Wow, I do not believe our study of Alma 14 could have been any more timely for me personally, but also for the world.
Alma and Amulek have been teaching in Amulek's home town of Ammonihah. The conversed with Zeezrom, a lawyer in town, who tried to get them to deny God but after listening to them testify and preach he has seen the error's of his ways and being to declare his mistake. However, most of Ammonihah is still upset with the things being taught. They don't feel like they are wicked and they don't think God will send his son, Jesus Christ, to atone for their sins. So they decide to have a bonfire and not what you are think.....not a nice evening with s'mores and hot dogs. We are talking a bonfire to burn people.
The people of Ammonihah drive many people out of the city with stones who believe Alma and Amulek's teaching, the majority of these were probably men based on Alma 15:2. They then take the women and children who believe, along with all scripture records, and throw them into the fire. As punishment Alma and Amulek are brought forth to watch the events. I feel like it is important to point out here that this is Amulek's hometown. He knows these people beyond just meeting them on the street. These people are his friends, these people probably included his family as Alma stayed and taught his family for a time before him and Amulek hit the streets to preach repentance to the entire city. These people are not strangers.....they are loved by Amulek.
As Alma and Amulek are brought forth to witness, the scriptures read (Alma 14:10-13): "And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.
"But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.
"Now Amulek said unto Alma: Behold, perhaps they will burn us also.
"And Alma said: Be it according to the will of the Lord. But, behold, our work is not finished; therefore they burn us not."
I can almost hear Amulek's pleadings as a read these words but as I quickly focus in on that the noise is replaced by the echo of my own pleadings. Amulek had the faith and knew the Heavenly Father could fix it. He knew the power of the priesthood, Christ's power on the earth, could fix this. But as he asks Alma if they can Alma explains, the Holy Ghost, won't let me. Heavenly Father is going to let this happen as another mark against this particular group of people at the judgement. Amulek then responds with, hopefully they will burn us also.....I wonder what was just behind that question is it: I want to die so I don't have to keep watching this, so I don't have to live with the grief I am feeling, so I don't have to have nightmares about this experience, so I don't have to learn to live without all these people I love....Alma responds if it was the Lord's will they would be burned but it is not. They have more work to do so they are going to be spared.
I am going to repeat what I said earlier this post, WOW! Now that you understand the background and the context between the actually written lines of the story we have to take this out of Alma and Amulek's time and cross the bridge to us and our day and our afflictions. We learn some truths about why Heaven Father allows suffering and why it is part of our mortal experience. Here are a few of the things I gleaned about suffering from Alma and Amulek's experience:
Alma and Amulek have been teaching in Amulek's home town of Ammonihah. The conversed with Zeezrom, a lawyer in town, who tried to get them to deny God but after listening to them testify and preach he has seen the error's of his ways and being to declare his mistake. However, most of Ammonihah is still upset with the things being taught. They don't feel like they are wicked and they don't think God will send his son, Jesus Christ, to atone for their sins. So they decide to have a bonfire and not what you are think.....not a nice evening with s'mores and hot dogs. We are talking a bonfire to burn people.
The people of Ammonihah drive many people out of the city with stones who believe Alma and Amulek's teaching, the majority of these were probably men based on Alma 15:2. They then take the women and children who believe, along with all scripture records, and throw them into the fire. As punishment Alma and Amulek are brought forth to watch the events. I feel like it is important to point out here that this is Amulek's hometown. He knows these people beyond just meeting them on the street. These people are his friends, these people probably included his family as Alma stayed and taught his family for a time before him and Amulek hit the streets to preach repentance to the entire city. These people are not strangers.....they are loved by Amulek.
As Alma and Amulek are brought forth to witness, the scriptures read (Alma 14:10-13): "And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.
"But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.
"Now Amulek said unto Alma: Behold, perhaps they will burn us also.
"And Alma said: Be it according to the will of the Lord. But, behold, our work is not finished; therefore they burn us not."
I can almost hear Amulek's pleadings as a read these words but as I quickly focus in on that the noise is replaced by the echo of my own pleadings. Amulek had the faith and knew the Heavenly Father could fix it. He knew the power of the priesthood, Christ's power on the earth, could fix this. But as he asks Alma if they can Alma explains, the Holy Ghost, won't let me. Heavenly Father is going to let this happen as another mark against this particular group of people at the judgement. Amulek then responds with, hopefully they will burn us also.....I wonder what was just behind that question is it: I want to die so I don't have to keep watching this, so I don't have to live with the grief I am feeling, so I don't have to have nightmares about this experience, so I don't have to learn to live without all these people I love....Alma responds if it was the Lord's will they would be burned but it is not. They have more work to do so they are going to be spared.
I am going to repeat what I said earlier this post, WOW! Now that you understand the background and the context between the actually written lines of the story we have to take this out of Alma and Amulek's time and cross the bridge to us and our day and our afflictions. We learn some truths about why Heaven Father allows suffering and why it is part of our mortal experience. Here are a few of the things I gleaned about suffering from Alma and Amulek's experience:
- My suffering as a result of other people's choices can be used to "stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day." (Alma 14:11). This sometimes in the act that solidify's someone's standing before God if they chose not to repent. This same phrase was used with the early saints in the Doctrine and Covenants as they cried out for justice against their mistreatment in Missouri.
- President Spencer W. Kimball teaches that: "Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery", he also taught that "If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the does of good, there could be no evil--all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be not test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls" and finally "Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our selfish desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be not joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood."
I guess from all these thoughts I think whether our affliction is COVID-19, quarantine, remote learning, sin, personal things, family situations, economic distress, worries over the future, etc. We can pray in faith and do what the Holy Ghost prompts us to do, we can look for an eternal perspective and know eventually all will be made right.
Elder Dale G. Renlund in the most recent general conference said: "The Savior loves to restore what you cannot restore; He loves to heal wounds you cannot heal; He loves to fix what has been irreparably broken; He compensates for any unfairness inflicted on you; and He loves to permanently mend even shattered hearts."
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