Alma 32-35 - Sermons to the Zoramites

I’ve lived with the nagging fear the tale of the Zoramites is in the Book of Mormon because it’s so easy for me to slip into behaving like them. After Alma shows us how they “worship,” he records three different sermons. Each one used to reclaim these people. Each one touches a different fundamental aspect of discipleship, which if used, will help us become better disciples.

So, what topics are taught? We have Alma’s visually evocative lecture on faith. Will you ever look at a seed again the same way? He promises the test of the seed will work even if all you have is a desire to believe.

Then there’s the admonition to pray for everything: your crops (work), family, enemies and friends. That not only do you pray for them, but that you should pray often for them. I tend to forget the flip side of this in that we also need to help the needy. In effect, it’s acts of charity which give power to our prayers. Or, put another way: if you want God to answer your prayers, serve His children.

There’s a powerful lesson on the Atonement and lastly, (at least for this post) there’s the dire warning that now is the time to repent. Now is the time to improve ourselves. Those who think they’ll wait to the next life to repent will discover the spirit (God or Satan) they choose to listen to in this life won’t change at death. I learned this when I first became a missionary. Back then I thought, “when I become a missionary, I will become a mighty servant of the Lord.” Wrong. To my horror and shock, after arriving in the Language Training Mission, I found out I was still me. The only way I became a servant was by a lot of hard work, prayer, scripture study and fasting. Change came because I worked for it, not because my circumstances had.

Alma 18-20 - Lamoni's Conversion

The lesson on leading with faith, which began in chapter 17, is reaffirmed in this passage. Because Ammon followed the whisperings of the Holy Ghost he became an instrument in God’s hands to teach the Gospel to Lamoni. In a miraculous series of events, Lamoni, his wife, many servants, and others in his house are all converted too.

Mormon makes another comment about the divine protection Mosiah got from the Lord for his sons. The brother of the leader of those who sought to scatter the king’s flocks, who was killed by Ammon, sees an opportunity for revenge. He raises his sword to kill him and dies in the act. The lesson here is the Lord keeps His promises.

Yet the story continues on and Ammon shows his willingness to follow where the Spirit leads when he tells Lamoni he’s going to Midoni to save his brother Aaron and two friends. Lamoni chooses to go with him. On their way, they meet Lamoni’s father, the king over all the lands of the Lamanites.

A fight ensues that ends up with the king seeing just how much Ammon loves his son. It changes his heart towards Ammon and the people in his group. Which prepares him to be taught by Aaron.

These missionary stories are amazing to read and contemplate. There is a common thread here that begs further comment. These spectacular conversions occurred because Ammon and Aaron and the others had faith they could happen. They had it because they’d already seen it in their own lives and especially with Alma the Younger. They knew from personal experience what the Lord could do and so they went forth and acted, expecting Him to do it again. And He did.

It’s a powerful lesson that the Lord blesses us according to our faith. All we have to do is act upon it ourselves, live righteously and follow the Holy Ghost’s promptings.

Alma 17 - Ammon, A Son of Mosiah

Ammon is a poster child for missionaries or any one who chooses to serve the Lord. He’s bold yet humble, optimistic, faithful and passionate in his desire to do God’s will. When I think of Ammon as a missionary, I think of a teenage friend of mine who served in Korea years after I did. I spent two years of my life trying to proselyte by the book, knocking doors, street meetings and the like. I was blessed with some success and I’m grateful for my experiences.

My friend, on the other hand, felt impressed to proselyte by playing table tennis. He was pretty good at it and was instrumental in baptizing a multitude of people because of it. To appreciate this you have to understand that table tennis (ping pong) is popular there. Back in the day, there were many businesses where hundreds of people would play the game for hours. By connecting with the people this way, he got in many doors I was never able to enter. Once inside, people would ask, “why are you here?” And off he went.

Such is the case with Ammon. Following impressions from the Holy Ghost, he offered to be Lamoni’s servant rather than son. He ends up with a job no one wanted, sheep herder. It was literally a dead end job, where if you failed, you died — at the king’s hand. I’m pretty certain, he had no idea what lay in store for him. Throughout their preparations to come and in his own stated desires, all they hoped to do was save a few Lamanites. The Lord had bigger ideas.

Unlike me, he followed where the promptings took him. At the end of the chapter, he not only has the respect of the other sheep herder servants, he’s got the King’s attention. What happens next, is in the next post.

I just have to add this observation: for want of a better phrase, I’ll call it “God’s promise of protection to the obedient son of a righteous father.” God promises Mosiah his sons will be protected in their mission to the Lamanites. Ammon knew of this and when he faces off against a group of Lamanites who mean to kill him, he does so fearlessly. True to His promise, God protects Ammon. If it didn’t happen again, I’d say it’s a one-time deal, but the Sons of Helaman, have similar divine protection when they go to war for the Nephites. Is this a universal promise? No. But if the need ever arose, I want to live worthy of asking for it.

Enos

One of the things which amaze me about Enos is how much time passes and how few men it takes to witness it all. When Enos finishes his record, 179 years have passed from the time Lehi left Jerusalem. That’s a lot of years covered by two and a half generations. I say two and a half because Nephi and Jacob though brothers have a few years between them. Nephi was an adult when Jacob was born. I wonder if Nephi knew Enos. Would I know my younger brother’s son?

What it does say is they lived long lives! It’s something to wonder about.

But the heart of Enos’ record are the four stages of his life journey. The first is what I’d say is normal: he goes about his life, but his guilt over weaknesses and his desire to know the things his father knew concern him. Eventually, it becomes an earnest desire which compels him to spend hours in prayer.

He receives an answer, which begins the second phase of his life: his concern for his family. At some time, he gets an answer about them which starts the third and a long phase of his life: his concern for his distant relatives, the Lamanites. After many years of praying and participating in missionary efforts to reclaim them, the Lord answers his prayers saying the record he is keeping will be preserved for a future time.

This begins the final phase of his life: his soul at rest, he spends the rest of his days preaching and prophesying to whoever will listen of the many things he’s learned, seen and heard. He makes the observation there are many prophets among the people. I wonder what happened to their records?