Post by Zeezrom –
The Lord has an interesting way of fulfilling his promises. I may call them decrees, threats, or even guarantees. Maybe vow is a better word. Regardless, I testify that if He says it, as He even declares Himself “My words shall not pass away.” And just as Nephi declared those many hundred years ago, “O the greatness and the justice of our God! For He executeth all His words, and they have gone forth out of His mouth, and His law must be fulfilled.” (2 Nephi 9:17)
Well, He did fulfill his warning, or declaration, or whatever you want to call it, where Amulek and Alma called me and my fellow citizens to repentance. I here quote, “Behold, now I say God commands you to repent; and except you repent, you cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”
That part of the call to repentance struggles to have a great impact, especially among my people. We were so far from the truth at the time, we could hardly be expected to care or worry about something so distant in the future, and besides, nobody, and I mean nobody could ever verify the truthfulness of that promise. I think Alma knew that, so he added to these words, from God to the repentance call. “This is not all, God commands you to repent, or He will utterly destroy you from off the face of the earth. He will visit you in His anger, and in that fierce anger He will not turn away.”
Yet, even with the promise that if we didn’t repent, God would destroy us from off the face of the earth, we didn’t listen. Really now. Think of how many times we’ve been told we’d be destroyed if we didn’t repent. What would make us think we should take this seriously?
We knew about Noah and the flood. We knew about Sodom and Gomorrah. But really?
One other thing Alma said that I believe was dusted off, was the way we’d be destroyed. He said, “If you persist in your wickedness, your days will not be prolonged. The Lamanites will be sent upon you. You will be visited with utter destruction.” (Alma 9:18)
In our arrogance, we dusted that off. No way could the Lamanites utterly destroy us.
So guess what. Alma and Amulek are back in Zarahemla, the church is progressing here nicely, and we are enjoying peace and prosperity. There hadn’t been any wars for several years. My former friends in Ammonihah were minding their own wicked business and a cry echoed throughout the land. Armies of the Lamanites were on the march.
They invaded the land from the wilderness side and attacked the city of Ammonihah. Before the Nephites could raise a sufficient army to drive the Lamanites out. Ammoniah was laid waste. Totally destroyed from off the face of the earth.
My heart breaks. Many of those killed were loved ones of mine. They were however among those who resisted repentance. If you recall, the lawyers and judges and their kind killed many of the righteousness and drove the rest out. The consolation for me is that God in His great mercy will deal with those destroyed in a perfectly just manner. But He brought me and many of my loved ones out of Ammonihah before He destroyed it at the hands of the Lamanites. He gave us an opportunity to repent. We did. It was not easy to repent, but we did and God preserved our lives.
I add my testimony to the many that declare “God will never forget nor fail to keep His word.”
Alma 16:1-3
