A Study of the Book of Mormon

Alma 18:8-17 As I'm reading these verses about Ammon's faithfulness as a servant to King Lamoni, the words of the Savior come to mind: "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;  And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:" ( Matthew 20:26-27 ) So back in Alma in verse 13, we read "And one of the king’s servants said unto him [Ammon], Rabbanah, which is, being interpreted, powerful or great king, considering their kings to be powerful; and thus he said unto him: Rabbanah, the king desireth thee to stay." Suddenly, because of his faithfulness as a servant to the king, the other servants were now calling him a great and powerful king. On the topic of praise, I should note a few other references. I think praise often gets in the way of the Lord's work, becoming an end and a road block to further opportunities to teach. Christ himself deflected praise when he said, "Why callest thou me good? none is good, save...

Alma 18:1-7 This set of verses is the first step in King Lamoni's conversion. A plain testimony of the king's own servants of what Ammon had done. The conversations and conclusions that transpire between the king and his servants reveal their spiritual understanding, or the traditions of their fathers. It's interesting that they concluded that there was a spiritual force at play. What is more interesting though is that suddenly, though the king had always had a belief in a Great Spirit, now he began to fear because of past actions. There is a subtle point in here that I find insightful in my approach to parenting: The king had slew many of his servant because others had succeeded in scattering the king's sheep. This caused the servants of the king to be very fearful, because of the consequence of death that seemed inevitable. The king was governing his servants in fear, which the king had had no reservations about doing, until suddenly Ammon shows up to protect the serv...

Alma 17:18-39 In these verse, we read about the deaths of seven who opposed a servant of the Lord. I have witnessed similar before, though not to the same degree. Yet, it is only because of my own personal, first-hand experiences with the Lord's work that I have perspective enough to appreciate what is happening here among the Lamanites. Those that would oppose the Lord's servants or directly oppose the work of the Lord, are removed from mortality when they rub too close to the truth, choose not to give heed, and stand in open opposition to the work that was about to transpire. This is what is happening in these verses. At first it seems that this is just Ammon who is slaying these wicked men, but the footnote on verse 38 shows that if not Ammon, then the Lord himself is able to intervene as well in the taking of life. (Conversely, I've also seen more recently how death of a worthy servant has also been used to advance the Lord's work. In either case, it is a tool o...

Alma 17:1-17 Considered to be one of the greatest scriptural passages on missionary work in all of holy writ, there are in these introductory verses principles that are universal in one's approach to service in the kingdom of God. Verse 16 talks about the cause for which the sons of Mosiah had undertaken this work: "that perhaps they might bring them unto repentance; that perhaps they might bring them to know of the plan of redemption." (emphasis added) The use of the word "perhaps" twice in this passage, illustrates one significant eternal reality. It's not a game of chance. However, it could be termed as a risky and very unpredictable investment. We do not know the outcomes of our labors. We would like to think that we could see how things will pan out from the outset, but such is not our privilege and such would void the exercise of faith. And so it is that that prospects of repentance are here couched with this qualifier that "perhaps they might ...

Alma 16 In this chapter, there is an account of a war between the Lamanites and the Nephites. It came at the end of a period of elongated peace. Before the Nephites are able to gather sufficient strength to withstand the Lamanite army, the town of Ammonihah is consumed. Other Nephites are taken captive. Fortunately, their military leader is a man by the name of Zoram who inquires of Alma as to where to go to find those Nephites that had been taken captive. Alma, being possessor of the spirit of prophecy, is able to tell Zoram exactly where to find the prisoners upon inquiry from the Lord. (See verses 4-8 ) The people of Ammonihah are destroyed in one day. ( vs. 10 ) --- After the wars are past, the work of the ministry is resumed. Alma and Amulek continued "preaching repentance to the people" together. (See vs. 13 ) In verse 14 , there is a hidden gem: "And as many as would hear their words, unto them they did impart the word of God, without any respect of persons , cont...

Alma 15 This chapter addresses something that I feel that I am not very good at: ministering to the sick and the poor. The story of Zeezrom also concludes in this chapter, he (having been taken gravely ill) being the key player to whom Alma administered to. (Side note: In times past, my wife and I have also discussed this chapter as evidence of how sin and one's mental and emotional state can have a direct impact on the physical well being of an individual.) After Alma and Amulek's miraculous deliverance from the prison at Ammonihah, they were commanded to leave that town. ( vs. 1 ) At Sidom, many of those who believed the preaching of Alma and Amulek had resorted there, and at Alma's arrival they learned of the fate of the wives and children, and also their own miraculous deliverance. The first case study in this chapter is Zeezrom. Zeezrom is fully convinced that Alma and Amulek were no more and that their destruction rested fully upon his own shoulders. The mental and sp...

Alma 14 This is a most painful account of discipleship and the potential cost of such. Alma's ability to discern impression of the Spirit in the midst of such opposition is notable, because it instructed him when to act and how to act. It also gave him hope for those who were taken from this life prematurely. There is also a great deal to learn here about justice and the judgments of God. How incredibly patient is God with his children! Slow to execute judgment unto destruction, even against his wicked children who would murder the innocent. "...He doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just," ( vs. 11 ). In my mind, it seems that sometimes mortal judgments are executed to prevent the wicked from sinning further. Sodom and Gomorah comes to mind when the Savior said "But I say unto you, That it shall be...