Alma 39-42 - A Letter to Corianton

We are the beneficiaries of Alma’s great love for his son Corianton. While the doctrines he teaches his son are important for us to know. How he treats his son, is of no lesser value. By today’s standards, if Corianton had been a missionary for the church, he would’ve been sent home for what he did. Who of us have had children who’ve done things that have broken our hearts? I think it’s for these people that we have this letter Corianton.

As such, this letter is a template which people can use to deal with children who’ve broken commandments with grievous consequences. What do we see? Alma matter of factly states what he’s seen and the consequences of his son’s actions. He warns him of the end of the path his son is on, but there are no bromides or other incendiary comments.

Then following the guiding influence of the Holy Ghost, he answers his son’s questions. He lets the interests and anxieties of his son lead the conversation if you will. Always, love comes through Alma’s words. I can’t help but think he was close enough to his son he could have such a conversation. He also studied the scriptures, prayed, fasted and pondered so he could answer those questions.

Such is the example for us. As I see it, the lesson is: build a close relationship and maintain it so when called upon by need, your child knows you love them as you speak to them. Let their questions and concerns guide what you say. And most important, be a good enough disciple yourself the Holy Ghost can draw on what you’ve studied and learned in the past to answer the questions.

Alma 36-38 - Letters to Helaman and Shiblon

This section of the Book of Mormon contains some of the most personal writing in the entire work. Only the letters of Mormon to his son Moroni evoke a stronger sense of love and poignancy. Also contained in this passage is THE chiasmus of the entire Book of Mormon, Alma 36.

These are not letters dashed off in a moment. They are instead, works of literary art Alma spent hours crafting. His intent wasn’t to write something beautiful and instructive, though they are. He wrote them to bare the most powerful witness he could to the reality of Jesus Christ and the events surrounding his conversion. While you can read them quickly in a few minutes and get something out of them. If you spend time pondering this passage and getting lost in the artistic beauty of the work, you’ll learn so much more.

To delve further into the literary artistry is beyond the time and space I can take here. If you’re interested here are a couple of links to much more detailed examinations of the chiasmus: Chiasmus in Alma 36, A Masterpiece: Alma 36

Also in this passage, Alma retells his conversion to his sons Helaman and Shiblon. He also hands over to Helaman custody of the plates, including instructions about what not to say of the Jaredite record. Contained in it is one of my favorite scriptures, Alma 37:37

“Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings,
and He will direct thee for good.

     Yea, when thou liest down at night,
    lie down unto the Lord,

        that He may watch over you in your sleep.

    And when thou risest in the morning,
    let thy heart be full of thanks unto God.

And if ye always do these things,
ye shall be lifted up at the last day.”

A quick word to the observant, the punctuation here is not what is found in the current printing of the book, but what exists in Royal Skousen’s work, “The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text.” I’ve presented it pretty much as it appears in that work, though I’ve marked the parallels with the indentations to make them easier to see. I did it so you can see Alma's use of parallelism to enhance the meaning of the passage. As you compare each level against its counterpart, you'll get a deeper meaning of what Alma is trying to say. This is just a taste of the literary artistry in this passage. Reading Skousen's version will increase your appreciation for the Book of Mormon and show in a compelling way, this is not the work of an Upstate New York farmer of 1829.

Alma 29-30 - Other "true" churches and Korihor

There aren’t many greater contrasts in the Book of Mormon than Alma’s earnest prayer desiring to teach the Gospel to the world and the sordid tale of Korihor. On the one hand, Alma desires to be an angel (he knows what they can do!) to convincingly teach the Gospel to everyone. Then you have Korihor, an Anti-Christ, who teaches a message that in this life, it’s everyman for himself. Two men. Two messages: grace and charity on one hand, selfishness and pride on the other.

There’s an insightful gem into God’s efforts to teach His children tucked in Alma 29:8. There, Alma says the Lord grants to all nations in their own languages and cultural milieus all the wisdom He sees fit to give them. In Moroni is found the lesson that anything which points man to Christ is of God and good. Then in Jacob 5, we have God's effort to iteratively groom and prepare the olive vineyard for the last great harvest. They all show His' efforts to redeem and save His children are not confined to just this church.

I’ve been asked in the past how to explain the affirmations of other people in other religions who say their church is THE true church. How do I explain the witnesses they have had, I am asked. The key to the answer is in this verse. God gives to all people what their cultures prepare them to accept. As they master that and are ready for more, He'll find a way to give them more. I just happen to think the apex of His effort will always be found in the LDS church.

For the LDS church, there is more yet to come, even if it is nothing “more” than the sealed part of the Book of Mormon or the Law of Consecration. I look forward to the day those are revealed, but until then, I’ll do my best trying to live what has already been given. Even with that, I have a lot of work and growing to do.

Well, that took more space than I thought. On to Korihor. By reading and studying his messages, you will see all the arguments he hurled at Alma that are similarly hurled at the church today by its critics. See if these don’t sound familiar:

Church leaders’ motives are impure.

They glut themselves on the offerings of the members.

The church’s doctrines enslave people rather than free them.

There is no Christ.

There is a loving, all forgiving and friendly God who loves us as we are, so why work so hard being “good.”

The doctrines of the church are founded on the foolish traditions of long dead men.

What you see, feel or experience with your senses, is more important than what you learn through faith. (Atheists love this one, it’s the foundational axiom supporting the claim science is better than religion for teaching man about the world around him.)

Alma easily dismantles these arguments and exposes Korihor for the fraud he is. At the end of their debate, all Korihor does is demand, “I won’t believe until God shows me a sign.” So, God shows him one -- by striking him dumb and deaf. I like the judge’s observation, “who do you think God was going to manifest this sign on? Someone else?”

No longer useful to him, Satan abandons him. Like a used up candle, Korihor gutters out, trampled to death by the über self-righteous Zoramites.

Alma 25-28 - The End of the Mission

I must admit, the previous post was a lot of fun to write and contemplate. If you haven’t read it and are interested in knowing how I roll, reading it will give you a good idea. Now, on with the rest of the Book of Mormon story…

Many of the unconverted Lamanites, mostly Nehors, are so angry with the Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s they begin to make war again on them, again. With the death of the king, things go from bad to worse. Other than be destroyed, their only recourse is to flee to the Nephites and beg for their mercy and protection. This is what Ammon begs the new king to choose. He agrees to it on one condition, that Ammon inquire of the Lord to get His will in the matter.

Ammon does ask and the answer comes back a resounding “yes!” He's told to get this people out because Satan has such great hold upon the hearts of the Lamanites. Talk about an act of faith! They leave behind everything they can’t carry and flee into the wilderness just on Ammon’s assurance this is what the Lord wants them to do. Their best hope is becoming slaves to the Nephites. They flee. When they get to the wilderness dividing the two nations, they wait.

It’s while they're here, Alma meets them. The rest of the story is well known. It begins a theme that continues throughout the rest of the Book of Alma. Ever after when Lamanites seek asylum amongst the Nephites, they do so by renouncing war and burying their weapons in the ground as proof of their intent. It sets an interesting context for a tradition I read about that exists among the Hopi indians, that their ancestors did this same thing long ago. I’ve wondered if the two are related.

Alma 12-16- The Fall of Ammonihah

When you compare the stories of the people of Ammonihah with Zeezrom, a picture of God’s justice and mercy comes into clear view. It’s insightful that one of the chief instigators of the questioning and persecution which Alma and Amulek endured, Zeezrom, repents and is forgiven. At the same time God destroys others who followed Zeezrom but chose not to repent.

What it shows is God will forgive almost any sin (yes, I know there are a couple which He won’t forgive). But He’ll forgive A LOT of things. At the same time, if you are determined to go your own way, He’ll let you — to the point that when the day of reckoning comes, you’ll know with certainty it was you who put yourself in the dire straits you’re in. You’ll know there’s none but yourself to blame.

This is what Alma explains to Amulek as they watched the martyrdom of the righteous women and children of Ammonihah. He said God permitted the atrocity so there would be no question in the mind of any observer that the retribution which comes upon the residents of Ammonihah was well deserved.

He also talks how these victims go to rest in God’s kingdom. Having died for their testimonies, they will be blessed by Him. These are good things to remember when you feel the injustices of others heaped upon you. The wicked may have their “fun” for the time being, but in the long run, you don’t want to be in their position.

Sigh. It’s easy to say, but oh, so hard to do. It reminds me of what Thomas Payne wrote, “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value…. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods….” These sentiments are profoundly true.

So, several good things to remember: one — anyone can repent and be forgiven. And the lessons we learn in adversity are often our most cherished and valued gifts.

Alma 9-12 - Showdown with Zeezrom

Zeezrom is another bad guy turned good by the power of God. His takedown and eventual conversion is unique in the Book of Mormon in that Mormon spends a significant amount of precious space to set the stage. This set up is telling for what it doesn’t say as well as for what it does say. It’s here we get an explanation of what the Nephite currency system was and how their legal system worked.

I emphasize the past tense because they were different from Mormon’s time too. The monetary system he describes is one backed by grain instead of a fiat system based upon precious metals — like ours. The article linked below gives a quick look at what works as a currency. It’s interesting that grain is better than gold. It’s kind of a surprise, don’t you think, that an unschooled farm boy would come up with something like that? But I digress.

The other thing Mormon spends time on is defining how their legal and tort system works. He makes the cynical observation that the lawyers and judges stirred up the people to keep themselves employed. It's observations like that which show me, it really was written for our day. Who'd of thought government officials were capable of injuring others for their own self interests?

Against this cultural context, he then introduces us to Zeezrom. Zeezrom was an opportunist wanting to make some money off of these two religious wacko’s (my guess at his estimation of them). He veils his attempt in a series of questions and distortions of Amulek’s answers. But, blessed with common sense and the Spirit, Amulek sees through them and exposes him to the people for what he was.

I also found it interesting that Amulek, presumably because he wasn’t as experienced as Alma, gets into a shouting match with the people. Yet he handled Zeezrom and when he’d silenced him, Alma stepped in and finished him off. In the end, Zeezrom is shaking with the guilt of what he’s done. It’s enlightening that he will come to be one of the go-to missionaries Alma calls upon when they try to save the Zoramites.

All in all, a lot of cool stuff going on… not to mention the great dissertation on the Savior and the plan of salvation.

Article on currencies.

Alma 5-8 - The Road to Ammonihah

Filled with testimony of the Savior, these chapters also show a lot of history goes unwritten in the Book of Mormon. Alma spent a year preaching to the people of Zarahemla and Gideon. All we have to show for it are Alma chapters 5-7. Most of those are taken up in two sermons. While I’m not a prolific writer, a year of my journal takes up a lot more room than that, and I barely touch on what happens in my life.

That said, this is not a criticism of the Book of Mormon, just an observation. The truth is, most of my life is rather mundane and hardly worth mentioning. I suspect there’s a lot Alma did that was also mundane. But as he had his moments, such as when he spoke to the people of Zarahemla or to Gideon, we have ours. We have these powerful sermons because Alma recorded them. Do we record our experiences? While few if any of us will have the prominence of Alma, what we write will one day be read by our ancestors. What stories are we leaving for them to read?

I like the angelic visit Alma has in this passage too. After being rejected by the residents of the City of Ammonihah, he travels to another city determined to never return. The Lord had other plans. He sent an angel to turn Alma back. The standout aspect of this visitation is when the angel admits he’s the same one who appeared to warn him to stop trying to destroy the church. I’m certain this was a much more enjoyable mission for the angel.

In a great show of faith, Alma turns about and returns where he is met by Amulek who had an angel appear to him too. Thus the stage is set for their mission to Ammonihah. Speaking from experience, a rich life, full of marvelous experiences await us when we lead with faith. When we trust Heavenly Father in the placement of our feet, we will live a higher quality of life possible no other way. There’s no promise it will be easy, in fact it will often be difficult and soul stretching. Yet if you want to experience true inner peace, it’s the only game in town.

Alma - 5 - A PPI with the Savior

Alma Chapter Five is one of my favorites in the Book of Mormon. A friend once observed it is a type and shadow of the interview you’ll have with the Savior after this life. I’m inclined to agree. That said, there are books worth of material discussed in this chapter. (Have you noticed I say that a lot?) The Book of Mormon is doctrinally dense. It’s like the oriental game “Go” I watched old men playing in Korea: the rules are simple, but mastery takes a lifetime. It can be read in a day almost, but mastering it will take years, even decades.

That said, this time through a couple passages stood out to me. The first is verse seven where Alma tells how the Lord saved the people of Noah. As I pondered that, I realized we all are, to different degrees, in spiritual darkness. His saving them is a testament to us that no matter where we are, the Lord can reach us too.

I also was touched by verses 45-47 where Alma teaches that he knew the truth of all that he’d taught because he’d learned for himself they were true. By fasting and prayer, he’d come to know the truthfulness of what he taught. Here is a person who’d seen the Savior and Heavenly Father in an unforgettable vision which changed his life. Despite this, or more accurately, besides this, he’d devoted a lifetime to studying the scriptures, prayer and fasting. And through these actions, the Holy Spirit had taught him the truth of these things.

He paid the same price to know which we must pay today. The powerful lesson is that as Alma did it, so can we…

Alma 2-4 - An Observation of the Nephites

In one of my earlier posts, I referred to the end of an order with King Mosiah II setting up judges to rule the Nephites after his death. This post comments on another change in the evolution of the Nephite government. In this passage, Alma renounces the judgeship to focus upon his role as High Priest over the church. With few exceptions, the Nephite religious and political leaders are not the same person. The aristocratic nature of the society manifests it self in that all the leaders come from the same group of people.

He did this because of a crisis he faced: the general membership of the church was becoming more wicked than the larger society they lived within. It’s things like this which are, in my opinion, the hallmarks of an actual historical narrative. What author would have as part of his story, the “good guys” becoming more wicked than the other players? It’s a fairly sophisticated plot ploy. Ol’Joe doesn’t mention a peep about it tho’ which strengthens the case the Book of Mormon is what it claims to be, the history of an ancient people.

This is a book full of the messiness we humans are prone to cause. The Nephites are on display for us to critique and comment on. It gives more weight to the ominous admonition at the end of the book where Moroni asks that we be more wise than they were. In short, it is a history of humans and of God’s dealings with them.

Mosiah 28-29 - The New Order

These two chapters bring us to the end of not only the Book of Mosiah, but to the end of an order, the end of the Nephite kings. Sobered by the account of the People of Limhi and by the wickedness of his own sons, Mosiah feared for the people if kings continued to rule. Not only that, he’d let his sons go on a mission to the Lamanites, so no one remained to take the kingdom from him. What to do?

With all these forces acting on him, he comes up with, for him I think, a radical idea: no more kings. When you keep in mind the Lord works with us where we’re at, this step away from rule by kings, was a big one. Even though by our standards, it's not that much of a change. Never the less, Mosiah introduces a democratic component to their society. I think it’s why Mormon made mention of it. It was closer to our day than any other form of government he could write about.

On the surface, it may seem similar, but beyond the elections to choose leaders, there’s little in common. Their first chief judge, Alma the Younger is not only the political leader, he’s also the religious leader. The people voted him into office! Can you imagine that happening today? Or even in 1830? This is a different culture.

As Mosiah argues for this move towards a democratic process, he makes an observation, prophetic in nature even which I feel holds true today. He said it is common for the voice of the people, expressed in their votes, to choose what is right. In other words, the opinion and desires of the majority of a righteous people will be the right thing to do. When this voice of the people choose what is not right, then that society is ripening in iniquity and will soon receive the judgements of God if they don’t repent and change.

We read about this in the Book of Mormon and yet it is playing out in real time before us today. The voice of the American people is preparing to make an awful choice for their political leader. Think of it. The democrats offer a flaming socialist and a brazen lying, hypocrite for their standard bearers. The republicans are not much better. They prefer a swaggering, lying, rich bully over the one candidate who offers any hope of redeeming America. Yet most regard him as a nut case who is out of touch with reality though all he is talking about are conservative constitutional principles.

Mosiah got it exactly right. We're in trouble.

Mosiah 26-27 - The Conversion of Alma the Younger

Except for Nephi, son of Lehi, no one in the Book of Mormon gets more narrative written on him than Alma the Younger, hereafter “Alma.” Do you think maybe there’s a reason why? I think there is.

In Alma, we have the archetype of every person who’s ever sinned and striven to make themselves better. Mosiah II’s sons, Ammon, Aaron, Omner and Himni, also fit the same archetype. Mormon devotes 96 pages to the life history and teachings of Alma, while “just” 25 to the Sons of Mosiah and the Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s.

The subtext of all these teachings is: no matter who you are or what you’ve done, no matter how hostile you are to God, He’ll take you back and forgive you -- if you repent. In the stories of Alma, the Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s, and the Sons of Mosiah, murderers are forgiven not to mention people who seduced others away from the Gospel. The proud, philanderers, liars and cheats are small change compared to these groups. All forgiven. If ever there was a great message contained in the Book of Mormon, this is it.

Alma’s conversion is fairly well known, so there’ll be no recitation of events here. Instead, I would commend to anyone who’s wondered if God will forgive them or wondered if they can be for things they’ve done in their past, to read about Alma.

The Book of Mormon teaches that there are some things which can’t be forgiven, but the examples of Alma and the Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s show a spectacularly wicked person can be forgiven. And if they can, so can the rest of us. Like Alma, all we have to do is ask. How cool is that?

Mosiah 23-24 - The People of Alma

The story of Alma the Elder and those who follow him is a powerful lesson on obedience. The lesson of this story and that of Limhi’s people is this: the sooner you get with the Lord’s program, the easier things will be for you.

I’ve always been struck by the reality that Alma and those who followed him were converted after Abinadi’s second warning, not the first. So the prophecy they would be brought into bondage applied to them too. While they were in bondage for a time to not only the Lamanites, but the priests of Noah, under Amulon, their experience was much less difficult than Limhi’s.

There’s a message, a promise, and a warning there we should always keep in mind. While Heavenly Father will work with us where we are, the more strident and prideful we are in our disobedience, the more stern will be the chastening to get our attention refocused on Him.

I’ve liked the means of their deliverance too. Before they were, God strengthened them to bear up under the tasks the Lamanites placed upon them. They were so blessed it was as if there was no burden. Then, rather than have to provide the wine to get the Lamanites drunk and asleep, the Lord caused it. I’ve always wondered what He did when He said He’d stop the army from pursuing them. In a way, I’m kinda’ glad I wasn’t there to find out.

A note about geography. The narrative says they traveled through the wilderness just twelve days before they arrived in the land of Zarahemla. In my opinion, that doesn’t necessarily mean they got to Zarahemla in twelve days, but into the land under its control. So, how many days did it take them to get to the City of Zarahemla? I don’t know. It’s just a thought.

Mosiah 17-18 - The Conversion of Alma

When Abinadi finished speaking, Noah and his priests decided his fate. It’s here that Alma comes to Abinadi’s defense. It almost costs him his life. He ends up fleeing into the wilderness to avoid being killed by the kings servants. While hiding there, he writes down Abinadi’s words and begins his long painful repentance process.

Back in the palace, Noah and his priests condemn Abinadi to death by fire. The account says “faggot” an old-English expression for a bundle of sticks tied together to use as fuel in a fire. They have a lot of surface area so it burns very, very hot. Before he succumbs to the flames, he pronounces a prophetic warning upon Noah and his people. He prophecies Noah will die by fire and that many others will die by fire as a result of the example they set. As you read in the Book of Mormon, you’ll see this prophecy comes true in every horrifying detail.

With Abinadi dead, after he repents (my opinion) Alma begins teaching the people the lessons he learned from Abinadi. Whether he’s more careful than Abinadi was or had protection that Heavenly Father, in His wisdom, withheld from Abinadi, Alma succeeded where Abinadi didn’t. He soon has a following of two hundred people.

Think for a moment of the faith these people had. They believed in what Alma taught enough to join a movement they knew could get them killed. They joined anyway. In time the king did learn of it and sent an army to slaughter them. Warned by God, they flee into the wilderness.

Noah had driven righteous people out of his kingdom. As we’ll see in what happens next, when the righteous are driven from a society, things don’t end well for those who did the driving out.

Mosiah 12-16 - Abinadi: A Study in Courage

I want to start with a thought I introduced in my previous post about the warnings Abinadi gave the people of Noah. After two years, he returns to prophecy to the people. He says because they haven’t repented, the consequences are worse. Not only will they be brought into captivity, now if they don’t repent, they’ll be destroyed.

This doesn’t go over too well with the people. They capture and bring him to Noah. In Noah’s court, he is summarily condemned as a troublemaker and mad, worthy of death. Then the miracle begins. God protects him and allows him to give his message. He teaches of the preparatory role of the Mosaic Law and of the coming of Jesus Christ and the law He will bring.

In doing so, he quotes one of my most favorite passages of scripture, Isaiah 53. Who isn’t moved by the poetic power of such phrases as, “with His stripes, we are healed?” Or, “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him, the iniquity of us all?” This often brings me to tears to read it.

One of the tactics I use to make it more real for me is a simple word substitution. If you replace “the Lord” with “Heavenly Father,” “Jesus Christ” for “him” and your name for “us” or “we,” it will drive home the power of this passage and show you just how personal our salvation is. We are unique individuals to Them. I am convinced that during the Atonement, the Savior saw each of us, with all our weaknesses, sins, and sorrows and said, in effect, “I do this for you, because I love you.”

I marvel at that. Such is the power of the message Abinadi delivered to Noah and to one of his priests, Alma.

Mosiah 5-8 - From Benjamin to Zeniff

Mosiah Chapters 5-8 is a transition piece that moves the narrative from King Benjamin’s eloquent address to the story of King Zeniff. I think, Mormon wrote about Zeniff because of the dynasty of religious leaders who arose from his people. I’m speaking of Alma and the five generations of prophet-leaders who are his descendants. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

For this entry, several things struck me. One is the Nephites considered life as slaves to Nephites a better  arrangement than what they had under the Lamanites. Under the Lamanites they had a 50% tax rate and they couldn’t leave. Tax day is coming. When you pay your taxes this year, keep in mind, the Nephites thought a 50 percent tax rate was worse than slavery.

Another is Ammon, the leader of the expedition to the land of Lehi-Nephi. He was not a descendant of Lehi but a Mulekite. I’m curious why he would be so interested about the Nephites? It begs the question and dovetails into my last observation on this section.

The people don’t weary Mosiah about the Nephites who left so many years ago until after Benjamin dies. I doubt their interest just flipped on at that time. So, why didn’t they do anything before he died? I don’t know, but there’s a lot going on here which we don’t know about.