Alma 31

(All of my own thoughts are in red type 7/20 Green 5/21  8/22 Brown 8/23.)

Chapter 31

Alma heads a mission to reclaim the apostate Zoramites—The Zoramites deny Christ, believe in a false concept of election, and worship with set prayers—The missionaries are filled with the Holy Spirit—Their afflictions are swallowed up in the joy of Christ. About 74 B.C.

  1 Now it came to pass that after the end of Korihor, Alma having received tidings that the Zoramites were perverting the ways of the Lord, and that Zoram, who was their leader, was leading the hearts of the people to ^abow down to dumb ^bidols, Never understood the draw to worship idols his heart again began to ^csicken I am beginning to understand this phrase. I was grieving today and my heart was sick because of child sex trafficking:(  because of the iniquity of the people. The Zoramites is where Korihor went and met his demise.
  2 For it was the cause of great ^asorrow to Alma to know of iniquity among his people; therefore his heart was exceedingly ^bsorrowful because of the separation of the Zoramites from the Nephites. He has worked so hard to reclaim people and it makes him so sad when people separate themselves from the righteous.
  3 Now the Zoramites had gathered themselves together in a land which they called ^aAntionum, which was east of the land of Zarahemla, which lay nearly bordering upon the seashore, which was south of the land of ^bJershon, which also bordered upon the wilderness south, which wilderness was full of the Lamanites.
  4 Now the Nephites greatly feared that the Zoramites would enter into a ^acorrespondence with the Lamanites, and that it would be the means of great loss on the part of the Nephites.
  5 And now, as the ^apreaching of the ^bword had a great tendency to ^clead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God. I am assuming this is seen when the word is preached with the spirit and power of God. Missionaries preach the word all the time and people are not convinced. I assume they have a measure of the spirit as well. He does qualify this with the words "tendency" meaning not all the time. But testimony doesn't come by the sword or force and experiences vary according to how we interpret them.
  6 Therefore he took Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner; and Himni he did leave in the church in Zarahemla; but the former three he took with him, and also ^aAmulek and Zeezrom, who were at ^bMelek; and he also took two of his sons. One of the things I love about the new Book of Mormon videos is that it shows the wives of the prophets. The Book of Mormon doesn't mention the wife of Alma at all, but he certainly had one if he had sons. And what great sacrifice she made to have him gone so much and for so long preaching. This is quite a missionary force he took with him!
  7 Now the eldest of his sons he took not with him, and his name was Helaman; Why not? To care for his family? but the names of those whom he took with him were ^aShiblon and ^bCorianton; and these are the names of those who went with him among the ^cZoramites, to preach unto them the word.
  8 Now the Zoramites were ^adissenters from the Nephites; therefore they had had the word of God preached unto them.
  9 But they had ^afallen into great errors, for they would not observe to keep the commandments of God, and his statutes, according to the law of Moses.
 10 Neither would they observe the ^aperformances of the church, to continue in prayer and supplication to God daily, that they might not enter into temptation. Do we see daily prayer as a “performance of the church”?  Do you pray daily to not enter into temptation? Do you believe it matters if you do or don’t pray daily? 
 11 Yea, in fine, they did pervert the ways of the Lord in very many instances; therefore, for this cause, Alma and his brethren went into the land to preach the word unto them. How are we "perverting" the ways of the Lord? 
 12 Now, when they had come into the land, behold, to their astonishment they found that the Zoramites had built synagogues, and that they did gather themselves together on one day of the week, which day they did call the day of the Lord; and they did ^aworship after a manner which Alma and his brethren had never beheld;
 13 For they had a place built up in the center of their synagogue, a place for standing, which was high above the head; and the top thereof would only admit one person.
 14 Therefore, whosoever desired to ^aworship must go forth and stand upon the top thereof, and stretch forth his hands towards heaven, and cry with a loud voice, saying:
 15 Holy, holy God; we believe that thou art God, and we believe that thou art holy, and that thou wast a ^aspirit, and that thou art a spirit, and that thou wilt be a spirit forever.
 16 Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us from our brethren; and we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren, which was handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers; but we believe that thou hast ^aelected us to be thy ^bholy children; and also thou hast made it known unto us that ^cthere shall be ^dno Christ. So they believe in revelation? 
 17 But thou art the same yesterday, today, and forever; and thou hast ^aelected us that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are elected to be cast by thy wrath down to hell; for the which holiness, O God, we thank thee; and we also thank thee that thou hast elected us, that we may not be led away after the foolish traditions of our brethren, which doth ^bbind them down to a belief of Christ, which doth lead their hearts to wander far from thee, our God.
 18 And again we thank thee, O God, that we are a chosen and a holy people. Amen.
 19 Now it came to pass that after Alma and his brethren and his sons had heard these prayers, they were astonished beyond all measure. I wonder what made up their wonder. Was it that these people had moved from the same teachings to this weird place? How did they come to believe this prayer?
 20 For behold, every man did go forth and offer up these same ^aprayers.
 21 Now the place was called by them Rameumptom, which, being interpreted, is the holy stand.
 22 Now, from this stand they did offer up, every man, the selfsame prayer unto God, thanking their God that they were chosen of him, and that he did not lead them away after the tradition of their brethren, and that their hearts were not stolen away to believe in things to come, which they knew nothing about. It kind of had the makings of Korihor's teachings, but still professed belief in a God that had made them special. The kind of copied the story of the Lamanites believing the false stories of their fathers and made it a Nephite problem of believing different false stories of their fathers. 
 23 Now, after the people had all offered up thanks after this manner, they returned to their homes, ^anever speaking of their God again until they had assembled themselves together again to the holy stand, to offer up thanks after their manner. Sounds like it's all a show...
 24 Now when Alma saw this his heart was ^agrieved; for he saw that they were a wicked and a perverse people; yea, he saw that their hearts were set upon gold, and upon silver, and upon all manner of fine goods. Which they probably justified as evidence of their chosen status. Do we do that too because of our wealth?
 25 Yea, and he also saw that their hearts were ^alifted up unto great boasting, in their pride. This is a common occurrence among Christians who go to church on Sunday and then never think of God again the other six days, or even 5 minutes after they get home from church. Happens among our members as well. We are probably worse since when we think we are a “chosen” people as well, and think other Christians don’t worship “right” and rest on our supposed “election” to save us, not seeking to truly follow Christ 24/7.
 26 And he lifted up his voice to heaven, and ^acried, saying: O, how long, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that thy servants shall dwell here below in the flesh, to behold such gross wickedness among the children of men? Child Sex Trafficking is trending in social media right now. The awareness of this atrocious evilness is starting to reach mainstream consciousness. A movie was made (outside of Hollywood) that has sold 17 million tickets since July 1st. It's even more in the awareness than ever. Sound of Freedom is the name.
 27 Behold, O God, they ^acry unto thee, and yet their hearts are swallowed up in their pride. Behold, O God, they cry unto thee with their mouths, while they are ^bpuffed up, even to greatness, with the vain things of the ^cworld.
 28 Behold, O my God, their costly apparel, and their ringlets, and their ^abracelets, and their ornaments of gold, and all their precious things which they are ornamented with; and behold, their hearts are set upon them, and yet they cry unto thee and say—We thank thee, O God, for we are a chosen people unto thee, while others shall perish.
 29 Yea, and they say that thou hast made it known unto them that there shall be no Christ. So they don't believe in sin? They believe God will save all men because he created them? Oh wait...not all men...just them. Why would God save just them?
 30 O Lord God, how long wilt thou suffer that such wickedness and infidelity shall be among this people? O Lord, wilt thou give me strength, that I may ^abear with mine infirmities. For I am infirm, and such wickedness among this people doth pain my soul.
 31 O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul ^ain Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these ^bafflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.
 32 O Lord, wilt thou comfort my soul, and give unto me success, and also my fellow laborers who are with me—yea, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and also ^aAmulek and Zeezrom, and also my ^btwo sons—yea, even all these wilt thou comfort, O Lord. Yea, wilt thou comfort their souls in Christ. What does this mean exactly? Is it in Christ's victory over evil and death?
 33 Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they may ^abear their afflictions which shall come upon them because of the iniquities of this people. What afflictions are they going to face? How do they keep walking into the fire?
 34 O Lord, wilt thou grant ^aunto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ.
 35 Behold, O Lord, their ^asouls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee. They have had amazing success stories with the Lamanites. These are their own people whom they once associated with. They know people can change, though apostates are harder to convince...
 36 Now it came to pass that when Alma had said these words, that he ^aclapped his ^bhands upon all them what does this mean? who were with him. And behold, as he clapped his hands upon them, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. I assume they all had been baptized and received the Holy Ghost...even been Born Again and had the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. So what was the "filling" of the Holy Ghost? Maybe they hadn’t been Born Again and this was it? Either way, this would make them powerful teachers full of the Spirit.
 37 And after that they did separate themselves one from another, ^ataking no thought for themselves what they should eat, or what they should drink, or what they should put on. Total trust!
 38 And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of ^aafflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in ^bfaith. Such a powerful promise and example. Alma's faith brought down the power of God on his missionary companions. How does one suffer affliction while being swallowed in the joy of Christ? This is important for what is coming!  Truly God honors faith. There is a scripture that says we are his ‘elect’ because of our faith. We limit God by saying nothing is done that isn’t “His will”. But maybe His will is that we exercise faith in Him and His loving desire to grant us good things according to our faith...

Alma 30

(All of my own thoughts are in red type 7/20 Green 5/21 orange 7/22 Brown 8/23.)

Chapter 30

Korihor, the anti-Christ, ridicules Christ, the Atonement, and the spirit of prophecy—He teaches that there is no God, no fall of man, no penalty for sin, and no Christ—Alma testifies that Christ will come and that all things denote there is a God—Korihor demands a sign and is struck dumb—The devil had appeared to Korihor as an angel and taught him what to say—Korihor is trodden down and dies. About 76–74 B.C.

  1 Behold, now it came to pass that after the ^apeople of Ammon were established in the land of Jershon, yea, and also after the Lamanites were ^bdriven out of the land, and their dead were buried by the people of the land—
  2 Now their dead were not numbered because of the greatness of their numbers; neither were the dead of the Nephites numbered—but it came to pass after they had buried their dead, and also after the days of ^afasting, and ^bmourning, and prayer, (and it was in the sixteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi) there began to be continual peace throughout all the land.
  3 Yea, and the people did observe to keep the commandments of the Lord; and they were strict in observing the ^aordinances of God, according to the law of Moses; for they were taught to ^bkeep the law of Moses until it should be fulfilled. Did this include animal sacrifice? 
  4 And thus the people did have no disturbance Clearly obedience to God's law brings peace and happiness. in all the sixteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.
  5 And it came to pass that in the commencement of the seventeenth year of the reign of the judges, there was continual peace.
  6 But it came to pass in the latter end of the seventeenth year, there came a man into the land of Zarahemla, and he was ^aAnti-Christ, for he began to preach unto the people ^bagainst the prophecies which had been spoken by the prophets, concerning the coming of Christ. This seems to be part of the definition of an Anti-Christ - they have to preach against the prophecies about Christ.
  7 Now there was no law against a ^aman’s ^bbelief; We are going to see more laws that will make it unlawful to believe certain things... for it was strictly contrary to the commands of God that there should be a law which should bring men on to unequal grounds. This is interesting - that making laws against a person's belief put them on unequal ground?
  8 For thus saith the scripture: ^aChoose ye this day, whom ye will serve. You can choose God or Satan. You get to choose...
  9 Now if a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; or rather, if he believed in God it was his privilege to serve him; but if he did not believe in him there was no law to punish him.
 10 But if he ^amurdered he was punished unto ^bdeath; and if he ^crobbed he was also punished; and if he stole he was also punished; and if he committed ^dadultery he was also punished; yea, for all this wickedness they were punished. Interesting that the law punished for adultery. Our law doesn't punish for that, but does punish for murder, robbery and stealing (What's the difference?)
 11 For there was a law that men should be judged according to their crimes. Nevertheless, there was no law against a man’s belief; therefore, a man was punished only for the crimes which he had done; therefore all men were on ^aequal grounds. Here's his explanation. Everyone was treated fairly according to the law, but there was no force in beliefs. All were equally free to believe in God or not. No coincidence that the laws for which they were punished were also commandments of God. They all agree that murder, robbing, and adultery were bad things that should be punished. But you were not forced to believe they were bad because God said so. 
 12 And this ^aAnti-Christ, whose name was Korihor, (and the law could have no hold upon him) began to preach unto the people that there should be ^bno Christ. And after this manner did he preach, saying:
 13 O ye that are bound down under a ^afoolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye look for a Christ? For no man can ^bknow of anything which is to come.
 14 Behold, these things which ye call prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they are 
foolish traditions of your fathers.
 15 How do ye know of their surety? Behold,
ye cannot know of things which ye do not ^asee; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a Christ.
 16 Ye look forward and say that ye see a remission of your sins. Is this looking forward to a remission of sins because of the future Atonement of Jesus Christ? Or is it looking forward to a baptism by fire?  I think it is the latter. They lived as though Christ had already come. But behold,
it is the effect of a ^afrenzied mind;
and this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers, which lead you away into a belief of things which are not so.
 17 And many more such things did he say unto them, telling them that there could be no atonement made for the sins of men, but
every man ^afared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore
every man prospered according to his genius, and that
every man conquered according to his strength; and
^bwhatsoever a man did was ^cno crime.
 18 And thus he did preach unto them, leading away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in their wickedness, yea, leading away many women, and also men, to commit whoredoms—telling them that
 when a man was dead, that was the end thereof.
 19 Now this man went over to the land of ^aJershon also, to preach these things among the people of Ammon, who were once the people of the Lamanites.
 20 But behold they were more wise than many of the Nephites; for they took him, and bound him, and carried him before Ammon, Sounds like their "wisdom" was to not let him preach there without putting up a resistance We have similar things being preached today, but we aren’t putting up a resistance within the church. There are many Christians who are putting up great resistance, but we feel restrained in our churches because the “brethren” aren’t leading the resistance and are actually telling us to follow the mandates of those we are resisting, so we are accused of not “sustaining the brethren” if we resist in our wards/stakes who was a ^ahigh priest over that people.
 21 And it came to pass that he caused that he should be carried out of the land. How were they able to do this if there was no law against a man's belief? And he came over into the land of Gideon, and began to preach unto them also; and here he did not have much success, for he was taken and bound and carried before the high priest, and also the chief judge over the land.
 22 And it came to pass that the high priest said unto him: Why do ye go about perverting the ways of the Lord? Why do ye teach this people that there shall be no Christ, to interrupt their rejoicings? They are happy. Why try to change that... Why do ye speak against all the prophecies of the holy prophets?
 23 Now the high priest’s name was Giddonah. And Korihor said unto him: Because I do not teach the foolish traditions of your fathers, and because I do not teach this people to bind themselves down under the foolish ordinances and performances which are laid down by ancient priests, to usurp power and authority over them, to keep them in ignorance, that they may not lift up their heads, but be brought down according to thy words.
 24 Ye say that this people is a free people. Behold, I say they are in bondage. Ye say that those ancient prophecies are true. Behold, I say that ye do not know that they are true.
 25 Ye say that this people is a guilty and a fallen people, because of the transgression of a parent. Behold, I say that a child is not guilty because of its parents.
 26 And ye also say that Christ shall come. But behold, I say that ye do not know that there shall be a Christ. And ye say also that he shall be slain for the ^asins of the world—
 27 And thus ye lead away this people after the foolish traditions of your fathers, and according to your own desires; and ye keep them down, even as it were in bondage, that ye may glut yourselves with the labors of their hands, that they durst not look up with boldness, and that they durst not enjoy their rights and privileges.
 28 Yea, they durst not make use of that which is their own lest they should offend their priests, who do yoke them according to their desires, and have brought them to believe, by their traditions and their dreams and their whims and their visions and their pretended mysteries, that they should, if they did not do according to their words, offend some unknown being, who they say is God—a being who ^anever has been seen or known, who ^bnever was nor ever will be.
 29 Now when the high priest and the ^achief judge saw the hardness of his heart, yea, when they saw that he would ^brevile even against God, they would not make any reply to his words; Lesson: Don't try to argue with those who are hard hearted but they caused that he should be bound; and they delivered him up into the hands of the officers, and sent him to the land of Zarahemla, that he might be brought before Alma, and the chief judge who was governor over all the land.
 30 And it came to pass that when he was brought before Alma and the chief judge, he did go on in the same manner as he did in the land of Gideon; yea, he went on to ^ablaspheme.
 31 And he did rise up in great ^aswelling words before Alma, and did revile against the ^bpriests and teachers, accusing them of leading away the people after the silly traditions of their fathers, for the sake of glutting on the labors of the people.
 32 Now Alma said unto him: Thou knowest that we do not glut ourselves upon the labors of this people; for behold I have ^alabored even from the commencement of the reign of the judges until now, with mine ^bown hands for my support, notwithstanding my many travels round about the land to declare the word of God unto my people. 
 33 And notwithstanding the many labors which I have performed in the church, I have never received so much as even one ^asenine for my labor; neither has any of my brethren, save it were in the judgment-seat; and then we have received only according to law for our time.
 34 And now, if we do not receive anything for our labors in the church, what doth it profit us to labor in the church save it were to declare the truth, that we may have rejoicings in the ^ajoy of our brethren? This is a great point in a church where we all serve in volunteer positions. This feels condemnatory towards the leadership of our church that DO receive money because they ‘labor’ for the church. They are receiving more than a ‘living wage’ and probably because of their earlier work careers and retirement benefits don’t need any assistance at all from the church. Why do they accept anything from the tithes of the people? Pres. Trump didn’t accept his wages for being President because he didn’t need it. I think he donated it to some charity. 
 35 Then why sayest thou that we preach unto this people to get gain, when thou, of thyself, knowest that we receive no gain? And now, believest thou that we deceive this people, that ^acauses such joy in their hearts? If we are lying then why are people so happy and at peace? By their fruits...
 36 And Korihor answered him, Yea.
 37 And then Alma said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?
 38 And he answered, Nay.
 39 Now Alma said unto him: Will ye deny again that there is a God, and also deny the Christ? For behold, I say unto you, I know there is a God, and also that Christ shall come.
 40 And now what evidence have ye that there is no ^aGod, or that Christ cometh not? I say unto you that ye have none, save it be your word only. Love this. You want me to prove there is a God, but you can't prove there isn't a God.
 41 But, behold, I have all things as a ^atestimony that these things are true; and ye also have all things as a testimony unto you that they are true; and will ye deny them? Believest thou that these things are true?
 42 Behold, I know that thou ^abelievest, but thou art possessed with a ^blying spirit, and ye have put ^coff the Spirit of God that it may have no place in you; but the devil has power over you, and he doth carry you about, working devices that he may destroy the children of God. This is a beautiful perspective. People can be possessed with evil spirits when we give place for them and then they have power over us to do their evil bidding. There is some unbelief today about “possession by spirits”. We don’t believe there is anything beyond temptation. But this teaches that there are different kinds of spirits (this one is a lying spirit) and that we can be possessed by them as we cast off the Spirit of God. If the Spirit of God is not “in” us, then we have made room for an evil spirit to be “in” us. Possession alludes to the idea that they have power over you and control you. What is the meaning of Satan's "devices" and how does he "work" them? 
 43 And now Korihor said unto Alma: If thou wilt show me a ^asign, that I may be convinced that there is a God, yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words.
 44 But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of ^aall these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the ^bearth, and ^call things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its ^dmotion, yea, and also all the ^eplanets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.
 45 And yet do ye go about, leading away the hearts of this people, testifying unto them there is no God? And yet will ye deny against all these ^awitnesses? And he said: Yea, I will deny, except ye shall show me a sign.
 46 And now it came to pass that Alma said unto him: Behold, I am grieved because of the hardness of your heart, yea, that ye will still resist the spirit of the truth, that thy soul may be destroyed. Alma knows about hard hearts. Surely his own father had tried to have conversations with him when he was destroying the church in like manner. He knows if he had not repented his soul would have been destroyed.
 47 But behold, it is ^abetter that thy soul should be ^blost than that thou shouldst be the means of bringing many souls down to destruction, by thy lying and by thy flattering words; therefore if thou shalt deny again, behold God shall smite thee, that thou shalt become dumb, that thou shalt never open thy mouth any more, that thou shalt not deceive this people any more.
 48 Now Korihor said unto him: I do not deny the existence of a God, but I do not believe that there is a God; Did he frame this so he was exempt from the law because of his belief? and I say also, that ye do not know that there is a God; and except ye show me a sign, I will not believe. He is acknowledging here that we all have the freedom to believe or not.
 49 Now Alma said unto him: This will I give unto thee for a sign, that thou shalt be ^astruck dumb, according to my words; and I say, that in the name of God, ye shall be struck dumb, that ye shall no more have utterance. Sounds like a good natural consequence... I’m noticing he does it “in the name of God” so he is invoking his priesthood authority to call down such a curse.
 50 Now when Alma had said these words, Korihor was struck dumb, that he could not have utterance, according to the words of Alma.
 51 And now when the chief judge saw this, he put forth his hand and wrote unto Korihor, why did he write it? Korihor wasn't deaf. saying: Art thou convinced of the power of God? In whom did ye desire that Alma should show forth his sign? Would ye that he should afflict others, to show unto thee a sign? Behold, he has showed unto you a sign; and now will ye dispute more?
 52 And Korihor put forth his hand and wrote, saying: Must have been his way to show Korihor he wanted him to write the answer? I know that I am dumb, for I cannot speak; and I know that nothing save it were the ^apower of God could bring this upon me; yea, and I always ^bknew that there was a God. What?
 53 But behold, the devil hath ^adeceived me; for he ^bappeared unto me in the ^cform of an angel, of light? and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God. And he said unto me: There is ^dno God; but I am an angel? yea, and he taught me that which I should say. And I have taught his words; and I taught them because they were pleasing unto the ^ecarnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch that I verily believed that they were true; and for this cause I withstood the truth, even until I have brought this great ^fcurse upon me. How many conversations did he have with this 'angel'? Sounds like he wasn't sure at first, but the more he heard himself talk, the more he believed his own words... Did he ever tell people that he “knew” these things by the voice of an angel, that they hadn’t seen and could accuse him of the same thing he was preaching against? Could they say, “we haven’t seen this ‘angel’ that you speak of so we don’t know what you are saying is true either. You say you’ve seen and angel and the prophets say they have seen God. Why should we believe you over them?” Such hypocrisy. 
 54 Now when he had said this, he besought that Alma should pray unto God, that the ^acurse might be taken from him. I'm noticing a difference here between Alma and Korihor. Alma prayed to God to have mercy on himself. Korihor asks Alma to pray to God for him.
 55 But Alma said unto him: If this curse should be taken from thee thou wouldst again lead away the hearts of this people; He seems certain that Korihor hasn't really repented or been converted. He certainly didn't experience the full force of his sins like Alma did. Alma seemed to know it wouldn't hold therefore, it shall be unto thee even as the Lord will.
 56 And it came to pass that the curse was not taken off of Korihor; Justice for Korihor, not mercy... but he was ^acast out, and went about from house to house begging for his food.
 57 Now the knowledge of what had happened unto Korihor was immediately published throughout all the land; yea, the proclamation was sent forth by the chief judge to all the people in the land, declaring unto those who had believed in the words of Korihor that they must speedily repent, ^alest the same judgments would come unto them. Really? They would all go dumb? Or just that they would be cursed somehow...
 58 And it came to pass that they were all convinced of the wickedness of Korihor; therefore they were all converted again unto the Lord; and this put an end to the iniquity after the manner of Korihor. This is some of the wisdom of God not healing Korihor. It may have been to convince those who'd been deceived by him. And Korihor did go about from house to house, begging food for his support.
 59 And it came to pass that as he went forth among the people, yea, among a people who had separated themselves from the Nephites and called themselves ^aZoramites, being led by a man whose name was Zoram—and as he went forth amongst them, behold, he was run upon and trodden down, even until he was ^bdead. Not sure what this is really saying...Did the Zoramites kill him? Was it like a car accident...? Why didn't he stay among the Nephites repenting of what he did while asking for food? Did the Nephites cast him out? Why go to anit-Nephites?
 60 And thus we see the end of him who ^aperverteth the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not ^bsupport his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to ^chell. I repeat this a lot! The devil will not support his followers He has no loyalty or love for those who do his bidding. And those who follow the devil will not support you either! 

Alma 29

(All of my own thoughts are in red type 7/20 Green 5/21 7/22 Brown 8/23.)

Chapter 29

Alma desires to cry repentance with angelic zeal—The Lord grants teachers for all nations—Alma glories in the Lord’s work and in the success of Ammon and his brethren. About 76 B.C.

  1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the ^atrump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! Alma truly loved to preach the word and to reclaim lost souls! If he wanted to speak with a voice to shake the earth, it sounds like he wasn’t afraid of straight talk and pulpit pounding! 
  2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and ^acome unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. This is not an angry repentance, but a loving call to peace. Not angry...but STRONG! preaching with love always includes Repentance! The world today only wants to hear about love. Repentance means you have judged them and they can’t handle others telling them they are wrong. But love says, “I have to tell you because of the consequences of sin. I don’t want you to suffer unknowingly”
  3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; Most of us would not consider this desire a sin for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me. Maybe it's an acknowledgement that no matter how much we desire something, even in righteousness, that we must always trust that God knows more and loves us more than our own limited views of happiness.
  4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their ^adesire, whether it be unto death or unto life; Are we getting what we “desire” in this COVID experience? yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their ^bwills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction. Or maybe he's saying his sin is to override the agency of man to make them see the error of their ways with a show of great force and power so they will repent, and God is saying, everyone gets to choose, according to their own desires. 
  5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is ^ablameless; but he that ^bknoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of ^cconscience. This reminds me of the saying by Elder Maxwell, to "educate your desires" - perhaps so you don't receive things that you will regret "wanting" later... There is something important in this teaching about our desires after we are accountable. Notice he is emphasizing that you are given what you desire. Who really desires death and remorse, though? Is he talking about getting the consequences of what you desire? 
  6 Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to ^aperform the work to which I have been called? Alma is amazing! He's spent years serving others and still wants to do more!
  7 Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth? He probably did get this desire after he died. I’m sure he’s an angel of some sort, ministering still.
  8 For behold, the Lord doth ^agrant unto ^ball nations, of their own nation and ^ctongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he ^dseeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true. If you take this literally, then ALL nations have received something of God's word through some means. Other believers in Christ have received dreams and visions and revelation that are just as valid as our prophet's word, though they don't have authority to perform ordinances and exercise priesthood power. But much can be done through faith.  I also hear him saying that some nations might be limited on what they receive because it’s wisdom in God that they shouldn’t have more. Perhaps it would not be in their best interest to have the gospel preached to them in their current state, for some reason...It also makes me wonder if we are limited on the revelation our prophet is able to receive because it is not God’s wisdom that we have more...probably because we are now paying the price for taking lightly the things we have already received. He tells us that we get no more until we receive what has already been given. It is not “wisdom” that we receive more. Joseph Smith said that "God had often sealed up the heavens because of covetousness in the Church."
  9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do ^anot ^bglory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.
 10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember ^awhat the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me. I always find it helpful to remember how much mercy I need from the Lord when I am tempted to condemn others. Alma has never forgotten that the Lord saved him from an awful judgment. He was blind and the people he's trying to help are blind too. No one is beyond the reach of God's word if they will listen. Alma was not willing to listen to anyone on the earth at the time the angel appeared to him. But, he was willing to listen to an angel and he was converted by what he experienced. I think he was given this because of what God knew he would choose to do afterwards. Perhaps his wish is to be this kind of an angel to others who are as he was. It saved him, and so he wants to be that "angel" to save others in like manner.
 11 Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the ^aLord did deliver them out of bondage, and by this did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of bondage.
 12 Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same God who ^adelivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians did deliver them out of ^bbondage.
 13 Yea, and that same God did establish his church among them; yea, and that same God hath called me by a ^aholy calling, to ^bpreach the word unto this people, and hath given me much success, in the which my joy is full.
 14 But I do not joy in my own ^asuccess alone, but my joy is more full because of the success of my brethren, who have been up to the land of Nephi.
 15 Behold, they have labored exceedingly, and have brought forth much fruit; and how great shall be their reward!
 16 Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were, so great is my ^ajoy. Seems to be not that uncommon to witness. Has anyone ever heard of that in the latter days? In the introduction to “The Triumph of Zion” by John Pontus, he laments that there was a time that he felt he was living a different gospel than the one people lived in the scriptures. It’s easy to feel that way today. But he testifies that we have access to all the same things we read about. So the difference is not in “their day” versus “our day” but in “what they did” versus “what we are doing/not doing”. Just have to figure out what that is...
 17 And now may God grant unto these, my brethren, that they may sit down in the kingdom of God; yea, and also all those who are the fruit of their labors that they may go no more out, but that they may praise him forever. And may God grant that it may be done according to my words, even as I have spoken. Amen.