Lesson 19: None Could Deliver Them but the Lord

Mosiah 18-24

Purpose: To encourage class members to renew their determination to honor their baptismal covenants and trust in the Lord.

Lesson Development:

1. Alma teaches the baptismal covenant and baptizes many people.
2. King Noah betrays his people and suffers death by fire.
3. Limhi’s people are chastened and eventually delivered by the Lord.
4. The Lord delivers Alma’s people from bondage.

SCRIPTURE DISCUSSION AND APPLICATION

We pick up the narrative in the Book of Mormon today with Abinadi’s mission to the people of Lehi-Nephi. Abinadi speaks before the court of King Noah, and his preaching is so powerful that Noah and his priests and their attendants cannot lay a hand on him while he is speaking. Abinadi’s message was chiefly about the coming of Jesus Christ, his mortal ministry, his sacrifice and resurrection. Let’s read part of Abinadi’s speech:

Mosiah 15: 1-9

1 And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.

2 And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son—

3 The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—

4 And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.

5 And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people.

6 And after all this, after working many mighty miracles among the children of men, he shall be led, yea, even as Isaiah said, as a sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

7 Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.

8 And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men—

9 Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.

In addition to the importance of the message itself, I am impressed with Abinadi’s ability to present the essential facts of the Savior’s life and mission with such clarity and in so few words. It isn’t easy to be so brief and yet so detailed. Just as an exercise to demonstrate how difficult that is, and how well Abinadi managed it, let’s take a couple of minutes to try the same thing with a doctrine that is far less complex than the mission of Christ and that you know just as well. If you were called upon to teach the Word of Wisdom in as few words with as great clarity as possible, what would you say? [Discuss for a minute or two – regardless of what is offered, push for important details that have been omitted.] It isn’t easy, is it? And yet we see Abinadi teaching something far more important, far more complex, under stress that we can barely imagine, and he speaks with power and clarity. How is he able to do that?

What other passages of scripture do you recall where a prophet bears witness with such directness in a few well-chosen words? [Suggest referring to Joseph Smith’s account of his First Vision.]

How can a brief, sincere testimony of an important message be more convincing, sometimes, than long, carefully reasoned, rational explanations of the same principles?

Abinadi’s message was an important one, certainly – Abinadi preaches the central event of this world’s existence: the descent of the world’s creator to live among his creations, his willingness and power to redeem us all at the cost of his life, and the eternal destiny of us all depending on how we respond to that mission of Jesus Christ.

But why is so important that Abinadi deliver that message here in this place, and now at this time – his message had no effect on Noah, after all, and the people of the city of Lehi-Nephi continued in their wickedness. [Discussion should include the conversion of Alma (the Elder).] So far as we know, Alma was the only one who accepted Abinadi’s teaching. Was Alma’s conversion so important that it was worth the life of the prophet Abinadi?

Noah orders Abinadi to be burned alive. Even while the flames are burning, Abinadi continues to prophesy

Mosiah 17:20

And now, when Abinadi had said these words, he fell, having suffered death by fire; yea, having been put to death because he would not deny the commandments of God, having sealed the truth of his words by his death.

This ends Chapter 17 in our modern editions of the Book of Mormon. In the 1830 edition, though, with its chapter breaks dictated by some indication on the plates themselves, there is no chapter break HERE. Mormon continues the story without a pause, as though Abinadi’s testimony and fate, dramatic and doctrinal as they are, were only the first act of a longer ultimately more important story, that of Alma and his people.

Why is Alma (the Elder) so crucial to the events of the Book of Mormon, and to fulfilling the purpose of writing the scripture?

There is so much that we don’t know about Alma. We don’t know who his parents were or whether he fits into the priestly or kingly lineages of the Nephites, although we read that he was a descendant of Nephi – yet we know that he was the first of nine generations of prophet-descendants. We do not know how Alma received his priesthood: the apostate Noah could not have conferred valid priesthood upon him, but did he hold priesthood authority before the apostasy of the court? was he somehow able to meet privately with Abinadi? Did he receive his priesthood through some unrecorded visitation? We simply do not know, yet everything we know of Alma’s life and actions convinces us that he did have the priesthood.

Does it matter that we don’t know Alma’s line of authority with any certainty? [Ask if anyone in the room can recite or show a card tracing his own line of authority. Briefly review the process of obtaining that line of authority if class members do not have it: email to lineofauthority@ldschurch.org with PLA in subject line; follow instructions in return email.]

Let’s read what Alma did following Abinadi’s martyrdom.

Mosiah 18:1-7

1 And now, it came to pass that Alma, who had fled from the servants of king Noah, repented of his sins and iniquities, and went about privately among the people, and began to teach the words of Abinadi—

2 Yea, concerning that which was to come, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the redemption of the people, which was to be brought to pass through the power, and sufferings, and death of Christ, and his resurrection and ascension into heaven.

3 And as many as would hear his word he did teach. And he taught them privately, that it might not come to the knowledge of the king. And many did believe his words.

4 And it came to pass that as many as did believe him did go forth to a place which was called Mormon, having received its name from the king, being in the borders of the land having been infested, by times or at seasons, by wild beasts.

5 Now, there was in Mormon a fountain of pure water, and Alma resorted thither, there being near the water a thicket of small trees, where he did hide himself in the daytime from the searches of the king.

6 And it came to pass that as many as believed him went thither to hear his words.

7 And it came to pass after many days there were a goodly number gathered together at the place of Mormon, to hear the words of Alma. Yea, all were gathered together that believed on his word, to hear him. And he did teach them, and did preach unto them repentance, and redemption, and faith on the Lord.

Alma is going to do something remarkable here “at the place of Mormon,” something remarkable enough that it may well be one of the reasons why it was so important for Abinadi to deliver his message even when Alma was the only one who believed it.

Up to this point in the Book of Mormon narrative, the only real division among the people is between Nephites and Lamanites. The narrative emphasizes the distinction that the Nephites are usually the good guys, and the Lamanites are usually the bad guys – but that distinction is as much a political or ethnic division as it is one of morals or religion. We don’t read of good Nephites and bad Nephites living together for very long – when the differences become too great, the good Nephites have packed up in the middle of the night and left for new territory, with the people they leave behind joining with the Lamanites. Even when someone like King Benjamin Jacob preaches to his people and condemns the men who have taken plural wives, he still considers those men to be his people and calls on them to repent; Nephite society in Benjamin Jacob’s day was not like what we today call a “pluralistic” society, where people who wanted to follow Benjamin Jacob’s religion were free to live it while others who wanted to practice a different sort of life where polygamy was permitted could peacefully coexist in the same land.

But with Alma, that is going to change. About 20 years from this point, Alma will lead his people back to Zarahemla and join the Nephites there, where they had come from many years earlier when Zeniff had led his colony back to the land of Lehi-Nephi. When they return to Zarahemla, King Mosiah will give Alma the authorization to travel among the people and organize churches among the people. Not everyone in the land of Zarahemla will join the church – there will be people who have chosen to worship God and keep his commandments, living side by side with people – other Nephites – who do not belong to the church and keep God’s commandments.

The churches that Alma organizes in Zarahemla will be like the first one he organizes in the wilderness, “at the place of Mormon,” among the people who have believed Alma’s words and have gone out into the wilderness to hear Alma “preach unto them repentance, and redemption, and faith on the Lord.”

Let’s read Mosiah 18:8-10, and then look closely at this passage to see what it meant to join the church there:

Mosiah 18:8-10

8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

You’ve read these verses a hundred times, and know this passage as “the baptismal covenant.” Still, let’s take it apart:

The first element, as Alma addresses the people, is “ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be his people.” Why is desire important? How does it set the converted soul apart from the one who just inherited the religious culture of his family or the other people around him?

Who in this room came into the Church in our generation because you actively desired “to come into the fold of God, and to be his people”? What about the rest of us who were baptized as 8-year-olds, perhaps, with only a childish understanding of what that meant? When did you actively decide, with mature understanding, that you desired to be among God’s people?

Could I have a reader jump ahead to read Alma 30:7-9:

7 Now there was no law against a man’s belief; for it was strictly contrary to the commands of God that there should be a law which should bring men on to unequal grounds.

8 For thus saith the scripture: Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve.

9 Now if a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; or rather, if he believed in God it was his privilege to serve him; but if he did not believe in him there was no law to punish him.

These are the conditions that would exist among the Nephites after Alma had set up the churches there. It means, obviously, that people can choose not to belong to the Church. But it also means that you must actively choose to belong to the Church – you can’t just drift in or drift along. “Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve.” Your choice may have come in stages, over time, as you made decisions to obey a particular commandment in a difficult time, or chose to serve a mission, or even realized after the fact that you had committed to follow the Lord. It might be an interesting exercise this week to see if you can identify when you chose to believe in God and to serve Him.

Let’s look back again to Mosiah 18:8-10, “at the place of Mormon.” After choosing to “come into the fold of God,” the people entered into a commitment not only to God but to each other. What did they promise to do? [To “bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light,” to “mourn with those that mourn,” and “to comfort those that stand in need of comfort.”] What do you think about that – to know that your covenant is not only with God, but with the other people seated in this room?

How do the doctrines of the gospel and the organization of the church help us fulfill these commitment? Is it easier, or harder, to love the people in this room than to love mankind in general? How does keeping this part of our baptismal covenant, to build emotional ties and offer personal support to each other fit us for exaltation?

A covenant is always a mutual promise – when you keep your side of the agreement, you can count on the Lord keeping his side. What is the Lord’s promise when you keep your covenant to “bear one another’s burdens”? [“Ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life.”]

When you keep your covenant to “serve him and keep his commandments,” what is the Lord’s side of the deal? [“He may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you.”]

What does it mean to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in”? Are there ways to serve God that don’t involve serving other people? In what ways is serving other people part of a church member’s witness of God?

[Conclude with testimony that while it is necessary to know and understand certain facts and ideas to be disciples of Christ – it would be hard to live the doctrine without knowing the doctrine, for instance – the purpose of Church membership, and our covenants at baptism, have almost nothing to do with what we know. Rather, being a disciple of Christ means loving each other as he loves us, learning to see each other as he sees us, finding the same worth in each other as we need him to find in us. As we come closer to that, through bearing one another’s burdens,” we, too, will be redeemed, be numbered with those of the first resurrection, have eternal life, and enjoy the abundance of the Lord’s spirit.]