do is take it and keep eating, but he's not going to force us to take the fruit, like L&L would not, he won't make us. Here's where Alma ends, and the people are furious, as would be imagined, and Amulek begins speaking, and that's where we will pick up tomorrow.
On a side, personal note, ever since I got into that fight with my brother last week, I've been pretty unrestrained in what I say to people. I know that Jesus would have some sarcastic, aggressive comeback when someone gives him attitude, and I really want to be like that too. I'm trying and I was doing pretty well for a while, but today I realized that I've let my mouth run away with me again. I don't want to be a fighter anymore, I want to be no drama. I was watching the Bachelor, the TV show while I was getting dressed at the gym, and I didn't catch exactly what happened but it seemed like the girls were fighting with each other and running back and forth to the guy complaining and I thought, "that's awful, I never want to be a part of that." And he was asking the girls if there were problems in the house, (yes I got all that from the 3 minutes it took me to change my clothes,) and I thought "if he asked me, I would say no, because I don't think that I would get sucked into that drama." I want to be drama free, I want to be secure enough in myself and in my relationship with God that nothing anyone else says or does effects me, I'm the one in charge of my own emotions, my own feelings, I set the tone of my life. I'm going to reengage in that struggle of mine starting now.
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