The words of Alma, and also the words of Amulek, which were declared unto the people who were in the land of Ammonihah. And also they are cast into prison, and delivered by the miraculous power of God which was in them, according to the record of Alma.
Comprising chapters 9 through 14.
Chapter 9
Alma commands the people of Ammonihah to repent—The Lord will be merciful to the Lamanites in the last days—If the Nephites forsake the light, they will be destroyed by the Lamanites—The Son of God will come soon—He will redeem those who repent, are baptized, and have faith in His name. About 82 B.C.
1 And
again, I, Alma, having been commanded of God so they go in His power and with a promise that He will "prepare a way" because it is a commandment that I should take Amulek
and go forth and preach again unto this people, or the people who were
in the city of aAmmonihah, it came to pass as I began to preach unto them, they began to contend with me, saying:
2 Who art thou? They gave each other authority and these men were not in their power structure. Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony of aone man, although he should preach unto us that the earth should pass away? Interesting they would say this, since there are 2 of them there....
3 Now they understood not the words which they spake; for they knew not that the earth should pass away. Satan always gets people tripped up in what they say. Hypocrisy is his game.
4 And they said also: We will not believe thy words if thou shouldst prophesy that this great city should be destroyed in aone day. They would know God could do this if they studied the scriptures...
5 Now they knew not that God could do such marvelous aworks, for they were a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people. Were they destroyed in one day because they had named it, like King Noah name his own death, and Pharaoh named his own curse?
6 And they said: aWho is God, that sendeth bno more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things? The mind of man is so small. They act as if they know God and can think smarter than Him. At least they recognize what they were hearing was "great and marvelous"...
7 And
they stood forth to lay their hands on me; but behold, they did not.
And I stood with boldness to declare unto them, yea, I did boldly
testify unto them, saying: You know you have the power of God when you can stand boldly against a mob.
8 Behold, O ye wicked and perverse ageneration, No soft words here. No pandering or trying to excuse their behavior No "just love them (even if they see you as an enemy and wish to harm you); don't judge them; just let them live how they choose and you go live how you choose. It doesn't hurt you. People get to choose. Just let them be. Just love them and accept them how they are." how have ye forgotten the btradition of your fathers; the righteous tradition yea, how soon ye have forgotten the commandments of God. They are not ignorant of the truth.
9 Do ye not remember that our father, yours, our, my family! We are all family. They were distant cousins, yet Alma brings them under the umbrella of their "first" Father. Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the ahand of God? Do ye not remember that they were all led by him through the wilderness?
10 And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he adelivered
our fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from
being destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren?
11 Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his along-suffering
towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of
the earth long before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to
a state of bendless misery and woe. As Nephites, they would have record of all these things and been taught them. Remember Alma had a period of time where he rebelled and did wicked things. He knew, that if it were not for the angel and the prayers of his father and the people, that he would have been consigned to a state of endless misery and woe himself. He knows what he is talking about...
12 Behold,
now I say unto you that he commandeth you to repent; not "I" command you, but God commands you. He is speaking for God here! and except ye
repent, ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. But behold, this is
not all—he has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly adestroy you from off the face of the earth; yea, he will visit you in his banger, and in his cfierce anger he will not turn away. The Eternal consequence is the greatest, so listed first. But the impending consequence is destruction right now. He reminded them first of God’s abundant mercy in the past, but warns them that He will not always be so...And that his delayed justice isn't because God loves them "as they are" but because He's giving them time to change or be confronted with change or knowingly go to their death. This is why I still think that we will have a religious revival asap. There needs to be more "knowing" rebellion before the hand of Judgement comes upon this land. Who will be our "Alma" voice to this people? Maybe he will take us back to our "first" Father - the founding Fathers and the truth about what we were founded upon.
13 Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: aInasmuch
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. This must have been the easiest thing to remember that Lehi taught, it's repeated so often. The greatest curse for not keeping the commandments is begin cut off from the "presence of the Lord". I find that phrase interesting, since we don't picture his "presence" as being physical. I'm thinking it means his guidance, or His Spirit. And we see clearly, in the Book of Mormon and in our own world history, that when the Spirit withdraws people get very very wicked and can do awful things! I wonder if what is going on in the church right now is evidence that we have been "cut off from his presence" since the prophet didn't get any revelation on the greatest evil that has been perpetrated on mankind since the Holocaust. We are in a period of great inflation and our country is not prospering. The church has billions in investments that are tanking and many have left the church or stopped paying their tithing, so while they have much wealth, they are not prospering as before. Where is our Alma? Just heard an interview with a man that said the church's lawyers advised them on a practice that ended up being illegal. They trusted these lawyers and the lawyers were wrong. It cost the church $5 million in fines. Who missed the inspiration here? They also trusted experts on the Hoffman forgeries and the experts were wrong. They also trusted medical experts on the covid vaccine and those experts were also wrong. What can we learn from this?
14 Now I would that ye should remember, that inasmuch as the Lamanites have not kept the commandments of God, they have been acut off
from the presence of the Lord. Now we see that the word of the Lord has
been verified in this thing, and the Lamanites have been cut off from
his presence, from the beginning of their transgressions in the land. This was their curse. I’m thinking this is one of the reasons God promised that Laman and Lemuel’s seed would not be utterly destroyed. Without the Spirit...how would their children be fully accountable for the continuing lies? Certainly they still had the light of Christ to know right from wrong, but they did not have the Holy Ghost.
15 Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more atolerable for them in the day of judgment than for you, if ye remain in your sins, yea, and even more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except ye repent. He separates the consequences they will feel in this life from those on the day of judgement. We are judged according to our knowledge and our chances for learning. There are still consequences for wrong choices made, even if that is what you were taught, but it's not the final judgment or the same judgment as sinning against the light.
16 For there are many promises which are aextended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the btraditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of cignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and dprolong their existence in the land. Maybe this is why the hand of judgement has been stayed on our land again. The majority of sinners do so because of the "traditions of their fathers" who didn't teach them the truth because their parents didn't teach them the truth, or their parent's parents etc.
17 And at some period of time they will be abrought
to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the
traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the
Lord will be merciful unto all who bcall on his name. I think we still need to see this fulfilled. Never forget the power of the “name” of Jesus Christ. Just saying His name has power! I listen to a meditation that says the name of God in Hebrew is pronounced/experienced as "breathe" - that you literally say the name of God each time you breathe!
18 But behold, I say unto you that if ye persist in your wickedness that your days shall not be aprolonged in the land, for the bLamanites shall be sent upon you; and if ye repent not they shall come in a time when you know not, and ye shall be visited with cutter destruction; and it shall be according to the fierce danger of the Lord. Interesting the Lord will use the Lamanites hatred to destroy the Nephites. Why not rain fire down from heaven? Why add more murders to the Lamanite roster? Could it be partly because if the Nephites were righteous they would be trying to reclaim the Lamanites, thus preventing this outcome? Is this just more of "the wicked kill the wicked"?
19 For he will not suffer you that ye shall live in your iniquities, to adestroy
his people. I say unto you, Nay; he would rather suffer that the
Lamanites might destroy all his people who are called the people of
Nephi, if it were possible that they could bfall into sins and transgressions, after having had so much light and so much knowledge given unto them of the Lord their God; It kind of sounds like he is saying it would be better for the Lamanites to destroy the Nephites than the Nephites destroy the Nephites...are they sinning after having been Born Again?
20 Yea, after having been such a highly favored people of the Lord; yea, after having been favored above every other anation, kindred, tongue, or people; after having had all things bmade
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; Do you believe you can have all things made known to you by your desires, faith, and prayers? Isn't that what this is saying? Sounds like we are only limited by ourselves, not God, on what we can know.
21 Having been avisited
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 btranslation; of languages. I’m not thinking that the people being preached to experienced all these gifts personally...but they had the benefit of being ministered to by those who did, so they still “knew” of these blessings and miracles and were blessed by them.
22 Yea, and after having been adelivered of God out of the land of Jerusalem, by the hand of the Lord; having been bsaved
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 cbondage
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—Somewhere back in their line people had been Born Again and the children had left that knowledge or the people had not taught their children or had turned from their knowledge. But LOOK at the gifts that come from being Born Again!:
- highly favored above others
- all things made known unto you, according to your desires and faith and prayers
even things which have been, are, and will come to pass
- you are visited by the Spirit of God
- you converse with angels
- are spoken to by the voice of the Lord
- have the spirit of prophecy
- have the spirit of revelation
- have many gifts:
*speaking with tongues,
* gift of preaching,
* gift of the Holy Ghost
* gift of translation
- saved from famine, sickness, all manner of diseases of every kind
- wax strong in battle that you might not be destroyed
- brought out of bondage time after time
- kept and preserved
- prosper until you are rich in all manner of things
23 And
now behold I say unto you, that if this people, who have received so
many blessings from the hand of the Lord, should transgress acontrary
to the light and knowledge which they do have, I say unto you that if
this be the case, that if they should fall into transgression, it would
be far more btolerable for the Lamanites than for them.
24 For behold, the apromises of the Lord are extended to the Lamanites, but they are not unto you if ye transgress; for has not the Lord expressly promised and firmly decreed, that if ye will rebel against him that ye shall butterly be destroyed from off the face of the earth? You can only rebel if you have had it first. LOOK at what they had!
25 And
now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has sent his
angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them that they must
go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: aRepent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand; Is he referring to angels over the years, or in the current timeframe?
26 And anot many days 82 years not long in the grand scheme, but still long if you are alive when he says it... clearly only in the lifetime of the very youngest of them and not the adults he's talking to hence the Son of God shall come in his bglory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of cgrace, equity, and truth, full of patience, dmercy, and long-suffering, quick to ehear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers. I feel like part of our “unbelief” is that Jesus does not so quickly extend His grace and mercy to answer our prayers; that somehow it is His will that we “suffer” and “learn from our trials”. Not so sure this is true faith in Jesus Christ. I think sometimes that is true, but my faith is that this should always be our faith and then we accept His will if it is not, but we shouldn’t lead out with “but if not...” Alma prayed for these people, went again, prayers weren't granted until after he'd had no success, but his prayers were answered, and still pretty quickly. But his faith was tested first.
27 And behold, he cometh to aredeem those who will be bbaptized unto repentance, through faith on his name. And that "redemption" comes when we are Born Again.
28 Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand that all men shall reap a areward of their bworks, according to that which they have been—if they have been righteous they shall creap
the salvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of
Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the ddamnation of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil. Since man's lifespan isn't that long...for all of us it is 'not many days hence' that we will reap our reward according to our works. If one day to God is a thousand of our years, then truly our life is less than one day to God. Truly it is “today” until He comes, which will be “tomorrow” after the “day of the Lord” when His judgments are poured out and we start a new “millennial day”. This is a great statement also on faith and works. Works are a product of the intents of our hearts and our faith. They do not come first they come second. We are saved by faith and then our works will be good after we receive Christ. If we do not have faith, then we will not seek Christ and our works will evil because they cannot save us.
29 Now behold, this is the voice of the angel, crying unto the people. Not Alma's voice
30 And now, my abeloved
brethren, for ye are my brethren, and ye ought to be beloved, and ye
ought to bring forth works which are meet for repentance, seeing that
your hearts have been grossly hardened against the word of God, and
seeing that ye are a blost and a fallen people. Even in the middle of 'hard words' Alma reveals his love for the people and his desires that they be his brothers once again. Just like his desire that the Lamanites are reclaimed too... Notice the kind of "works" that matter..."works meet for repentance"
31 Now
it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken these words, behold, the
people were wroth with me because I said unto them that they were a
hard-hearted and a astiffnecked people. So much pride "sticks and stones"...we are not the first "snowflake" generation...That's all they heard from this entire message?
32 And
also because I said unto them that they were a lost and a fallen people
they were angry with me, and sought to lay their hands upon me, that
they might cast me into prison.
33 But it came to pass that the Lord did not suffer them that they should take me aat that time and cast me into prison. I wonder how this was prevented. It should surely have caused them to wonder...Reminds me of when the Jews could not take Jesus either...
34 And it came to pass that Amulek went and stood forth, Here is your second witness. You asked for it in the beginning, as if to say if there were more than one witness you would believe. God is giving you a chance according to your own words... and began to preach unto them also. And now the awords of Amulek are not all written, nevertheless a part of his words are written in this book.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I would love for you to add to the discussion with honest, but positive, faith-promoting comments. All other comments will not be posted.