More Blessed Are They Who Humble Themselves Because of the Word (Alma 31-35)

Alma's use of the word of God in teaching the humble Zoramites is another example of just how powerful the word of God is in teaching others who do not believe in Christ, and how Alma uses the word of God to teach regardless of the people and their circumstances. The Zoramites were perverting the ways of the Lord and teaching that there would be no Christ, trusting in their being chosen and religious, and Alma, along with his sons Shiblon and Corianton, and also Amulek and Zeezrom, went among the Zoramites to "preach unto them the word." They knew that "the preaching of the word...had (a) more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else..." (Alma 31:5;7).

The Zoramites were a religious people who prayed to God in their weekly services, acknowledging God's holiness and thanking him for electing them to be his holy children. But they denied Christ and thought others who believed in Christ were led away after the foolish traditions of their brethren. (Alma 31:14-18). 

To the Zoramites, belief in Christ was a foolish tradition, but could this also apply to those of us who do not put our faith in Christ by relying wholly upon His merits and not upon any of our merits or on the merits of the Church? Alma sought out the Zoramites because he knew that they were perverting the ways of the Lord.

Knowing of the existence of a man named Jesus Christ, or even verbally acknowledging Him as our redeemer, is not the same as believing Him through His words, or believing what He says. And it is not possible to believe what He says unless we know what He has said.

Alma described the Zoramites as a 'wicked and perverse people and he saw "that their hearts were set upon gold, and upon silver, and upon all manner of fine goods. Yea, and he also saw that their hearts were lifted up unto great boasting, in their pride" (Alma 31:24-25). Cf with Ephraimite Gentiles today. What particularly grieved Alma was that they cried unto God with their mouths, "while they are puffed up, even to greatness, with the vain things of the world" (Alma 31:27-28). They worshiped God with their mouths "and yet" their hearts were set upon their riches. And so Alma, his sons and his brethren prayed unto God that they may "have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ" (Alma 31:34).

After their prayers, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and did separate themselves one from another, knowing that the Lord would provide for them. "And it came to pass that they did go forth, and began to preach the word of God unto the people..." (Alma 32:1). After having some success with people who were described as poor as to things of the world; and also were poor in heart, Alma and Amulek encountered the Zoramites who had been cast out of their synagogues because of their exceeding poverty.

When Alma met the outcast Zoramites "he beheld with great joy; for he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they were in a preparation to hear the word" (Alma 32:6). He tells them that sometimes when a person is compelled to be humble, he seeketh repentance (Alma 32:12). He then adds as so many of the other Book of Mormon prophet writers taught, "whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved" (Alma 32:13).

Compare this with what we are taught concerning our afflictions--we will be comforted. That's it. Nothing about repentance. 

But Alma then makes a distinction between those who are compelled to be humble because of their circumstances and those "who truly humble themselves because of the word" (Alma 32:14 emphasis added). He says that we are more blessed without being compelled to be humble, and he explains why: "in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God" (Alma 32:16 emphasis added). (Note that humility can come because of our belief in the word of God.) We are more likely to believe God's words if we are not compelled to believe, but just desire to know and believe. Also there is no need to see a sign from heaven in order to believe.

Associated with the humility that can come because of the word is the idea that if we truly humble ourselves because of the word, we will repent and find mercy (Alma 32:13-15). Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things, but the means to hope for things which are true, but not seen. God is merciful to those who believe on His name, and this is why He desires that we believe, "yea, even on his word" (Alma 32:21-22). Note the connection between Christ and His words. This is the reason He imparts his word by angels unto men, so that men will begin to have faith in Christ (Moroni 7:25; 31-32).

Alma tells the Zoramites that they cannot know of a surety that his words are true, but they can come to know that they are true by experimenting on his words. The idea that we do not have to believe anything that is not true, and that we can know the truth for ourselves through God's words and the Spirit of Revelation, is unique in world religions today. 

This also means that knowing God comes from God and not from other people no matter the authority or position. But it also puts a burden on us that perhaps we may fall on the side of His words which will lead us to the justice of God, His wrath or His anger. God's word will judge us and we will be found on one side or the other. His word is a sharp two-edged sword and there is no neutral ground when it comes to His word. We either believe it or we don't, and if we believe it, we will believe in Christ and repent and find mercy. If we don't we choose the justice of God. We will never be able to complain to God that we didn't know or did not have the opportunity to know. 

The experiment that Alma gives is as scientific as any experiment can be. First he tells us that if we "will awake and arouse (our) faculties" (use our mind, our ears that we may hear, and our eyes that we may see). If we but exercise just a particle of faith, which he describes and no more than a desire to believe, and then let this desire work in us to the extent that we can give place for a portion of his words. This is the meaning of the 'good' soil or 'good' ground, in the parable of the sower. It is receptive soil or a receptive heart which allows the word to be planted in our hearts. Comparing the word to a seed, give place that this seed be planted in our hearts. I have often thought why the heart? What is it about the heart in scripture that makes it the place where His word is planted? For some reason the heart is deemed by the Lord as the processor of our wants and desires, and by planting the seed in the heart we can perhaps replace what is in our hearts. Certainly by being enticed by one or the other (good or evil), we are putting ourselves in a better position to choose good, and the word is the catalyst to do so.

Alma explains that a particle of faith is "no more than a desire to believe" (Alma 32:27), but we must allow this desire to work in us so that we can give place in our heart for a portion of the Lord's words. By comparing the word to a seed, Alma is recognizing that most of us know what a seed is, and how to tell a good seed from a bad seed--a good seed will grow if put in receptive soil, watered and gets the right amount of sun. We can see if the seed is good if it grows. The word of God is the same. Like a seed we can tell if it is good if it grows, and Alma's explanation of how this happens can be put to the test by each one of us. If the word is good "it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves--It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me" (Alma 32:28 emphasis added).

Alma then teaches us that it is the word that will strengthen our faith, for as the seed swells and sprouts and begins to grow, our faith will be strengthened (Alma 32:29). This is consistent with Paul's statement that "...faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17), and Moroni teaching us that as angels ministered to the children of men by teaching the word of God, "men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith (because of the word), they did lay hold upon every good thing..." (Moroni 7:25;31-32).

Alma understood that they still had questions and they desired "to know whether they should believe in one God, that they might obtain the fruit of which he had spoken, or how they should plant the seed, or the word of which he had spoken... or in what manner they should begin to exercise their faith" (Alma 33:1). Alma responds by reminding them that they thought they could not worship God because they had been cast out of their synagogues. Relate this response to ourselves keeping in mind that the Zoramites were a 'religious' people and they needed a place to worship. Alma says "if ye suppose that ye cannot worship God, ye do greatly err, and ye ought to search the scriptures" (Alma 33:2). There it is again--we err because we do not search the scriptures! He then uses the scriptures to teach these Zoramites the answers to their questions. "Do ye remember to have read what Zenos, the prophet of old, has said concerning prayer or worship? For he said: 

"Thou art merciful, O God, for thou has heard my prayer, even when I was in the wilderness...thou wast merciful unto me when I did cry unto thee in my field.... When I did turn to my house thou didst hear me in my prayer... And when I did turn unto my closet, O Lord, and prayed unto thee, thou didst hear me... thou are merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee, and not of men, and thou wilt hear them" (Alma 33:3-8).

Alma reminds them that the Lord does not require that they only worship Him in their buildings, and he tells them further that God did hear Zenos because of his sincerity and because of His Son who had been merciful unto him. Because of His mercy, Zenos tells God that he will "cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in thee is my joy..." (Alma 33:10-11).

Alma then asks those who had been cast out of their synagogues "do you believe those scriptures which have been written by them of old" (Alma 33:12). So much for 'dead prophets' vs living prophets! "If ye do, ye must believe what Zenos said; for, behold he said: Thou has turned away thy judgments because of thy Son" (Alma 33:13). 

I love the next question Alma asks. "I would ask if ye have read the scriptures? If ye have, how can ye disbelieve on the Son of God? (Alma 33:14)

Alma then quotes from Zenock and Moses who also testify of Christ. Zenock was stoned to death because he testified of Christ. 

"For behold, he said: Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies which thou hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son.

"And now, my brethren, ye see that a second prophet of old has testified of the Son of God, and because the people would not understand his words they stoned him to death" (Alma 34:16-17).

Moses' testimony is worth quoting here as it is foolishness unto those who claim to believe, who give lip service, but who do not believe because they do not search the scriptures.

"Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.

O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?

If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works" Alma 33:19-22).

Foolishness indeed! Just look? No way! There is no religion in just looking!

Alma then desires that they plant the word in their hearts so that it will begin to grow as they nourish it with their faith. No word about being religious active members. Nothing about following Alma. Only about Christ because Christ is the word, is in the word and the word is in Christ. And if they do plant and nourish the word by their faith "it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life" (Alma 33:23).

Alma then sits down on the ground (not the stand) and Amulek testifies of Christ reminding them that they can worship (pray to) God anywhere. He makes them look beyond the mark to Christ. 

"And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.

And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.

And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.

Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;

Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save" (Alma 34:14-18).

Amulek's words in Alma 34 deserve your attention and your searching. They are some of the greatest words recorded in the Book of Mormon, and that is saying a lot because of all the great words recorded there.

Let's look at some more of what He said.

"For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.

For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice.

Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another" (Alma 34:9-11).

And a few more.

"Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him. ...and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you (Alma 34:19;27). 

"...if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross" which shall be "trodden under foot of men" (Alma 34:29).

"Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world" (Alma 34:34).

And so much more! Remember these words come from a man who gave up all his gold, and silver, and his precious things...for the words of God, and he was rejected by those who were once his friends including his father and his kindred (Alma 15:16).

If only these words were taught in our Sacrament meetings, our classrooms, our conferences, and in our homes. But sadly they are not. Other than perhaps the verse about praying to increase our flocks. So I ask you to read and re-read Alma 34. Plant His words and nourish them. Put off religion and search His words. His call to repentance is not just to the Zoramites, but to us who "treat lightly" the words we have received (D&C 84:54). 

This message is to us the Ephraimite Gentiles, the members of record of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but who are not yet members of His Church which is made up of only those who are repenting and enduring to the end by validating their repentance and putting all their faith in Christ and relying alone on His Merits. (D&C 10:67-70).

And who would object to this? The religious Zoramites who were angry "because of the word, for it did destroy their craft (as in priestcraft); therefore they would not hearken unto the words (Alma 35:3). And not only were they angry they spied on those who had been taught by Alma and Amulek!

"And they sent and gathered together throughout all the land all the people, and consulted with them concerning the words which had been spoken.

Now their rulers and their priests and their teachers did not let the people know concerning their desires; therefore they found out privily the minds of all the people (Alma 35:4-6).

"And it came to pass that after they had found out the minds of all the people, those who were in favor of the words which had been spoken by Alma and his brethren were cast out of the land" (Alma 35:6). 

They wanted to know who believed the words of God. Not only did they cast them out of their synagogues and out of their land, they conspired to take their lives. 

Prophetic isn't it?

Continually Hold Fast to the Word of God

In the vision of the tree of life, Lehi talks about two groups of people, one of which did 'press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron,' and another which did 'press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron. The first group did partake of the fruit of the tree of life, but because of others mocking them, fell away 'into forbidden paths and were lost. The second group 'came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.' Nothing more is said of this second group, and we can assume that they did not fall away into forbidden paths, the seemingly only difference being that continually holding fast to the word of God as opposed to just clinging to the word of God, caused them to fall down and partake of the fruit (I Nephi 8:24-30). See also Mosiah 3 where the word of God caused those that heard it to fall down to the earth.

So the question arises as to whether other scriptures give us some indication of what it means to continually hold fast to the word of God. But before we  do lets examine possible meanings of what it means to cling to the word of God. While the dictionary does say clinging can include holding fast, perhaps the more accurate meaning is to adhere to or remain attached to the idea of the word of God as opposed to the more detailed meaning of holding fast, or as planting His words in our hearts and being continually nourished by His words, as set forth hereinafter. Perhaps we cling to the idea or the book, maybe even read, but we do not search the words diligently.

There are many words and phrases that we can link to the phrase continually hold fast to the rod of iron and in this manner the Lord gives us a more complete definition of the phrase, so that we do not have to guess at its meaning or attempt to use our own ideas to define it. 

By means of rhetorical links between words and phrases--the ideas they have in common--we can thus understand what it means to continually hold fast to the rod of iron or the word of God. In this way the Lord tells us what His words mean.

And in this case the phrase we link to is the word of God. In other words whenever we see the phrase word of God, or similar phrase such as words of Christ or word of the Lord, and we are being told how others respond to the word of God, then we can link that desired response to the phrase continually hold fast, thereby giving us a more elaborate and comprehensive explanation.

A first link is given by Nephi immediately after answering his brothers' question as to what was meant by the rod of iron. Nephi answers that it is the word of God, and "whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish...." And then Nephi exhorts them "to give heed unto the word of God" (2 Nephi 15:23-25 emphasis added). He thereby adds the words hearken and heed in explaining what it means to 'hold fast unto it.' 

He did this by way of exhortation with all the energies of his soul and with all the faculty which he possessed. Nephi admonished them to remember to keep the commandments of the Lord always and in all things, thereby linking the words remember and commandments to what it means to continually hold fast. There are multiple instances in the scriptures where the words hearken, heed, and remember are used in connection with the word of God.

Let's examine a few other links. Note that all links are italicized. One of my favorites is in Alma 37. Here Alma is ending his teaching of the word of God to his son Helaman and he compares the word of God to the Liahona. Alma tells Helaman that "it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ...as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass" (Alma 37:44). He then asks "is there not a type in this thing? For just "as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course...shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise" (Alma 37:45 emphasis added). If, however, we are slothful in giving heed to the word of Christ then we will not prosper as to things which are spiritual. He then adds: "The way is prepared, and if we will look to God we may live forever" (Alma 37:45-46).

Without as much detail I will list some for your reference and further research.

Alma tells us to plant the word in our hearts (Alma 32). The Lord tells us to live by and to treasure up in our minds continually the words of life (D&C 84:44;85). We are admonished to hear the word of God and to open our ears. Nephi tells us to feast upon the words of Christ (2 Nephi 32:4).

We are cautioned to not harden our hearts against the word (Alma 12). Alma also encourages us to adhere to the word of God (Alma 60:34), and to believe in the word of God (Alma 5:11). Give diligent heed to words of eternal life (D&C 84:43).

Moroni uses the admonition to be nourished by the word of God (Moroni 6:4). 

Other links include teach, impart, declare, preach, write and speak the words of God. Hear and hearken unto the voice of God through His words. Come unto Christ through His words. Desire more, and hunger and thirst after His words. Search His words diligently. Receive His words. Is the word of God found in you? And after you have received His words pray and fast that you may receive the spirit of revelation and the spirit of prophecy. Know the truth by diligently searching the word of God.

Other rhetorical links include search/search diligently the word of God (Alma 14:1;17:2;33:2). Live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (D&C 84:44). Expound upon the word of God (Alma 18:38; 22:13; 3 Ne 23:14; 26:3). Speak with tongue of angels (2 Ne 31:14).. Write, read and understand (Mosiah 1:5; 3 Nephi 10:14). For more detail click the links which appear hereafter. 

And faith comes by hearing the word of God.

If ye have read the word of God, how can you disbelieve on the Son of God (Alma 33:14). He who denies God's revelations has not read the scriptures (Morm 9:8). By the Lord's power, men can read his words to each other (D&C 18:35). Hear the voice of God in his words (D&C 18). Bring up children in light & truth (D&C 93:40, i.e. the word of God is light & truth (D&C 84:45).

Even though this is not a comprehensive list of all links associated with the word of God, it is easy to see how the Lord uses words and then links them through ideas that they have in common to other words and phrases to open up to us a more complete picture of what He has revealed to us. Even through His parables He is further describing the words of His Father to illustrate how we may or may not respond to His words. The best example may be the Parable of the Sower where He describes the seed being sown as the word of God, and how the word can be received or rejected by us, but if we plant His words in our hearts (where it becomes the good soil because of the word), it will grow within us and be found in us at the last day. 

And perhaps it is the type of soil that differentiates 'clinging and 'holding fast.' The tree of life has grown in the hearts of those who hold fast.

And finally Christ taught only the words of His Father.

Alma's Teachings on Mercy and Justice

Justice or Mercy--Why We Are To Say Nothing But Repentance Unto This Generation

Book of Mormon prophet-writers often exclaim of the greatness and of the goodness of God!  In the scriptures this praise of God is almost exclusively associated with God's plan of redemption, with such words as "the great plan of mercy" or "the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace!" Jacob exclaims: "O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster" (2 Nephi 9:10). He also says: "O how great is the plan of our God!" and "O the greatness and the justice of our God!" and "O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel!"  While I had read these exclamations, they did not give rise in me to the same praise and joy. At least not until I personally experienced His justice, His mercy and His goodness through His plan of redemption.

By searching out His plan in the Book of Mormon, His words made me aware of His justice in my own life, and I was afraid to stand before Him and be judged of all my works, regardless of whether they had been good or bad. As I searched through 2 Nephi 2, 9 & 31; Mosiah 2-4; Alma 5, 7, 12 & 42; Helaman 7 & 12; and 3 Nephi 27, among others, I was awakened to a sense of my own guilt, and my sins began to trouble me, no, more like horrified me! The more I read of my reality, I realized that there were so many sins that I could not number them. I realized that my words would condemn me, my works would condemn me, and even my thoughts would condemn me. From James I learned that even one sin, no matter how small, would subject me to the Justice of God (James 2:10). I realized that the fiery darts were my own sins, and that in order to avoid them I must look to Christ and live! 

There is no question in my mind but that His words purposefully drive us away from His Justice (His Anger, His Wrath) and into the arms of His Mercy. At least that is how it worked for me. For others perhaps just His invitation may be enough, but I don't think so because even an invitation is associated with a revelation as to our condition on this earth, i.e. lost, fallen, carnal, sensual, devilish and shut out from the presence of God. Because of His justice, there was no other outcome for Adam and Eve, or for us, if we do not take advantage of His mercy which was introduced as a result of His atonement, and as a result of our condition--of which we are constantly reminded by our loving Father.

Alma's explanation to His son Corianton in Alma 42 is one of the clearest teachings of the Plan of Redemption, the Justice of God, the Mercy of God and how we avoid the former by taking advantage of the latter through repentance.

Alma perceived that his son thought that it was unjust that a sinner should be consigned to a state of misery. Perhaps he thought, as many of us do, that a loving Father would maybe beat us with a few stripes, but in the end would commute our punishment. Alma knew that Corianton did not understand the justice of God so he explained it to him by recounting the story of Adam and Eve having been sent from the garden of Eden, and having become like God, knowing good and evil. They were prohibited from partaking of the fruit of the tree of life at that time. Alma explains that this became a "time granted unto man to repent, yea a probationary time,..." He further explains that it was "appointed unto man to die... and...man became lost forever,..."

By this Adam and Eve were cut off both temporally and spiritually from the presence of God, but they could follow their own will. He explained that all would die, but that it was "expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from spiritual death." Mankind therefore had become carnal, sensual, and devilish by nature, and if they remained in this state their souls would be miserable forever, being cut off from the presence of the Lord.

Alma then tells Corianton that there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state, which man had brought upon himself because of his own disobedience, and that they were in the "grasp of justice, yea the justice of God" and there was no way that the work of justice could be destroyed or God would cease to be God. In other words, God told Adam and Eve what would happen, and being God, he could not go back on his word. He could not commute the punishment. Justice must be paid because He said it must! (Note how Alma uses the word 'man' to describe not only Adam and Eve, but all mankind, even us.)

Now Alma introduces the subject of God's mercy. He told Corianton "the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also." He could not commute the punishment, but he could send His son to take upon Himself the punishment.

Alma then lays the groundwork necessary for there to be an opportunity to repent or to turn to Christ. He explains that there must be a law and a punishment for breaking the law, and that the breaking of the law would be sin, and without sin men could not repent. And, therefore, like Adam and Eve, if we sinned, we would be punished because of the justice of God. It is interesting to note that the law is the means by which sin is measured because without law, if men sinned neither justice nor mercy could do anything.  Because no one can live the law, the law becomes a schoolmaster that brings us to Christ. He knew that we would sin, all of us, as sinning was part of the plan!

"But there was a law given, 

and a punishment affixed, 

and a repentance granted; 

which repentance, 

mercy claimeth; 

otherwise, justice claimeth 

the creature 

and executeth the law, 

and the law inflicteth the punishment; 

if not so the works of justice 

would be destroyed, 

and God would cease to be God."  Read this paragraph again and then again.

Note the formulas, and since all of us sin, one or the other applies to each of us: 

Break the law (sin) w/o repentance = justice

        or 

Break the law (sin) with repentance = mercy

Mercy claims the penitent and mercy comes because of the atonement. The atonement also brings to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection brings men back into the presence of God to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice (cf. 3 Nephi 27:13-21).

Alma then, in order to make sure Corianton understands, emphasizes that "Justice exerciseth his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved." If Corianton was thinking that it was an injustice to punish the sinner, he could not think that any longer. He now knew (as we must come to know) that to punish the unrepentant sinner is just.

Alma continues by reminding Corianton that there are only two ways, and from one way comes about the salvation and redemption of men, and from the other their destruction and misery.

Then, as all the Book of Mormon prophet-writers do, Alma reiterates that 'whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him (those who do not partake of the waters of life freely) according to his deeds--justice!

Of course Alma's discourse was not meant for Corianton only, but for all of us who have the law given, transgress it, and choose (and it is a choice) either mercy or justice. To paraphrase, if we have desired to do evil (turned our hearts away from Christ, even if we give lip service to Him), and have not repented in our lifetime, evil shall be done unto us, according to the restoration of God. So let our sins trouble us with a trouble that will bring us down unto repentance.  Do not desire God's justice, even if He is fair with you. Do not endeavor to excuse yourselves in the least point because of your sins, by denying the justice of God. Perhaps this is what Corianton was doing, and what we do, to excuse our sins. Instead let the justice of God, and his mercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in your heart!

And finally Alma reminds Corianton that he (Corianton) has been called of God to preach these same words unto the people. 

"And now my son, go thy way, 

declare this word with truth 

and soberness, 

(why?) 

that thou mayest bring souls unto repentance, 

(why?) 

that the great plan of mercy may have claim upon them."

"O how great is the plan of our God!" 

"O the greatness and the justice of our God!" 

"O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel!"

Since only through repentance can we be claimed by His mercy, we must come to know what the Lord has revealed concerning repentance--what repentance is and what repentance is not--and why we have been commanded to teach our children to understand the doctrine of repentance. Something we cannot do if we do not understand and experience it ourselves. Of repentance I have written more.

That Which We Work For We Worship

I have heard and participated in many church classroom and pulpit lessons about work and the virtues of being a hard worker. The lessons were always the same--teaching that hard work was a virtue. I remember many class members sharing how they had taught their children to be hard workers and as a result they were all successful. 

Successful at what I wondered? Not once in these lessons did the teacher/speaker ask or talk about what work we as members of His church should be doing. (I can tell you right now that it is not business or ecclesiastical.) The lessons never took into account what work we should be doing, but only that we be hard workers. I often quoted Nephi during these lessons (2 Nephi 26:30-31) where he records that "the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish," only to be met with stunned silence.

I always wondered during these lessons what we were doing to each other in the church, where we were reinforcing in one another the assumption that tangible and visible rewards and success are promised to those who work the hardest. This assumption is certainly not taught by the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel promises rewards, but "not as the world giveth, give I unto you" (John 14:27 emphasis added). Rather "He who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his rewards, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come" (D&C 59:23). By contrast, those whose vision is influenced by the world measure their success by being "seen of men." Of such the Savior said, "They have their reward" (Matthew 6:5).

Despite the scripture narrative of not laboring for money, only doing His works or the works of righteousness, and not laboring for that which gives no life, the assumptions of contemporary America's success ethic are deeply rooted and powerfully ingrained among the membership of the church. But during the first sixty or seventy years after the organization of the church, there were profound distinctions between the culture of the Latter-day Saints and the culture of America. The Saints had their own ideas, not only of theology but about the total cultural environment, including economic, social and political systems. During the nineteenth-century heyday of Yankee individualism, "survival of the fittest" was in all its brutality a cherished way of American life. But in the mountains of the west, the Great Basin Kingdom of that era was as isolated culturally as it was geographically. Indeed, the church and its people had been rejected by the melting pot called America in large measure because they would not melt into the pattern of Yankee values. 

Economically, the Saints sought a deliberate isolation, stressing cooperation among themselves while rejecting the nation's every-man-for-himself brand of free enterprise. At least their leaders did. Both the City of Joseph (Nauvoo) and the Great Basin of Brigham Young sought a harmony between religious and political life that was never understood by outsiders, and is still not understood by the members of the church. Joseph and Brigham spent their entire lives trying to ward off the inevitable. It was not until just before the turn of the century (after Brigham's death) that church leadership gave in to the saints desire to participate in America's  capitalism. 

FIve years after the death of Brigham Young, in 1882, President Taylor hesitantly permitted "some of our brethren to branch out into business on their own." That the idea was not his own, and that he had serious reservations, is clear from the official letter issued by the church at that time, which said among other things that "a feeling had been manifested by some of our brethren [it was their idea] to branch out into the mercantile business on their own account."

The saints ultimately rejected the Lord's way, which Joseph and Brigham taught persistently until their deaths, and embraced their fellow Americans and worked very hard to dispel former impressions of their excessive peculiarity. During the twentieth-century, the church and its members became increasingly accepted as a legitimate part of "Main Street U.S.A." In fact today, American members of the church are often considered among the most ardent defenders of success-oriented, entrepreneurial values. 

In a very real sense, the assimilation of many church members into the materialistic society of twentieth-century America parallels the assimilation of ancient Israel following its captivity into Babylonian culture. At first the Jewish captives longed to return home to the land and ways of their fathers. But after a time, they had become sufficiently integrated into the Babylonian culture that when the opportunity finally came to return home, most preferred to stay. As observed by the Jewish historian, Ernest Renan:

"Many of the Israelites...found themselves very comfortable in Babylonia. Thanks to their practical dexterity, they were able to find a thousand ways of amassing a fortune (sound familiar?) in a city devoted to luxury and pleasure.... They were not at all tempted...to return to a narrow strip of land condemned...to remain eternally poor."

Leave it to the Jews, however, to really zero in on the idea that what we work for reflects our true values and our God.

Avodah is the transliteration of the Hebrew word for worship and work. 

 

The root word means to work or to serve. The cluster of words derived from the root give us insight into the nature and sameness of both worship and work.

 

An oved is a worker. An evid is a slave.

 

Avdut is slavery. Work involves the idea of serving someone or something.

 

Avodat Elohim is the service or worship of the true God.

 

Avodah zara is literally strange worship (it is also the title of one of the tractates of the Talmud, which discusses the subject of idolatry and corrupt and false worship).

 

Avodat Elillim is idolatry, the worship of false gods. Indeed, false worship or idolatry is in essence serving the devil and leads to avdut-bondage, slavery to Satan.

 

Worship of the true God through faith, the Spirit and in truth, is hard work. It demands the expenditure of energy. Worship is not mere campfire singing. It requires focus and concentration of all our faculties. "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm  46:10*).

 

Worship of the true God requires an inner humbling, a surrender of self-will, repentance, and faith in Jesus Christ, which Joseph Smith says is the hardest of work, pure mental exertion. "What are we to understand by a man’s working by faith? We answer–we understand that when a man works by faith he works by mental exertion instead of physical force. It is by words, instead of exerting his physical powers, with which every being works when he works by faith."

Let me repeat: "It is by words, instead of exerting his physical powers, with which every being works when he works by faith."

"The greatest temporal and spiritual blessings which always come from faithfulness and concerted effort," said the Prophet Joseph, "never attended individual exertion or enterprise." This statement is powerful in that it totally negates working for money.

It ascribes to Him the supreme value of who He is and acknowledges His worthiness (worth-ship) in words, deeds, and faith.  

 

Worship (that which we work for), is hard work. What or who we worship (work for), however, is the question.

 

Work (labor, enterprise, exertion) is always serving. For the worshiper of God, the believer in Jesus, it is serving God. "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Colossians  3:17). 

 

One of the results of the Protestant  Reformation was an affirmation of the dignity of all honest occupations and manual labor as vocations (literally, callings), i.e., the Protestant Work Ethic.  

 

Historically, the Jewish father was considered derelict if he didn’t teach his son a trade. Most rabbis also plied a trade (for example, Rabbi Moshe, the shoemaker or Rabbi Shaul, the tent-maker).

 

While work is an essential part and expression of our humanness, it is not, as some mistakenly assume, a result of the Fall. Work was part of Adam and Eve’s activity in the Garden of Eden before they partook of the fruit. They were to "work" the Garden "and take care of it" (Genesis  2:15). Work is an expression of the creativity inherent in human nature made in the "image of God." After all, God is continually working, as Jesus pointed out: "My Father worketh hitherto and I work" (John  5:17).

 

Could it be that only work that is drudgery is a consequence of the Fall? In Christ we can experience a substantial redemption from drudgery to meaningful, enjoyable work and achievement by doing His works, growing in light and truth, using our faculties for what they were intended, those faculties which have been washed and annointed, the most important of which is the brain (the intellect).

 

In modern Hebrew, av-dah means fact. A fact works in or with reality because it is true to reality. Likewise, in modern Hebrew, u-vad means adapted—something worked over to fit reality--making our way God's way.

So the question remains--what kind of work?

 

One more point is necessary: "Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind  [worship].’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your  neighbor as yourself’" (Matthew  22:37–39). These commands are always in that order. If you get them turned around, it will destroy you. That’s a fact. It won’t work; it is not true to reality. If you give yourself first to neighbor-love, you will find out it cannot be sustained. You will burnout. Only neighbor-love growing out of primary love for God has staying power. Neighbor-love works when it flows out of a life of worship.

 

True worship of God is hard work. That which we work for, we worship, but the worship of God should be our work.

 

"Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1  Corinthians  15:58). Let’s remember, "Night is coming, when no one can work" (John  9:4).

Hugh Nibley wrote that "we get the idea that the only virtues are business virtues. Consider the qualities you need to be a successful businessman. You should have persistence, reliability, a measure of courage, hard work, and all the rest of it, but those qualities are the same required in any other profession; to be an athlete or musician, a scientist, or an international jewel thief, you need those same qualities in far higher degrees than you do to succeed in business. Does it take a genius to become rich? How many first-class artists are there? You can count them. How many Nobel Laureates and so forth? You can count them on the fingers of your hand. Yet the country swarms with millionaires (and billionaires) . The virtue is the virtue of getting ahead. Of course that's the virtue in any field. We make it seem as if that fact obliges a person to go into business—because this is where it counts, because then you possess these qualities. Anyone knows that cheating pays off very well in this country. But the solid businessman will of course protest that the law of consecration is impractical. After all, men are not really created equal. But why did God give some superior advantages? Answer: to put their time, talents, and so on at the disposal of their less fortunate brethren, as God himself does when he makes it his work and his glory to exalt us lowly creatures (Moses 1:38-39)."

For a brief history of the Saints leaving the fulness of the gospel for the things of Babylon see We Still Weep for Zion by Hugh Nibley.

If we ask what improvement has been made up to the present, there is no better standard to judge by than that given by President Spencer W. Kimball in a solemn and inspired message to the church on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the nation, titled The False Gods We Worship. The address gives us a picture of the church, the nation, and indeed the world that is a miracle of clarity and condemnation, placing the physician's finger with unerring accuracy on the really important issues. 

First, by way of introduction, a general observation: "When I review the performance of this people in comparison with what is expected, I am appalled and frightened." Not a particularly cheerful or even optimistic message. What is it that so frightens and appalls the prophet? Three things in particular: 

1. The abuse of the environment: "When I . . . fly over the vast and beautiful expanses of our globe, . . . I have the feeling that the good earth can hardly bear our presence upon it. . . . The Brethren constantly cry out against . . . pollution of mind, body, and our surroundings. . . . That such a cry should be necessary among a people so blessed is amazing to me." 

2. The pursuit of personal affluence: "Carnal man has tended to transfer his trust in God to material things. . . . When men have fallen under the power of Satan and lost the faith, they have put in its place a hope in the 'arm of flesh' and in 'gods of silver, and gold, of brass,' . . . that is, in idols. . . . Many people spend most of their time working in the service of a self-image that includes sufficient money, stocks, bonds, investment portfolios, property, credit cards, furnishing, automobiles and the like to guarantee carnal security throughout, it is hoped, a long and happy life." 

3. Trust in military security: "We commit vast resources to the fabrication of gods of stone and steel—ships, planes, missiles, fortifications—and depend on them for protection and deliverance. When threatened, we become anti-enemy instead of pro-kingdom of God; we train a man in the art of war and call him a patriot, thus, in the manner of Satan's counterfeit of true patriotism, perverting the Savior's teaching. . . . What are we to fear when the Lord is with us? Can we not take the Lord at his word and exercise a particle of faith in him? . . . We must leave off the worship of modern-day idols and a reliance on the 'arm of flesh,' for the Lord has said to all the world in our day, 'I will not spare any that remain in Babylon' [D&C 64:24]." 

And how did the Saints, who never tire of saying, "The Prophet! The Prophet! We have a Prophet!" receive his words? As might be expected, reaction has ranged from careful indifference to embarrassed silence, instant deep freeze to total ignorance. 

As to the three things against which they were warned, it can be shown with cruel documentation that the majority of the American Saints support and vote for representatives that demonstrate outspoken contempt for the environment, unabashed reverence for wealth, and ardent advocacy of military expansion, and who believe that capitalism is ordained of God and that Socialism is evil.