The hardest job in the church

The Hardest Job in the Church...

I believe Alma 14 demonstrates what must be the most difficult job in the church... that of being a prophet of God. We humans are so prone to go contrary to God's will that God appointed prophets and consecrated priests (see Alma 13) to preach the Gospel and repentance through his Son Jesus Christ.

I've always kinda figured it would be great to be a prophet. I guess I just sorta glamorized the position. I mean you're on God's errand, right? I mean that makes you pretty much heaven-bound, right? And what about all those cool spiritual insights you'd know? Yeah, that's cool too... but then there's the ugly side of things...

Sadly, few folks actually listen to true prophets. Samuel the Lamanite (Helaman 13:26-27) pointed this out when he explained that when a prophet comes, you throw stones at them, but when a man comes in and tells you that everything is just peachy and you can do whatever it is you like, then you call that person a prophet and give him your money.

That's exactly what happened in the city of Ammonihah. These Ammonihahites were of the religion founded by Nehor. Essentially it was this: We give you money, you reassure us that we're going to heaven, no matter what we do. It's a pretty sweet deal, if you think about it. Really optimizes out all the bad parts of religion (the need to repent, lake of fire and brimstone, personal responsibility), focusing solely upon all the good parts (heaven, holidays, cool costumes, and feasting on ambrosia)... so where's the harm in that way of thinking?

Alma had the dubious responsibility of being the prophet and needing to call the whole city to repentance.

Sure he makes a lifelong friend, but consider what his preaching really sparks... because Alma preaches to the people, he incites a riot that ends up creating a pogrom, in which women and children are burned. Had Alma left the people alone, perhaps some of those lives would've been spared the destruction that the Lamanites eventually performed upon them.

Okay so it's a stretch, because we have the benefit of a whole bunch of chapter's perspective... we can see how the city is destroyed in the end, but imagine how you'd feel in the moment? You've just taught the people the need to repent, and as a reaction to YOUR WORDS, you get to watch your friend's wives and children burned in a great fire. Imagine yourself in that place? These followers of Nehor are PROVING they are right by doing whatever they darn well please, and no one can stop them. All spurred on in direct reaction to YOUR preaching. Wouldn't you at least be tempted to doubt your means of delivery? "Dang, perhaps I shouldn't've called them children of hell? Okay so sure, they're behaving like them, but perhaps my buddy Amulek's daughter wouldn't be dying if I'd just been a bit more... diplomatic about it?"

I bet that was just a lovely day for Alma and Amulek. You can almost feel the agony in Amulek's heart as he pleads with Alma to intervene, only to be told that God is allowing such attrocities to occur in order to preserve judgment against them. Their acts were their witness.

Anyhow it was something to think about... I just can't help but feel for Alma and Amulek in that moment. I admire Alma's courage to say and do the right things, despite the terrible consequences of their words. He left them no excuse, but in so doing, I believe I see his point, and cherish them... takes some seriously longterm spiritual perspective though, to consider that someone thousands of years later would even take notice.

Then again, that's what prophets do...

--Ray

King Mosiah and Nehor: Cause and Effect

Mosiah 29 and Alma 1:

Ever been unhappy with a church leader? Ever known a fellow you thought would make a much better leader? Ever wondered why we can't just replace them and create the church any old way?

Nehor did.

In mosiah chapter 29, King Mosiah establishes a new government among his people. Needless to say this great social change is extraordinary in the history of the people of the earth, and worthy of greater preponderance, but what I found interesting to consider is the consequences of that change on the people of Nephi.

Because the people were given say over their own government, rather than requiring a king to make all their decisions, Satan took advantage of them and their newfound freedom IMMEDIATELY. (Nehor appears in the FIRST YEAR of the reign of the judges, you'd think they'd get at least a year or two reprieve, but NOOOOOooooOOOOOooo...)

I don't know if you've ever read the arrival of Nehor and his new religion as anything related to Mosiah's righteous choice to give the people more responsibility in their own governance, but it is my opinion that this is exactly what made it possible for Nehor to take such advantage over the people.

The people had just been given the power to vote. In that process, judges had to run for positions, based upon popularity, because they were appointed "by the voice of the people". Their competence and their eloquence, their "righteousness" or character were all aspects of their appeal to the people. (see the process executed in verses Mosiah 29:38-39)

This event gave the people a great sense of power. It was exciting! They held Mosiah in great esteem because of it. A power that Satan wasted no time in using against the people. (see Mosiah 29:40)

So then along comes Nehor. He was a big man. Strong. Probably a man admired or envied by many a man. It is not clear he had ANYTHING to do with politics, but He was a religious man who did not like how things were running in the church. He was a man of great pride. (see Alma 1:2,6) He taught a very popular doctrine--one of universal salvation. Leaving aside the contradictory nature of why you would need any sort of religion if everyone was automatically saved, consider that his main thrust was that priests themselves ought to be popular. (see Alma 1: 3-4)

Nehor's pride fueled him to overstep his bounds. He killed a man who withstood Nehor's preaching. In fact, he killed, Gideon, a man who'd chased King Noah up a tower, and was a fierce patriot for the people. A man who no doubt understood the dangers of Nehor's type of thinking. (see Alma 1:7-10)

This desire to make priests paid and popular is precisely the process the judges had to go through in order to obtain their positions in the government. Since the government and religion were closely tied together (King Mosiah was a seer, and the fact that he gave up on kings is no doubt inspired by his translation of the Book of Ether (well, that and the bad example of King Noah).), it is not a big shock then that Nehor thought he could "make matters better" (aka. take advantage of...) by encouraging others to do the same thing in the church.

Why not? If the people had a say in the government, why not the church?

I've found that Satan is always ready to take the best of the Lord's blessings and push us all just a bit too far with them... make us think we deserve them, that such exceptions are the rules, and making rules exceptions.

I find it remarkable just how consistent the Book of Mormon is when you look for Cause and Effect. (I've discussed how Captain Moroni's actions against traitors directly led to the adoption of secret combinations by those who chose wickedness... a generation later...) Yet such lessons are not stated outright, one has to search for them, and these hidden stories, imo, are just as interesting as some of those that are stated outright.

--Ray

No Merit

The following scripture made me think of some things lately:

Aaron is teaching the King about God. The record is summed up like so...

Alma 22: 14 - And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king.

So... then my wife went to a women's conference and someone there related a piece of advice given to newly serving LDS missionaries, that was something to the effect, "No matter what you do on your mission, you cannot make God love you more than he already loves you now."

I thought of the first sentence of the above scripture in context of that quote. Since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself...

God does love us. Sometimes when we seek a blessing we think perhaps we need to earn God's favor. But it's not about favor, but blessings come of obedience and, I suppose, grace, not because we earned it out of some greater quantity of God's love. God already loves us more than we can understand. He gives us all that we can handle, and prepares us that we may be able to handle more.

Further God loves all his children. He wants all of them to be given a chance. Because we are fallen, we can merit nothing of ourselves, thus we must turn to God.

Anyhow I am still learning. Most of this requires a lot more patience than I currently have. I can feel God's love reaching to me, and so often I bat it away in bitterness, saying, "I need more time to merit it..." I hope I have the courage to put that foolish tendency to rest.

--Ray