Alma 23-29: Come Follow Me Book of Mormon with Sam

Welcome to Come Follow Me with Sam! Wow, there is so much that happens in these short chapters. It is really hard to keep up and understand.

These chapters are like a secret window into understanding the psyche of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis, the sons of Ammon, and Alma! Really valuable stuff.

Why did the Anti-Nephi-Lehis/Ammonites not fight?

One thing we can see about the Anti-Nephi-Lehis - they knew the thanksgiving way. I can't think of anyone more truly converted than these people. There is a certain purity without complication or guile to the lives they decided to live.

Remember that these people regularly killed Nephites and each other. King Lamoni was troubled because of all the Nephites and Lamanites he had killed and that was why he was afraid of Ammon at first. rebels in his kingdom were not afraid to kill either. This was not a nice place to live.

Well, they rejected all of that once they converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here's an interesting thing to think about though: Jesus paid the price for sins, but we are still on the hook to fix the situation. But what do you do when you have taken a life? You can't repay a life back except with your own.

So guess what the Anti-Nephi-Lehies did.

They essentially said that their own lives would be forfeit before they ever took a life again. And they meant it. They lost thousands of their family and friends as a witness.

15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us ^ahide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us ^bclean thereby.

16 And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall ^ago to our God and shall be saved.

Different cultures teach and preach in different ways

One thing that fascinates me is the different way in which the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's express themselves as opposed to the Nephites. Notice how many times the King of the Lamanites says 'I thank my great God', and uses 'we' and 'our' a lot. this phraseology probably sounded strange to Nephites, and certainly isn't something I have heard over the pulpit today, and yet God accepts it, maybe even to a greater degree than our own preachings.

There are a number of cultural differences that I think defined the Anti-Nephi-Lehis from the Nephites, even when they came to the Nephite Lands. I'll talk about this later in the Book of Helaman.

The legacy of Abinadai lives on

As Mormon made mention in chapter, the Amalekites and Amulonites were not converted. They were furious that all the gospel would come to the Lamanites, which is interesting considering their ancestors had the gospel before.

So they went to war. First they killed the helpless Anti-Nephi-Lehis. but those people wouldn't fight back. So then they went to the Nephites and wiped out Ammonihah, then were driven back. (anyone find it interesting that the Lamanites wiped out a city that burned believers, being led by the children of Amulon, which was one of the priests that convinced King Noah to burn Abinadai?)

 The record says that this softened even more hearts, but not the Amulonites. At this point, the more wicked Lamanites decided that they had enough. the Amulonites first told them to kill their brethren, which did nothing for them, then they were told to kill Nephites, in which they were finally defeated. Now the Amulonites were telling them to kill each other. Fool me once, I'm a fool. Fool me twice and that will hurt something awful. Fool me three times and I will hunt you and your children to extinction in the desert. That is what these Lamanites did. They hunted them down and drove them out. This closes a final sad and generational chapter on the children of Amulon. Do not kill prophets.

A secret to understanding the Book of Mormon

Putting ourselves in the shoes of the book of Mormon writers is an elusive task. It is really hard to do. Both Ammon and Alma share thoughts in chapter 26 and 29 to express what they feel. It is hard to describe what they are saying in terms that do not water down the poignancy of their feelings. I'm going to try my best to explain what I am seeing in their words.

The key is to go back to Mosiah 28

3 Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not ^abear that any human ^bsoul should ^cperish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure ^dendless torment did cause them to quake and ^etremble.

4 And thus did the Spirit of the Lord work upon them, for they were the very ^avilest of sinners. And the Lord saw fit in his infinite ^bmercy to spare them; nevertheless they suffered much anguish of soul because of their iniquities, suffering much and fearing that they should be cast off forever.

Remember that they were actively trying to tear down the church at one time. They knew which side of the equation they were on. They also understood an little-mentioned principle that if something is a threat to one person, it is a threat to all. If a single person can perish by sin, then it means that anyone can.

Essentially, they saw each one of the Lamanites as their own selves. And when they helped a Lamanite, they saw it as something like redeeming themselves, or rather, like proving that a soul can be redeemed.

The greatest missionary psalm of all time.

I am convinced that Alma 29 is the greatest missionary psalm of all time. Once again, this is a little difficult to interpret with out replying in platitudes. but here we go. If I can get this right, hopefully you will find something of incredibly transcendent beauty in Alma's words, and something you can send to missionaries abroad to encourage them that their efforts are accepted.

Alma starts off by saying 'Oh that I were an angel!' He wishes to proclaim the gospel with the glory it deserves! what is wrong with that? Well, Alma reminds himself that God has given him a certain set of capabilities and talents, and is not what God gives you enough for your work? Would you presume to know better the needs of your stewardship than the master giving agency of that stewardship to you?

And further more, Alma says, he knows that the trump of an angel isn't what the people need to change their hearts. They need to change their desires first. 'For I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life'. Alma is saying that if people want they word, they will get it and they don't need an angel's trump. And if they don't want the word, an angel's trump is not going to make a difference.

So, says Alma, understanding this, why should I desire more than I have? God has given forth what people need to come to Him. 'I do not glory in myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me'. This is Alma highlighting the difference between his first attitude and his second attitude. In the second, his glory is in being a part of a truly ineffable plan of God. In the first, he was distracted from the grand pattern, despite his desire to work harder in it.

Then, he says, he knows it works because he sees so many coming to the gospel. 

Now is an interesting bit. He says 'then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me.

Back to this great secret of reading the book of Mormon. The people who wrote it saw themselves as needing redemption as much as anyone, and when anyone came to the gospel, it was for them a personal redemption in a small way.

Then alma makes an interesting comparison - from the captivity of his fathers came the missionaries to preach. It is a full circle for Alma.

The last two verses are the great kicker. Alma says 'Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body as it were, so great if my joy. And may God grant unto these, my brethren, that they may sit down in the kingdom of God... and my God grant that it may be done according to my words.

Compare this to the first verses of Alma (yes, there are definite elements of chiasmus here) Alma started out saying I wish I were an angel and could give proper glory to the message to fill mens hearts. But I am happier to to the simple work with what God has put before me.

He ends by saying 'yet through my simple work, I experience transcendence (separation of soul and body), and by doing my allotted tasks, my work and results are more glorious than if I had the trump of angels.

Think about that the next time you need to sweep floors or chop firewood. Perhaps following God's plan is more glorious than all the acoutrements man could conceive of.