Alma 23

(All of my own thoughts are in red type 7/20 Green 4/21 orange 7/22 Brown 8/23.)

Chapter 23

Religious freedom is proclaimed—The Lamanites in seven lands and cities are converted—They call themselves Anti-Nephi-Lehies and are freed from the curse—The Amalekites and the Amulonites reject the truth. About 90–77 B.C.

  1 Behold, now it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites sent a ^aproclamation among all his people, that they should not lay their hands on Ammon, or Aaron, or Omner, or Himni, nor either of their brethren who should go forth preaching the word of God, in whatsoever place they should be, in any part of their land. Was he anticipating some rejection? 
  2 Yea, he sent a decree among them, that they should not lay their hands on them to bind them, or to cast them into prison; neither should they spit upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their ^asynagogues, nor scourge them; neither should they cast stones at them, All the things they had done before. What a relief for these missionaries! but that they should have free access to their houses, and also their temples, and their ^bsanctuaries. Free access to their houses? Does that mean they have to let them in? Or does it mean they need to offer them food or lodging if asked? 
  3 And thus they might go forth and preach the word according to their desires, for the king had been converted unto the Lord, and ^aall his ^bhousehold; therefore he sent his proclamation throughout the land unto his people, that the word of God might have no obstruction, but that it might go forth throughout all the land, that his people might be convinced concerning the wicked ^ctraditions of their fathers, and that they might be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness. I think about how hard it is to change cultural traditions as simple as missionary farewells! Imagine trying to change what you had believed your whole life about your history!
  4 And now it came to pass that when the king had sent forth this proclamation, that Aaron and his brethren went forth from ^acity to city, and from one house of worship to another, establishing churches, and consecrating ^bpriests and teachers throughout the land among the Lamanites, to preach and to teach the word of God among them; and thus they began to have great success. Martin Luther King said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." See how much influence for good one righteous king can have? 
  5 And ^athousands were brought to the knowledge of the Lord, yea, thousands were brought to believe in the ^btraditions of the Nephites; and they were taught the ^crecords and prophecies which were handed down even to the present time. We must never lose faith that THOUSANDS can be converted from their hard hearts and false traditions. It helps to have the scriptures to verify your word. If the BOM is a type for the last days, then we should see this kind of conversion among large groups of people again!
  6 And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working ^amiracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were ^bconverted unto the Lord, ^cnever did fall away. Explain this to me. Was it the power of God working miracles in them? If so, why does He not do that for everyone? What was it about this group of people that prepared them to wholeheartedly change? Or is this the effect of truly mighty preaching? Why do we not have that in our day. Is it coming?
  7 For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren.
  8 Now, these are ^athey who were converted unto the Lord:
  9 The people of the Lamanites who were in the land of Ishmael;
 10 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of ^aMiddoni;
 11 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the city of Nephi;
 12 And also of the people of the Lamanites who were in the land of ^aShilom, and who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the city of Lemuel, and in the city of Shimnilom. WHOLE cities!
 13 And these are the names of the cities of the Lamanites which were ^aconverted unto the Lord; and these are they that laid down the weapons of their rebellion, yea, all their weapons of war; and they were all Lamanites.
 14 And the Amalekites were not ^aconverted, save only one; I want to know his story! neither were any of the ^bAmulonites; but they did harden their hearts, and also the hearts of the Lamanites in that part of the land wheresoever they dwelt, yea, and all their villages and all their cities. What made these Lamanites different? I know the Amalekites and Amulonites are apostate Nephites, so I get them. But why did the rest of the Lamanites, as a group, not believe?
 15 Therefore, we have named all the cities They seemed to join by cities or not by cities. Leadership? of the Lamanites in which they did repent and come to the knowledge of the truth, and were converted.
 16 And now it came to pass that the king and those who were converted were desirous that they might have a name, Seems to be a law/pattern in heaven that when you enter a "next" level of progression you get a "new name" that thereby they might be distinguished from their brethren; You can see here the importance of being distinguished from unbelievers. You want to have your children marry in the faith. These Lamanites could not be distinguished from the non believing Lamanites any more than the Nephites could from the non-believing Nephites. Skin color was not the factor here... therefore the king consulted with Aaron and many of their priests, concerning the name that they should take upon them, that they might be distinguished.
 17 And it came to pass that they called their names ^aAnti-Nephi-Lehies; and they were called by this name and were no more called ^bLamanites. Anti means 'considered one of; alike unto" or something close to that. It doesn't mean "against". Right now, it is a big thing to “distinguish” people based on their beliefs (masks, shots, politics, skin color, etc). Division is usually portrayed as bad by the Lord (if ye are not one ye are not mine)...but clearly those who are “one” in the Lord are distinguished from those who are “not”. This seems to be a kind of “gathering” language. Gather with those who believe like you and stay “separate” from those who don’t, even while trying to convert others to join you. So much for "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion". How does that fit with "Sheep and Goats"'; "Wheat and Tares"; 3 Degrees of Glory; "Sun, Moon, Starts"; 
 18 And they began to be a very ^aindustrious people; yea, and they were friendly with the Nephites; therefore, they did ^bopen a correspondence with them, and the ^ccurse of God did no more follow them.

work hard
be kind
communicate
God will be with you. The curse is to be cut off from his presence! No mention of the curse being a skin color...