Alma 14:14-29
14:14-22 - It's so sick that the wicked people murder the righteous women and children, and verse 14 is particularly disturbing, "now it came to pass that when the bodies of those who had been cast into the fire were consumed, and also the records which were cast in with them..." It's like a continuation chapter from the horrid, chaotic scene of screaming, burning flesh, dragging, undoubtedly there was blood, but now it's like a more peaceful, like the smoldering bodies and books, and the carnage can settle and be assessed. After the fires were smoldering and the people were dead and their bodies charred, A&A, who were bound, were slapped around, beat up, and taunted as those same wicked people who had just murdered innocent women and children, mock God saying "after what ye have seen, will ye preach again unto this people, that they shall be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone? Behold, ye see that ye had not power to save those who had been cast into the fire; neither has God saved them because they were of thy faith... What say ye for yourselves?" This must have been such a seeming victory for Satan, he had stewed evil into the hearts of these people and had seen that A&A would not save them, even though Amulek had desired to, and surely he wanted to rub in their faces what that he had won, finally, finally won. It's interesting, when thinking back to the lessons from last night, about the righteous don't fear death, I think that this is manifest in Alma's response to Amulek's concern that they would burn them to death as well. I imagine the wicked leaders taunting Alma with their ridiculous words in their cowardice, and if the tables were turned, they would be so fearful for their lives. Even if we remove the elements of wicked vs. righteous, let's just look at the fear of death and suffering that the wicked have vs. the confidence and strength that Alma feels as he stands there and takes their abuse. A&A are cast into prison, questioned, and like the Savior when he was questioned before his crucifixion, they say nothing. Maybe it's because they knew that nothing they said would make any difference, maybe it's because they needed to let Satan have his little victory party, I don't know the actual reason, but I wonder if we can use that as an example of how we interact with people who are not actually interested in what we have to say. Their treatment while in prison is terrible because the people "did mock them for many days. And they did withhold food from them that they might hunger, and water that they might thirst; and they also did take from them their clothes that they were naked; and thus they were bound with strong cords, and confined in prison." They were starved, stripped, cold, hungry, thirsty, beaten, and that's pretty intense.
14:23-29 - A&A are tied up, naked, starving in prison and "the chief judge over the land of Ammonihah and many of their teachers and their lawyers went in unto the prison where Alma and Amulek were bound with cords," and continued abusing them, questioning, and mocking them. It must have been now that the Spirit told Alma that it's time, for "the power of God was upon Alma and Amulek, and they rose and stood upon their feet. And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance." They had the prominent political and spiritual leaders congregated inside the prison, so the timing was perfect, "and they broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them." Remember what we talked about in the last paragraph, the difference in confidence and composure when faced with death, the wicked vs. Alma. These people were terrified and started to run around crazy when threatened with death, whereas Alma simply stated, "be it according to the will of the Lord." In fact, the wicked people were so afraid "that they fell to the earth, and did not obtain the outer door of the prison; and the earth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that they fell to the earth; and the chief judge, and the lawyers, and priests, and teachers, who smote upon Alma and Amulek, were slain by the fall thereof." This is a very impressive show of power, the cords that had held A&A for many days, suddenly were able to be broken, and at that exact moment, there was an earthquake that destroyed the wicked people inside the prison, but not the righteous A&A. This begs the question, why did the Lord wait several days to deliver A&A, when he clearly could right from the beginning. This reminds me of Nephi on the ship who was bound for 4 days and it wasn't until L&L saw that they were clearly going to die that they untied Nephi. The IM quotes Elder Richard G. Scott as teaching much about the principle of divine deliverance, it's long but very thought provoking, so I'm going to share the portion of it here:
I know that we pray for blessings, we pray for help and for guidance, but Elder Scott points out a few very key components of being delivered by the Lord that have to be remembered.
1. I found it most intriguing that he stated that Alma's answer to Amulek's concern about being burned to death, "be it according to the will of the Lord," is a "vital principle."
2. Then comes "though commanded to speak, they withstood, bound and naked, in silence waiting patiently for the Lord to inspire them to act." They waited for inspiration to come to them. They had the power the whole time, but it wasn't the time to act. Now what would have happened if Alma had acted before it was time, would the Lord have honored his request? I'm not sure, my guess is no, but that's just my guess. Then it would have shown all the unbelievers around them, Alma, who is supposed to be God's chosen prophet at the time, desperately trying to get God's help, but there's no answer. This would have been a seeming victory for Satan, and also disheartening for A&A. They waited PATIENTLY, to be inspired to action.
3. Finally, Alma cried, "give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance." Elder Scott taught "the Lord will give relief with divine power when you seek deliverance in humility and faith in Jesus Christ.
From these teachings, I can infer that deliverance from the Lord comes after we seek his will according to timing and action, and then when we believe with faith in Jesus Christ that we can be delivered. How does this apply to me as I pray for a different shift at work? That's an excellent question. I ask for a different shift, and I know that if he chose to, Jesus could make a shift for me that was perfect, and make sure that I was the only one that got it, I've seen miracles work like that for me before. But I also have to wait patiently for not only deliverance, but also what I need to learn from this situation. What lessons does the Lord need me to incorporate into my life as a result from my circumstances? I need to not just endure my time now, but thrive in it. And I guess that goes for not only my work schedule, but also being single, working hard as a mom, etc. I need to learn to not just survive, but bloom where I'm planted. Then when the Lord is ready, and when it's time, then things will change for me, I will change shifts, I might get married, and I'll be a good mom. But until then I'm grateful for the opportunity to grow and learn to thrive under pressure.
14:23-29 - A&A are tied up, naked, starving in prison and "the chief judge over the land of Ammonihah and many of their teachers and their lawyers went in unto the prison where Alma and Amulek were bound with cords," and continued abusing them, questioning, and mocking them. It must have been now that the Spirit told Alma that it's time, for "the power of God was upon Alma and Amulek, and they rose and stood upon their feet. And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance." They had the prominent political and spiritual leaders congregated inside the prison, so the timing was perfect, "and they broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them." Remember what we talked about in the last paragraph, the difference in confidence and composure when faced with death, the wicked vs. Alma. These people were terrified and started to run around crazy when threatened with death, whereas Alma simply stated, "be it according to the will of the Lord." In fact, the wicked people were so afraid "that they fell to the earth, and did not obtain the outer door of the prison; and the earth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that they fell to the earth; and the chief judge, and the lawyers, and priests, and teachers, who smote upon Alma and Amulek, were slain by the fall thereof." This is a very impressive show of power, the cords that had held A&A for many days, suddenly were able to be broken, and at that exact moment, there was an earthquake that destroyed the wicked people inside the prison, but not the righteous A&A. This begs the question, why did the Lord wait several days to deliver A&A, when he clearly could right from the beginning. This reminds me of Nephi on the ship who was bound for 4 days and it wasn't until L&L saw that they were clearly going to die that they untied Nephi. The IM quotes Elder Richard G. Scott as teaching much about the principle of divine deliverance, it's long but very thought provoking, so I'm going to share the portion of it here:
1. I found it most intriguing that he stated that Alma's answer to Amulek's concern about being burned to death, "be it according to the will of the Lord," is a "vital principle."
2. Then comes "though commanded to speak, they withstood, bound and naked, in silence waiting patiently for the Lord to inspire them to act." They waited for inspiration to come to them. They had the power the whole time, but it wasn't the time to act. Now what would have happened if Alma had acted before it was time, would the Lord have honored his request? I'm not sure, my guess is no, but that's just my guess. Then it would have shown all the unbelievers around them, Alma, who is supposed to be God's chosen prophet at the time, desperately trying to get God's help, but there's no answer. This would have been a seeming victory for Satan, and also disheartening for A&A. They waited PATIENTLY, to be inspired to action.
3. Finally, Alma cried, "give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance." Elder Scott taught "the Lord will give relief with divine power when you seek deliverance in humility and faith in Jesus Christ.
From these teachings, I can infer that deliverance from the Lord comes after we seek his will according to timing and action, and then when we believe with faith in Jesus Christ that we can be delivered. How does this apply to me as I pray for a different shift at work? That's an excellent question. I ask for a different shift, and I know that if he chose to, Jesus could make a shift for me that was perfect, and make sure that I was the only one that got it, I've seen miracles work like that for me before. But I also have to wait patiently for not only deliverance, but also what I need to learn from this situation. What lessons does the Lord need me to incorporate into my life as a result from my circumstances? I need to not just endure my time now, but thrive in it. And I guess that goes for not only my work schedule, but also being single, working hard as a mom, etc. I need to learn to not just survive, but bloom where I'm planted. Then when the Lord is ready, and when it's time, then things will change for me, I will change shifts, I might get married, and I'll be a good mom. But until then I'm grateful for the opportunity to grow and learn to thrive under pressure.
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