God’s Warning to Ammonihah
Alma continues his Church reclamation efforts in Melek and then
continues on to the non-Christian Nephite city of Ammonihah to do some
missionary work, but he is rejected and cast out (see Alma 8:8-13). On the road away from the city he is visited
by an angel who commands him to return to the city and warn them that if they
do not repent, they will be destroyed in a single day (see Alma 8:16-17 and
Alma 9:4). Alma immediately returns and
meets a man (Amulek) who takes him in (see Alma 8:19-21). Alma stayed with Amulek for many days,
teaching him and his family, until the Lord commanded him to take Amulek and
begin preaching to the people again (see Alma 8:27-30).
READ Alma 9:12-13
The Lord is commanding the people
of Ammonihah to repent for two reasons – which is the most compelling?
They will not inherit the Kingdom of God – this reason SHOULD be
the most compelling but you must have some faith to believe it.
They will be utterly destroyed as a people – this is probably MORE
compelling to a wicked people.
READ Alma 9:14-17
Why will it be more tolerable for
the Lamanites than for the Nephites both in this life and the life to come,
even though the Lamanites are wild and murderous while the Nephites are
“civilized”?
Laman’s “traditions” about God, mankind, acceptable behavior, and
his brother Nephi have shaped the development of the whole Lamanite
civilization – anchoring it in a set of falsehoods; but the people believe they
are true and follow them blindly, not knowing any better.
The Nephites have had the Fullness of the Gospel of Christ, with
all of its attendant ministering angels, scriptures, fruits of the Spirit which
demonstrate the presence of God with a people; turning away from this is
sinning against the light – it is rebelling as Laman did – it is “first person”
rebellion (see D&C 82:3; Alma 9:19-23).
Why are “traditions of the
fathers” such a great tool to blind people to the truth?
Most people inherently think that the way they see the world is
the way the world is, not realizing that they interpret what they see through
their own paradigms or mental models, which may be false.
When they are presented with new information that contradicts what
they believe is true, they will dismiss it out of hand – either out of pride
(“I know more than those poor fools, for I am spiritually chosen or
intellectually superior”) or fear (“that thinking threatens my beliefs, which are
the bedrock of my life and basis for my self-esteem – it cannot be true or I am
living a lie – so it is not true”).
This is true even when they are presented with factual evidence
that contradicts their traditions – creating what is called cognitive dissonance;
which is the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs or attitudes, and
it produces mental stress because humans strive for internal consistency, so
these contradictory facts are usually disassociated or actively avoided (see
Mosiah 1:5).
As a result, people will not be open seekers after truth but will
carefully monitor what information they will consider; many times this leads to
dependence on an “authority” of some kind who knows which sources of knowledge
are “legitimate” (or aligned with their traditions) and which are not. In some cases, these authorities attempt to
restrict access to information that would produce cognitive dissonance in their
followers – both to make followers feel comfortable and to secure their
leadership positions and attendant benefits; they usually do this through the
tools of pride (“we as a people are chosen and know more because God will never
allow us to go astray”) or fear (“those people are evil and trying to deceive
you”).
READ Alma 9:25-29
What is God’s message to the
people?
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.
In not many days, the Son of God shall come in His glory.
He will be full of grace, truth and mercy.
He comes to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance
through faith on His name – i.e. to covenant with Him.
Therefore, everyone should prepare!
For you will either reap salvation or damnation, based on how you
react to Christ’s invitation.
How did the Lord send His
message?
He sent His angel to visit MANY people.
With the commission that they must go forth and “cry mightily”
unto the people to repent.
READ Alma 9:31-32
What do the people react to in
Alma’s message and why?
What they perceive as insults – “you are hard-hearted, prideful,
lost and fallen”.
Not the doctrinal argument – at least not until Zeezrom wades in.
Because they ARE prideful and they don’t care so much about
spiritual doctrine. Alma nailed them on
the head with his assessment and the truth hurts.
READ Alma 10:20-23
How does Amulek know what message
the angels have been giving people?
We know that he has received one angel who told him to take Alma
in.
He has most likely now received more angelic visits, during the
time of his preparation with Alma.
What has been sparing the people?
The prayers of the righteous.
What is a sign of the fullness of
iniquity, present in this situation, after which destruction comes?
Casting out the righteous from among the people.
How does the Lord destroy those
who have ripened in iniquity?
War – the sword.
Starvation – famine.
Disease – pestilence.
These three come together – it begins with war, which destroys
resources and upsets agriculture and commerce; the lack of food and filthy
conditions are a hotbed for the growth of disease.
It is interesting that God does not directly destroy people with
these tools, rather He allows them to destroy each other and themselves through
their own free will.
How is the foundation of the
destruction of the people being laid by the unrighteousness of their lawyers
and judges?
While Amulek is not testifying against their law but rather
condemning them for not living their law…
It is only a matter of time until the law makers and enforcers
collude to change the law to align with their wickedness and support it.
This is another sign of a “fullness of iniquity” society – casting
out God from among their system of law, as it will lead to their destruction.
Zeezrom’s Interrogation
READ Alma 11:21-25
Does the devil have “devices” and
if so, what are they?
Evidently he does.
Devices = that which is formed by design or invented; a scheme or
stratagem; an artificial contrivance (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary); it is
interesting that the definition doesn’t focus on a physical tool as much as a
plan.
The Devil’s devices include entrapment, false accusations,
mobocracy, unbelief (believing that which is incorrect – like “traditions of
the fathers”) and contentious philosophical debate (see Lamentations 3:60-62;
Alma 10:13; Alma 12:3-4).
Why would Zeezrom insult Alma
with an offer of 6 onti’s of silver (approximately $30,000 today) to deny the
existence of a Supreme Being?
It’s a wind-up – he’s trying to make Amulek angry.
If Amulek gets angry, maybe he loses the Spirit.
If he loses the Spirit, he will not be guaranteed to speak the
truth and can be caught in a falsehood and condemned.
READ Alma 11:26-35
What doctrines have Zeezrom
questioned Amulek into articulating?
There is a true and living God.
There is only one God.
The Son of God will come to Earth.
He shall not save His people in their sins.
Has Zeezrom trapped Amulek in his
words?
No, everything Amulek has said is true… from a certain point of
view.
But Zeezrom is trying to make it appear that what was said is
untrue or at least inconsistent.
Truth is a very difficult thing to judge unless you have ALL truth
in front of you. For example, the answer
to a math problem where there should only be one right answer might “depend”
upon how many decimal points the answerer reveals. An answer at 2 decimal points is true (i.e.
5.47) but it is no longer true at 7 decimal points (i.e. 5.47000 is not the
same as 5.4762841 – and if precision is important – you want the absolute and
complete truth, as God does, there is a 0.0062841 difference, so that the first
answer is actually false).
READ Alma 11:36-37
What does it mean to save the
people in their sins?
To save them stained with sin or unsanctified.
If Christ cannot save His people
in their sins, what can He do?
He can save them FROM their sins by being convicted of those sins
Himself on their behalf and suffering for them – paying the required penalty of
everlasting or God’s suffering.
And then decreeing them “perfect” in Him or redeemed and forgiven
and able to stand in the presence of God judged on Christ’s merits and not
their own.
But He cannot save them IN their sins, because if they are sinful
(unchanged, unsanctified – still desiring to do evil) but forgiven, they would
eventually sin again while in God’s presence and be cast out (i.e. not saved),
as Lucifer was.
If God is omnipotent, how can
there be a limitation on His power?
He must be precisely as He is or He cannot be God or cannot
continue to be God.
So He must align perfectly with the Law of the Eternal Life or the
Celestial Kingdom which says that no unclean thing can inherit it or even be
there.
This is because it is punishment for an unclean being to be in the
Celestial Kingdom with God (see Mormon 9:3-5) – by natural consequence to
Eternal Law.
In addition, He is a God of Truth and cannot lie or deny His word
– and the truth is that a) no unclean thing can abide in God’s presence and b)
He has stated that since this is the case, they cannot inherit the Kingdom of
God.
So, it is God who is putting “limits” on His own power, in line
with Eternal Law or He would cease to be God, or in other words, it is God who
is choosing to act in accordance with the dictates of Eternal Law.
READ Alma 11:38-41
How is the Son of God “the very
Eternal Father”?
Jesus is the “father” of your exaltation and eternal life, if you
come unto Him (see D&C 35:2) – your continuation or life after the grave will
come through His sacrifice and He will literally provide you with the
resurrected body you will inherit.
He will adopt you to become a Son or Daughter of
God (Him) now that He has attained to the resurrection of the dead (see TPJS
392:1).
He is your example in all things and His
teachings and commandments, if followed, will give you the light, glory,
intelligence, and spirit you need to become like He is (see 1 Corinthians
4:15); you will be spiritually born again and given a new heart (see 1 Peter
1:23).
He has suffered all that a God can suffer – an
infinite and eternal punishment - to save you from the awful, damning fate
awaiting you by your choices on earth and the punishment that you would
otherwise have to pay yourself (see D&C 19:10-20).
He is precisely like “the Father” or He would not
be able to be saved (see LoF 7:9, 15-16) – conceived by the power of God and
endowed with a full measure of the Holy Spirit (see John 3:34), and as such
“is” the Father or a perfect representation of Him, even sharing His own mind
(see LoF 5:2) through that full measure of the Spirit to the extent that He can
say “if ye have seen me, ye have seen the Father” (see John 14:7-9).
But He was not always precisely like the Father –
not at the first; He ascended, continuing from grace to grace through the
eternities until He received a fullness (see D&C 93:12-17)
Is there more
than one God?
Yes (see TPJS 417:4)
So why did
Amulek say there is only one God?
As far as the creation and redemption of this
world is concerned, Jesus Christ is the life and light of this world – He is
the God of Israel and THE God of the Whole Earth and is the “Most High God”
(see 3 Nephi 11:10-17 and TPJS 391:1-392:1; LoF 5:2).
He is THE way, the truth and the light –
salvation in this world comes through Christ or it does not come (see John
14:6).
He is precisely the same as the Father or He
could not be God (see LoF 7:15-16; John 14:9).
If the Atonement
was eternal (see Alma 34:9-15), why does Amulek say Christ will only take upon
Himself the transgressions of those who believe on His name and none else?
The wicked remain AS THOUGH there had been no
redemption made because they will have to suffer, even as Christ did, if they do
not repent and come unto Him (see D&C 19:15-20);
In other words, Christ’s eternal suffering is
wasted by all those who do not come unto Him – He made the sacrifice but they
do not accept the gift so it’s as if it didn’t apply to them or as if it was never
accomplish at all; so for all intents and purposes, His salvific power is only
in effect for those who believe in Him - salvation and exaltation only comes to
those who believe in Christ.
But it is still “eternal” suffering or God’s
suffering or all the suffering that a God can endure (see D&C 19:10-20)
regardless of if just one person or one trillion take advantage of it…
Although all shall be resurrected to stand before
God to be judged, regardless of their behavior in this world or if they
covenanted with Christ to be saved by Him.
But this makes it clear the difference between receiving a resurrection
from Christ and being “saved” by Him.
READ Alma 11:42-45
Why does it say
“the spirit and the body shall be REUNITED AGAIN in its perfect form” – why
does it not say “the spirit and the body shall be united again, but in a
perfect form”?
It appears to suggest that the spirit and body
have been united in a perfect form before, and that the resurrection is a
reuniting of a perfect soul.
Can the immortal body die after
it is resurrected?
No
The spirit is united with the body, never to be divided but has
become spiritual and immortal.
However, this does not mean that a soul cannot choose to lay aside
their immortal body to condescend to go to earth and take upon themselves a
tabernacle of clay (see Abraham 3:22-25).
Does “never to be divided” mean “cannot be divided whether they would
like to or not” or does it mean “never to be divided while in that immortal
state unless they choose to leave that state?”
Did Christ move from grace to grace on this earth or in previous
eternities during other mortal experiences where He continued to be tested and
gained more and more light, by the grace of God, until He received a fullness
and was called a Son of God? (see D&C 93:11-17).
The Mysteries of God and the Rest of the Lord
READ Alma 12:8-15
What is the connection between
the resurrection/judgment and the mysteries of God?
Due to their personal nature and the requirements for obtaining
them, knowing the mysteries of God will save you.
The person who will not harden his heart toward God but seeks
after Him, believing on His name and bringing forth fruit meet for repentance,
will be given the greater portion of His word until he knows the mysteries of
God in full.
If you know the mysteries in full and have received His word, then
the resurrection and judgment will be joyous experiences as God begins to
bless you with the fulfillment of some of the promises that He had made to you
earlier (i.e. your calling and election, sealing up to eternal life, etc.).
What are the mysteries of God
that will exalt you?
Who God really is – a just, holy and exalted man (see TPJS 390:2-4)
that you must know personally (see John 17:3; D&C 132:24).
Who you really are as a child of God but co-existent with God (see
TPJS 396:2-398:1) and that you can become a God yourself (see LoF 7:15-16).
How to enter His presence – through Christ His Son (see John 14:6).
How you can become like He is – growing from grace to grace until
you receive a fullness (see D&C 93:11-24; TPJS 391:2-393:1).
The promise from God that you will become like He is if you endure
to the End (see D&C 88:75; TPJS 332:2-333:2; Mosiah 5:15).
All things pertaining to the Kingdom of God and His will (see
D&C 76:7-10) but to receive all these things one cannot remain in the flesh
on earth – one’s mortal probation would be over and you would be translated
(see Moses 1:4-5) – you have received too much knowledge or light to remain in
this fallen condition.
What does it mean to receive His
word in you?
Receiving His word in or within you means to be one with Christ as
He is with the Father (3 Nephi 28:10-11) – His words or thoughts are becoming
your words and thoughts, and His works and deeds are becoming your works and
deeds – think quantum mechanics here where the “observer’s” thoughts or
intentions actually dictate or change the reality of what occurs at the
sub-atomic level – one acts and the other is acted upon (see D&C 93:30; 2
Nephi 2:13-14, 26).
It is to have received a fullness of the Spirit of the Lord (who
is also known as the Word – see John 1:1-16) or Mind of God (see LoF 5:2).
Receiving His word is done as you enter His presence and are
ministered to by Him, and overcome your weaknesses through His succor that they
become strengths and you become sanctified or like Him…
Such that you can stand in God’s presence without wishing the
rocks could fall on you or that you might become extinct (see Alma 36:14-15).
Because God has given you His word or promise, which is that you
are clean and have a place in His kingdom (see D&C 88:75; LoF 6).
Are receiving the mysteries of
God critical to your salvation or not?
Yes, it is critical to receive these mysteries in this life.
Unless you learn His mysteries, your state will be awful because
you will be condemned for your hard-heartedness and careless indifference for
not seeking out the mysteries.
Unless you learn His mysteries, you will be in doubt as to your
standing before Him and will grow weak in your faith and faint in the face of
serious trials (see LoF 6:12).
Unless you learn His mysteries, you will not be able to enter into
His rest, which is the fullness of His glory because you will lack the glory
(intelligence, light, truth) to be able to abide His presence but will wish you
were extinct.
How can you obtain the portion of
His word that He does not allow men to share with each other – which seems like
the bulk of the mysteries?
There are some things you must know to be saved but cannot learn
from other men, regardless of who they are.
You can only learn them from God Himself – in His presence.
Why are men commanded to only
share a portion of the mysteries?
Men cannot share much of what is required to be known because mankind
cannot give to another person the light or intelligence required to comprehend the
mysteries (see D&C 93:36).
And some of what is required to be shared is the personal standing
of that individual before the Lord – something that another man does not know.
So why might a man receive
nothing of God’s mysteries?
Because he hardens his heart.
He refuses to accept what is offered to him by God.
And in time, the light he had is lost to him until he knows nothing
concerning God’s mysteries.
He cannot comprehend them as he has lost the light or intelligence
required to do so – and they become foolishness to him.
What is the definition of being
taken captive by the devil?
To know nothing of God’s mysteries.
Because at that point you can be led by the devil’s will down to
destruction – you won’t have the light or intelligence to tell where you are
being led.
You are taken captive by their ignorance and bound by the chains
of hell – this is what “unbelief” or believing that which is wrong leads to and
why it is so dangerous (see Isaiah 28:1-8, 14-22).
And you will stumble because you do not know the truth and will base
your decision making and behavior on falsehoods and blind leaders (see Isaiah
28:9-13).
Thinking the whole time that you are in possession of the truth
and are “right” and need to do nothing more with it than possess it - like a
plowman forever plowing the same ground but never planting seed or a farmer
endlessly threshing his grain but never grinding it to bake bread (see Isaiah
28:23-29).
READ Alma 12:16-18
What is spiritual death?
To be separated from God – to be without God (see D&C 29:41).
To be carnally minded (seeking immediate pleasure for yourself) or
wicked (intentionally acting against your sincere understanding of what is
right, via the Spirit) or to be anything other than one with the Mind of God
(see 2 Nephi 9:39; Alma 41:11; Mosiah 5:7-10).
Who dies a spiritual death after
the resurrection?
The sons of perdition – who inherited Celestial glory but then
betrayed their Lord in full knowledge (see D&C 76:37).
Those who do not live a celestial law and don’t receive a
celestial glory but take the wide Way that leads to the deaths (see D&C
132:20-25).
Those who would not repent and come unto Christ and are as if
there was no redemption made for them, but must suffer as Christ suffered for
their sins in the presence of a just and holy God (see D&C 19:15-20) but
then would rather be with the damned souls in hell as they cannot abide His
presence or in other words, they would rather be spiritually dead (see Mormon
9:3-5) – they have chosen spiritual death through their acts in life and prefer
it in death.
Those who were not redeemed from the fall which is their spiritual
death during their mortal probation (see Ether 3:13) because they would not
believe; those wicked to whom God will say “depart” because they cannot abide
His presence (see D&C 29:39-45).
It is possible that while those who are resurrected as telestial
souls receive some glory, they are still in torment due to their disappointment
with their performance (see TPJS 401:1) and because they are without God or
“spiritually dead”, worlds without end (see D&C 76:112).
Note: this is NOT talking about the sons of perdition, who
inherited Celestial glory and then betrayed their Lord – this is those that
would not believe, not those who believed but then betrayed;
It is also NOT talking about the “hell” of the spiritual world
prior to the resurrection, as Alma says “they cannot die, seeing there is no
more corruption” – this is referring to a post-resurrection “hell” or a second
spiritual death or separation from God.
READ Alma 12:20-27
What is Antionah’s argument
against the resurrection?
That resurrection is a product of eating of the Tree of Life.
And that because the Tree of Life is guarded by cherubim with a
flaming sword, mankind cannot partake of it and as a result, cannot live
forever.
What does Antionah not
understand?
The Tree of Life does not resurrect but sustains life eternally in
the state in which you are when you eat it (while resurrection brings back
together a body and spirit into a living soul), as long as you remain eating
it.
That this is the reason that the cherubim were commanded to guard
the Tree of Life – so that man would not partake and be damned eternally in
their fallen state but have a probationary state in which to attempt to
reconnect with God through Christ and be redeemed from their fallen state.
What were Satan’s plans to
dethrone God, after he had lost the initial war in heaven and been cast out to
the earth?
To make God a liar, which would have caused Him to cease to be
God, as God is a God of Truth and cannot lie.
In Plan A, he wanted Adam to partake of the fruit of the Tree of
Knowledge and then quickly partake of the fruit of Tree of Life so that he
wouldn’t die as God said that he would if he partook of the Tree of Knowledge.
Plan B was to claim dominion over Christ by corrupting one who has
received the Holy Order and has dominion over the earth – this is what he
attempted with Cain.
What is a probationary state?
A time to prepare for the endless state after the resurrection of
the dead by meeting God (Christ) now (see D&C 132:21-25) and being redeemed
from the fall and spiritual death by entering back into His presence (see Ether
3:13), that you might be prepared to stand in God (Ahman’s) presence at the
judgment bar without wishing to be extinct.
What does “endless state” mean
and what is implied?
Endless is God’s name (see D&C 19:10; Moses 7:35).
An “endless state” is “God’s” state (see D&C 19:11-12).
It is an eternity, as in “from eternity to eternity he is the
same” (see D&C 76:4); it is the state over which God sees all things; but according
to Joseph Smith, God the Father has not always been the “same” in that at one
time He had not attained to the resurrection Himself but was as Christ was
before His mortal ministry on this earth; the fact God the Father (Ahman)
worked out an Atonement which Christ saw implies that these “eternities” are
self-contained in that the Ahman’s Atonement did not redeem those who would
take a mortal experience in this eternity, and thus the need for a Christ to
redeem us, for which role Jehovah volunteered (see TPJS 418:3-4; TPJS
391:1-392:1; TPJS 421:2-3).
An “endless state” is an eternity of God which occurs after the
resurrection of the dead (or after Christ has attained to His resurrection and
taken the Father’s place as our Father and God) but ends at some point as a new
mortal creation is brought into being which requires a Savior to redeem all
those who venture down to be tried and tested in such an environment – a Savior
who saw His father (Jehovah) do the same thing He is about to do.
The question for those who have not inherited the resurrection
they would have liked from this probation is: can they lay their immortal body down
to experience another mortal probation and attain more light and glory so that
they have so much the advantage in the world (eternity) to come or is that
mortal experience only for spirits who have never received a physical body
(which begs the question – what is a “physical body” if the Father is a being
of spirit, power and glory but all of those things are element and matter, just
more refined) – but at least we know from Abraham’s vision that the “souls” (and
a soul is a spirit and body together) that God said were good – the Sons of God
or exalted beings - at least can lay down their glory to take upon themselves
tabernacles of clay again so that they can “prove” those who have gone down to
be “proved” (see Abraham 3:22-25).
READ Alma 12:28-30
Does God want us to know these
things?
Yes – He wants us to know His mysteries.
His work and glory is our immortality and eternal life.
We cannot have eternal life without obtaining His mysteries and
the knowledge and promises contained therein.
Here He “appoints” or wants us to know more – to know the truth –
and send angels to dispatch His desire, if we will receive them (see Moroni
7:29-34).
What is the role of an angel?
Educate and prepare men to behold God’s glory and obtain His
mysteries.
Mortal men cannot fulfill this role for each other – the best they
can do is to testify of what they have experienced and now know for themselves
(see LoF 2:54-56) and by so doing share the small amount of light they have
received.
READ Alma 12:31-37
How is this probationary period a
place or state to act, like the Gods?
Gods know good from evil having experienced both (see D&C
88:6).
Being outside of God’s presence is what gives man their agency or
rather it gives them a venue in which to operate their agency, as they have the
ability to act and choose evil if they would without immediate and evil
consequences, which they would not be able to do in the presence of God without
obvious and immediate “discomfort” (see 2 Nephi 2:14-16, 26-27; Moses 7:32;
D&C 93:30; Mormon 9:3-5).
When is the second death
overcome?
When we come back into the presence of God.
Which happens through repentance and our choice not to harden our
hearts.
This is how we are saved, otherwise the second death would be an
“everlasting death” as to things pertaining unto righteousness.
What is the rest of the Lord?
The fullness of the glory of God (see D&C 84:24).
How does one enter into the rest
of the Lord?
Repent and forsake sins (see D&C 93:1).
Harden not your heart.
Cry to the Lord for mercy (see Alma 36:18-22).
Receive a remission of your sins = receive the baptism of fire and
the Holy Ghost (see Mosiah 4:2-3; Mosiah 5:2).
Abide in the covenant – love the Lord and seek to keep His
commandments and obey His voice as He leads you back to Him (see 2 Nephi
32:3-7).
When to we enter the rest of the
Lord?
As a mortal, during our probation, to be redeemed and sealed up to
eternal life (see D&C 84:23-24).
So that we can enter His rest to go no more out after the
resurrection (see Revelation 3:12; Alma 7:25; Alma 29:17; Alma 34:36; Helaman
3:30; 3 Nephi 28:40) because we’ve been redeemed and received a promise of
salvation we can have true and living faith in, because they’ve come from His
own lips to you.
