A Study of the Book of Mormon

Alma 19:1-11 In this group of  verses, King Lamoni has been overpowered  by the influence of the Holy Spirit and has laid prostrate for 2 days. The queen summons Ammon to inquire of him the state her husband's well-being so that she could know what to do. The queen explains to Ammon that the servants of her husband regarded him as "a prophet of a holy God " and that he had "power to do many might works in his name. " On this premise, on the testimony of the servants of her husband, the queen asks Ammon for guidance. Verse 6 reads as such: Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting l...

Alma 9:25-34 I've just reviewed my previous study notes on the earlier parts of this chapter and the spiritual significance  associated with these events. Coming to verse 25 , the weight of Alma's statement is great. "And now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed , the Lord has sent his angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them that they must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;" (emphasis added) Angels are not to be trifled with. For they are one step away from God revealing Himself to the people, which thing the people could in no way withstand without being completely destroyed because of the greatness and glory of God. It is impossible for man in his wickedness to stand in the presence of the Holy God. So mercifully, He sends angels, messengers from his presence, to warn the people. The next three verses are perhaps the most important verses in this chapter, and perhaps the ...

Alma 8:19-28 On the surface, this is a fairly simple exchange wherein Alma returns to Ammonihah by a different way and is taken in by Amulek. There are a couple of notes on these verses that I find significant. Of Amulek, it was required to exercise the Christ-like virtue of compassion and to feed the hungry. That may seem an insignificant side note given that he had also received direction and inspiration from an angel to entertain Alma, and yet I think this is at the very core of why the angel appeared to Amulek, and not someone else. When Alma returns to Ammonihah, he is hungry. We later learn that Alma had actually been fasting for many days. ( vs. 26 ) Upon petitioning an unknown stranger, Amulek identifies himself to Alma as a Nephite and goes further to say that he knows Alma to be a prophet of God. Near the end of these verses , we learn two notable points in this story: 1) that Alma did not immediately return to the task of preaching the gospel, but spent some time in the hous...

2 Nephi 5:3-7 Laman and Lemuel truly had murderous intentions, so fixed was their determination to rid themselves of Nephi and his admonitions to righteousness. The seriousness of their intentions were revealed to Nephi as a warning from the Lord. Following the topical guide for further references of Divine warning, the preface to the Word of Wisdom stands out as a warning for our times (see D&C 89:4 ). There is also this passage of scriptures in Doctrine and Covenants 63 that warns us to not take lightly the things of God (see verses 58-66 ). Warnings come from God, so that if we follow their instructions we are the benefactors of "a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, otherwise, a greater condemnation," ( D&C 63:66 ).