23:6
When we have never been outside of the church, is it harder to understand the blessings of being a member? I think it’s harder. For those who have grown up in the church and have maintained the standards throughout, they don’t know what it’s like “on the other side.” They don’t have perspective - the ability to compare their life with and without the gospel.
This wasn’t the case for the Lamanites. About the Lamanites who converted, we read, “And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.” Their conversion was a conversion from one state to another. It was a dramatic difference. It was clear to them that the gospel changed their lives. For those who have never lived out of the Garden of Eden, it’s hard to appreciate how beautiful it is.
Of course, we all have to be “converted” to the gospel. I think this conversion is different but still a conversion. It is the conversion of:
Going through the motions/following the rules to truly becoming an earnest disciple.
Being selfish to truly selfless.
A lazy approach to a zealous effort.
Attending church and being a good neighbor to offering a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Finally giving up your will and replacing it with God’s will.
Being stagnant in gospel knowledge to being hungry and feasting on the word of God.
Sometimes, all of this happens all at once. Sometimes, one thing leads to another. I’m still working on this conversion. I’m still working on letting Eric die and being reborn as a true disciple. I’m still working on giving up my will for God’s.
23:14
“And the Amalekites were not converted, save only one; neither were any of the Amulonites; but they did harden their hearts, and also the hearts of the Lamanites in that part of the land wheresoever they dwelt, yea, and all their villages and all their cities.” First, I want to meet the one Amalekite who was converted…
It appears that the Amalekites hardened their hearts AND hardened the hearts of the Lamanites. It’s always this way. Once you leave the church, you want others to leave the church. If I stand alone, I may likely be wrong. If I stand with a group, I’m likely not wrong. People like not being wrong and so the hard-hearted like to be surrounded by like-minded people. If they don’t exist, maybe they can make some.
In 24:1, we hear that the Amalekites and Amulonites wanted the Lamanites to hate the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. They began to hate them. They “were stirred up by the Amalekites and by the Amulonites to anger against their brethren.“ Again, what fun is it to hate someone if you’re the only one who does. It’s much more fun to have hate-pals.
It is summed up in 24:30. “And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things.” Someone who has understood the gospel and had a testimony and falls away, is worse than they would have been if they had never known anything about the gospel.
It is the natural that this happens. If I harden my heart that was once enlightened, that’s a big descent. That descent doesn’t happen without large character decay. The trajectory of one’s character decay is, I assume, almost permanently declining. We’re talking about someone who has been enlightened by the Spirit. They have known the truth and turned away. If they do that in mortality, it’s likely they will continue to do this after this life when the Spirit is also attempting to enlighten them. They are in open rebellion.
If we deny something that the Spirit has shown us to be true, this is denying the Holy Ghost. It is unforgivable. Why, because the forgiveness won’t have any effect on an unrepentant person. If I give a car to someone who refuses to use it, the car is useless. To forgive someone who will never repent is futile. There is no effect to the forgiveness. That’s why denying the Holy Ghost is the only unforgivable sin.
23:18
“And they began to be a very industrious people…” It’s interesting that righteousness is tied to industriousness. Why is that? I think it’s because it’s in our eternal nature to progress. We shouted for joy when we heard about the plan of salvation because we wanted to progress. When we are aligned with the plan of salvation, we also get aligned with industry. Working will always be a part of our future. It’s in our soul’s nature. When we deny our spiritual nature, part of that is becoming idle. The fallen man is an idle man.
24:10
Every member of the church will say that Christ can wipe away our sins. But, we don’t talk much about how Christ can wipe away the guilt that we feel. “And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.” Those who repent shouldn’t be feeling the guilt of their past sins. We shouldn’t feel shame. We shouldn’t make those past sins part of our current identity. The sins are gone and the guilt of that sin can also be gone.
24:12-13, 15-16, 18-19
The converted Lamanites wanted to bury their swords. “Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren. Behold, I say unto you, Nay, let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we should stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the atonement of our sins.” The fact that their sins couldn’t be cleansed again wasn’t a limitation on Christ’s atonement. There isn’t a numerical number of times that we can be forgiven. We’ll never hear Christ say, “I would have forgiven you four times but not FIVE!” That’s not how it is.
The challenge is repetition of sin CAN change character. Open rebellion certainly changes character. Doing something really wicked, repenting, and then doing that same wicked thing risks permanently altering the course of our progression. If I stop wanting to be good and lose the desire to repent, that will follow me into the next life. I won’t suddenly be supremely motivated and energized simply because I’m in the spirit-world. I won’t change my character when I am separated by my body. I’ll still be the same Eric with the same character.
These Lamanites had realized their sinful state that came from their hatred of the Nephites. They had repented. If they became killers again, they risked being permanently changed. Again, they weren’t worried about any limitation on the Christ’s merits. They were worried about their own ability to stay the course. We should all feel the same way.
“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 hide 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 clean thereby.” They are concerned about their weakness. They knew that their repentance was as much as they could do.
They are more worried that their future selves wouldn’t have the ability to return again to the path. They were so concerned that they took the step of putting them in an unreachable place. “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 go to our God and shall be saved.” They didn’t want the temptation of the swords to be in front of them.
This is wise. If we are tempted by something, we should place it far away from us. I do this sometimes with treats. If the treats are within reach, I’ll eat a ton. If the treats are in another room, that little bit of separation is enough to keep me from partaking.
They were truly changed people. They wanted to stay that way. “And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.” There are three “rathers” here:
“Rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives;”
“Rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him;”
“Rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands”
A life of discipleship is about choosing the better of two “rathers.” This reminds me of President Nelson’s “Good, Better, Best.” Talk. For every sin, there is an opposite. Being a disciple is NOT simply avoiding bad decisions. It’s discovering the opposite of that bad decision and purposefully doing that.
It’s bad to gossip. It’s good to serve and support those being gossiped about.
It’s bad to steal. It’s good to give to those in need.
It’s bad to be selfish. It’s good to be selfless.
It’s bad to take advantage of another. It’s good to look for every opportunity to serve others.
“And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.” Choosing the right isn’t just avoiding the wrong. There’s a proactivity to choosing the right. As we do, we build a firm foundation of discipleship. A discipleship foundation cannot be built on avoiding bad choices.
25:1
“And behold, now it came to pass that those Lamanites were more angry because they had slain their brethren.” It’s curious to me that the Lamanites are “more angry” because they killed their Lamanites brothers. You’d think they’d consider their own role in it. But, we all hate to be the villain and so, even when we are perpetrator of the wicked act, we attempt to point the blame somewhere else. It’s human nature. It’s our nature. You do it. So do I.
25:14-16
The people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi “began to be a righteous people." “…and they did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe to keep his commandments and his statutes.“ Why do commandments and statutes exist? Is this life about obeying the rules? Will we be saved according to our obedience?
The answer is in verse 16. “Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation, relying upon the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to come.” These people knew that salvation did not come from obedience to the law of Moses. BUT, the law of Moses served to “strengthen their faith in Christ.”
We strengthen our faith in Christ when we are obedient. You could say that it’s the primary reason for commandments is to develop faith. Being obedient helps strengthen us as we overcome the natural man. We overcome the natural man to be more like Christ. As we are more like Christ, we know him better and it’s easier for us to have faith in him. Simple.
It’s summed up in verse 15. “Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses; for it was expedient that they should keep the law of Moses as yet, for it was not all fulfilled. But notwithstanding the law of Moses, they did look forward to the coming of Christ, considering that the law of Moses was a type of his coming, and believing that they must keep those outward performances until the time that he should be revealed unto them.” The law of Moses pointed to Christ. In this way, observing the law of Moses served as a tool to strengthen their faith.
26:1-3, 8, 11-2, 15
Ammon was celebrating the success that they had among the Lamanites. We will hear that he is chastised by his brother but, in these verses, we clearly see that he is directing his praise at God.
“…for could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?”
“And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell?”
“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.”
“Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever.”
He clearly sees what has transpired as a blessing from God. He gives credit, as he should, to God. When “rebuked,” he clarifies what he is saying. “But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.” Ammon is boasting, but he is boasting of God’s strength. He knows that he is a weakling on his own but is all-powerful if paired with God.
26:13-16
He continues to specify how God has blessed them and the Lamanites. He is giving God credit:
“Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us.” It wasn’t them with the power. It was the power of the words which they spoke.
“…he is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the chains of hell.”
”Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light”
“…they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love.”
The only thing that the sons of Mosiah can claim is that they were instruments. Ammon said, “we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.” This is all we can be. We are not the author of anyone’s salvation. We don’t save souls. We don’t soften hearts. We don’t grow the church. But, we can be instruments in God’s hands. Our God is a master of using instruments like Ammon and his brothers.
Ammon truly points the praise to heaven. “Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.” It is okay to be proud of God. It is okay to glory in God. It is okay to revel in his greatness. It's not okay to be proud of our awesomeness.
26:17-20
Why was it so easy for Ammon to see God, rather than himself, as the hero? Part of it is his past wickedness. “Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and polluted state? Behold, we went forth even in wrath, with mighty threatenings to destroy his church.” Ammon understands fully that they weren’t worthy of such blessings.
Ammon questions why he was saved from his awful destiny. “Oh then, why did he not consign us to an awful destruction, yea, why did he not let the sword of his justice fall upon us, and doom us to eternal despair? Oh, my soul, almost as it were, fleeth at the thought. Behold, he did not exercise his justice upon us, but in his great mercy hath brought us over that everlasting gulf of death and misery, even to the salvation of our souls.” Their salvation wasn’t based on their past performance. Their salvation is based in mercy.
Couldn’t we all say the same thing? We may not be enemies to the church - but we’ve all done bad things. We deserve justice. We deserve doom and despair. If it’s up to us, we each are failures. Luckily, God doesn’t give us what we deserve. He gives us what we need to be saved. We should all be grateful that this plan involves mercy and grace and relies on the merits of Him who is mighty to save! Praise Jesus.
26:21-22
What I am writing is only understandable by those who have the Spirit and have opened their hearts and minds. If you attempt to explain the merciful plan of salvation to an unbeliever, it will be as if you are speaking another language. Ammon understood this. “And now behold, my brethren, what natural man is there that knoweth these things? I say unto you, there is none that knoweth these things, save it be the penitent.” Those who humbly search for truth will find it. Those who don’t, won’t. Simple.
“Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.”
26:23-24
If you attempt to do something bold and faithful, there will often be folks who will attempt to talk you out of it. I think it has something to do with avoiding guilt. If I see someone really stepping up, it makes me feel bad about myself and so I, sometimes unconsciously, pull them down so they’re at my level again. A lot of self-esteem comes from comparison to others. If others are lower, than I am higher.
“Now do ye remember, my brethren, that we said unto our brethren in the land of Zarahemla, we go up to the land of Nephi, to preach unto our brethren, the Lamanites, and they laughed us to scorn? For they said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as stiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the shedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the beginning? Now my brethren, ye remember that this was their language.”
If you’re attempting to do something good and you’re meeting resistance from others -especially those who are closest to you - you’re on the right track.
26:30
It’s interesting that the sons of Mosiah were willing to endure all that they did if it meant that they would save one single soul. “And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.” Every soul is a potential inheritor of all that God has. Every soul is a potential source of eternal increase and increased glory for God. How many billions of souls on this earth have been organized form the work of a single holy couple? It’s interesting to think about why the worth of one soul is so great.
27:17-18
There are many sources of each of these on this earth:
Pleasure.
Pride.
Social respect.
Luxury.
Comfort.
Leisure.
Power.
Enjoyment.
Entertainment.
But, there is only one source of pure joy. Ammon knew this. “Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth. Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.” NONE receives this type of joy unless they are repentant and humbly seeking happiness that only comes from following the gospel of Jesus Christ and serving others. This joy only comes from doing God’s will. This joy only comes from blessing those around us. As our wills unite with God’s and we can honestly say that our work is to act as instruments in God’s work - we will feel this pure joy.
The world can offer temporary counterfeits to this joy. Worldly fake joy always fades. It never truly satisfies. This is why those who seem to have everything that the world offers still commit suicide. They look for a joy replacement in drugs or sex or possessions. Joy counterfeits never last.
28:10
Mormon writes a beautiful description of the dichotomy that exists in mortality. This experience can either be joyful or sorrowful - regardless of the events that happen in our lives. Mormon writes:
“And the bodies of many thousands are laid low in the earth, while the bodies of many thousands are moldering in heaps upon the face of the earth; yea, and many thousands are mourning for the loss of their kindred, because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are consigned to a state of endless wo.” The families of those who are wicked truly mourn those who have died. They believe that they are going to hell. So, when someone dies, those that remain have no reason to have hope.
There is another side to this. “While many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness.” So, when the righteous die, we may be said that they are gone but we know that their futures are bright. Because of Christ, we know that the penitent will feel the joy of receiving the promises that have been made in a “state of never-ending happiness.”
These are two ends of a terrible spectrum. “And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men.” There is a lot at stake for all of us in the choices we make.
This powerful dichotomy has been outlined in these verses. “And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life.” The things of this world offer only death and destruction and despair. On the other side, Christ offers joy and peace and hope. Which do you want?
29:4-5, 9
Alma wants to “speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!” That would convince a lot of people to repent. In fact, God could just appear in the sky and that would also convince a lot of people. But, this life isn’t about that. We already lived in God’s presence before coming here. Mortality was meant to be different.
Alma understood this. “I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.” God wants this mortal experience to figure out our own wills, independent of his babysitting. He wants us to see what it’s like to get what we want. He wants us to develop strength on our own. He wants us to understand consequences - whether they be salvation or destruction. Mortality is a unique time. If we want spiritual understanding, we will receive it according to our faith. Those who don’t want revelation will not receive revelation. He grants according to our desires. This builds us.
“Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience.” Providing consequences tied to our choices teaches, strengthens, and helps us progress. We can truly be independent here on earth. We have left the house and are learning what we want to do on our own.
The goal is to learn from our good and bad choices and refine ourselves. As we refine our spirituality, our will aligns with God’s. “I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.”
True joy comes from being an effective “instrument in the hands of God” as he does his work. All of our good works shouldn’t be about earning glory for ourselves. Our efforts to be righteous and to bring others to Christ help God to fulfill his work. Thank God that his work is to save all of us.
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