Lesson 22: Have Ye Received His Image in Your Countenances?

Alma 5-7

Purpose: To help class members understand what it means to experience a change of heart and continue in the process of conversion.

Lesson Development:

1. Alma teaches the people how they can experience a “might change” of heart.
2. Alma and the people establish the order of the Church in Zarahemla.
3. Alma testifies of Jesus Christ. He encourages the people in Gideon to follow the Savior.

SCRIPTURE DISCUSSION AND APPLICATION

Within the past two or three weeks, we have read and thought about the conversion of Alma the Younger, the man whose ministry is going to be the focus of Sunday School lessons for the next few weeks. With his story fresh in mind for comparison, let’s turn to the New Testament – Acts, Chapter 9 – and read the conversion story of Paul, the man whose ministry is responsible for most of the scripture of the New Testament. As we read, let’s see how many parallels between Paul and Alma the Younger we can identify. (Some of you may want to follow along in Mosiah 27, to help identify the parallels.)

[Pause as appropriate during reading to draw out parallels: persecution of the church; stopped on the road by an angel/vision of resurrected Christ, “why persecutest thou me?”/“why persecutest thou the church of God?”; stricken physically and had to be cared for by others; blindness/loss of speech healed; repents and is converted. Years later each man retold his story, which retelling is also included in scripture – Acts 22, Alma 36] [Note or acknowledge differences, too.]

1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:

4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

10 ¶And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,

12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:

14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.

15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.

20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

Why are the two stories so similar?

After conversion, how does each man spend the rest of his life? [Each becomes a lifelong missionary (Alma’s preaching coming after a relatively short term as chief judge), setting in order the churches that have been largely established by others but which have run into problems of one kind or another.]

What had living conditions been like in the reign of Alma as chief judge? What were conditions like in the church? [If necessary, review Alma 2-3.]

Alma potentially had the power, or at least the responsibility, to set things right in both the political/civil and the religious spheres. He surrendered one obligation, and took the other obligation full time. Why do you suppose he did that? Do you think it is possible to serve your God and your country, equally, at the same time? Can you think of men or women who have done that? If you had to choose between those roles, either because your personal talents and circumstances couldn’t do both equally well, what factors would enter into your choice?

Let’s look at some of the specific factors that Alma considered:

Alma 4:9-13

9 And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there began to be great contentions among the people of the church; yea, there were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God.

10 And thus ended the eighth year of the reign of the judges; and the wickedness of the church was a great stumbling-block to those who did not belong to the church; and thus the church began to fail in its progress.

11 And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the example of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people.

12 Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted.

13 Now this was a great cause for lamentations among the people, while others were abasing themselves, succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as imparting their substance to the poor and the needy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of afflictions, for Christ’s sake, who should come according to the spirit of prophecy;

It’s interesting to me that the entire church was not in apostasy or failure – rather, there seems to have been a great division within the church, some selfishly doing as they pleased, and others trying to live up to their baptismal covenant of caring for each other.

We see the differing behavior of the parts of the church, but what accounts for that differing behavior? Does one group know more than the other? Does one group believe differently from the other? What accounts for it? [Respond especially to anything that suggests that the difference lies in the people’s hearts – their love for the gospel, for each other, their inward desires to keep their covenants.]

Alma, chapter 5, a sermon given by Alma to the church at Zarahemla, is one of the great sermons recorded in the Book of Mormon.

1 Now it came to pass that Alma began to deliver the word of God unto the people, first in the land of Zarahemla, and from thence throughout all the land.

2 And these are the words which he spake to the people in the church which was established in the city of Zarahemla, according to his own record, saying:

I keep asking this: Who seems to be speaking in these first two verses? How does Moroni know what he is telling us?

3 I, Alma, having been consecrated by my father, Alma, to be a high priest over the church of God, he having power and authority from God to do these things, behold, I say unto you that he began to establish a church in the land which was in the borders of Nephi; yea, the land which was called the land of Mormon; yea, and he did baptize his brethren in the waters of Mormon.

4 And behold, I say unto you, they were delivered out of the hands of the people of king Noah, by the mercy and power of God.

5 And behold, after that, they were brought into bondage by the hands of the Lamanites in the wilderness; yea, I say unto you, they were in captivity, and again the Lord did deliver them out of bondage by the power of his word; and we were brought into this land, and here we began to establish the church of God throughout this land also.

6 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?

Alma is beginning his full-time ministry in Zarahemla, his home town, where presumably people already know him, and his father, and his history. So why do you think he begins by introducing his father’s history? [Perhaps he is warning the people that they, too, live in a wicked time, facing opposition, and suggesting that by following what Alma will teach them, they can escape the fate of the people in the land of Mormon.]

Alma asks three questions in verse 6. How might asking these things as a question – “Do you remember this?” – have a different effect on listeners than commanding them – “Remember this!”? Alma’s listeners were not escapees from the land of Mormon – those people who knew the history first-hand would have been of their parents’ age, like Alma the Elder – nor are they even all necessarily descendants of parents or grandparents who lived through these things – they might be descendants of people who had always stayed in Zarahemla rather than going back to the land of Mormon for a generation or two. But by opening his sermon this way, with questions, each listener is invited to put himself in the place of the people who lived those experiences. “Do you remember?”

If a speaker today were making the same point for us, using events that are closer in time to us than Alma’s experiences what might he ask us if we remember?

Alma continues to remind the people of the past:

7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.

8 And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not.

9 And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved.

[Talk about experience of looking at all the punctuation in the Book of Mormon, which highlighted the difference between Nephi’s blunt statements and Alma’s many questions.]

As we read the next verses, consider what effect it has on you personally to be faced with these questions, and having to answer them, either to yourself or to a Church leader or at the judgment bar. What effect do the questions have on you?

10 And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?

11 Behold, I can tell you—did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the mouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe them?

12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.

13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.

14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?

16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?

17 Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and say—Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth—and that he will save you?

18 Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God?

19 I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?

Well? Have you had a good interview with yourself? This setting, in a Sunday School classroom with so many people around you might not be the best place to conduct the interview – do you dare take it again, when you are alone with yourself and your God?

One effect of Alma’s sermon is that it places the judgment of each person on the shoulders of that person – in other words, it is our own awareness of the condition of our hearts, our own knowledge of whether we love God and our fellowman, and whether we are doing the right things for the right reasons, squarely on us. Do you like – or fear – the idea of being your own judge this way?

The scriptures hold numerous suggestions that we will be judged of God, or of Christ, and ultimately, no doubt they are our judges. But there are also multiple indications that we have at least some role in judging our lives and whether or not we have done as we should have.

Doctrine and Covenants 88, in describing the future state of all humanity – the resurrection, the glories of various post-mortal kingdoms, is one of those places that suggests we ourselves judge ourselves, in part:

32 And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received.

What would lead someone to be unwilling to enjoy a greater blessing, and be willing to settle for a lesser one?

Let’s conclude by reading a few more verses from Alma’s sermon in this chapter

26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?

27 Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?

[Concluding testimony]