Post by Amulek – Citizen of Ammonihah
Several days have come and gone as I and my household host Alma. He has genuinely blessed my home. As I mentioned earlier, he came to my city and began to preach the word of God to my fellow citizens. Satan having taken such hold on the hearts of my people, Alma had no success here, with emphasis on no success. Even after laboring much in the spirit and mighty prayer to God that He would pour out His spirit on the people of my city, they fully rejected him.
Keep in mind my people are not an isolated, uninformed nor uneducated people. We recognized Alma – speaking collectively not individually myself – we knew Alma was the High Priest over the church and that he had established the church in many parts of the land, but we are not of his church and we certainly don’t believe in such foolish traditions. One more thing, Alma was no longer the Chief Judge and thus he has absolutely no authority over us.
I’m even now embarrassed that I was considered part of that people, my people. They rejected Alma’s words. They reviled him and spit on him had him cast out. Alma departed and took his journey to the city Aaron. Alma doesn’t take rejection personally, he was weighed down with sorrow for the wickedness of the people here. He shared with me his story of conversion, which was no pleasant experience. He knows what it feels like to carry the guilt of wickedness and stand before God. The tribulation and anguish of soul was for the sorrow he knew my people were about to suffer.
But God wasn’t finished with my people, and for me and my household we are eternally grateful! I was to be cast off along with the rest, yet the Lord in His mercy sent an angel who declared to me in vision that a man of God was on his way to me and I should provide food and rest.
I was not involved in the casting out part of this story, for that mostly took place in the northern part of the city. As my home is in South Ammonihah, Alma chose to re-enter the city by that way. And as if angels coordinate their work, I was out in the way when a man approached me and said, “Will you give a humble man of God something to eat.”
It wasn’t like a secret code word to indicate this was the man I should be looking for. I saw him in vision and I told him so. I told him I was a Nephite and I knew he was a holy prophet of God. I invited him to my home and gave him bread and meat. As I mentioned, he is a tremendous blessing to me and my house.
Alma told me how the same angel who delivered the first earth shaking message to him, visited again and declared that Alma was blesses and should lift up his head and rejoice because of his faithfulness. After such encouragement, the angel broke the news that he was to return to Ammonihah. I am sure Alma mind reflected back to the conversion of his father Alma in the courts of King Noah.
The people of King Noah rejected the prophet Abinadi and cast him out. An angel commanded him to return which he did only to be rejected again. If you remember, Abinadi declared the same message Alma was declaring to my people with the promise of the same consequence if they don’t repent—destruction. Even now there is no assurance the people here will repent, in fact based on how I know my neighbors, it’s likely destruction is the path ahead. Not that I have little faith, but I am aware of the wickedness I live around. Until now I was just tolerant and ignorant, which may be just as unacceptable to the Lord. Regardless, Alma is unafraid of the consequences he faces. As for me, I’m scared to death – which may be the consequence he and I will face. Alma just let me know, I am called to be his companion in testifying the truth and bearing witness that what we teach is the word of God.
Wow. All I thought I was going to do was feed a good man who’d been fasting for a number of days.
It’s simple, Alma says, all I need to do is “prophesy unto this people and say Repent, for thus saith the Lord, except ye repent, I will visit this people in mine anger, and I will NOT turn my fierce anger away.”
Easy for him to say. These are my neighbors, my business associates, my friends.