A Study of the Book of Mormon

Alma 36:17-23 The first thing that catches my attention is the contrast between before and after; the bitter and the sweet; the despair verses the hope. Moments earlier, in the gall of bitterness, Alma says: Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God , to be judged of my deeds. ( vs. 15 ) Then as evidence of  this mighty change of heart, he says: Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there . ( vs. 22 ) One moment there is such fear and torment at the thought of being brought into the presence of God. In the next, Alma has a longing to be there singing praises to God. The natural question that follows is: What caused Alma to change internally? (It wasn't seeing an angel.) What about the act of having f...

Alma 27:27-30 This description of the Ammonites or the people of Ammon at the end of this chapter causes me to consider a couple of awesome facts: First, that when repentance and the Atonement of Christ has full sway on an individual or community, their final state is more pure, more refined, and more improved than had they never sinned at all. Don't get me wrong in thinking that I'm excusing sin of any degree in the least by making this statement, but the reality is that, we all need to be cleansed and improved upon in this life, sinners and saints alike. But as I read this description of discipleship in these verses, I cannot help but think that this people sound to be among the most choice of God's people to have ever walked the earth. Second, even though His name appears three times in these four verses, I some how am still glossing over the reality that this is the effect that Jesus Christ and faith in His name can have upon me. Perhaps it alludes me because of...

Alma 27:1-14 When I am struggling to find meaning in a particular passage of scripture, I will look for what that set of scriptures are teaching me about God. Here, when a critical decision needed to be made regarding the safety and welfare of the Ammonite converts, the king asks of Ammon to inquire of the Lord. Here is an interesting thing, because the will of the Lord was essentially the same as Ammon's desire for the people. However, the word of the Lord that came to Ammon allowed for greater depth and understanding. It wasn't just, "yeah, he said yes." Rather, the word of the Lord to Ammon gave explanation and reason for their needed departure plus some behind-the-scenes perspective on what was happening in spiritual terms: Get this people out of this land, that they perish not; for Satan has great hold on the hearts of the Amalekites, who do stir up the Lamanites to anger against their brethren to slay them; therefore get thee out of this land; and bles...

Alma 26:31-37 Fresh from a joyous reminder of the Easter season, these final verses of rejoicing are powerful in their own form this morning. In other words, such clarity and conviction are the results of Ammon's missionary efforts that he can confidently boast in his God, and I feel that conviction by witness of the Holy Spirit as I review his words this morning. There are two points that are impressed upon me in these verses: first, the love of their converts ( verses 31-34 ), and second, the merciful nature of an all powerful God ( verses 35-37 ). "Because of Their Love"  Ammon, after having just stated that his only hope as a missionary was "that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul," ( vs. 30 ) he then looks at the fruit of their labors, this great harvest of souls and states "yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us." The proof of their conversion was in the e...

Alma 24:20-27 The first line of verse 20 has caught me attention this morning. There are deliberate preparations by their brethren to destroy the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. I think the Spirit is trying to tell me this morning that there are deliberate preparations in our day to destroy the righteous and righteousness. I feel it is more calculated and bent on destruction than any would realize. But if these had been converted to the Gospel of Christ, as brethren, they would not have been the opposition. Now what happens here is a difficult story to think about and consider, but it is the account of selfless sacrifice even to the point of death, or laying down of one's own life, and the resultant conversion of more than a thousand of their brethren who openly opposed them on the battlefield. The conclusion to this section is found in verse 27 : "thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people." After prayer, I am caused to consider the repercu...

Alma 24:5-19 Verse 5 - I need to remind myself that within a context of charity, this is a vexing issue for these missionaries to see their brethren being threatened with war as a result of their conversion to Christ. Compelled by this deep sense of duty and love for their brethren, they gather together in a council that they might determine the will of the Lord in this matter.  Councils as a tool are well documented elsewhere as to their effectiveness in group settings. Oh what good gets accomplished in councils when motivated by genuine concern and love! I'm also impressed that this council happened as they had become aware of the Lamanites' preparations for war. It wasn't an afterthought as a result of a battle already fought. Though past experience and whatever counter-intelligence that they had access to as leaders, they saw beforehand the struggles that lay ahead of them, and so they counseled collectively on how to avoid such. Gratitude is a predecessor here in the ...

Alma 23:7-18 We read in verse 7 : For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren. Symbols of conversion to Christ included a name change and they become a "very industrious people." It is a few mornings after the first day that I have read this group of verses. I am now sufficiently humbled to hear the word of the Lord. (How many times has this pattern been repeated? I come to a seemingly clerical set of verses - a set of verses that appear to only be there for housekeeping reasons, or to connect the story lines from one point to another. But time and time again, nothing is in this Book of Mormon without deliberate purpose. Such is this passage.) So we have here a list of the seven lands that were converted to the Lord. The list may seem like just a list of names at first. But do we ever regard converts to the Lord with such superficial, trivial attenti...

Alma 23:1-6 Verse 3 reads "for the king had been converted unto the Lord, and all his household;" There is a footnote on "household" that takes me to Genesis 18:19 where the Lord himself observes the following: For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord , to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. I've gone on to read in Genesis about the story of Lot, and how angels came into the city to warn him and his household to get out because the city of Sodom was to be destroyed. The scriptures say: And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. (Genesis 19:14) This is me!  Lot was saved from the destruction and wickedness of the people, but his family was not! Compare and co...

Alma 22:19-26 In these verses, it seems to be that that which is not written which offers the greater insights. This morning, I am asking myself: where is God in these verses? What about these particularly verses points me closer to Christ? In verses 19 and 20 , there is no mention or reference to God or Christ. But as I went back and re-read those verses, it appears to be what was not said that revealed Their influence. So the queen learns of the state of her husband, and discovers Aaron and his brother standing near by. The verse says, "as though they had been the cause of his fall."  The wording says so much without saying anything at all. Or in other words, Aaron and his brothers were NOT THE CAUSE of the king's fall. This is where God is hidden in the details of this verse. The power of God, or His influence upon the king (which was through the teachings and ministering of Aaron and his brethren) was the cause of the fall. The next verse also says that the servants...

Alma 22: 17-18 The king believes the words of Aaron, and immediately "the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees." ( vs. 17 )  Prostrated upon the ground, crying mightily unto the Lord, the king then offers this beautifully simple prayer: O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. ( vs. 18 )  The end of verse 18 then explains that the king "was struck as if he were dead." This passing of state from consciousness to unconsciousness is reported at least three times in the Book of Mormon as part of miraculous conversion processes. It happened previously with this man's own son, King Lamoni, (see Alma 18:42-43 ) and then to his entire household (See Alma 19:13-16 ). It also happened to Alma the Younger (See Mosiah 27:19-20 and Alma 36:10-11 ). Alma the...

Alma 20:8-27 "For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." James 1:20 "Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away." 3 Nephi 11:30   These twenty verses contain the account of Ammon and Lamoni's encounter with Lamoni's father, the king over all the land. Without introduction or explanation, Lamoni's father immediately labels Ammon as "one of the children of a liar." ( vs. 10 ) Respecting his father, Lamoni gives the cause for his delay.  Then, "to his astonishment, his father was angry with him." ( vs. 13 , emphasis added) There are two directions that I want to address with this verse. First, it astonished Lamoni that his father responded to him with anger. I'm not sure if it was because his father had always been a peaceful man towards him as his son, or if it was rather because Lamoni had hoped to h...

Alma 20:1-7 King Lamoni invites Ammon to accompany him up to meet his father the king. I am impressed by how clearly Ammon is able to receive divine directives, or what we might more commonly call personal revelation.The record doesn't state the timing in which the revelation came to Ammon, whether it came immediately after Lamoni's invitation, or perhaps later on in moment of quiet reflection and prayer. It is also impressive how quickly Lamoni responds to this divine directive once he learns of its source.( see vs. 5-6 ) Then in verse 7 , there is also a change of attitude on Lamoni's part. Where at first, Lamoni thought to flatter the king of the land of Middoni, who was a friend of his, now Lamoni states that he will plead with the king for the deliverance of Ammon's brethren. Something about knowing that the directive was actually a divine mandate changed Lamoni's attitude and sense of urgency. Suddenly it wasn't just a social injustice that was needing to ...

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...

Alma 5:14 After completing a brief review of the terms of salvation that were extended to the previous generation of Saints, Alma goes on to ask three very direct questions in succession : Have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Now the first and the third questions, I can find references to elsewhere in the scriptures to broaden my understanding of what Alma is asking. For example, the first question ("Have ye spiritually been born of God?") sounds very similar to the Savior's conversation with Nicodemus. "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?" ( John 3:4 ) The third question ("Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?") also has meaning elsewhere. King Benjamin's people exclaimed that "because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change...

Mosiah 27:32-37 This captures my attention immediately, that from the point of their conversion onward --or that from the moment that they had put into practice in their own lives the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ-- they began to teach it unto others. A line at the end of verse 32 says that they were "greatly persecuted by those who were unbelievers." I've often times feared the unbelievers because of their anger and hatred towards those that do believe. However, as I read it this morning, it strikes me that the conversion that Alma and the sons of Mosiah underwent caused them to face the unbelievers with love and faith, perhaps even with the hope that they too would convert to the Gospel of Christ. It is that it was so present in the minds of their minds (Alma and the Sons of Mosiah) their prior state of darkness that they understood all too well the hatred, confusion, and guilt that those that don't beleive are feeling.  Understanding the cause of their ...

Mosiah 27:18-31 An interesting exercise in these verses is take the phrase "power of God" and substitute it with the word "priesthood." Not so much to change the meaning of the passage, but to give further understanding to the nature of the priesthood. I keep doing it, almost compulsively. Presently, I am left to consider how "nothing save the power of God that could... cause it to tremble." ( verse 18 ) That thought that keeps impressing me is that the priesthood has the power to do this. Then there is the question of signs and how it is an "adulterous generation" ( Matt. 12:39 ) that seeks after signs. If we are not to seek after signs and miracles, then what part do these things play in the work of the Lord? That the priesthood has power over earthly elements has been illustrated time and time again in the scriptures, especially in the Old Testament. Their purpose is not to give signs to the wicked but rather to facilitate the work of the righ...

Mosiah 17:1-4 There is something about the final words of a man's life that serves as a sealing witness or testimony of eternal truth. For some, there is remorse for a lifetime spent in trivial and vain pursuits. For others, fear and uncertainty of what comes next and a failure to prepare for it. And then there are those who have acquired a testimony of the world beyond this one, who have spent their lives in sacrifice and service to others, and in a very real sense, are ready to move on to the next great chapter. Such seems to be the courage and testimony of Abinadi in this final chapter. Verse 2 introduces a very compelling and new dynamic to the story of Abinadi, for at this point in time we see the turning of just one of the priests of King Noah. Singular as he is, that Alma had been converted by the sacrifice and preaching of Abinadi, this shifts my understanding and reasoning for why Abinadi was compelled by the Spirit of the Lord to do as he had done. Not only did Abinadi g...