Exposing the Enemies of Jesus Christ

Ezra Taft Benson, thirteenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, once wrote: The Book of Mormon brings men to Christ through two basic means. First, it tells in a plain manner of Christ and His gospel . . . Second, the Book of Mormon  exposes the enemies of Christ . . . It fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day. [1]

These enemies of Jesus Christ/Messiah are what we today call Antichrists.  They have been around since the original Antichrist stood up in the preexistence and rebelled against our God and His Anointed One, and they will be among us until the end of days.

 

An Antichrist is defined as anyone or anything that actively opposes Jesus Christ - either openly or secretly.  When people talk about the Antichrist, they are often referring to the servant of the “beast” described in the Book of Revelation who is to come (although some believe he is already here, waiting to be revealed.)  While this is the most common use of the word, in truth, there have been Antichrists in the world ever since Cain. The scriptures and the pages of history are full of them; for example: the Apostle John refers to many Antichrists (See 1 and 2 John).

Nehor

The Book of Mormon is very clear in its description of several Antichrists: men like Korihor, Zeezrom, and Nehor; Antichrist political philosophies like those of the kingmen, the Zoramites, and Amalakiah.  If we carefully read about these men and the things they taught, we can see concepts and philosophies that are prevalent in our day and that are leading people astray and away from Jesus Christ. Theirs is a cautionary tale that, if heeded, can keep us from being led astray.

Korihor

We will discuss three major Antichrists - Nehor, Zeezrom, and Korihor - beginning on Monday.

---

[1] Benson, “The Book of Mormon is the Word of God,” Ensign, January 1988

 

 

 

 

Text copyright August 2013, Gebara Education

 

Picture of Pres. Bensen from www.lds.org

Picture of Christ and Satan from www.holdthefaith.wordpress.com

Pictures of Nehor and Korihor from www.bookofmormonbattles.com

An Archaeological Perspective on the Book of Mormon - Ammonihah

After successful missions in Gideon and Melek, Alma traveled to the city of Ammonihah.  He had heard that there was great apostasy in the land.  When he arrived, he found things to be even worse than he expected.  The people, who were for the most part descendent of Mulek, had created their own church.  This church was very liberal to the point of licentious.  There hearts and heads were hardened.

The Book of Mormon describes conditions in Ammonihah this way:
Now Satan had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma.  Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in might prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance.

Nevertheless, they hardened their hearts, saying unto him: Behold, we know that thou art Alma; and we know that thou art high priest over the church which thou hast established in many parts of the land, according to your tradition; and we are not of thy church, and we do not believe in such foolish traditions.  And now we know that because we are not of thy church we know that thou hast no power over us; and thou hast delivered up the judgment-seat unto Nephihah; therefore thou art not the chief judge over us.

 

Now when the people had said this, and withstood all his words, and reviled him, and spit upon him, and caused that he should be cast out of their city, he departed thence . . . (Alma 8: 9-13)

In other words, "You're not the boss of me and I don't have to listen to you!"

 

Where is Ammonihah?

 

Note that Ammonihah is north of Zarahemla (map not to scale. Mirador
is farther north and east, closer to the Yucatan than show here.) 
The areas in green noted as strips of wilderness correspond with the
Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range show
on the topographical map earlier in the week.

 

The Book of Mormon tells us that it took Alma three days to travel from Melek to Ammonihah, probably about 50 or 60 miles, in a northwardly direction.  Therefore, we should find evidence of a city about that distance from Melek/Frailesca.  There is such evidence in abundance.

 

Carving from the largest pyramid in Mirador - said to be
one of the largest pyramids in the world.

Sorensen says this about the probable location of Ammonihah: From Frailesca such a trip would have brought him to the archaeological site of Mirador, a major regional center of western Chiapas . . . Its thirty major mounds are impressively concentrated in an area about 400 meters on a side.  This place was prominent enough to justify the pride of the Ammonihahites in its importance.  The cultural connections with Zarahemla/Santa Rosa area were definite though not intimate, the same relationship implied in the Ammonihah people's guardedly hostile response to Alma's message. (An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, p 201)

 

Archaeological research in Mirador show that it was an important city in Alma's day.  It was on a major trade route from Chiapas to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.  According to Sorensen: One tomb contained remnants of two ancient bark paper books or codices.  These are the only definite books recovered so far in Mesoamerican excavations [as of 1996. - p 201]

 

The site of Mirador is in a beautiful valley, almost bowl-shaped.  This supports the Book of Mormon description that people came up out of Ammonihah or went down into Ammonihah.

 

Alma went down into Ammonihah to preach repentance to the people.  The people soundly rejected him.  In sorrow, he came up out of Ammonihah and headed to the City of Aaron, but someone intervened.  We'll discuss who the someone was tomorrow.

 

Text copyright August 2013, Gebara Education

 

Pictures

Temple from www.skyscraperpage.com

People reject Alma from www.lds.org

Map from www.poulsenll.net

Temple relief carving from www.mysterycasebook.com

Waterfall at Mirado from www.inchiapas.com

 

 

Catching Up in Zarahemla ~ Government Reform

Mosiah's sons did not want to be king.

After their participation in Alma's theophany, none of the sons of Mosiah had any desire to be king.  Instead, they chose to serve missions (we will talk more about these missions at a later date.) 

Sorensen writes of this time prior to Mosiah's death:  Clues to the growth [of Zarahemla] are scattered throughout accounts . . . "The people began to be very numerous, and began to scatter abroad upon the face of the earth, yea, on the north and on the south, on the east and on the west . . .  in all quarters of the land" (Mosiah 27:6.)

With increasing dispersion it became impossible to hold assemblies of all his people anymore.  This is evident in Mosiah's procedure when the issue arose on who should be the new king to replace him.  This time he did not call a meeting,  Instead, he merely "sent out" among the people . . . "even a written word" (Mosiah 29:1, 4.) (Sorensen, pp 191, 192)

Sorensen goes on to explain that with a growing and complex society, the burden of rule became overwhelming.  This prompted Mosiah to reform the government structure. (p. 192)  Mosiah, therefore, set up a system of judges throughout the land.  Alma was chosen to be the chief judge of the land.  His father, Alma the Elder, had died by this time and Alma took his place as the high priest of the church.  He served this dual role for many years.

As dissension increased in the land and the challenge of holding both positions became overwhelming, Alma gave up the judgment seat to an honest man by the name of Nephihah.  Alma chose to focus on his calling as the high priest of the church of God.  Then, and only then, did he begin his missionary travels.  He wasn't a young man, full of zeal. but still wet behind the ears, by then: he was a seasoned judge and the prophet of God.  This will be important as we study tomorrow what happened to Alma in the City of Amonihah 

Text copyright August 2013, Gebara Education

Quotes from An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon by John L. Sorensen

Pictures from www.lds.org

An Archaeological Perspective on the Book of Mormon - Melek

After Alma left Gideon, he returned to Zarahemla, for awhile.  He went to the City of Melek.  It was considerably farther from Zarahemla than was Gideon.  He traveled to the north and west to a city not far from what the Book of Mormon writers call the western wilderness. 

Here is what Sorensen says about Melek: On the western edge of the central depression of Chiapas, one major settlement area stands out.  Called the Frailesca, its name came from the fact that the friars of the Dominican religious order of the Catholic Church controlled this productive territory in Spanish colonial days.  Near Villa Flores, the heart of the area, is an impressive ruined site now labeled Vera Cruz II.*  It is the largest settlement in the whole western zone that dates to [the time when Alma made his journey.]  A primary route directly linked Santa Rosa/Zarahemla with Frailesca/Melek. (p 198)

There is a mountain range running parallel with the sea called the Sierra Madre Occidental.  There is a small stretch of land to the west of the Sierra Madre and east of the Pacific Ocean.  On the map above, you can see the large valley in central Mexico (indicated in brown.)  This corresponds to the area known in the Book of Mormon as the Land of Zarahemla.  The path of Alma's missionary journey would have been along the east side of the Sierra Madre Occidental.

Alma's mission to the people of Melek was successful.  In the eighth chapter of Alma, we read how the people gathered from all the area around Melek to listen to the prophet and to be baptized.  That was not to be the case in the city he next visited and which we shall visit tomorrow.

* Not to be confused with the modern city of Vera Cruz in Eastern Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico

Text copyright August 2013, Gebara Education

Quote from An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon by John L. Sorensen

 

Pictures

Ruin at Vera Cruz II from www.dreamstime.com

Multiple buildings at Vera Cruz II from www.mexico-aholic.com

Map from www.mapasdemexico.org

An Archaeological Perspective on the Book of Mormon ~ Gideon

A River in the Comitan Valley, MX

After his repentance, Alma, the Younger, began his missionary work in Zarahemla itself.  He preached among those he had formerly led astray.  Some listened and repented.  Many did not and Alma found himself shunned as he once shunned other believers.

Leaving the city, he went out into other parts of the land.  His first stop was the City of Gideon.

Gideon was located east of Zarahemla in the mountains.  It is the only eastern city given any mention in the Book of Mormon for this time period.  This is not strange and corresponds to the archaeological records.  According to Sorensen, an archaeological survey of these highlands revealed that these areas were first settled, but only in a few spots, in the first century B.C., Alma's time. (p. 198)



Petroglyphs near Teopisca-Amatenango, MX

Scholars, including Sorensen, place Gideon in the Comitan Valley of Mexico.  A second possible spot, but less likely, is Teopisca-Amatenango.  Both are located in the eastern mountains of the State of Chiapas, Mexico.

Alma the Younger's* visit to Gideon, as reported in the seventh Chapter of the book bearing his name, indicates that the people of Gideon are still a righteous people for the most part.  He tells them that they are not in the sad state of apostasy that afflicts many in Zarahemla proper.  Perhaps it is because they are somewhat isolated that they have escaped the downward slide into the worst side of the Pride Cycle.

Like the Apostle John in the first few chapters of the Book of Revelation, Alma gives them a compliment and then a warning.  It is a prophetic pattern seen in the writings of other prophets of the Book of Mormon and the Old and New Testaments.  We all have strengths, but we all need to preserve them in righteousness and avoid the Tempter's snare.

* Henceforth known simply as Alma.

Text copyright August 2013, Gebara Education

 

Pictures:

River from www.tripadvisor.com/mx

Map from www.nona.net

Pictographs from www.archaeologia-chiapas.blogspot.com

An Archaeological Perspective on the Book of Mormon ~ A Complex Society



Let's take a break this week from the lineage history of the Nephites to return to some archaeological locations for Book of Mormon cities extending out from the central hub of Zarahemla.  When Alma the Younger set out on his mission north and westward from Zarahemla, the Book of Mormon gives some fairly accurate data as to the direction he went and the number of days it took him to get there.  These days can translate into miles based on the number of days a man could walk.
 

Book of Mormon scholars can then start at Zarahemla/Santa Rosa, map out the direction and the miles to where a Nephite city is mentioned.  Something should be there - and it is.  This is how they reconstruct Alma's missionary journey and tie it in to existing areas in Mexico. (Remember that Santa Rosa archaeological site, the logical location for Zarahemla, was flooded with the building of the Agostura Dam on the Grijalva River, creating Agostura Lake shown above.)

Speaking of this time in Nephite history, Sorensen calls it the time of "growing pains."  He writes in his book An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon: Mosiah's people obviously existed in a complex social setting.  Language and cultural differences in the kingdom were great. (p. 191)  Sorensen then identifies at least 3 different cultural groups within Mosiah's kingdom:

• The original people of Zarahemla who were descendants of Mulek and who had migrated south from La Venta/Mulek long before the Nephites arrived.  They were of the tribe of Judah and spoke the ancient language of Zapotec/Mixtec. Remember, when the Nephites came, the people of Zarahemla couldn't understand them and vice versa.  They had no written records with them, so their language and traditions were heavily impacted by the indigenous peoples of La Venta: the Olmecs.  They were the largest group and outnumbered the Nephites two to one.
• The Nephites who came down from the Land of Nephi when the first Mosiah was the king.  They had written records, so there language suffered less of an impact by other indigenous people than did that of the Mulekites or the Lamanites.  There records also gave them a religious history, so there traditions were impacted strongly by the Law or Moses, which they observed.
• The Nephites who came out of the Land of Nephi several generations later with Alma and Limhi.  They spoke the Nephite language, but their religious traditions had been corrupted by the false teachings of King Noah and his priests.  Alma's people were back on track due to the teachings of Abinadi that Alma had recorded, but the people of Limhi were still far afield from living the Law of Moses.  They had to be taught the gospel from Alma when they arrived in Zarahemla.
• I'm adding a fourth group: the adult children of the priests of Noah and their Lamanite wives.  They would have had serious language, religion, and cultural traditions from both sets of parents and also had to be taught the gospel by Alma.  They probably spoke Nephite, although they might have spoken Lamanite as well.

Clearly, Zarahemla was a center of ethnic, linguistic, and cultural mixing . . . (p. 191)

Text copyright August 2013, Gebara Education

 

Pictures:

Map from www.poulsen.org

Lake from www.flickr.com

Peoples of the Book of Mormon from www.nephicode.blogspot.com

Mural from www.rationalfaiths.com

 

God Knows Our Potential Better Than We Do ~ A Story of Conversion

Alma the Younger spent three days in a coma as his family and friends fasted and prayed.  On the third day, he awoke and began to praise God.

What went on during those three days?  Many years later, Alma related his experience to his own sons:

I went about with the sons of Mosiah, seeking to destroy the church of God; but behold, God sent his holy angel to stop us by the way. And behold, he spake unto us, as it were the voice of thunder, and the whole earth did tremble beneath our feet; and we all fell to the earth, for the fear of the Lord came upon us . . . And [the angel] said unto me: If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy the church of God . . . when I heard the words—If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God—I was struck with such great fear and amazement lest perhaps I should be destroyed, that I fell to the earth and I did hear no more.
 

But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.  Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments . . .  so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.  Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.  And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul. 



A Harrow

And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of [Messiah / Christ], a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.  Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: . . .  Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death. 

And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.  And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!  Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.

 

Behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been born of God.  Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.  (Alma 36:6-7,9,11,12-21,23-24)
 

Alma and the four sons of Mosiah went on to become some of the greatest missionaries in the Book of Mormon.

Is anything too difficult for God?  Is anyone beyond the gracious atonement of our Savior?  If you are avoiding God because of your sins, reach out to Him.  He can heal you.  Then and only then can you become the person God means for you to be.

Text copyright August 2013, Gebara Education 

Pictures from www.lds.org

except

tractor with harrow from www.commons.wikimedia.org

Alma with the angel from www.windriverdistributing.com

 

God Intervenes in a Dramatic Way

When Alma the Younger failed to heed his father's call to repentance, Alma did what all fathers and mothers do in such a situation:  he prayed.

His prayers were soon answered.  One day, while Alma the Younger and his friends we out wreaking their usual havoc, something happened that was to change their lives forever.  I would also change the lives of many Nephites and, ultimately, even the Lamanites!

The Book of Mormon describes what happened: As they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood; And so great was their astonishment, that they fell to the earth, and understood not the words which he spake unto them.  Nevertheless he cried again, saying: Alma, arise and stand forth, for why persecutest thou the church of God? For the Lord hath said: This is my church, and I will establish it; and nothing shall overthrow it, save it is the transgression of my people. (Mosiah 27: 11-13)

 

Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith. (Mosiah 27: 14)

 

And now behold, can ye dispute the power of God? For behold, doth not my voice shake the earth? And can ye not also behold me before you? And I am sent from God . . . And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy way, and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be answered, and this even if thou wilt of thyself be cast off. (Mosiah 27: 15-16)

 

God was not going to let one rebellious and arrogant young man destroy his church!  He gave Alma the same word of repentance as his father had, but what a different impact!  To have an angel chastise him, one whose voice was as roaring thunder and whose brightness hurt their eyes, sent Alma into comatose-inducing shock!  As the Book of Mormon describes it:

 

[The] angel departed.

 

Alma and those that were with him fell again to the earth, for great was their astonishment; for with their own eyes they had beheld an angel of the Lord; and his voice was as thunder, which shook the earth; and they knew that there was nothing save the power of God that could shake the earth and cause it to tremble as though it would part asunder.

 

[T]he astonishment of Alma was so great that he became dumb, that he could not open his mouth; yea, and he became weak, even that he could not move his hands; therefore he was taken by those that were with him, and carried helpless, even until he was laid before his father.  And they rehearsed unto his father all that had happened unto them; and his father rejoiced, for he knew that it was the power of God. (Mosiah 27: 17-20)

 

Alma the Elder rejoiced in his son's disability?  Yes, because it indicated that God had intervened in a dramatic way in his son's life.  He gathered family, priests, and members of the church to pray for his son that he might regain his strength.  They began to fast and pray to that effect.

 

Today, the theophany Alma experienced might be called an NDE or Near Death Experience.  That it was directed more at Alma than the other boys was evident throughout.  Alma was to remain in his comatose state for 3 days.

 

Something similar happened to the Jewish Pharisee, Saul, on his way to Damascus to persecute the church.  He, too, was stricken for 3 days following his theophany.

 

God knew Saul and Alma better than they themselves did.  He knew them to be some of the greatest missionaries for Messiah/Christ in the history of the world.  He chose to use his big-gun shock treatment to wake them out of their delusional hatred of Messiah/Christ and His Church.

 

I've never understood why some Christians who fully accept Saul's theophanic warning fail to accept Alma's.

 

Text copyright August 2013, Gebara Education

 

Pictures from www.lds.com

except

Saul from www.christianity201.wordpress.com

 

Five High Profile Dissentors and Two Fathers' Grief

One of the most high profile dissenters was the prophet, Alma's, own son.  His name was also Alma and he is differentiated in the Book of Mormon from his father by the title Alma, the Younger.  To add salt to the wound, his four best friends were the sons of King Mosiah.  Their names were Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni.

There's an old saying that the preacher's kid is the worst kid in church.  While that is not a truism by any stretch of the imagination, it was true in Alma's case.  The fact that he, the prophet's son, and the king's own sons were living wild and undisciplined lives, seemed to give others in Zarahemla tacit permission to do likewise.

Not only did they live carnal and licentious lives themselves, they actually went around preaching against the church, purposely trying to break it up.  The Book of Mormon describes them this way: 

Now the sons of Mosiah were numbered among the unbelievers; and also one of the sons of Alma was numbered among them, he being called Alma, after his father; nevertheless, he became a very wicked and an idolatrous man. And he was a man of many words, and did speak much flattery to the people; therefore he led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities.

And he became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; stealing away the hearts of the people; causing much dissension among the people; giving a chance for the enemy of God to exercise his power over them.. . . he was going about to destroy the church of God, for he did go about secretly with the sons of Mosiah seeking to destroy the church, and to lead astray the people of the Lord, contrary to the commandments of God, or even the king (Mosiah 27: 8-10)

 

The enemy of God was, of course, Satan.  Alma and his friends were breaking the laws of the church and the laws of the land.  Because of the high profile positions held by their fathers, they thought they were beyond discipline.  Alma counseled with his son and pleaded for him to repent, but it all fell on deaf ears.

 

I wonder if Alma may have felt like Father Lehi, who pleaded with his rebellious sons:

 

O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe . . . And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you . . . arise from the dust, my sons, and be men . . . that ye may not incur the displeasure of a just God upon you, unto the destruction, yea, the eternal destruction of both soul and body.  Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.  Rebel no more . . .  (2 Nephi 1: 13, 21-24)

 

Sadly, how many a parent has felt this way?

 

Text copyright August 2013, Gebara Education

 

Pictures from www.lds.org

except

Satan from www.thehistorychannel.com

Because of the Dissesion Among the Brethren

There were many people in Zarahemla who were too young to remember King Benjamin and who had never heard Abinadi.  They didn't understand what Alma and the priests were trying to teach them about God and the coming Messiah.  The Book of Mormon describes them this way: And now because of their unbelief they could not understand the word of God; and their hearts were hardened.  And they would not be baptized; neither would they join the church. And they were a separate people as to their faith, and remained so ever after, even in their carnal and sinful state; for they would not call upon the Lord their God. (Mosiah 26: 3-4)

There were not enough of them to cause any real problems at that time for there were more than twice as many believers, but therein lay the problem:  there began to arise dissension within the church itself.  As these dissenters became more numerous, the young people began to flock to them.  The Book of Mormon states this: they did deceive many with their flattering words, who were in the church, and did cause them to commit many sins; (Mosiah 26: 6) That was the draw - they rationalized carnal and sinful behavior to be all right.  Do we see that today?

 

It soon became obvious to the teachers and leaders of the various congregations that something had to be done about these people who were preaching false doctrine and living carnal lives within the church.  The teachers brought the sinners to the attention of the priests and the priests took to problem to Alma.

 

Alma didn't know what to do.  He'd never faced this problem before.  He went to the King and pointed out that many of the sins being reported and witnessed were actually crimes.  He asked Mosiah to judge them under the law.  Mosiah said that the problem was ecclesiastical and gave the judgment back to Alma. 

 

The Book of Mormon tells us this:  And now the spirit of Alma was again troubled; and he went and inquired of the Lord what he should do concerning this matter, for he feared that he should do wrong in the sight of God. (Mosiah 26: 13)  He poured out his whole soul to God (v 14)

 

God answered Alma's prayers and gave him the following admonitions:

• this people who are willing to bear my name; for in my name shall they be called; and they are mine. (v 18)
• thou shalt serve me and go forth in my name, and shalt gather together my sheep. (v 20)
• And he that will hear my voice shall be my sheep; and him shall ye receive into the church, and him will I also receive. (v 21)
• whosoever is baptized shall be baptized unto repentance. And whomsoever ye receive shall believe in my name; and him will I freely forgive. (v 22)
• he that will not hear my voice, the same shall ye not receive into my church, for him I will not receive at the last day. (v 28)
• whosoever transgresses against me, him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed; (v 29)
• if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repent in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also. (v 29)
• as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me. (v 30)
• And ye shall also forgive one another your trespasses; for verily I say unto you, he that forgives not his neighbor’s trespasses when he says that he repents, the same hath brought himself under condemnation. (v 31)
• Go; and whosoever will not repent of his sins the same shall not be numbered among my people; and this shall be observed from this time forward. (v 32)

 

Alma wrote down the things the Lord had given him and, using them as his guide, went out to judge those who had been taken in iniquity, according to the word of the Lord. (34) 

 

Those who repented and confessed their sins were forgiven and were continued in fellowship with the church.  Those who did not repent and forsake their sins had their names blotted out. (v. 36)

 

Sometimes, when members experience church discipline, they feel that the church or an individual church leader has wronged them.  While church leaders are human and can make mistakes, in my experience that is the exception rather than the rule.  If those being disciplined were honest with themselves, they would realize that it is God that sets the parameters for behavior, not man.  As the Lord told Alma: For behold, this is my church.  Dissension, hypocrisy, and sin unchallenged within the church turns away those who might have believed, but didn't because of the behavior of the members.  The message of faith, repentance, and baptism in the name of Messiah/Christ is too important to let one sinful man (or woman) destroy it.

 

Text copyright August 2013, Gebara Education

 

Pictures from www.lds.org