Alma, Amulek, and Zeezrom
[Alma, Amulek Broke the Bonds]
[Earthquake Kills the Guards]
Ammon among the Lamanites
[Zeezrom Healed by Alma]
[Preaching Against Meanness or Inhumanity]
[Lamanite Civilization Compared to Egyptians]
[Sons of Mosiah & Ammon preach to the Lamanites]
[Waters of Sebus Organized Game]
348 Alma 14:8,14 Alma and Amulek had witnessed that auto-da-fe, that horrible thing which I assure you is quite routine in religious history. Irony, isn’t it? They are all religious, these auto-da-fes— the burning of women and children and books in big piles. It has happened not once but hundreds of times. It happened anciently, too. Anyway, they [Alma and Amulek] found themselves in the jail, and they got some rough treatment there. It was a sort of SS prison. The judge came to Alma and Amulek and kept hitting them in the face, which is the usual procedure to get a person to talk—they slap them, you know. Verse 14: “After what ye have seen, will ye preach again unto this people that they shall be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone?”
349 Alma 14:15-18 The hardest test of all is holding back. It’s not blowing up or doing violence. This is the test to which they are being subjected now in any action. This is where the Latter-day Saints historically have been repeatedly tested and stood up to the test very well. The times they didn’t go to war were the times they always won. Then the other times when they blew their tops, it was not so good. Alma is being tested here to the breaking point. The judge said, “Behold, ye see that ye had not power to save those who had been cast into the fire; neither has God saved them because they were of thy faith.” You saw what happened, etc. This judge was after the manner of Nehor. Notice, the [order of] Nehors is a permanent establishment which begins way back in the first chapter of Alma. But Alma and Amulek “answered them nothing.” That was a severe test. After they had been cast into prison three days, the lawyers and judges came to work on them in the manner of the SS. We do this in police states, etc. And they were all professors of Nehor, too. It was a religious persecution because the priests came along, “many lawyers, and judges, and priests, and teachers, who were of the profession of Nehor.” This is religious persecution by the establishment. The burning was an auto-da-fe. But they answered nothing, and that’s infuriating. Then they came again on the morrow and still worked on them. “How shall we look when we are damned?” they say. They are losing control now and getting funny. This is Galgenhumor so to speak. This thing went on for many days.
350 Alma 14:24-27 Well, here’s the old chestnut [in verse 24]: “If ye have the power of God deliver yourselves from these bands.” They asked Jesus to bring himself down from the cross if he could. And, of course, they asked for a sign. They all went forth and smote them again, and this routine went on until Alma and Amulek had had about enough. Then they rose and stood on their feet. Verse 26: “And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord?” They broke the bonds, which they could not have done by their own strength. When the people saw that they were terrified and tried to put as much distance as they could between them and Alma and Amulek. So what did they do? They all made for the gate. There was a rush and there was a earthquake. You notice that miracles are in the timing, not in the event. This was earthquake country. It’s not surprising that there was a earthquake, but just at that moment was when it was helpful. They all made a rush for the gate, so naturally they crowded the exit. They jammed the exit, nobody could get out, the gate collapsed, and they were all killed there. The only safe people were Alma and Amulek who stayed behind. [The people] tried to get as far from them as they could.
350,351 Alma 14:28 As I said, it’s the timing not the event. We can think of the thundering legion and the Red Sea, the flooding of the Jordan River, and the quail at Sugar Creek. All these miracles are ordinary events that happened, but at a very convenient time. That’s the way it goes. This was a very convenient one, too. Of course, the miraculous part is that the Lord can foresee it. He arranges our affairs and manages that we will be there when it happens. Verse 28: “And the prison had fallen to the earth, and every soul within the walls thereof, save it were Alma and Amulek, was slain,” because they were by themselves in the dungeon. They had been left there alone. Well, when there was a great crash and the prison came down, the people all came running together to see what was going on. When they saw Alma and Amulek emerging, they ran, too. They were terrified at the sight. So they [Alma and Amulek] proceeded calmly to the land of Sidom in the next chapter.
351 Alma 15:1 You notice we get these forced separations of people, which are very important, especially in religious history. Ammonihah was going to be completely destroyed, but all the people who wanted to follow Alma and Amulek were driven out. They were forced to go out and settle elsewhere, and they did. Alma 15:1: “And behold, there they found all the people who had departed out of the land of Ammonihah, who had been cast out and stoned, because they believed in the words of Alma.” They were in another city, the city of Sidom. They had settled there. It was a forced separation.
351,352 Alma 15:3-5 Well, Zeezrom was there in Sidom; it was a safe place for these people. Sidom was a tolerant city, apparently. Zeezrom was there sick of a burning fever. He was obsessed with guilt, which drove him out of his mind. His fever was actually an escape because he wanted to die. Verse 3: “And this great sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his mind until it did become exceedingly sore, having no deliverance [he couldn’t stand it]; therefore he began to be scorched with a burning heat.” The fever was part of his sickness which he brought upon himself. The brethren went to the house of Zeezrom and found him on his bed. When he saw them he felt there was a chance for life, and he asked to be healed by them. “And his mind also was exceedingly sore because of his iniquities.” See, he was out of his mind. He was having terrible mental anguish because of the things he had done. This was the cause of his sickness; this will bring it on every time. When he saw the brethren, he asked them to heal him.
352 Alma 15:6,8 “Alma said unto him, taking him by the hand: Believest thou in the power of Christ unto salvation?” And verse 8 says, “If thou Believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed.” He is sick to the point of death and destruction, but salvation is to be saved from any dire condition you are in. From any desperate end to which you might come the power of Christ will save you. Here he is right in the depths, and [Alma] is saying, do you believe in the power of Christ to save you? “And he answered and said: Yea, I believe all the words that thou hast taught.” This means if you believe it, you can come back, they say. Verse 8: “And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed.” REDEMPTIO means “to buy back, to let you in again, to take you back home again” like the prodigal son. He [the Savior] will do it as long as you repent. As long as you are here, you can do it. It’s redemption, he says, according to the faith. Is faith the power that does that, or is it Jesus Christ or what? Well, faith is the power that plugs us in; it’s not the power [that heals]. It plugs us into the circuit, so to speak. The power is always there; we are surrounded by an enormous amount of power all the time. By applying faith we make it accessible to us; we make it useful for us. We are able to plug in, to use a vulgar expression, but that’s the sort of thing you do. You open your mind to faith, and then you are able to do it, remembering this.
352 Alma 15:11 “And when Alma had said these words, Zeezrom leaped upon his feet, and began to walk; and this was done to the great astonishment of all the people; and the knowledge of this went forth throughout all the land of Sidom.” He arose on his feet and began to walk. But remember, Alma was just as guilty as Zeezrom was. Alma, who saved him, had been just as guilty. He had done just as dirty things, and he had less reason to, as a matter of fact, because his father was the head of the church. Zeezrom’s father wasn’t. So Zeezrom decided to walk.
But remember this tremendous power that surrounds us.
353 Alma 15:12 “And Alma baptized Zeezrom unto the Lord; and he began from that time forth to preach unto the people.” Then he established a church there “for they did flock in from all the region round about Sidom, and were baptized [they were very successful]. But as to the people that were in the land of Ammonihah [the city these people had left], they yet remained a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people.” You couldn’t move them at all. They were rooted in the profession of Nehor. What was it that made this Nehor business so appealing anyway? Well, we saw it back there in Alma 1:3 and following. In the first chapter of Alma it tells us that it was ceremonial, it was soothing, it was undemanding, it was flattering. That’s the kind of religion you want. You can rationalize anything you want with that, and these people were also very pious like the Zoramites.
353 Alma 15:16 Here’s this very pointed passage in verse 16. Remember it telling what a rich, important man Amulek was, and how everybody envied him, like Oedipus? He was the blue blood of the city, a direct descendant of Nephi, highly respected for his labor. He had made himself rich, and everybody thought a lot of him. But to go out with Alma he got rid of all his swag, and this is what happened. “Amulek having forsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious things, which were in the land of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being rejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred.” Not only his friends cut him off cold when he didn’t have any more money, his family cut him off cold when he didn’t have any more money. Well, he had gotten his money by hard work, etc. They were doing the right thing [in their eyes]. I guess they all clamored to get the dough. Then they all went to court.
353,354 Alma 15:17 Exodus 30 They established the church in Sidom. The people assembled themselves together to worship in sanctuaries before the altar. Notice, this is the kind of cult they have here. In the law of Moses the altar is not necessary for sacrifice, but it is necessary. It’s very interesting. Exodus 30, for example, tells us that the primary purpose of that altar isn’t for sacrifice. But, as we use it in the temple, it is a centering for activities. In the temple an altar is where you bring things and receive things. It is a table; a table is where you share things—a table to which you bring things and from which you take things. It’s around the table, and that’s what an altar is. They “began to assemble themselves together at their sanctuaries to worship God before the altar, watching and praying continually, that they might be delivered from Satan, and from death, and from destruction.” So the church was established and running in this place.
354 Alma 15:18; Alma 16:1,5 Then Alma took Amulek back home to his own house. They are going to take a rest now. You notice that they are not back very long when suddenly war comes. On the “fifth day of the second month in the eleventh year, there was a cry of war heard throughout the land.” This is interesting because Clausewitz assures us that war can never start suddenly like this. This started all of a sudden, but what it was is a typical Lamanite war. It was a GHAZA. Our word raid comes from the Arabic word GHAZA. It’s a raid for slaves. This was a slave raid, so surprise was everything here. The whole purpose was that. Look, for example, in verse 5. “They went unto him and desired of him to know whither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in search of their brethren, who had been taken captive by the Lamanites.” They [the Lamanites] didn’t stay and fight. They went off with the brethren. Now Alma is going to pursue them in search of the captives to bring them back again.
354 Alma 16:5-8,3 Then in the next verse it says the same thing: “And there the Lord will deliver unto thee thy brethren who have been taken captive by the Lamanites.” So it was a slave raid, which is the main purpose of barbaric wars most of the time. And again when it is completed, we have here in verse 8: “And they came upon the armies of the Lamanites, and the Lamanites were scattered and driven into the wilderness; and they took their brethren who had been taken captive by the Lamanites, and there was not one soul of them had been lost that were taken captive.” So it was a slave raid. They got the slaves back, but they had the help of the Lord in doing it so it wouldn’t grow to a large, nasty war. The Lamanites swept down on the city of Ammonihah and wiped that out. Verse 3: “And now it came to pass, before the Nephites could raise a sufficient army to drive them out of the land, they had destroyed the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, and also some around the borders of Noah, and taken others captive into the wilderness. Now it came to pass that the Nephites were desirous to obtain those who had been carried away captive into the wilderness.” That was the issue; it was slaves.
354,355 Alma 16:5 They appointed a captain, and his name was Zoram. That name means “refreshing rain.” After a dry winter or drought when you have a strong rain, it is called a zoram. As you would expect, it’s a popular name with these people. And he had two sons, Lehi and Aha. They were warriors, too, Lehi and Aha. It was a very common name. Zoram went to Alma “to know whither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in search of their brethren.”. You consult the Lord if you do, and he does that here. He consults the high priest to ask where they should go in search of their brethren. That’s what the operation is to be. It’s to be a search and rescue, not a search and destroy. That’s what they did. They inquired of the Lord and found where they were. He told them what the plan [of the Lamanites] was; they nipped the plan in the bud. “And Alma returned and said unto them: Behold, the Lamanites will cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness [where they were least expected], away up beyond the borders of the land of Manti. And behold there shall ye meet them, on the east of the river Sidon, and there the Lord will deliver unto thee thy brethren who have been taken captive by the Lamanites.”
355,356 Alma 16:9,11 In verse 9 we have the cursed town of the Ammonihah, where all the people were destroyed. “But behold, in one day it was left desolate.” Here’s an interesting thing. They are going to give it a name; they are going to call it desolation. Verse 11: “Nevertheless, after many days their dead bodies were heaped up upon the face of the earth.... And now so great was the scent thereof that the people did not go in to possess the land of Ammonihah for many years. And it was called Desolation of Nehors; for they were of the profession of Nehor, who were slain; and their lands remained desolate.” This is a Book of Mormon custom—”the land desolation.” There is lots of desolation and lots of land Bountiful here. “And their lands remained desolate.”
356 Alma 16:13 “And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people in their temples, and in their sanctuaries, and also in their synagogues.” This is an interesting reference to synagogues. A Jew might ask you, “Well, isn’t that premature? The synagogue didn’t exist until after the fall of the temple. The temple is where the Jews met. After that they met in the synagogues. Synagogue is the Greek name for it, which simply means “the place where you assemble, a QAHAL, a church.”.
356,357 Alma 16:15,16 Alma and Amulek went forth, and also many more went forth to preach. So they started a motion going. In verse 15 many went forth to preach after their example. So they established the church throughout all the land, and it “became general throughout the land, in all the region round about, among all the people of the Nephites [this is wonderful; this movement spread] And there was no inequality among [all the people].” Whoever thought it would end up that way? But there was still preparation, and we are still being prepared. “The Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming.” That was to be seventy-eight years later. (We are still being prepared; we haven’t gone all the way.) “... and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God. Now those priests who did go forth among the people did preach against all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings [What is wickedness? This sort of thing], and strifes, and malice.”
357 What one word would you use to cover all this? I would say meanness or inhumanity. Remember, the Lord told the Apostles that there are two commandments on which all the law and the prophets hang. If you keep them, you don’t need to worry about the others. The first is “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Matthew 22:37-39). If you do that you will have not the slightest desire or inclination to break any of the other commandments. You won’t commit murder or you won’t steal or you won’t lie if you love your neighbor as yourself. That goes for everybody. This is what they were preaching [against], this meanness. Notice that very few of these things are against the law. You can’t put a person in prison for these things, and yet these are the real sins.
357 Alma 16:20 “And many of the people did inquire concerning the place where the Son of God should come.” They naturally wanted to know since the coming of Christ was the big thing. Where would he come and when would he come? Will we get to see him? “And they were taught that he would appear unto them after his resurrection.” Well, that satisfied them. He wouldn’t appear to them here, but after the resurrection he would, they were told. “And now after the church had been established throughout all the land—having got the victory over the devil [that’s the ideal], and the word of God being preached in its purity in all the land, and the Lord pouring out his blessings upon the people—thus ended the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. This is a good time to send out missionaries to the Lamanites, so that’s what they are going to do. Everybody at home was sort of getting brought into line.
358,359 Alma 17:2,4 Alma journeyed and met his old brethren. Notice what they were. Verse 2: “And they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.” Notice that “sound understanding.” They were not hysterical, theatrical, fanatical, or evangelical types at all. They were men of sound understanding, and they searched the scriptures. That’s what you go by. And they fasted and prayed; “therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation. This does not supersede the scriptures, you notice. They searched the scriptures, and therefore had the spirit of revelation. The two always go together, as we mentioned last time. Here’s how long they had been away. Verse 4: “And they had been teaching the word of God for the space of fourteen years among the Lamanites [they were really dedicated; when they went on their missions, they went].... For they had many afflictions; they did suffer much, both in body and in mind.”
359 Alma 17:8 They had refused the kingdom. Remember, they were the king’s sons. They were eligible and in line for the throne, but it’s a republic now. How did they support themselves? Well, they took spears and bows and provided food for themselves. They went without purse or script. Naturally, they visited towns and villages and were fed by the people because they made many contacts, etc. This happens, too. Verse 8: “And thus they departed into the wilderness with their numbers which they had selected, to go up to the land of Nephi, to preach the word of God unto the Lamanites.” They departed and a troupe went up to the land of Nephi. Now they are going to convert the Lamanites, and this is going to be a hard thing. The people of Ammonihah were bad enough. “And they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them ... that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.”
359 Alma 17:12 Now what are the chances of convincing them of that? In chapters 27 and 28 it talks about those traditions. The Lord visited them with his Spirit. What about these traditions? In Alma 18:4 it says, “And now, when the king heard these words, he said unto them: Now I know that it is the Great Spirit; and he has come down at this time to preserve your lives, that I might not slay you as I did your brethren. Now this is the Great Spirit of whom our fathers have spoken.” They talk about the Great Spirit later on. We’ll see that there is going to be a lot of talk about the Great Spirit, which is very important for us today. Well, the Spirit of the Lord visited them, and they went to the Lamanites. They had some success, but it took a lot of patience and suffering and good example. It says in verse 12 that they “took courage to go forth unto the Lamanites to declare unto them the word of God.” Then they decided they could be more effective if they could spread out because they would cover more ground. So they separated themselves and went alone.
359,360 Alma 17:14 This is about as good a description of Lamanite civilization as you can get, here in verse 14, the combination of qualities. We have come to regard the acquisition of riches and finery as a mark of civilization. On the contrary, they are a mark of barbarism, as you read in Beowulf, etc. They are not a gauge of civilization, but the opposite. What a difference between an Egyptian and a Mayan procession! With the Egyptians everyone, including the king, was very simply dressed. A simple basic white slip would do for the nobility. But have you seen the way the Mayan and the Aztec nobility got themselves up? I mean a walking Christmas tree is no exaggeration. They put it in gold and the women wear it around their necks. They wear as many as 10-13 strings of gold coins around their necks. That’s the way they have to do it if they are on the move all the time. They love gold and jewels because they are portable. The sedentary arts include architecture and literature. But they have their highly developed arts that require the use of the mind, because you can carry that with you. They get to be very good at mathematics and star-watching and very good at poetry. They memorize enormous poems. They are the authors of epic poetry. People who have to keep on the move all the time take their treasures with them where they can carry them, in their heads and their hearts. So there is something to be said for both civilizations. The sedentary civilization stews after a while and becomes rotten, soft and decayed like the Babylonian. Then the others overrun it, supplant it, and then start decaying the same way. It’s a routine that has been followed forever and ever.
360 Alma 17:14 It says here in verse 14: “For they had undertaken to preach the word of God to a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering them; and their hearts were set upon riches [just like the Nephites themselves], or upon gold and silver, and precious stones [exactly what these people would covet, the wealthy display; elegance, you know]; yet they sought to obtain these things by murdering and plundering that they might not labor for them with their own hands.”
360,361 Alma 17:15-17 “Thus they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, and the curse of God had fallen upon them because of the traditions of their fathers [they had inherited it; they were barbarians and had a variety of cults who worshipped idols]; notwithstanding the promises of the Lord were extended unto them on the conditions of repentance.” Now the sons of Mosiah went to preach to these people, and that was going to be a job, “that they might bring them to know of the plan of redemption. Therefore, they separated themselves one from another, and went forth among them, every man alone.” Well, that’s a risky thing, but on my mission I never had a companion. I got President Tadje’s permission to go alone. Nobody else would go with a bicycle. Nobody would go to the Black Forest. Nobody would go to these places, so I had to go alone. It was very interesting. After I distributed the tracts and rented the beer hall, then I would bring in Brother Loscher, one of our high powered German orators. He would come in and preach at the meeting and convert them. I just got them out to the meeting. Brother Loscher was a great speaker. He came to Salt Lake and became a photographer some years ago.
361 Alma 17:19 Being the chief among them, Ammon blessed them and sent them on their ways. Then Ammon went to the land of Ishmael. Here’s another nice little insight we have here. Remember that the daughters of Ishmael were the first to break away and join the Lamanites. That certainly indicates that they were of the tribe of Ishmael—the Ishmaelites were the Arab tribes. Lehi himself was half Manasseh, and Manasseh was the desert tribe. Half Egyptian and half Arab is what it amounts to. They were east of the Jordan River. They went out to pick up Ishmael and [his family] came down and joined them. When they were still in the desert, it was Laman and Lemuel and the daughters of Ishmael that revolted against Lehi. Now later on in the Book of Mormon we find that the Ishmaelites are a people separate by themselves; they have kept their identity. As I said, the race problem in the Book of Mormon is very complex. Verse 19: “And Ammon went to the land of Ishmael, the land being called after the sons of Ishmael, who also became Lamanites [they were the first to defect from Lehi and Nephi]. And as Ammon entered the land of Ishmael, the Lamanites took him and bound him.” Their established custom was to bind any Nephite who came along and to retain them in captivity.
361,362 Alma 17:21 “And thus Ammon was carried before the king who was over the land of Ishmael; and his name was Lamoni; and he was a descendant of Ishmael.” So it was Ishmaelite blood that bonded them together here; it was a family thing. Probably he was the chief of the family because he was a literal descendant. They would have gathered many others. Remember, this is a very fluid society this way. He asked him what he wanted, and Ammon said, “Yea, I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, and perhaps until the day I die.” The king said, you are welcome to take one of my daughters to wife. But Ammon said unto him, “Nay, but I will be thy servant.” I want to watch the flocks of Lamoni.
362 Alma 17:26-30 Now we come to the story of the waters of Sebus, a very interesting thing. The idea is this. They have the funniest battle you can imagine. It’s absolutely crazy. Well, let’s see what happens here. He is going to watch the flocks at a place “which was called the water of Sebus, and all the Lamanites drive their flocks hither, that they may have water.” This must have been dry country. This was the main watering place, and they all drove their flocks together there. Then they would do a funny thing; they would have the strangest sort of fight there. Verse 27: “A certain number of the Lamanites [it may have been a limited number that was required by the game because it’s a game they are going to play], who had been with their flocks to water, stood and scattered the flocks of Ammon and the servants of the king.” Well, that’s a funny thing! They brought their flocks, and then they scattered the flocks of Ammon and the servants of the king. “Now the servants of the king began to murmur, saying: Now the king will slay us, as he has our brethren.” This would happen. They would take the flocks away. Then the servants would go back and get executed for that. Then these people come out and it happens again. Doesn’t the king have enough servants to protect his flocks? Do they have to do this and then have them [the servants] all killed? Verse 28: “Now the king will slay us, as he has our brethren because their flocks were scattered by the wickedness of these men. And they began to weep exceedingly [they didn’t want to be executed because they had lost the game]. ... Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy [he wasn’t going to have this sort of thing]; for said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants,” which he did. He was going to restore the flocks.
362,363 Alma 17:31- He gave them a pep talk. He cheered them up and “flattered them by his words [come on, boys, let’s get ‘em], saying: My brethren, be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks, and we will gather them together and bring them back unto the place of water; and thus we will preserve the flocks unto the king,” and he won’t kill us after all. So he talked to them like the coach, you see. Then they had the contest, and they followed Ammon. Verse 32: “They rushed forth with much swiftness and did head the flocks of the king, and did gather them together again to the place of water. And then those men again stood to scatter their flocks [they lined up and were going to scatter the flocks again]; but Ammon said unto his brethren: [you take care of the flocks] Encircle the flocks round about that they flee not.” They won’t run away this time, and I’ll go and take care of these people. So he does. He calls a new play. He has a new game plan now.
363 Alma 17: 34,35 “Therefore, they did as Ammon commanded them, and he went forth and stood to contend with those who stood by the waters of Sebus.” This is a separate game now. The sheep are out of it, and there’s going to be a combat here. They liked to play this game, and they played it for fun. The next verse tells us that. “Neither did they know anything concerning the Lord; therefore they delighted in the destruction of their brethren; and for this cause they stood to scatter the flocks of the king.” To ha