I’m intrigued with the first few verses in Alma 14. My mind and heart have been caught up in the pattern of receiving additional light and truth, going from one great principle of light to a greater truth, from one law that is a building block to a greater law. For example, the Law of Moses preparing one for the Melchizedek law or order. You actually end up breaking the law of Moses to live a greater law and become a more fully developed disciple of Christ. That is really hard to do when you’ve disciplined yourself to be exactly obedient to a law. So, how does this work? How do you know if God is teaching you greater truth or if the evil one is deceiving you? I think Alma 14 gives us some great insights.
Amulek has finished speaking to the people and then Alma finishes speaking unto the people. This is after Alma had been rejected by the people of Ammonihah but the Lord told him to go back and then Amulek takes him in, feeds him and Alma teaches him and then they go out to preach the word together. Verse 1 says this, “And it came to pass after he had made an end of speaking unto the people many of them did believe on his words, and began to repent, and to search the scriptures” (Alma 14:1). So what is the first thing the people do after hearing additional light and truth? They repent. After hearing the word the Spirit pricks their hearts and minds and they start to change or repent. What’s the other thing they do at the same time? They start to search out the scriptures. The word of God invites the Spirit into our lives and we turn to the word of God with more intensity then we had before. We hunger and thirst after more and more light and truth. This is a huge key to know if we are drawing closer to or further away from the Lord. Alma 32 adds this, “But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words. Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves--It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me” (Alma 32:27-28).
It also is interesting to me that verse 28 speaks of the word “swelling within your breasts,” and “it beginneth to enlarge my soul,” and “it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.” The truth speaks to our minds and our hearts as stated so clearly in Doctrine and Covenants, “Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation” (Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3). Joseph Smith also taught that the Holy Ghost has no other effect then pure intelligence (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 149).
The protection we have is the Holy Spirit because by the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things (Moroni 10:5).
There is an additional insight from Alma 14 that stuck out to me. In verse 1 we learned that many did believe on his words but in verse 2 it says the more part of the people rejected them. Here is the record, “But the more part of them were desirous that they might destroy Alma and Amulek; for they were angry with Alma, because of the plainness of his words unto Zeezrom; and they also said that Amulek had lied unto them, and had reviled against their law and also against their lawyers and judges. And they were also angry with Alma and Amulek; and because they had testified so plainly against their wickedness, they sought to put them away privily” (Alma 14:2-3).
They were angry because of the “plainness of his words.” The scriptures teach that the word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword. I think that is because it divides us. We either believe in the word of God or we don’t. Then they accused them of lying and reviling against their law and against their lawyers and judges. Because they didn’t understand their own laws they mistakenly judge Alma and Amulek to be in the wrong. They were angry with them and sought to get rid of them. Darkness always seeks to get rid of the light. For, like in the days of Jesus, darkness cannot stand the light for it reveals unto men their sinful state and the repentance needed. When light shows us our weakness we can either humble ourselves and change, repent, or seek to kill the light. John’s record speaks clearly about this reaction to light and specifically the Jews reaction to the Light of the world, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:19-21).
Those that reject truth also try and twist the words of the righteous. In the case of Alma and Amulek and those they witnessed against, the people said Alma and Amulek “testified that there was but one God, and that he should send his Son among the people, but he should not save them” (Alma 14:5). They are referring back to the argument Zeezrom had with them in emphasizing that they preached God would come among His people but not save them. Alma and Amulek had testified Christ would not save them IN their sins but that was twisted by these wicked lawyers (Alma 11:34). Helaman 5:10 makes it clear that Alma and Amulek were clearly stating that Christ would come to redeem them FROM their sins, not IN their sins.
I have seen how those of a smaller mind and heart will twist the words of the righteous to put them away and discredit and defame them. The wicked hate the righteous because it exposes their darkness and shows the need for them to repent. Repentance is hard. It’s beautiful, but difficult when we have to change our habits of living or even our thought processes. Thus, growing line upon line, precept upon precept takes humility and a willingness to be open to the whole word of God and go to God for a confirmation of what is truth and what is not.
We can expect that when we are following the word of God that we will be rejected by the majority of the people. That has always been the case throughout history. We must be true to the word of God, always repenting, that He might give us more and more light to reveal our wickedness so we can change and become like Him and to truly know Him and thus receive eternal life.
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