Post by Amulek – Alma’s teaching companion—
Before launching into my preaching, permit me to take a few words to introduce myself, so you know who’s talking here. I am the son of Giddonah, who was the son of Ishmael, who was a descendant of Aminadi; and it was that same Aminadi who interpreted the writing which was upon the wall of the temple, which was written by the finger of God. Let me tell you that having the Aminadi in my family tree made for interesting discussions at home. Even so, despite those mysteries and the demonstration of marvelous power which in deed I saw, I was a dope.
Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the land of Jerusalem, who was a descendant of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren. But you know all that about Lehi’s ancestry.
Here in Ammonihah I am a man of no small reputation among all those who know me. I have many kindreds and friends, and I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry.
The whole time I was fooling myself. I claimed I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his mysteries and marvelous power. I tried to convince myself and others that I never knew much of these things; but as I said, I was a fool, I have seen God’s mysteries and His marvelous power. I’ve seen clear-as-day that God preserves His people.
But with all that, still I hardened my heart. I was called many times and I would not hear. I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges.
To reiterate what I shared before, as I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to your own house, for you will feed a prophet of the Lord—a holy man, who is a chosen man of God. He has fasted many days because of the sins of this people, and he is hungry. Receive him into your house and feed him, and he will bless you and your house; and the blessing of the Lord well rest upon you.
Here I am; so evidently I obeyed the voice of the angel, and returned towards my house. And as I was going home, I found the man whom the angel told me to receive—and behold it was this same man who has been speaking unto you concerning the things of God. I know he is a holy man because the angel of God told me so and now the spirit also bears witness that he is.
I know that the things Alma testified are true. I’m telling you straight out, that as God lives, he sent His angel to make these things manifest unto me; and this He did while Alma dwelt at my house.
He blessed my house, he blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; he blessed all my kindred, and the blessing of the Lord rested on us according to the words which he spoke.
Now let me tell you about our experience when I began to teach and testify. It was when I bore my testimony of the truthfulness of Alma’s words and I told all my people that I knew them to be true and how I knew, they were shocked, seriously shocked. Before I began to speak they were complaining that they didn’t believe one witness and now they had two witnesses, they were completely off guard.
I think astonished would be the right word to describe my people.
Astonished isn’t the word for all the people. Some of my people thought to question us and hoped by their cunning devices they might catch us in our words, that they might find some witness against us so they could deliver us to the judges so we could be judged and cast into prison. There was no crime here only the truth which of course we all know the wicked take to be hard.
These who wanted to see us jailed and silenced were the lawyers who learned all the arts and cunning of those for who the truth is irrelevant. It was not only evident to me as a fellow citizen to see through their evil designs.
Somehow they looked past the fact that I was one of them, they should have known better. I knew their thoughts. I knew them and now I had the Spirit of the Lord with me as well. So I let loose and as best as I can recall, here’s what I said. It felt good to say it.
“O ye wicked and perverse generation, you lawyers and hypocrites, for you are laying the foundations of the devil; you are laying traps and snares to catch the holy ones of God. You are laying plans to pervert the ways of the righteous, and to bring down the wrath of God upon your heads, even to the utter destruction of this people.”
I was not making any new friends at this point. I continued anyway. After all, the Spirit of the Lord was with us. I reminded them of what Mosiah who was our last king said when he had no one upon whom he could confer the kingdom and he left us to govern ourselves. King Mosiah said that if the time came that the voice of the people should choose iniquity, that is if the time came that we fell into so much transgression, we would be ripe for destruction.
Ripe for destruction is an interesting accusation. It means the people as a whole have rejected God. However, the mercy extended is amazing. Before that destruction, He calls his people by the voice of angels and two mortal teachers—me and Alma, to cry out to these people, “Repent, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
I must say, that term ‘kingdom of heaven’ is at hand didn’t seem the right words. It’s not heaven that awaits these people. God is saying He will come down with equity and justice in His hands. That is not good news to those choosing iniquity.
In my next post I will expound on that concept “Ripe for Destruction.” But needless to say, these, my own people are more angry with me than they were with Alma. Maybe I was a bit too strong.
