Why Alma Returned to Ammonihah

Most of Alma’s interesting experiences in Ammonihah took place on his second visit to the city. When he arrived the first time, he labored hard, wrestled with God in mighty prayer, and preached the Gospel of repentance and baptism. The people, however, had hardened their hearts. They knew Alma – he had been the chief judge over all the land, including Ammonihah. Instead of showing respect, they reviled him. Employing common sophistry, they labeled Alma’s teachings as “foolish traditions.” Further showing their disdain for Alma and what he represented, they spit on him and threw him out of the city. (Alma 8:8-13.)

Frustrated but understandably ready to move on, Alma headed for the city of Aaron. On his way, his angel visited him. We are not told who this angel was, other than the angel’s own introduction that he was the angel who appeared to Alma years earlier when Alma was converted. (Alma 8:14-15.) In this era, the appearance of angels was common, reminiscent of (or, more accurately, prefiguring) the era during which the Gospel was restored through Joseph Smith. (Alma 13:24; see also Alma 10:10; 39:19.) In fact, Alma speaks of establishing the church in the various cities and a renewed period of faith and obedience after what appears to have been an apostasy. (See the gap in prophets in the Book of Omni.) Judging from the Lord’s use of relevant forebears as angels to minister to later prophets (think Noah’s appearances to Mary and Joseph and Moroni’s appearances to Joseph Smith), Alma’s angel may have been Nephi or Jacob or some other earlier Nephite prophet.

We often think of angels as message-bearers, and they are, but angels can also be sent to give comfort. Alma needed comfort after his trying experience in Ammonihah. The wickedness of the people weighed him down with sorrow. (Alma 8:14.) Note that Alma was not sad because they treated him poorly but because they did not accept his message.

The angel comforted Alma with the assurance that Alma’s faithfulness since the first time the angel appeared to him had not gone unnoticed. (Alma 8:15.) Sometimes we need reassurances that, although we are not perfect, the Lord is pleased. This can come from family members, leaders, angels, and, most effectively, from the Holy Ghost.

Having buoyed up Alma, the angel delivered his message: return to Ammonihah and warn the inhabitants of impending destruction if they do not repent. Why was the Lord so intent on sending Alma back to Ammonihah? Weren’t there other forums where the message would be received more willingly? Alma, chapter 8, contains some clues as to the Lord’s purpose.

The easiest purpose to discern is the mission of Alma to call the people to repentance with the hope that some would respond and they would be saved. (Alma 8:16.) The corruption in the society had turned good people bad. There may be some who maintain righteousness regardless of the environment. But most of us are not that strong. We follow the crowd, unless some powerful influence helps us to recognize sin in the crowd’s actions and have the fortitude to resist the crowd. In Ammonihah, popular culture had turned sinful. More on that later.

Alma also had the task of gathering the righteous. Amulek had been lax in his obedience to the Lord’s commandments. (Alma 10:6.) After an angelic visitation (was it the same angel that appeared to Alma?), Amulek accepted Alma into his home and the Gospel into his heart. Zeezrom was a harder sell. Only after trying to destroy Alma and Amulek and being beaten at his own craft, Zeezrom was gathered. Others fled Ammonihah, where they would have been killed if they stayed, and thereby escaped the terrible destruction to befall Ammonihah shortly.

Another purpose for Alma’s return to Ammonihah was explained to Alma by the heavenly ministrant. “[T]hey do study at this time that they may destroy the liberty of this people . . . .” (Alma 8:17.) How Alma’s return to Ammonihah would foil the conspirators’ plan for a coup d’etat and either a forced return to monarchy or, worse yet, enslavement is not explained. Alma did not return as a conqueror or as a law enforcer. He did not investigate the conspiracy or seek out the conspirators. He exercised no authority over the Ammonihahites in a temporal sense. Perhaps his return was an intentional fomenting of the division between the wicked and the righteous so that, after the righteous were either killed or gathered to Sidom and other destinations, the Lord could allow the city to be destroyed before the inhabitants had the opportunity to destroy the liberty of the other Nephites. This means of resolving potential treason also has interesting implications for our day. Can it be that in some instances the best way to battle insurrection is with the Gospel?

These are some possible reasons the Lord sent Alma back to Ammonihah. It also makes for great reading and learning in these latter days.

Alma's Ministry

When Alma served as both chief judge and as high priest, the members of the church in Zarahemla where he lived became unrighteous. He implies it was because of the time commitments necessary to rule from the judgment seat that allowed wickedness to thrive under his watch. The members suffered from pride (symbolized by costly apparel); they set their hearts on riches, worshipped idols, and identified themselves with the world. (Alma 7:16.) Only with great effort did he reclaim the members. (Alma 7:5.)

It seems that worldly influences were prevalent in Zarahemla, just two generations after King Benjamin's speech and the mass covenants made by his subjects. The old city of Zarahemla was worldly, but not so for another city, one that was established more recently and was named after Gideon, who chased King Noah to the tower and led King Limhi's forces but was later killed by Nehor. Alma found the people had maintained their righteousness. (Alma 7: 17-20.)

I suppose I should be more interested in the righteousness in Gideon and the conversion of those in Melek, but truthfully I find Ammonihah much more interesting. The next few posts will consider Alma, Amulek, Zeezrom, and the Ammonihahites.

More on the Mighty Change of Heart

The great premise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the ability to change. Without that ability, the atonement would be limited and ultimately ineffective. The change essential to salvation is from the fallen state to the state of righteousness (Mosiah 27:25) and on to eternal life.

Hearts are changed through faith, a process by which we are spiritually begotten of Christ. Repentance brings the change of heart (Helaman 15:17) through the power of the Holy Ghost. (Mosiah 5:2.) This change is apparent to the person whose heart is affected. Lamoni and his household felt, recognized, and declared the change of heart they felt after they heard and accepted the testimony of Ammon. (Alma 19:33.)

Change is both an event and a process. For most, change occurs in fits and starts. That is why Alma referred to the "mighty change of heart." We need not suppose, however, that because we have been converted (spiritually born of God or born again) that all is done.

Change that makes us more like God is productive, but that is not the only change possible. We can change eternally without reaching eternal life; therefore, we must avoid any change that does not make us more like God. This concept is similar to criticism Paul included in his letter to Timothy that some are "ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:7.) Change must be for the better.

Change also has to do with light. (Alma 5:7.) This hearkens back to the discussion of President Faust's talk about the light in their eyes -- it results from change, in the right direction.

That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

(D&C 50:24.)

His Image in Your Countenance

James E. Faust spoke in October 2005 about the The Light in Their Eyes. Sitting in Sarah and Aaron's apartment in Provo when I heard the talk, I knew it would be one of those classics, for me anyway. President Faust took language from Alma 5:14 and related it to a "personal bond with our loving Heavenly Father and His Son":

Alma asks if we have received His image in our countenances. [See Alma 5:14.] A sacred light comes to our eyes and countenances when we have a personal bond with our loving Heavenly Father and His Son, our Savior and Redeemer. With this bond our faces will mirror that “sublime assurance” [Paul Harvey, news broadcast, Dec. 8, 1967.] that He lives.

The Mighty Change of Heart

Alma called his people to repentance boldly. He held them to a higher standard. They should be ready to meet God. To be ready, they had to be spiritually born of God, receive his image in their countenances, and experience the mighty change of heart.

Ezra Taft Benson, in the October 1985 conference, discussed the mighty change of heart. He said:

The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.

(Read President Benson's talk, Born of God, to better understand Alma 5:14.)

Therein lies the key to why all of the social programs in the world won't save a society, why government is, in the end, powerless to succeed on its own. The change must come from within, and that can happen only through Christ.

The concept of the mighty change of heart also goes to the question of becoming. The Lord looks not so much on what we do as what we are. That was made clear to me when, as a bishop, a good and repentant person would come to me to confess a sin. For that person, confession was a necessary step but there was little need to help that person further in the process. On the other hand, a person who had not felt the mighty change of heart needed much more help because confession, though necessary, was ineffective without that change.

You can evaluate yourself by asking the following questions: Do I resist sin because I am afraid to get caught, do not want to suffer the consequences, or do not want to disappoint someone else? Or do I resist a sin because I am not the kind of person who commits that sin? Do I have “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually”? (See Mosiah 5:2, 7.)

Are we becoming like Christ?

Update 8/30/06:

In his April 2006 conference talk, As a Child, Elder Henry B. Eyring explained the relationship between doing and becoming and the mighty change of heart:

From King Benjamin we learn what we can do to take us to that safe place. But remember: the things we do are the means, not the end we seek. What we do allows the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change us into what we must be. Our faith in Jesus Christ brings us to repentance and to keeping His commandments. We obey and we resist temptation by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost. In time our natures will change. We will become as a little child, obedient to God and more loving. That change, if we do all we must to keep it, will qualify us to enjoy the gifts which come through the Holy Ghost. Then we will be safe on the only sure rock.

General Conference -- Scripture Index

If you haven't already discovered it, you need to check out BYU's indexing of all conference talks since 1942 to the scriptures they cite. Each verse is accompanied by links to the talks that cite that verse. This is very useful as authoritative commentary and context. For example, it shows that Alma 5:14, concerning the mighty change of heart, has been cited 32 times in conference talks and even more in connection with other verses. It appears the professors that run the site have a beta of a new release, but I haven't check that out yet.

One hint: If you stop your cursor over one of the referenced conference talks, a box appears giving the full name of the speaker and when the talk was given.

Happy cross-referencing!

Mindy on Pride

Mindy posted this as a comment. I (Jeff) thought it deserved its own post:

I have thought much about pride as I have been studying the Book of Mormon this summer. There are three main concepts that I have gained a better testimony of through my studies.

First, we live in a materialistic society, where everyone wants everything right now. The car, the house, the clothes, the shoes, the tan. In reading the Book of Mormon it is apparent that pride is the cause of much sorrow and sin. I also noticed the common reference to costly apparel. My family knows how I have struggled with materialism over the years. Since college I have been fighting my natural man tendencies to want everything right now. As I have been fighting these tendencies and have been subsidizing my collection of "things" whether it be clothes, shoes, purses, or tanning sessions I have noticed a change. I think less of myself and more about what I could do for others. I spend less of my time on me. I still struggle at times, but I am getting better. Just yesterday a girl friend of mine showed me some jeans she just "had to have" that were $230. I wanted to strangle her! Does she realize what she's doing to her spirit?! Anyway, in the meantime I'm just going to keep doing my best. Besides, I'm proud to be a Target shopper and not a Nordstrom shopper!!

Second, I have a testimony that contention begins with pride. No matter how strong my testimony is or how strong I am in the church I have the ugly habit of losing my temper, usually with siblings. I could never be wrong because I'm the oldest child, right? Wrong! I hate being wrong and I always feel that my opinion matters and should be heard. This ugly habit has gotten me into trouble with my family and takes the spirit away from the home. One of my goals this summer was to not offend and not be offended. I still have a long way to go, but at least I recognize that it all begins with pride.

Third, when we are prideful we do not allow our will to conform to our Heavenly Father's will. President Benson said, "Pride is characterized by 'What do I want out of life?' rather than by 'What would God have me do with my life?' It is self-will as opposed to God’s will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God.

"Humility responds to God’s will—to the fear of His judgments and the needs of those around us. To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts."

As I have grown these past four years and out of all the doctrines and principles that I have learned I have gained the strongest testimony of this concept. To be happy, we must conform our will to our Heavenly Father's. Often we want Him to conform, but it cannot be so, it should not be so. Usually we don't see the end from the beginning once we do conform, but that when faith must kick in. In order to conform we must be humble. Humility is a pre-requisite to knowing our Heavenly Father's will, plan, and desires for us. Time and patience also need to take part in knowing these things. I have a testimony that we can know our Father's will for us.

It is a great blessing that the Book of Mormon stresses the importance of stripping ourselves of pride. Because if we are prideful we will never have the blessing of living together forever.

More on Stripped of Pride

It is next-to-impossible and probably imprudent to ponder fully the concept of pride without referring to Ezra Taft Benson's important address on pride in the April 1986 general conference. I include the entire passage (Cleansing the Inner Vessel, Ensign, May 1986, 4) from that talk here to inform our discussion and, also, to provide an important definition of pride:

May I now discuss a subject of grave concern that deserves deeper development than we have time. It is the subject of pride.

In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride. It is always considered as a sin. We are not speaking of a wholesome view of self-worth, which is best established by a close relationship with God. But we are speaking of pride as the universal sin, as someone has described it.

Mormon writes that “the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction.” (Moro. 8:27.) The Lord says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.” (D&C 38:39.)

Essentially, pride is a “my will” rather than “thy will” approach to life. The opposite of pride is humbleness, meekness, submissiveness (see Alma 13:28), or teachableness.

In the early days of the restored church, the Lord warned two of its prominent members about pride. To Oliver Cowdery, He said, “Beware of pride, lest thou shouldst enter into temptation.” (D&C 23:1.) To Emma Smith, He said, “Continue in the spirit of meekness, and beware of pride.” (D&C 25:14.)

“Thou shalt not be proud in thy heart,” the Lord warns us. (D&C 42:40.) “Humble yourselves before God,” says the Book of Mormon. (Mosiah 4:10.)

When the earth is cleansed by burning in the last days, the proud shall be as stubble. (See 3 Ne. 25:1; D&C 29:9; D&C 64:24.)

The great and spacious building which Lehi saw was the pride of the world where the multitude of the earth was gathered. (See 1 Ne. 11:35–36.) Those who walked the straight and narrow path and held onto the word of God and partook of the love of God were mocked and scorned by those in the building. (See 1 Ne. 8:20, 27, 33; 1 Ne. 11:25.)

“The humble followers of Christ” are few. (2 Ne. 28:14.)

Pride does not look up to God and care about what is right. It looks sideways to man and argues who is right. Pride is manifest in the spirit of contention.

Was it not through pride that the devil became the devil? Christ wanted to serve. The devil wanted to rule. Christ wanted to bring men to where He was. The devil wanted to be above men.

Christ removed self as the force in His perfect life. It was not my will, but thine be done.

Pride is characterized by “What do I want out of life?” rather than by “What would God have me do with my life?” It is self-will as opposed to God’s will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God.

Humility responds to God’s will—to the fear of His judgments and the needs of those around us. To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts.

Someone has said, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.” Of one brother, the Lord said, “I, the Lord, am not well pleased with him, for he seeketh to excel, and he is not sufficiently meek before me.” (D&C 58:41.)

The two groups in the Book of Mormon that seemed to have the greatest difficulty with pride are the “learned, and the rich.” (2 Ne. 28:15.) But the word of God can pull down pride. (See Alma 4:19.)

With pride, there are many curses. With humility, there come many blessings. For example, “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.” (D&C 112:10.) The humble will “be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge.” (D&C 1:28.) The Lord is “merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts.” (D&C 61:2.) Humility can turn away God’s anger. (See Hel. 11:11.)

My beloved brethren and sisters, as we cleanse the inner vessel, there will have to be changes made in our own personal lives, in our families, and in the Church. The proud do not change to improve, but defend their position by rationalizing. Repentance means change, and it takes a humble person to change. But we can do it.

We have made some wonderful strides in the past. We will be lengthening our stride in the future. To do so, we must first cleanse the inner vessel by awaking and arising, being morally clean, using the Book of Mormon in a manner so that God will lift the condemnation, and finally conquering pride by humbling ourselves.

We can do it. I know we can. That we will do so is my prayer for all of us. God bless you for all the good you have done and will be doing. I leave my blessings on all of you and do so in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Stripped of Pride

Alma, chapter 5, is the address Alma the Younger gave to the members in Zarahemla as iniquity began to creep into the church his father organized. It is an eloquent speech of a patriarch to his charges, covering such timely and timeless themes as being spiritually born of god, change of heart, the source of good and evil, and separating ourselves from the world - all of which may be topics for later posts. A main theme of the discourse is pride and humility.

Some background: Alma knew about pride. Born after his father took to heart the teachings of Abinadi, Alma rejected the teachings of his father and went about trying to destroy the church, along with the sons of Mosiah. Rebuked by an angel, Alma accepted Christ and spent the rest of his life atoning for his earlier wickedness – “atoning” in the sense of making his life right with the Lord and attempting to undo the harm he caused to the Nephites by his example and words. After being consecrated high priest in the place of his father and also being elected as the first chief judge during the reign of judges, Alma was troubled when he saw iniquity among the members of the church. Esteeming his calling from God over his popular election to office, Alma left the judgment seat to reclaim the members of the church. The address found in Alma 5 is the first of many given in this ministry.

“Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God” (Alma 5:28).

Note that Alma does not waste words on exhorting the people to live the Law of Moses. This is in stark contrast to what was happening, at the same time, in Palestine, where the various sects contended for their interpretations of the Law of Moses and competed to impose more and more of their own temporal requirements on the law to show they were the most pious and obedient to Moses.

In his role as American prophet, Alma concentrated on higher law principles. While the Pharisees fretted over how many steps could be taken on the Sabbath, Alma taught his people to come unto Christ and drink freely of the waters of life (Alma 5:34). The Zarahemla saints lived the Law of Moses but they were not obsessed with it. How often, as a corollary, is it necessary today to have a sacrament meeting devoted to the dangers of smoking? And so Alma’s focus on pride is hardly surprising, both because of his past and because of the eternal ramifications of the pride/humility dichotomy.

As an established and confident leader, Alma could speak plainly to the church. And he did so in this Zarahemla discourse. He warned his congregation that pride is incompatible with worthiness. He also counseled haste in remedying the problem: “Behold ye must prepare quickly, for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one [the proud] hath not eternal life” (Alma 5:28). What did Alma mean when he said “the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand . . .”?

Is pride also a latter-day problem? Why must we be “stripped of pride”? Is that concept consistent with the teaching that “he that is compelled in all things, the same is slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward” (D&C 58:26)?

If asked, any thinking Latter-day Saint would agree that pride is a problem in the church today as it was in Alma’s day. We have been taught as much. Ezra Taft Benson chastised church members for pride and called them to repentance. Pride, however, always seems to be the other guy’s problem. Also, it is mainly the proud who accuse others of pride. Unrighteous judgment is a symptom of pride. No one is immune from pride – rich, poor, young, old, active member. Perceived immunity (the perception that one is immune) is another symptom of pride. Yes, pride exists in the latter-day church, but, no, I don’t think we are generally very good at identifying it in ourselves.

Alma’s statement that we must be “stripped of pride” probably has something to do with our inability to identify pride in ourselves. The scriptures attest to many instances in which the proud are brought low by some event or circumstance. Alma’s experience was dramatic, but less momentous events can be equally life-changing. A premise of the gospel is that change is possible, and God helps us change for the better by allowing us to encounter humbling obstacles – the loss of a job, accidents and injuries, the sins of others, difficulties in relationships, financial setbacks, illness and disease, and countless other unwanted circumstances. These can, if reacted to properly, cause the pride-stripping spoken of by Alma.

Are we condemned if we do not humble ourselves without some triggering event? Will we receive “no reward”? (D&C 58:26) To the contrary, one of the great advantages of mortality is that it can eventually bring us to our knees, even if we are not inclined to go there on our own. Joseph Smith taught that he who is compelled “in all things” will receive “no reward.” We are allowed the assistance of compulsion in some, even if not in all, matters. It must be kept in mind that by “compulsion” we speak not of Satan’s plan but instead a not-so-gentle shove in the direction of the right decision. Some people are embittered, not humbled, by adversity.

Later in his discourse, Alma returns to the topic of pride. “[W]ill ye persist in supposing that ye are better one than another . . . ? (Alma 5:34) If so, “these are they who shall be hewn down and cast into the fire except they speedily repent” (Alma 5:56).

Let’s be speedy.

This post is too long. If you made it this far, don’t stop. Leave a comment or start a new posting. Ask me how if you don’t know already.

So . . . here's the thing . . .

The Book of Mormon is "the keystone of our religion" (Book of Mormon, introduction). I have always taken that comment to mean it is the keystone of the LDS church . . . which is true. But it occurred to me that the Book of Mormon is also the keystone of my personal religiosity. From it I gain not only truth but also religious feeling -- spirituality. It supports my testimony. On it leans my belief in the many doctrines contained in the book. I read it to learn, but I also read it to feel closer to God.

I have often wanted to establish a pattern of writing down my thoughts as I read the Book of Mormon, not out of a delusion that my thoughts are wiser or more accurate than those who have already commented. Instead, I wanted to write down my thoughts (1) because I think better and more deeply by writing (if you understand that, you understand me) and (2) to provoke family and close friends to share their thoughts on the same subjects.

So . . . here's the thing . . .

I will post my thoughts on various parts and aspects of the Book of Mormon. You can comment on my posts. And you can create posts of your own. Five words or five paragraphs, the length and depth of comments are up to you. The topic is generally the Book of Mormon, but we can wander into related topics. The point is to ponder the scriptures more deeply and help each other in the process.

One hint to better comprehension: the most recent posts are at the top. Therefore, to understand a series of posts, it is best to scroll down to the first in the series and work your way back up.

E-mail me or call if you have any questions or need help with the technology.