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Alma 8–12 | Scripture Study Insights with Tyler Griffin | A Come Follow Me Resource · Scripture Central

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Hello there. My name is Tyler Griffin, and
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this is Scripture Study Insights by Scripture Central.
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Today we're going to cover Elma chapters 8 through 12, and these
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particular chapters are a continuation of Alma's
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missionary journey as the high priest over all the church in
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the land of Zarahemla. So let me begin with zooming in
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on this specific region of of the land in Zarahemla.
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Remember chapter five, he was teaching in Zarahemla.
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Then in Chapter 7 he went east of the river Sidon to Gideon.
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And in the beginning of chapter 8, he comes home to Zarahemla in
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verse one to rest for a short season from his laborers.
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And then he goes West of the Riverside and out to Milek and
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the land and the regions roundabout Milek over by the
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wilderness. And you notice that he has
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pretty good success in Milek. But Mormon only gives us 3
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verses concerning the preaching and the success.
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All the people that he baptizes from all the regions roundabout
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in Milek doesn't seem to be a lot of opposition there.
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And then it tells us that he goes 3 days journey northward to
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the city of Amaniah. And it's here where Mormon
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really slows down in the passage of time in his narrative and he
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gives us many chapters. Life is very difficult for Alma
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the high priest or Alma the missionary, however you want to
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look at him in this role in Amaniah, It's very, very trying.
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So as we dive into the text here from the portion from Amaniah,
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notice it says that when Alma had finally come to the city of
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Amaniah, it it describes what's going on there.
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It says now Satan had gotten great hold upon the hearts of
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the people of the city of Amaniah.
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So if you were a missionary and you were being transferred to a
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new location and you saw that as the description of the people
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that you're going to serve among, it'd be pretty
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discouraging. I love the fact that in this
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telling of the story, Mormon embeds two times the word
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nevertheless. So nevertheless, in this context
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implies this idea of in spite of what you just read, this is what
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happens anyway, or this is the counter effect, this is the
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outcome. So you would read this, Satan
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had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people and you
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would expect A cause effect. But what Mormon gives you is A
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cause counter effect with greater emphasis on the counter
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effect. Never the less, it's always the
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greater on what comes next. So instead of saying, Satan had
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great hold, therefore Alma gave up.
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It's quite the opposite. Nevertheless, Alma labored much
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in the Spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer that he
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would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city,
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that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto
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repentance. This is beautiful.
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Instead of seeing the opposition, he says, I'm going
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to work harder, I'm going to labor much in order to have
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this, this success to be able to baptize them.
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So it now brings us to verse 11, which starts with a
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nevertheless. So the people were bad,
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nevertheless he labored much in the spirit.
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Nevertheless, in spite of his very best efforts, Mormon
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informs us they hardened their hearts saying unto him, Behold,
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we know that thou art Alma. And they they go on to tell, we
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know that you used to be the the chief judge over the land, but
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you're not anymore. You gave that up.
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And so you're just the high priest.
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You have no authority over us. We're not going to going to
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listen to you. It's, it's this incredible
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overlay that I wanted to use for all of these chapters today,
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which is the power of human choice, the the power of human
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agency or liberty. We really are free to choose
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what we believe, what we think, what we do, how we talk, what we
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become. We are our agents unto
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ourselves. And what we see throughout these
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chapters is a group of people who for the most part seem to be
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using their agency to reject the words of Alma and later on
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Amalek, ultimately the words of God and a few who accept those
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words and follow them and repent.
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And so the, the overlay that you could, one of the many things
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you could look for as you're studying or teaching or
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discussing these chapters with other people is how is God
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honoring and respecting each individual person's agency while
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also doing everything within his power through his chosen
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servants to try to activate that agency for the good, for the
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righteous without, without forcing some of the, some of the
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sections that we're going to cover today feel pretty dark.
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They feel pretty, pretty negative, but I I think it's a
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powerful reminder that everything God is doing is with
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the intent to save. It would be worth your effort to
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go back and revisit Elder Patrick Kieran's opening talk as
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an apostle of the Lord in the April 2024 General Conference
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with his incredible address entitled God's Intent is to
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Bring You Home. He, he reminds us constantly of
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what God is really trying to do because the world paints the
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prophets and the scriptures and commandments and the church and
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all of these amazing things in a negative light sometimes.
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And it's it's powerful to be reminded of what God is actually
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trying to do with all of these efforts.
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And as we read these chapters, be watching for that how God is
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not just respecting the agency, but he's trying to to encourage
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and invite and persuade rather than to force or as the devil
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does, to bind and to drag and to take people places they really
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don't want to go as as a consequence of their decisions.
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So you you see in verse 13, as Alma is completely rejected by
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these people, it goes on to say in verse 13, when the people had
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said this and withstood all of his words, and they reviled him
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and spit upon him, and 'cause that he should be cast out of
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their city, he departed thence and he took his journey towards
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the city, which was called Aaron.
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Now there's an interesting hidden message in those words.
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Most people when they're rejected like that will get
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discouraged, even depressed and want to give up and go home and,
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and throw in the towel, so to speak.
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Say I I tried, I'm I'm not a very effective missionary and it
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didn't work and I give up. So I'm going to disengage.
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I love this little detail. He took his journey towards the
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city which was called Aaron. In other words, he is still on
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the Lord's errand. He isn't giving up.
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He isn't saying I can't do this anymore because the people are
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rejecting me. He is continually seeking to
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invite people to use their agency, to choose God, to
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repent, to be baptized, and to move forward on that covenant
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path. And since he was rejected in
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Amaniah, he's headed to Aaron. He's going to keep trying.
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But Mormon gives you this little detail that while he was
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journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow and
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wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul because of
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the wickedness of the people who were in the city of Amaniah.
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It came to pass that while Alma was thus weighed down with
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sorrow, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared unto him and is
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now going to deliver this message.
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This is a significant visitation from an Angel for a variety of
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reasons. Number one, we find out at the
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bottom of verse 15, Behold, I am he that delivered it unto you,
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that first message. So if you remember Alma the
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Younger, who was going around with Ammon, Aaron, Amnor and
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Hymni, seeking to tear people away from the faith, undoing all
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the work of King Mosiah and Alma the the first high priest in the
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land, Alma the Younger's father, an Angel appeared to them and
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stopped them in their tracks that their attempts to destroy
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the church. Now he says I'm the same.
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I'm the same one that delivered that first message to you.
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We're we're old, old friends here.
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Can you see the contrast between the two visits?
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The first time Alma sees this Angel, Alma is puffed up in
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pride. He is puffed up in sin.
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He is using his agency to destroy faith and to destroy the
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church and Kingdom and work of God to the best visibility on
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the earth. He is on the devil's errand at
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that point. And the Angel takes this puffed
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up prideful person and humbles him, deflates his his pride and
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causes him to go into that three day experience where he turns
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finally to the Lord and uses his agency to repent.
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And so he's he, he begins that new life on that covenant path
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moving forward. Now, in contrast to that first
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visit, instead of being puffed up, he's weighed down with
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sorrow, He's deflated. He's already humble and meek and
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he's cast down. Why?
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Not because of his own sins, but because of the burden of the
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people's sins and pride and refusal to repent and accept the
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Lord Jesus Christ and to be baptized and to move forward.
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So now when the Angel comes, he takes an individual who is in
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the depths of despair, and he props him up, he strengthens
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him, he lifts him up and elevates his mind and his heart.
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His feelings encourages him. And I love the wording here when
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it says verse 16, Behold, I am sent to command thee, that thou
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return to the city of Ammanihah and preach again unto the people
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of the city. A Preach unto them.
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Yeah, say unto them, except they repent, the Lord God will
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destroy them. There's this little contrast
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between what he was doing the first time, preaching repentance
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to try to get them to be baptized, and now they rejected
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that message. So the Angel says go back to the
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city of Amaniah and preach repentance, and that if they
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don't repent, God will destroy them.
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So now it's a warning. It's an invitation with a
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warning instead of an invitation with followed up by the
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invitation. A double layered invitation to
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repent and be baptized. Now it's a warning.
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If you don't repent, you will be destroyed.
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Again, back to Elder Kieran's talk.
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God isn't sending him in there to preach destruction.
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He's sending him into the city again to preach salvation.
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God's intent is to bring them home.
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He's going to do everything he can.
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He's done the soft invitation. Now he's going to have to use a
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little more harsh rebuke and call to repentance with the
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warning that if they choose not to follow that prompting from
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the Lord through this prophet, they will be destroyed.
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So if you look at verse 18, there are some incredible words
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and in phrase and phrases contained here, which, which
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word is your favorite as you as you see these on the screen or
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if you're just listening, it says Now it came to pass that
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after Alma had received his message from the Angel of the
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Lord, he returned speedily to the land of Amaniah, and he
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entered the city by another way. Yeah, by the way, which is on
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the South of the city of Amaniah.
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Now one of the one of the beautiful things about agency
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and about this, this liberty that God has given us to think
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and live and choose and believe and act according to the
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dictates of our own conscience, is this this aspect that just
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because one person points something out in Scriptures
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doesn't mean it's the only thing to be pointed out.
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The scriptures are so broad and so deep, you'll never, you'll
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never exhaust them. You'll never get to the bottom
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of them. There's always more to discover.
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So I wanted to just point out one word that sticks out to me
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in this passage, that the word speedily denotes that Alma got
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that message from the the Angel and he didn't delay.
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He didn't say, well, you know, they just rejected me.
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So I'm going to give it some time.
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Maybe they'll they'll forget me a little bit and give me a fresh
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start. He didn't do any of that.
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He got the message from the Lord.
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And you'll notice how he chooses to use his agency.
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He speedily returns to the land of ammonia, goes back without
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delay, and he doesn't argue with the Angel, and he doesn't
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rationalize away all of the reasons why it would be a silly
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idea for him to go into the city of Amaniah again, where he's
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been rejected and spit upon and reviled and cast out of the
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city. And I also love the fact that
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when he goes back to the city he entered in by another way,
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there's a little principle here that when we're rejected in any
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teaching or any corrective attempts that we're making
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either in a parenting role or, or any family setting or in a
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leadership role at church or a class at church or even with,
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with colleagues at work. If if you have situations where
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you're trying to, to encourage people to do better things, I
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love the fact that he finds another way to enter into a new
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conversation with these people. He doesn't do it exactly the
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same way as he did before. He, he is creative, comes up
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with a, a new approach. And in this case, it's entering
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in by another way. So now we see that as he comes
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into the city, he meets a man who has been prepared by the
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Lord to welcome him into the city.
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And his name is Amulek. And Amulek brings Alma into his
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home. He feeds him and he spends many
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days there. He blesses his family.
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So Alma says to Amulek in verse 26 And now Amulek, because thou
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has fed me and taken me in, thou art blessed, for I was in
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hungered and for I had fasted many days.
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And you see this, this beautiful example of Amulek using his
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agency to accept and support and uphold and feed God's servant
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Alma in this case. And in the process he becomes
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blessed. Now, Alma doesn't list out all
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the ways that Amulek was blessed, but we at least know
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one powerful way in which he's blessed.
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And that is Amulek is called to go and preach with Alma.
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He becomes a companion in this mission that Alma has has
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accepted from the Lord and specifically through the Angel
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leading up to this. And Amylok has seen an Angel as
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well. And they're now going to pair up
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and be two witnesses. And that that becomes very
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important as we turn over to Chapter 9 and you notice the
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power of working with somebody, finding a companion with whom
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you can be equally yoked and carrying forth the work of God.
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It's it's much more effective when when you have two
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witnesses. So Alma goes amulets with him.
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But Alma starts to preach in Chapter 9 and the people respond
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saying, verse two, Who art thou suppose ye that we shall believe
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the testimony of one man, although he should preach unto
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us that the earth should pass away?
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And then they go on to say some really interesting things like.
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And they said also, We will not believe thy words if thou
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shouldst prophecy that this great city should be destroyed
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in one day. Little do they know that their
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great city of Emaniah is going to be destroyed in one day.
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In Alma chapter 16, the Lamanite army.
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Comes and destroys the entire city of Amaniah in one day.
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Now to quickly connect some dots, it's a group of Lamanites
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who come up from the land of Nephi and wipe out that city of
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Amaniah in one day after they've tired of killing the anti Nephi
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Lehis, the the people of Ammon in the in the land of Nephi,
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probably near the city of Ishmael where they buried their
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weapons of war and refused to fight.
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So these Lamanites come and are killing them, kill over 1000 of
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them. And so it's that army that
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leaves and goes and ultimately fulfills this, this prophecy
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that the great city of Amaniah is going to be destroyed in one
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day. So as we jump back into chapter
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nine, look at verse six. And they said, who is God that
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send us no more authority than one man among this people to
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declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things.
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So there you had it repeated in verse two and verse six, One
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man, one man. And there stands Alma all alone
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but Amulex in the wings. He's he's going to come forth,
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but Alma is filled with power. They can't they can't destroy
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him. And he stands there with
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boldness and he declares more powerfully than before.
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This isn't the the time to smile at the group and tell them how
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much they're loved and how much God wants them to repent and be
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baptized. That was in the first attempt in
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chapter 8. Now he received a different
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mission from the Angel, and so he says, verse 8 Behold, O ye
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wicked and perverse generation, how have you forgotten the
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tradition of your father's ye how soon you have forgotten the
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commandments of God. And then he goes on to remind
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them of God's goodness of the many times in the past that God
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has delivered them and their ancestors from all kinds of of
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bondage and afflictions. And then he repeats the the
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invitation verse 12 Behold, now I sent you that he commandeth
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you to repent and accept you repent.
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You can in no wise inherit the Kingdom of God of God.
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But behold, this is not all he has commanded you to repent or
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he will utterly destroy you from off the face of the earth.
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This is not a soft, easy to hear sermon from Alma.
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He's giving that that very clear message from God, but it's not
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delivered in anger or hatred. It's delivered in love.
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Because as we've said before, Elder Kieran's talk, God's
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intent is to bring you home. Everything Elma's doing here is
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to encourage the people to wake up to a realization of what
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they've been doing and more importantly, what they've been
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becoming in the process of time and in the process of rejecting
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the Lord. Now he gives this reminder.
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Verse 13 Behold, do you not remember the words which the
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Lord spake unto Lehigh, saying that in as much as you shall
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keep my commandments, you shall prosper in the land.
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And again it is said that as much as you will not keep my
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commandments, you shall be cut off from the presence of the
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Lord. So then he, he goes through this
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next sequence where he's contrasting the Lamanites and
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the Nephites and he's referring to the Lamanite struggles as
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being inherited from decisions their their ancestors had made
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before. But God will be merciful to them
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because God doesn't hate the Lamanites.
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He doesn't hate the people in Amaniah.
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He loves everybody. And he's, he's going to give
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opportunities for the Lamanites as well as to these wicked
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Nephites in Amaniah. He's going to give them
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opportunities to repent and to change.
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And in fact, as you read through the the verses in Chapter 9 and
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see the rationale, the reasoning, and the examples that
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Elma was using, I love how he concludes all of that
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discussion, contrasting the Lamanites with the Nephites with
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the solution in verse 26. And not many days hence, the Son
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of God shall come in his glory, and his glory shall be the glory
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of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity,
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and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick
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to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers,
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reproving be times with sharpness, then showing an
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increase of love. The increase of love is embodied
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in Jesus Christ, in his mission, in his infinite atonement, in
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his teachings, in the arms of his safety that that this
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incredible prophet Alma is now extending to these people.
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He's been pretty harsh with them if you read all of Chapter 9,
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but now he's showing that increase of love, lest they
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esteem him to be their enemy. I didn't come to contend with
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you, to fight with you, or to try to force you.
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He's saying my invitation that I'm bringing.
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I came to invite you to come unto Christ and to partake of
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his goodness. Verse 27 He continues, Behold,
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he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance
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through faith on His name. Therefore prepare ye the way of
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the Lord. There's the invitation, so the
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teaching, the commandments, all of the, the foundation work has
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been laid. Now the invitation prepare the
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way of the Lord for the time is at hand, that all men shall reap
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a reward for their works according to which to that which
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they have been. And then he says if they've been
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righteous, then you're going to reap the salvation of your souls
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according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ.
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You're not going to work your way into heaven.
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You're going to come unto Christ who is going to make you
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heavenly by his mercy and his merits and his grace alone is
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the the UN underlying message there.
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Now we turn to our second witness, Amulek in chapter 10
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and Amulek gets up and he he introduces himself to the
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people. You know me.
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He's saying I'm I'm a citizen in this area.
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I'm he gives his his genealogy pedigree chart, so to speak.
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He reminds them that he's a descendant of a Minodai that a
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Minodai who interpreted the writing which was upon the wall
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of the temple, which was written by the finger of God.
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Oh, how I wish we had more of that story.
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And gives gives his lineage all the way back to Lehigh and then
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ultimately up to Manasseh in the tribes of Israel.
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And then Amulek does one of those embedded nevertheless
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sequences, as we saw back in chapter 8.
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But in this case it's for himself.
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So follow this pattern. Verse four, he says, behold, I
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am also a man of no small reputation among all those who
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know me. Yeah.
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And behold, I have many kindreds and friends and I've also
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acquired much riches by the hand of my my industry.
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So he's describing his prosperity as far as the world
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would judge him. Nevertheless, so in spite of all
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that I had gained, I never have known much of the ways of the
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Lord and the his mysteries and marvelous power.
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So he's saying I was doing great as far as the world's concerned.
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Nevertheless, the counter effect, I didn't know much about
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God. So now notice how verse five
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ends. He says, I said I never had
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known much of these things, but behold, I mistake for I have I
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have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power.
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Yeah, even in the preservation of the lives of these people.
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So he's saying, actually I didn't know, but I was kind of
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turning a blind eye to it and and I knew all kinds of amazing
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things that God had done. And then he says nevertheless,
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and verse 6IN spite of knowing those things, I did harden my
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heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear.
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Once again, the agency is coming into play here that he says I
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would not. There's a difference between
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would and could he, he wasn't incapable of understanding or
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seeing or knowing what God was doing.
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He's signaling to us that he was using his agency to choose to
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not engage with and consequently understand those things.
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And so he then gives us this. Therefore, because I knew not
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concerning the things of God, I, I made that choice.
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I would not know therefore so now it's not a nevertheless,
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it's a therefore it's a cause and effect because I made that
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choice. What is the outcome?
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What is the effect? I went on rebelling against God
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in the wickedness of my heart even until the 4th day.
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And then he gives his his description of when he met, he
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was met by an Angel and then welcomed Elma into his home.
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And he now engaged with these invitations from God to connect
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with the Lord Jesus Christ in these appropriate ways.
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And what's more, he gives us some details about his own
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family. Verse 11 for behold, Alma has
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blessed mine house. Anytime you invite prophets into
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your home through technology by reading their words.
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Anytime you invite prophets of God into your home, whatever
31:06
your home situation may look like, you will be blessed by the
31:10
Lord. I don't know how those blessings
31:13
will manifest themselves. I don't know how quickly they'll
31:17
come, but they will come. He says He has blessed me and my
31:23
women and my children and my father and my kinsfolk.
31:29
Yet even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the
31:32
Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he
31:36
spake. It's a beautiful reminder to us
31:39
now. It's.
31:41
It's also fascinating to note that just because there's this
31:46
initial blessing doesn't mean that we can now go into a
31:52
neutral, passive mode of discipleship.
31:58
Amulek's entire household was blessed by having Alma in the
32:03
home. But you'll notice in chapter 15,
32:07
verse 16, at the end of this experience in Ammanihah, we get
32:14
some detail regarding Amulek's family.
32:19
At the end of the experience, months later, a little over
32:24
three months later, it says in verse 16, and it came to pass
32:29
that Alman Amulek, Amulek having forsaken all his gold and silver
32:34
and his precious things which were in the land of Amaniah for
32:38
the word of God, he being rejected by those who were once
32:42
his friends, and also by his father and his kindred.
32:48
So at the end of the story, a few months down the road,
32:52
Amylok's own father and kindred are going to reject him.
32:57
But here in chapter 10, his father and his kinfolk have been
33:02
blessed by the Lord by welcoming Elma in.
33:07
So agency doesn't go away when you choose to get baptized, or
33:14
when you choose to repent, or when you choose to listen to a
33:17
prophet. It's just one step of many on a
33:22
long covenant path. And sometimes, as members of The
33:28
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it's easy to fall
33:32
into the trap of believing that if I just go to church or if I
33:37
just get baptized, or if I just follow that prompting I received
33:42
from the Lord, then life is now going to work out for me and I'm
33:47
going to be blessed so that I never have any opposition or any
33:51
hardship or any trials anymore. Scriptures don't teach that
33:56
doctrine. This is not about an event of
34:01
discipleship. This is about the process of
34:06
building that covenant connection with God and that
34:09
takes time and that takes persevering through highs and
34:13
lows and everything in between over a lifetime.
34:18
There's never a time when you can say, OK, I've served enough.
34:21
I've sacrificed or consecrated enough.
34:24
I'm now going to to just lay back and relax spiritually and
34:31
demand that God now give me the blessings of ease, comfort,
34:35
peace, and prosperity. That doesn't ever seem to
34:38
happen. And people who do choose to
34:41
disengage usually end up like Amulek's father and his kinsfolk
34:48
here who ultimately make their decisions to reject the the
34:55
words that are being taught and consequently no longer have
34:59
access to those promises that God has given.
35:03
Now verse 12 says now when Amulek had spoken these words,
35:07
the people began to be astonished seeing there was more
35:09
than one witness who testified of these things, where of they
35:14
were accused and also the things which were to come according to
35:17
the spirit of prophecy which was in them.
35:19
So you got two witnesses and they're, they're blown away by
35:23
that, that second witness. And then notice what the next
35:28
word is that Mormon uses in telling us this story.
35:32
The very first word of verse 13 is nevertheless, you're seeing
35:38
how powerful these individual words can be in spite of seeing,
35:45
oh, there's a second witness here.
35:47
The counter effect in verse 13 is there were some among them
35:52
who thought to question them, that by their cunning devices
35:55
they might catch them in their words, that they might find
35:58
witness against them. That they might deliver them to
36:01
their judges. That they might be judged
36:02
according to the law to the end. That they could slay them or
36:06
cast them into prison. Or basically be done with this
36:10
irritating, annoying message that you're bringing to us.
36:14
And we can't seem to silence you and get rid of you so that we
36:18
can get back to life the way we want our life to be.
36:24
So the rest of this chapter is describing those confrontations
36:30
with these lawyers who are trying to destroy Alma and
36:36
Amulek. And you can see the rest of
36:39
chapter 10 that that conversation and the intent of
36:45
those particular lawyers at that time.
36:48
So as we turn to Chapter 11, you'll see that Mormon gives us
36:52
up to verse 19, kind of describing and setting the
36:58
groundwork for the Nephite monetary system, which many
37:01
people find a little bit odd. We don't know for sure why he
37:05
gave us all that detail, but there's one thing that is
37:08
certain. It now gives context to what
37:11
happens in verse 22 when Zezrim comes to Elman Amulek and holds
37:16
out six aunties of silver. Without the Nephite monetary
37:20
system described we we would have no context for what that
37:23
meant. But if we combine verse three
37:28
that a judge receives AC-9 of gold for a day's work or a scene
37:33
of silver. We can now do some some math
37:38
comparisons that when Z Ezram holds out six aunties of silver
37:44
and says to to Alma and Amulek, these will I give thee if thou
37:50
wilt deny the existence of a supreme being.
37:53
He just offered him 42 days wages for a judge.
37:59
And if you consider what a judge makes in in your part of the
38:04
world, wherever you live, what an an annual salary is and, and
38:09
divide that down so you can see what he would make in one day or
38:13
what he or she would make over 42 days as a judge, you can now
38:18
get the perspective that this is a serious chunk of change
38:23
sitting in in his hand and he's offering.
38:27
The contrast is stark, the way the prophets try to persuade
38:32
people versus the way the devil tries to persuade people.
38:37
And in this case, the devil through Zezrim, offering these,
38:42
this large sum of money to try to get them to deny the
38:48
existence of God. It's fascinating.
38:52
The things of the world versus the things of the eternal worlds
38:58
being put on the line. Brothers and sisters, there are
39:02
many Z Ezrim and Amulek experiences going on every
39:08
single day in our world today where people are offering the
39:14
things of the world to all of us in exchange for the things of
39:21
the eternal worlds. And if we if we follow President
39:26
Nielsen's invitation to think celestial, we will never look at
39:32
those aunties of silver that take on a variety of of symbols
39:39
in our world today. Those aunties might come in the
39:43
form of temptations on the Internet, temptations in
39:48
relationships, temptations with money, temptations in all
39:55
aspects of our life. Those six aunties of silver can
39:59
be sitting there saying here if you'll let go of these heavenly
40:04
things or these covenantal things, then you can have this.
40:09
But the irony is, is this that is being offered to you?
40:13
Those aunties don't last. And they won't save you and they
40:19
won't give you any kind of enduring peace or or enduring
40:26
relationships. They'll actually feed selfish
40:32
gratification of our pride and probably lead to sin.
40:37
So Amulek in this response says, Oh thou child of hell, why tempt
40:43
you me? Knowest thou that the righteous
40:47
yielded to no such temptations? I I love, I love his boldness.
40:53
He he then goes on to tells the Ezra, you weren't even going to
40:57
give those to me. You were trying to deceive me.
41:02
But I know your heart. I know what drives you.
41:06
I know what your intent was. And he says, and now behold, for
41:13
this great evil, thou shalt have thy reward.
41:19
He, he's making it very clear. I knew your intent.
41:23
I know exactly what you're, you're who who is inspiring you,
41:28
and you're going to reap a very, very negative reward from him.
41:34
So then begins this little discussion.
41:38
Where is the Ezraim's first attempt to buy out the the
41:43
argument didn't work, so now he's going to talk about
41:47
doctrine. So he asked some questions and
41:50
one of them that he asks I think is very significant.
41:53
It's in verse 34 Z Ezrim said again, shall he, Speaking of the
41:59
Lord, save his people in their sins?
42:03
And Amulex answered and said unto him, I say unto you, He
42:06
shall not, for it is impossible for him to deny his word.
42:11
Now some would read that and think, wait a minute, well why
42:13
did he say God won't save people in their sins?
42:16
There is a significant difference between the word in
42:23
and the word from. And the question that Zeozram
42:28
asked was will God save people in their sins?
42:35
And Amulek goes on to describe verse 37.
42:38
I say unto you again, that he cannot save them in their sins,
42:44
for I cannot deny his word. And he has said that no unclean
42:47
thing can inherit the Kingdom of heaven as long as we remain in
42:53
our sins. God cannot save us because we've
43:00
chosen to remain in our sins. Saying, I want to enjoy all of
43:06
the carnal and earthly pleasures of this behavior or of this
43:11
belief structure that I've that I've embraced, but I want all of
43:17
the consequences of righteous behavior.
43:21
I want the earthly pleasures and the eternal rewards.
43:26
And Amulek is saying you can't do that.
43:29
There is a law of the harvest whatsoever you sow that shall
43:35
you also reap whatever seeds you put in the ground, you're going
43:39
to harvest that kind of fruit. You can't plant weeds and expect
43:44
to to pick tomatoes or corn or harvest wheat and so he now goes
43:52
into one of the most beautiful descriptions of God's plan that
43:57
we have in Scripture. He followed very quickly by Alma
44:02
in chapter 12. This this two witness message
44:06
about God's plan, about God's goodness, about God's intent to
44:11
bring us home to save us, as Elder Karen said, verse 40.
44:18
And He shall come into the world to redeem his people, and He
44:22
shall take upon Him the transgressions of those who
44:24
believe on his name, and these are they that shall have eternal
44:29
life, And salvation cometh to none else.
44:31
So he came to save us from our sins.
44:35
So he's going to take the sins from us only if we are willing
44:41
to drop them on the at the Savior's feet.
44:45
Give up that burden. He won't save us in them.
44:49
He will save us from them. So verse 41.
44:52
Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no
44:55
redemption made, except it be So what is the redemption that
44:59
comes even if you're wicked, except it be the losing of the
45:03
bands of death? For behold, the day cometh that
45:06
all shall rise from the dead, and stand before God to be
45:10
judged according to their works. So in two things we're all going
45:15
to be brought out of the grave, number one, and #2 all brought
45:20
into the presence of God to be judged.
45:22
But we aren't ultimately saved just because we're brought out
45:29
of the grave and brought into the presence of God for
45:32
judgement. There's more.
45:33
And verse 42 says now there is a death which is called a temporal
45:37
death. And the death of Christ shall
45:40
loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised
45:43
from this temporal death. He's speaking about the all
45:46
inclusive, everyone saved by grace from the death that we're
45:51
all going to experience. You'll all be brought out of the
45:54
grave. Verse 43 The spirit in the body
45:57
shall be reunited again in its perfect form.
46:00
Both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame,
46:04
even as we now are at this time. And we shall be brought to stand
46:09
before God knowing even as we now, even as we know now and
46:14
have a bright recollection of all our guilt.
46:17
So amulets trying to remind the people of you, you're all going
46:21
to die. These realities that President
46:24
Nelson has talked about, everyone's going to die.
46:27
You're all going to be resurrected.
46:30
You're all going to be brought into the presence of God.
46:33
And you'll all have a bright recollection of all of your
46:36
guilt. And at that point, when you're
46:39
in the presence of God, it's too late to say, oh, OK, I'm sorry.
46:45
I, I please forgive me. At that point.
46:49
He says now this restoration shall come to all, both old and
46:53
young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked
46:58
and the righteous. Nobody's left out of this
47:00
resurrection event. We're all redeemed from that
47:04
physical death. But everything shall be restored
47:07
to its perfect frame as it is now or in the body, and shall be
47:12
brought and arraigned before, before the bar of Christ the Son
47:17
and God the Father and the Holy Spirit, which is 1 eternal God,
47:21
to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or
47:26
whether they be evil. That's one of the places in
47:29
Scripture, one of the few places that describes the judgment in
47:32
such detail and the resurrection in such detail, brought out of
47:36
the grave, restored perfectly, and then brought and arraigned
47:40
before all three members of the Godhead, the Father, the Son,
47:45
and the Holy Ghost. They will all be there now he he
47:51
says you will die no more in verse 45 there, there's there's
47:55
no physical death at that point. The resurrection is eternal.
48:00
At this point. Alma stands up because Amalek
48:05
has silenced Zezrim in in his attempts to trap him.
48:11
And now he says, verse 7. When Alma had spoken these
48:16
words, Zezrim began to tremble more exceedingly, for he was
48:20
convinced more and more of the power of God.
48:23
So what is it that is allowing Zezrim to slowly make this shift
48:28
and this change? So in verse six he says, And
48:32
behold, I say unto you all, that this was a snare of the
48:35
adversary which he has laid to catch this people, that he might
48:38
bring you into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you
48:42
about with his chains, that he might chain you down to
48:45
everlasting destruction according to the power of his
48:47
captivity. All the contrast is so stark.
48:52
Satan is convincing these people that true freedom is to do
48:57
whatever they want to do and to get all of the things that the
49:00
world has to offer. In contrast to the actual true
49:05
freedom, which is to find out what God wants us to do and to
49:10
do that with diligence and heed and faith in him, which now
49:15
frees us up with more liberty than we've ever had before, the
49:20
more that we engage with the commandments of God.
49:24
So this contrast is now clear, clearer to Ziyazram than it was
49:30
before. And he's starting to change.
49:32
And so now instead of trying to trap Elma, now he's asking
49:37
questions, seeking to understand.
49:39
Verse 8, Zezran began to inquire of them diligently that he might
49:43
know more concerning the Kingdom of God.
49:47
I love this he, he's opening up his heart.
49:50
Now, what does it mean that Amiloch has spoken concerning
49:53
the resurrection of the dead, that all shall rise from the
49:55
dead? So this apparently was a new
49:58
doctrine to him. This, this, everyone's going to
50:00
be resurrected and brought before the bar of God and he's
50:04
wanting to know more about that. So Alma describes this in
50:08
greater detail and he describes the judgment day in verse 11, in
50:14
verse 10 and 11. Therefore, he that will harden
50:16
his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word.
50:21
And he that will not harden his heart to him is given the
50:23
greater portion of the word until it is given unto him to
50:27
know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
50:31
So we get to choose how we're going to live our life, the
50:35
things we're going to believe and act on.
50:38
And the more we act according to God's will, the more we gain.
50:43
And the opposite is also true, he says.
50:45
And they that will harden their hearts to them is given the
50:49
lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his
50:53
mysteries. And then they are taken captive
50:56
by the devil and led by his will down to destruction.
50:59
Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.
51:04
And then he describes the judgment in in starting in verse
51:08
12 and 13. And I love verse 14, when he
51:13
says, For our words will condemn us, all our works will condemn
51:17
us. We shall not be found spotless,
51:20
and our thoughts will also condemn us.
51:22
And in this awful state, we shall not dare to look up to our
51:26
God. And we would fain be glad if we
51:29
could command the rocks in the mountains to fall upon us, to
51:32
hide us from their or from his presence.
51:35
He's describing to these people. Please repent now while you've
51:39
got the chance. You don't want that experience.
51:42
And then he says, verse 15 can can you have the rocks hide you
51:46
from God? He says, but this cannot be.
51:49
We must come forth and stand before Him in His glory and in
51:54
His power, and in His might, majesty and dominion, and
51:57
acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all His judgments are
52:00
just, that He is just in all His works, and that He is merciful
52:05
unto the children of men, and that He has all power to save
52:09
every man that believeth on His name and bringeth forth fruit
52:11
meat for repentance. We don't have a choice as to
52:16
whether or not we get resurrected, and we don't have a
52:19
choice as to whether or not we're brought into the presence
52:22
of God for judgement. We must be brought and stand
52:26
before Him in that great day of judgement.
52:32
And then he describes the spiritual death, or this
52:35
separation from Heavenly Father's presence that will
52:38
occur if we've chosen to reject Him.
52:42
Verse 16 And now, behold, I send you.
52:44
Then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a
52:49
spiritual death. Spiritual death is separation
52:52
from the presence of God. Now we learn a great deal more
52:57
about the eternities and the degrees of salvation, the
53:01
degrees of glory in Doctrine Covenant Section 76.
53:05
President Delanie chokes has given an incredible talk on the
53:08
three kingdoms of glory as well to describe this in in greater
53:12
detail their degrees of salvation.
53:16
And then there are those in outer darkness in in complete
53:20
spiritual death. So people in the terrestrial
53:24
won't be in the presence of Heavenly Father, but they will
53:26
be in the presence of Jesus Christ and those in the
53:29
telestial Kingdom will at least have the presence of the Holy
53:32
Ghost. So it's it's not the same thing
53:35
as it as is being described here.
53:38
This complete spiritual death in verse 16 then is the time that
53:44
whosoever dieth in his sins as to a temporal death shall also
53:47
die a spiritual death. And then he describes the fire
53:51
and the lake of of brimstone and the torments and the chains of
53:55
everlasting destruction. It's a very heavy section of the
54:01
Scripture. And then Antiona, another one of
54:05
the the chief rulers among the people in ammonia, comes
54:08
forward. And now he takes the role of the
54:11
antagonist trying to tear down this doctrine.
54:14
And he starts arguing with them, saying, hey, what is this that
54:18
thou has said that man should rise from the dead and be
54:21
changed from this mortal to an immortal state that the soul can
54:24
never die. And then he quotes, what does
54:28
the scripture mean? Which saith the God placed
54:30
cherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the Garden of Eden
54:33
to prevent Adam and Eve, our first parents, from partaking
54:35
that fruit to live forever. He says we're not going to live
54:38
forever because the scriptures tell us that God prevented that.
54:43
I love how we see Alma now interact with this question.
54:48
He goes back into the Scriptures and he expounds them.
54:52
He brings further understanding, further light and truth to what
54:57
the scriptures say because there's clearly some confusion
55:01
and major misinterpretation going on by Antiona and others
55:06
in in his same camp. He says in verse 23, Now behold,
55:11
I say to you, if it had been possible for Adam to have
55:15
partaken of the fruit of the tree of life at that time in
55:18
Eden, there would have been no death and the word would have
55:23
been void, making God a liar. For he said, if thou eat, thou
55:27
shalt surely die. So they partook of the fruit of
55:30
the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
55:32
They must die first so as to make God not a liar, but a God
55:38
of truth. So it isn't the right time to
55:42
partake of eternal life and resurrection in in this context.
55:47
So what do we get instead? We get a probationary state, a
55:51
time to prepare to meet God, a time to prepare for that endless
55:56
state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the
56:00
resurrection of the dead. So we're in this this test, this
56:04
probationary state. And I love how he concludes this
56:08
part of of his dialogue with Antiona and, and everybody who's
56:15
listening in with the divine, with the heavenly, and with his
56:21
witness of the truth. Therefore, in verse 29, he says
56:27
God sent angels to converse with them who caused men to behold of
56:33
his glory, and they began from that time forth to call on his
56:37
name. Therefore God conversed with
56:41
men. So notice some patterns that
56:45
begin to emerge. Here you have God and you have
56:50
Adam and Eve and all of their posterity us on the earth.
56:55
And God is going to converse with us and give us these
57:00
manifestations. And he said, verse 29, that he
57:04
sent angels to converse with us, and we get to be hold of his
57:11
glory. He says, And they began to call
57:15
forth on his name. Therefore God conversed with
57:20
men, and he made known unto them the plan of redemption, which
57:24
had been prepared from the foundation of the world.
57:26
And this He had he made known unto them, according to their
57:29
faith and repentance, and their holy works.
57:34
The more we call upon God, the more manifestations of the
57:39
heavenly and the divine we receive.
57:42
Wherefore He gave commandments unto men, they having first
57:47
transgressed the first commandments as the things which
57:49
were temporal associated with time, tempo, temporal.
57:54
The command, don't eat the fruit of this tree that was specific
57:58
to that time and that place for those two individuals, Adam and
58:02
Eve. It's temporal.
58:03
It's not an eternal law for everybody.
58:07
And because they partook of that fruit, they became as gods,
58:10
knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act or
58:14
being placed in a state to act according to their wills and
58:18
pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good.
58:21
Back to our lifelong learning overlay.
58:23
It's all about agency. God's giving them this
58:27
opportunity to decide what they want to do.
58:30
And verse 32 says, Therefore God gave unto them commandments,
58:35
after having made known unto them the plan of redemption.
58:40
He teaches the doctrine, He grants the vision, He he gives
58:45
the perspective, the grand why? And then he gives the
58:49
commandments. And then verse 33 says, But God
58:54
did call on men in the name of his Son, this being the plan of
58:59
redemption which was laid. Did you catch that?
59:03
You get Jesus Christ, who is the mediator of everything that God
59:11
has set up in his infinite plan. Jesus Christ is the central
59:16
feature of that plan. And Alma says God called upon
59:23
us, his children in the name of his Son.
59:29
That's beautiful because He invites all of us to call upon
59:35
Him in the name of His Son. The Lord Jesus Christ really is
59:44
that perfect mediator, intercessor, that representative
59:50
of the Father to us, and representative to the Father for
59:56
us. We call upon God in His name,
59:59
and God calls upon us in His name.
1:00:02
If you want to know His commandments, look to Jesus's
1:00:05
life, His perfect example, and do the things which we have seen
1:00:10
him do. He embodies God's love, mercy,
1:00:14
power, grace, knowledge. All of God's attributes are
1:00:18
embodied perfectly in the life and mission and ministry of
1:00:22
Jesus Christ. So we don't have to wonder what
1:00:25
Heavenly Father wants us to do. We just need to follow the Son.
1:00:30
And he says, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then
1:00:35
will I have mercy upon you through mine only begotten Son.
1:00:41
He didn't say, if you'll repent and harden not your hearts, then
1:00:44
I'll have mercy on you because you're so obedient, you're so
1:00:47
good. He says I'll have mercy on you
1:00:51
through mine only begotten Son. Brothers and sisters, the
1:00:56
commandments, the manifestations all come through Jesus Christ.
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But God's salvation also comes through Jesus Christ to us, not
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from us. It's that powerful reminder CS
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Lewis once said. In the end, they're really only
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two kinds of people. Those who say to God, thy will
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be done, and those to whom God will one day say, thy will be
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done. And I love how he ends here.
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Verse 37 Now my brethren, seeing we know these things and they
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are true, let us repent and harden not our hearts, that we
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provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in
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these his second commandments which he has given unto us, but
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let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according
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to his word. Now to close, I hope that in
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this difficult set of chapters that you haven't gotten
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discouraged. I hope that you have felt of
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God's love for you through His Son Jesus Christ, through the
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angels, through the prophets, through the Scriptures, and all
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of these incredible strengths and resources that He has given
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to us to activate our agency. God is not going to make you
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love Him. He's not going to make you serve
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Him. That's our choice.
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He's not even going to make you believe in Him.
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Belief is your choice. And it's my prayer that all of
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us will more than ever before, turn our hearts, our minds, our
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whole souls heavenward. Think celestial and remember
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God's intent is to bring you home to Him, and I leave that
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with you in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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Know that you're loved.