Post by Amulek – Alma’s new missionary companion.
It’s hard to understand the hardness of the hearts of my own people here in Ammonihah. Alma was told by the Lord that I am called to testify to my people. Having spent time with Alma in my home, I recognize how wicked we’ve become. Now out with Alma testifying to my people, the contrast is stark.
Alma, with boldness which I have yet to muster, clearly declared that God’s anger will not be turned away unless our people repent. The anger of my people is what I fear will not be turned away. Immediately upon hearing Alma’s call to repentance the people turned on him. And me of course, because I am with him.
The only comfort I took in the whole experience is the comfort of the Holy Ghost. We were filled with it just as Alma promised we would be when we left my house to begin testifying. Alma promised we had power given us to teach with power and with that same power we would withstand being confined in dungeons. Which of course is where we ended up.
It wasn’t just the wickedness to which my eyes were opened but the utter ignorance of their own blindness and foolishness. Here we were, Alma and I, Amulek, two of us and their first argument was why they should believe the testimony of one man that in God’s wrath He could and would destroy the city of Ammonihah in one day if they continued in their wickedness and failed to repent.
“Who is God?” they demanded, “that would send only one man among them to declare so great and marvelous thing as their utter destruction.” There I stood adding my testimony and they couldn’t see it. They are so hard-hearted and stiffnecked!
They tried to take us, but the promise of the Lord to protect us kept them at bay for a bit. Then Alma let loose. “O ye wicked and perverse generation!” I don’t think anybody likes to be called wicked or perverse, but I think that was an understatement. Alma then launched into the many miracles our very people have seen since leaving Jerusalem those many years ago. In reality though, how can we expect a hardened people to care or believe things from hundreds of years ago. They don’t believe. And even if they did, they don’t care. Most of us hardly care about things and miracles last week. especially if we are hard hearted anyway.
When Alma reminded the people of the promise of Lehi that if we keep the commandments we will prosper in the land and that if we don’t we’ll be cut off from the presence of the Lord, I had to dig deep to comprehend what being cut off from the presence of the Lord means. After all, these, my fellow Ammonihahites, are already outside the presence of the Lord. The closest they will get is an angry Alma in their presence and they still want to take him and put him away. They would do the same to the Lord, as we’re told the Jews will to to the Lord when He does come to earth.
I’m still learning here, but Alma points out that the Lamanites have been cut off from the presence of the Lord which I believe means they live without inspiration, without revelation, without His word to guide them, and thus they are a hard people lacking in respect for life, lacking in Godly hope and trust in a better life? I don’t know but I think my people here in Ammonihah are already that way.
But Alma didn’t let up. He said because they, the Lamanites, don’t have the commandments of God because the traditions of their fathers have kept them in ignorance, they will be better off than the people of Ammonihah because we’ve had the knowledge of God, we’ve had His commandments, we’ve had His word, and we’ve rejected it all.
I believe it’s the rejection that is the key. In ignorance, you don’t receive the blessing of a life full of light, a life with purpose. But you also don’t carry the burden of sin against the knowledge of God. Having the word of God and rejecting it is the key to the promised utter destruction being promised according to the fierce anger of the Lord as promised by Alma. No wonder my people are contending with us.
Alma went as far to say, the Lord will suffer the Lamanites to do the destroying. I guess I have a lot to learn as I serve as Alma’s back up testimony. I believe what he meant was once a people receive so much light and knowledge from the Lord, God would prefer they be destroyed before they could fall into transgressions.
I don’t think I got that right. So let me try it again.
Alma said that the Nephites, after having been such a highly favored people of the Lord, after having been favored above every other nation, kindred, tongue or people, after having all things made know to us according to our desire, faith and prayers; having been visited by the Spirit of God, conversing with angels, being delivered from destruction, famine, sickness, bondage time after time, being prospered in all things and preserved until now; if we fall into transgression after all that, it will be more tolerable for the Lamanites, who haven’t had all those blessings and don’t have the light. They have the promise that one day they will have the light, but if we fall into transgression, it’s over for us.
Permit me to say something about Alma’s terminology “fall into transgression.” For these people, my neighbors, they’re not “falling into”, they are aggressively “diving into” transgression head first.
After the Hell, Fire and Damnation call to repentance, Alma turned to prophesy. He said that not many days from now the Son of God will come in his glory, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of this people and to answer their prayers. At first this caught me off guard. First Alma says these folks better repent or be destroyed. Then he says the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father is full of patience, long-suffering, and quick to answer prayers. I guess there is a time when the patience and long-suffering won’t prevent the long-suffering of the un-repentant.
But Alma didn’t let up. He made it clear that all men will reap the reward of their works. Righteous works will result in salvation. Evil works will reap damnation and the captivity of the devil. Then in as nice a way as I think possible for Alma, as I am getting to know him, he said, and I quote, “Seeing that your hearts have been grossly hardened against the word of God, and seeing you are a lost and fallen people, You must repent and bring forth good works or be destroyed.”
If I weren’t side by side with Alma and my people weren’t trying to take hold of us to cast us into prison, I would laugh at Alma’s surprise that the people wanted to silence him and cast us in prison. I didn’t have the chance to laugh. Alma had me take over and call these my fellow citizens to repentance.
Wow, what do you say to an angry crowd?