Alma 21
21:1-11 - Let's go back really quick to chapter 17 where the sons of Mosiah and all those that had gone with them, split up and go there separate ways. We immediately go into the story of Ammon and everything that happens with him, and I think overall, it's was a very good editorial move on Mormon's part. But now at chapter 21, we can kind of go back and insert this here after they all split up and follow the story of Aaron, Muloki, Ammah and others, though it's not as exciting or as detailed, it's still interesting and profitable to continue their story as well. Ammon goes to the land of Ishmael to Lamoni and "Aaron took his journey towards the land which was called by the Lamanites, Jerusalem, calling it after the land of their fathers' nativity;... Now the Lamanites and the Amalekites and the people of Amulon had built a great city, which was called Jerusalem." We hear again the name Amulon, even though it's been a while, we last hear of Amulon in Mosiah 24, when he becomes the governor of the people of Alma in the land of Helam, from which they promptly escape miraculously. Even though we are months removed from our discussions involving Amulon, really, it's not that far removed from the history here. The sons of Mosiah are the same age as Alma the Younger who is now the prophet of the church in Zarahemla, but in reality he was probably born and raised in Helam and was subject himself to Amulon's rule. So here some the sons of Mosiah, as probably younger men, maybe mid 20's to 30's depending on the time, which means that the people of Alma had only escaped from Amulon's rule maybe 20 years earlier. Surely the remaining citizens of the land of Helam still remember having Nephite slaves among them, I wonder how they felt when more Nephites preaching religion show up. Having just come from the story of Ammon and his wild and miraculous success among Lamoni's people, it's kind of a shock to see that the others didn't have the same kind of experience, but let's consider their audience for just a second. Lamoni was a traditional Lamanite for sure, but he seemed to be a fair and reasonable man, from his dealings with Ammon to that fiasco with the slaying of his servants who had their flocks scattered. The other Lamanites that Aaron went to "were sufficiently hardened, but the Amalekites and the Amulonites were still harder." If I remember correctly we talked about the difference between dwindling in unbelief and actively rebelling against God, because spiritual death caused by the fall is much more benign and much easier to overcome than a spiritual rebirth then a subsequent murder of that same spirit in which you turn over to the dark side. It's kind of like the lesser of two evils here, were the apostate Nephites just naturally more wicked than the Lamanites? No we know that that's not true, it was because they had felt, then rejected Christ, that is a much more violent spiritual death and can cause one to plummet into darkness at a rapid rate, whereas simply never knowing is a more consistent way of living, it's the ultimate survival vs. rapid self-destruction model. Aaron must have known that he was going among the Amalekites, and "he began to preach to them in their synagogues." Pretty bold move there, that is simply an amazing show of courage and faith, and they were not only not receptive but they were pretty hostile toward him. Now the line of questioning that the Amalekite takes towards Aaron is very interesting asking "hast thou seen an angel? Why do not angels appear unto us? Behold are not this people as good as thy people?" Valid question, I guess. The Amalekites surely saw divine messengers as being held in reserved for God's favorite people, and since they didn't see any, they didn't feel like they were special to God, and they had no intention of serving a God like that. But we've seen from numerous examples that the angelic visitations is no sure fire way of demonstrating God's love or guarantee that those witnesses would have immediately believed and changed their ways. L&L for instance, the people of Lamoni who saw all those miracles and still refused to believe. We know as we study that the gift of the Holy Ghost is a much more valuable gift than angels appearing, and on going companionship with the Spirit is much more conducive to continuous spiritual growth than a single angelic manifestation. So in a round about way they are asking for a sign, and we know how that always turns out... not good. The Amalekite continues by listing their qualifications for righteousness: "Behold, we have built sanctuaries, and we do assemble ourselves together to worship God. We do believe that God will save all men." "See we're righteous, look at all the churches that we have!" Living your religion on the outside, but not the inside is the very nature that the Savior condemned the Pharisees for when he lived in Jerusalem, and it's no less valid here. The nice thing about the Atonement, is that the Lord meets us where we are, if going to church is the best we can do at that time, then he meets us there, if some of us (of course not me, why would you assume that?) struggle to make it inside the chapel for Sacrament meeting, then He meets us there, but the difference is that the Amalekite isn't saying "we go to church and try our best but we are still struggling," he's saying "we go to church, and that's enough, leave us alone." Another point he made that I might find fault with, though I don't understand the context and Mormon doesn't expound on it, is "we do believe that God will save all men." We know that Jesus came to save men, not in their sins, but from their sins, what the statement here implies is that all men will be saved regardless of what they do or how they live. This is the ultimate "get out of jail free" card, the excuse to do anything and everything with no regrets, no looking back. Aaron's come back to all that is simply to ask "believest thou that the Son of God shall come to redeem mankind from their sins?" And of course they respond with accusations and a blatant disregard for anything prophecy and simply responded "we do not believe that thou knowest any such thing... neither to we believe that thy fathers and also that our fathers did know concerning the things which they spake, of that which is to come." "No one can see the future, so don't tell us to behave ourselves because of something that will happen later." That seems to be the epitome of "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die," kind of living. But they were not interested in hearing his teachings about "the coming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death and suffering of Christ, and the atonement of his blood," nope not interested, and "they were angry with him, and began to mock him, and they would not hear the words which he spake." There's that "would not hear," instead of the "could not hear," that we would except.
21:11-17 - So Aaron traveled around the many cities, meeting up with Muloki and Ammah and others, until they finally came to Middoni, where they were imprisoned and made to suffer, until Ammon and Lamoni came and they were finally given some relief for their suffering. So after having many negative experiences, suffering immensely, and having little to no success, it would be easy to see that they might give up and go home, surely their efforts were enough, surely the had done their best and the Lord was pleased with their efforts, but they didn't, "they went forth again to declare the word... and they went whithersoever they were led by the Spirit of the Lord, preaching the word of God in every synagogue of the Amalekites, or in every assembly of the Lamanites where they could be admitted." So not only did they not give up and go home, they didn't even beg to go with Ammon where it was safe and secure and where they could bask in the success of missionary work. No they went back to not only the Lamanites, but more specifically the Amalekites, they went back. There has to be some sort of message in that. They suffered terribly, they were rejected and yet once they were delivered, they still went back, and it occurs to me that they went back because they were following the guidance of the Holy Ghost. So the Spirit tells them to go back, and they do, even after all they had experienced, and even though they had no guarantee that they would not simply experience the same outcome as before, they still go back, to the Amalekites, and to anywhere that they would be allowed in, anywhere. What an example of faith, they knew what was possible to happen to them if they stayed around or went back, but they went because the Lord asked them to. How many times does the Lord ask us to do things and we are not so valiant in doing so? I know that for me, there are many things that I could be doing better, and they are easy things, be nice, help others, be a good mom, work hard, all that, I'm not being asked to go preach the gospel to an angry mob where death and torture stare me in the face. No I'm asked to be good, be kind, and love others. I bet I could be doing better, they went back because they loved God and wanted to serve him, and they believed that no matter what happened, success, torture, or death, whatever it was was for their good, would be in the service of their God and that's the only mission they cared about completing. Their faith and diligence and valiance was rewards and "the Lord began to bless them, insomuch that they brought many to the knowledge of the truth; yea, they did convince many of their sins, and of the traditions of the fathers, which were not correct." They started to have success! No imagine if they had been discouraged and gone home, or had been more afraid than faithful and went to stay with Ammon where it was safe, they never would have served the Lamanites in teaching them the gospel, they never would have had that success, they never would have experienced that joy with the Savior over all the souls that they brought unto Him.
21:18-23 - Aaron and his brethren begin to have success, and Ammon and Lamoni go back to the land of Ishmael to continue building up the church, "and king Lamoni would not suffer that Ammon should serve him, or be his servant." I hadn't considered that when they got back their homes, the same king/servant roles still might have been assumed, interesting that Lamoni set that straight. But Lamoni did begin to build synagogues and to have his people go there to be taught, but then he "did rejoice over them, and he did teach them many things." Remind anyone of king Benjamin, who served, loved, and guided his people. Interesting that accepting the gospel helps us see each other as people and not just things or possessions, including Lamoni who now obviously was thrilled by his people's acceptance of the gospel. "And he did also declare unto them that they were a people who were under him, and that they were a free people, that they were free from the oppressions of the king, his father." Rough crowd, "hey my dad is a dictatorial tyrant and now we're free!" And he also granted his people "the liberty of worshiping the Lord their God according to their desires, in whatsoever place they were in." Allowing and even encouraging his people to establish their own relationship with God, I wonder if that might be something for us to consider as parents, yes, we cause our children to assemble themselves together to be taught the gospel (at church,) but we also must allow them the liberty of establishing their own personal relationship with God. And maybe because Lamoni did this "they gave heed unto his word, and they were zealous for keeping the commandments of God." Zealous? Why were the people of Lamoni zealous, when others, such as the Nephites, were not? They had a strong leadership, Lamoni and Ammon, they were taught to take themselves from their lost and spiritual dead state and become true followers of Christ. In an April 2010 general conference address entitled "Things Pertaining to Righteousness" Francisco J. Vinas taught "The spiritual healing of those who have been dead as to the things pertaining to righteousness comes about through the power of the Atonement, conversion to the truth, and adherence to the principles of righteousness. Teaching our members and families about the things pertaining to righteousness is essential in the process of achieving an enduring conversion since it can lead them to obtain a correct knowledge of the Lord's commandments, the principles and doctrines of the gospel, and the requirements and ordinances with which we much comply in order to achieve salvation in the Lord's kingdom. There are many examples in the scriptures that confirm the importance of teaching the "things pertaining to righteousness" to help obtain an enduring conversion." True conversion, obedience to the commandments and teachings of the prophets, employing the Atonement, those are some of the factors that led to the converted Lamanites to be "zealous for keeping the commandments of God." Are we zealous? Are we excited to keep the commandments? Do we keep them because we have to or because we want to? Do we serve others out of obligation or do we serve others because we love the Lord? Do we secretly wish that we didn't have to obey so that we could have some "fun" or are we grateful that we get to obey so that we can be safe and happy?
21:11-17 - So Aaron traveled around the many cities, meeting up with Muloki and Ammah and others, until they finally came to Middoni, where they were imprisoned and made to suffer, until Ammon and Lamoni came and they were finally given some relief for their suffering. So after having many negative experiences, suffering immensely, and having little to no success, it would be easy to see that they might give up and go home, surely their efforts were enough, surely the had done their best and the Lord was pleased with their efforts, but they didn't, "they went forth again to declare the word... and they went whithersoever they were led by the Spirit of the Lord, preaching the word of God in every synagogue of the Amalekites, or in every assembly of the Lamanites where they could be admitted." So not only did they not give up and go home, they didn't even beg to go with Ammon where it was safe and secure and where they could bask in the success of missionary work. No they went back to not only the Lamanites, but more specifically the Amalekites, they went back. There has to be some sort of message in that. They suffered terribly, they were rejected and yet once they were delivered, they still went back, and it occurs to me that they went back because they were following the guidance of the Holy Ghost. So the Spirit tells them to go back, and they do, even after all they had experienced, and even though they had no guarantee that they would not simply experience the same outcome as before, they still go back, to the Amalekites, and to anywhere that they would be allowed in, anywhere. What an example of faith, they knew what was possible to happen to them if they stayed around or went back, but they went because the Lord asked them to. How many times does the Lord ask us to do things and we are not so valiant in doing so? I know that for me, there are many things that I could be doing better, and they are easy things, be nice, help others, be a good mom, work hard, all that, I'm not being asked to go preach the gospel to an angry mob where death and torture stare me in the face. No I'm asked to be good, be kind, and love others. I bet I could be doing better, they went back because they loved God and wanted to serve him, and they believed that no matter what happened, success, torture, or death, whatever it was was for their good, would be in the service of their God and that's the only mission they cared about completing. Their faith and diligence and valiance was rewards and "the Lord began to bless them, insomuch that they brought many to the knowledge of the truth; yea, they did convince many of their sins, and of the traditions of the fathers, which were not correct." They started to have success! No imagine if they had been discouraged and gone home, or had been more afraid than faithful and went to stay with Ammon where it was safe, they never would have served the Lamanites in teaching them the gospel, they never would have had that success, they never would have experienced that joy with the Savior over all the souls that they brought unto Him.
21:18-23 - Aaron and his brethren begin to have success, and Ammon and Lamoni go back to the land of Ishmael to continue building up the church, "and king Lamoni would not suffer that Ammon should serve him, or be his servant." I hadn't considered that when they got back their homes, the same king/servant roles still might have been assumed, interesting that Lamoni set that straight. But Lamoni did begin to build synagogues and to have his people go there to be taught, but then he "did rejoice over them, and he did teach them many things." Remind anyone of king Benjamin, who served, loved, and guided his people. Interesting that accepting the gospel helps us see each other as people and not just things or possessions, including Lamoni who now obviously was thrilled by his people's acceptance of the gospel. "And he did also declare unto them that they were a people who were under him, and that they were a free people, that they were free from the oppressions of the king, his father." Rough crowd, "hey my dad is a dictatorial tyrant and now we're free!" And he also granted his people "the liberty of worshiping the Lord their God according to their desires, in whatsoever place they were in." Allowing and even encouraging his people to establish their own relationship with God, I wonder if that might be something for us to consider as parents, yes, we cause our children to assemble themselves together to be taught the gospel (at church,) but we also must allow them the liberty of establishing their own personal relationship with God. And maybe because Lamoni did this "they gave heed unto his word, and they were zealous for keeping the commandments of God." Zealous? Why were the people of Lamoni zealous, when others, such as the Nephites, were not? They had a strong leadership, Lamoni and Ammon, they were taught to take themselves from their lost and spiritual dead state and become true followers of Christ. In an April 2010 general conference address entitled "Things Pertaining to Righteousness" Francisco J. Vinas taught "The spiritual healing of those who have been dead as to the things pertaining to righteousness comes about through the power of the Atonement, conversion to the truth, and adherence to the principles of righteousness. Teaching our members and families about the things pertaining to righteousness is essential in the process of achieving an enduring conversion since it can lead them to obtain a correct knowledge of the Lord's commandments, the principles and doctrines of the gospel, and the requirements and ordinances with which we much comply in order to achieve salvation in the Lord's kingdom. There are many examples in the scriptures that confirm the importance of teaching the "things pertaining to righteousness" to help obtain an enduring conversion." True conversion, obedience to the commandments and teachings of the prophets, employing the Atonement, those are some of the factors that led to the converted Lamanites to be "zealous for keeping the commandments of God." Are we zealous? Are we excited to keep the commandments? Do we keep them because we have to or because we want to? Do we serve others out of obligation or do we serve others because we love the Lord? Do we secretly wish that we didn't have to obey so that we could have some "fun" or are we grateful that we get to obey so that we can be safe and happy?
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