A Study of the Book of Mormon

Alma 35:1-4 I brought to consider "the Power of the Word." (I'm not quoting anything in particular here, but this phrase has popped into my mind as I've started this study this morning. One of Christ's many names or titles is the Word. Consider the following:  In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son , and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God. ( JST John 1:1 ) In the previous chapter of Alma, Amulek gives this particular testimony: And we have beheld that the great question which is in your minds is whether the word be in the Son of God, or whether there shall be no Christ. And ye also beheld that my brother has proved unto you, in many instances, that the word is in Christ unto salvation . ( Alma 34:5-6 ) So if I go back to the beginning of Alma 35 , and I'm looking for the testimony of Christ, I find it by replacing the use of "word" with the name...

Alma 31:6-7 Alma, in his preparations to preach unto the Zoramites, assembles a dream team of missionaries to accompany him: Ammon, Aaron, Omni, Amulek, and Zeezrom. Six very powerful and effective ministers of the gospel of Christ embark on this errand. Alma also does something else in his preparations to go preach. He brings with him two of his sons to preach unto the people: Shiblon and Corianton. Previously, I might have look at this as favoritism. Now, as I struggle with my own children, I know exactly why Alma has these sons of his in his company. Today's Action Items: - No one is a lone maverick in the Lord's work. Don't do the work of the Lord alone. - Find ways for your family members to contribute to the Lord's work.

Alma 29 An interesting realization is observed by Alma in these verses, for he knows that God gives to all men according to the portion of the word that He sees to be fit for them. The reason that Alma knew that to be true was because he had received that portion of the word of God that was given to his people. In verse 4 , it reads "I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God..." I think I know what this means, but it's the use of the phrase "harrow up" that has me searching. Definitions of the word "harrow" are "To tear; to lacerate; to torment" or "vex". It's quite a violent word. When I searched for the word elsewhere in the scriptures, it appears usually in context of someone coming to the realization of their serious sins or as a description of war. "And this great sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his mind until it did become exceedingly sore, having no deliverance;" ( ...

Alma 28 Not all missionary experiences end with happy endings. Earlier I had mentioned how Alma 26 was the unspoken homecoming address that seemed to mark the end of the missionary labors. However chapters 27 and 28 are the "rest of the story" that frequently gets overlooked. In fact, I have read this story many times and had completely disassociated the connection between the large-scale conversion of so many Lamanites and the war that resulted from this major social shift. The impact that this has had upon me this time has been jarring. So much good had been accomplished. So many Lamanites had been brought to the knowledge of the truth! Why was there such a large scale ramification? This causes me also to consider the Lord's preferred method of gathering in the last days: "one of a city, and two of a family," ( Jeremiah 3:14 ). Drop by precious drop, little by little Isreal is gathered. Oh how I ought to be more invested, more concerned with the ga...

Alma 26:17-22 Verses 17-20 are excellent study in mercy! Ammon recalls here conditions from which God "snatched" them out of their "awful, sinful, and polluted state." The wonder and amazement that accompanies such mercy, when judgment appears to be the proper and prescribed form of action, is illustrated here as well. "...Why did he not let the sword of his justice fall upon us, and doom us to eternal despair?" ( vs. 19 ) Finally in verse 20 , the affirmation or knowledge that Ammon had obtained of the reality of God's mercy: "Behold... in his great mercy hath brought us over that everlasting gulf of death and misery, even to the salvation of our souls." Then in verse 21 , Ammon poses a sobering question: "What natural man is there that knoweth these things?" His answer is both surprising and reassuring to me: "there is none that knoweth these things, save it be the penitent." Not the humble, not the pure, not the gratef...

Alma 26:8-16 Verse 9 is a statement that stands opposite to the "if-only" sentiment. And it starts with this phrase: "if we had not". It is a phrase and a statement that is encased in gratitude and recognizes the inherent value of hard work. But the thought that is engendered here is a sober one:  For if we had not come up out of the land of Zarahemla, these our dearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly beloved us, would still have been racked with hatred against us, yea, and they would also have been strangers to God. ( vs. 9 , emphasis added) What is so miraculous about this particular account was that thousands of Lamanites were brought to the light. Without such unprecedented faith in God, this would have never been realized. They sought to do something that had never been done before, and succeeded. --- The Book of Mormon is an exceptional text for illustrating the challenges that arise from success or prosperity. In verse 10 , as Ammon is making note of...

Alma 26:1-7 This chapter represents the end of 14 years of missionary labors for Ammon and his brethren, though it doesn't expressly say so at the beginning of the chapter. Rather, this chapter starts immediately with the remarks of Ammon as he is reflecting back upon their labors. His remarks begin with a series of questions: "...Could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?" (vs. 1) "...What great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell?" (vs. 2)  Ammon proceeds to answer for himself with this statement first: ...Our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God!  (vs. 3) And then he points to the blessing: And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work. (also ...

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: 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 22:15-16 After the king had the plan of redemption explained to him by Aaron, the missionary, the king had only one question on his mind: "What shall I do...?" There is actually more to his question than this, but this is so profoundly similar to Peter's interactions with those at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. ( See Acts 2:37 ) What the king said in its entirety was this: ... What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? ( vs. 15 , emphasis added) The verse continues with the king making one final statement, which emphasizes the urgency of his inquiry, "Behold... I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom..." Is the grass really greener on the other side? By that, I mean, is having all of this world...

Alma 22:1-14 The start of this chapter takes pains again ( see previous chapter ) to explain that the Spirit of the Lord did lead Aaron and his brethren to the house of the king over all the land of Nephi, except that part which the king had recently separated and given to his son, Lamoni. The geo-political details are not nearly as important here as the fact that it was the Spirit of the Lord that led them there. They didn't go because they were directed to go by Ammon, though Ammon was the one who relayed the referral. They didn't go because there was nothing else for them to do, and they felt like shooting for the stars. They went because the Spirit of the Lord led them there. (see vs. 1 ) They may not even have known that this was where they were headed, like Nephi trying to get the brass plates, taking one step at a time. On the other hand, maybe they did fully know exactly where they were going and in what context they were coming. Because after all, Ammon had just rescue...

Alma 21:15-17 What surprises me about this set of verses is that in a sense, nothing had changed. Their external circumstances had not changed. After Aaron and his brethren had been released from prison, they went back to the synogogues of the Amalekites and into any assembly of the Lamanites that would let them come in. The venues did not change. What did change was this: "And they went forth whithersoever they were led by the Spirit of the Lord," ( vs. 16 ). I went back and looked for any reference to the Spirit of the Lord guiding their previous efforts, and there was none. Imprisonment and the subsequent sufferings that resulted seems to have been the humility catalyst needed to prepare this particular set of missionaries for the work that lay ahead of them. Now verse 17 states that: ...the Lord began to bless them, insomuch that they brought many to the knowledge of the truth; yea, they did convince many of their sins , and of the traditions of their fathers, which were...

Alma 21:1-14 At the beginning of the chapter, Aaron and his brethren first arrive at a land named Jerusalem, named by the Lamanites in remembrance of the land from which they came. The Lamanites built this city with the help of those who had dissented from among the Nephites, the Amalekites and the people of Amulon (making the city then probably less than 50 years old at the time that Aaron and his brethren visit it). Now an interesting phenomenon is observed here. For the Lamanites were already of a hard heart, but these other groups which had only recently dissented from the Nephites, were even more hardened in their hearts. I suppose this is because for the Amulonites and the Amalekites, they were this way of their own choice, whereas the Lamanites had inherited their hardheartedness as a tradition from their forefathers. The mixture of the two seems to have had a more damaging effect, causing the Lamanites to be more wicked. (see vs. 3 ) Aaron discovers that in the span of one gene...

Alma 18:18-43 There are a couple of items that are assumed here. Ammon is working by power. And now King Lamoni is recognizing that power: the power to discern the thoughts of his heart, the power to slay the enemies of the king. Lamoni tells Ammon that if he will explain to him how he has this power, that he would in turn give him up to half of his kingdom. This power that Lamoni recognizes, he sees as extremely valuable. In verse 20 , King Lamoni demands, "tell me by what power ye slew and smote off the arms of my brethren that scattered my flocks." The king goes on in the following verse to explain that he would give armed guard to protect Ammon, but that he recognized Ammon as more powerful than his armies, "But I know that thou art more powerful than all they;" ( vs. 21 ). Now to put what follows into proper context, I have been brought to consider a talk by Elder Jeffery R. Holland given as instruction to new mission presidents regarding the importance of teac...

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 7:7-9 This particular injunction resonates with me, probably because of my personal circumstances at the moment. Yet it seems that the personal and individualized instruction tends to be the most universally compelling at the same time. Alma states that the Spirit had said unto him to tell the people of Gideon: Cry unto this people, saying—Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth. ( vs. 9 ) In chapter 9, a different account is found where Alma is among the people of Ammonihah. This time it is the voice of an angel that had instructed Alma:  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; And not many days hence the Son of God sh...

Mosiah 28:1-9 These verses cause me to consider in greater earnest "the virtue of the word of God." (see Alma 31:5 ) The sons of Mosiah set a precedence in the history of missionary work upon their successful completion of their ministry among the Nephites. It strikes me that as these missionaries had observed the power of the word of God amongst the Nephites, there was born within the sons of Mosiah a desire to extend its influence to the Lamanite people also. But perhaps there's a slightly different reason for their motivation. No one had ever taken the word of God this far before with the hope to convert an enemy nation to the ways of God.This zealous pioneering spirit was born of out of the desire "that salvation should be declared unto every create." ( verse 3 ) I find in the sons of Mosiah's desire the manifestation of the Spirit of Christ, or in other words, that pure love which motivates one to do good. Consequently, the sons of Mosiah sought their f...

Mosiah 18:30-35 This first verse is a beautiful passage of scripture. It has reference to the significance of a location to one's spiritual conversion. Something of a nostalgia is recognized in these verses. This is akin to people when they find out that I served as a missionary in Costa Rica. When I am asked if it was beautiful, I can wholeheartedly  reply "yes" it was. Yet the sights and sounds that I am referring to have little touristic value. In my mind are the dirty roads of impoverished developments, the small homes of willing investigators, and the overcrowded buses where testimonies where shared. These are the things that make this land so beautiful to me, for the very same reasons as are recorded in verse 30 , "how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer." There is something about living and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ that enlivens the senses so that where one lives at the time of such experien...

Mosiah 18:1-7 Now at the beginning of this chapter, there is a very brief statement about the repentance of Alma, who was prior to his interactions with the prophet Abinadi a wicked priest. We know very little about the repentance process that Alma underwent. In comparison to the double accounts that the Book of Mormon has about his son, Alma the Elder's change of heart goes virtually without note. However, there is one verse in Mosiah 23:9 which does state: But remember the iniquity of king Noah and his priests; and I myself was caught in a snare, and did many things which were abominable in the sight of the Lord, which caused me sore repentance; There we have it then. As private and personal as the repentance process should be, it is sufficient for us to know that Alma, being a wicked priest in the court of King Noah, had to undergo a sore repentance process before he could begin to establish the church of Christ.  These verses that deal with the people's preparation for t...