Our Work Is Not Finished

Alma 14

This is one of my favorite chapters- So much to learn.

14:6-7
6 And it came to pass that Zeezrom was astonished at the words which had been spoken; and he also knew concerning the blindness of the minds, which he had caused among the people by his lying words; and his soul began to be harrowed up under a consciousness of his own guilt; yea, he began to be encircled about by the pains of hell.
7 And it came to pass that he began to cry unto the people, saying: Behold, I am guilty, and these men are spotless before God. And he began to plead for them from that time forth; but they reviled him, saying: Art thou also possessed with the devil? And they spit upon him, and cast him out from among them, and also all those who believed in the words which had been spoken by Alma and Amulek; and they cast them out, and sent men to cast stones at them.

Be careful what you say. People are listening. These scriptures show to me the power of words. Even if you regret what you've said and try to take it back, you may not be able to. The damage has been done and people will believe what they want to believe.

10-11:
10 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.
11 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.


Spencer W. Kimball: “Now, we find many people critical when a righteous person is killed, a young father or mother is taken from a family, or when violent deaths occur. Some become bitter when oft-repeated prayers seem unanswered. Some lose faith and turn sour when solemn administrations by holy men seem to be ignored and no restoration seems to come from repeated prayer circles. But if all the sick were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the Gospel, free agency, would be ended. If pain and sorrow and total punishment immediately followed the doing of evil, no soul would repeat a misdeed. If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil -- all would do good and not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, no controls. 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 an absence of joy, success, resurrection, eternal life, and godhood. ("Tragedy or Destiny," Improvement Era, March 1966, pp. 180, 210 as taken from Daniel Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, p. 206)

12-13:
12 Now Amulek said unto Alma: Behold, perhaps they will burn us also.
13 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 love the faith of Alma, "be it according to the will of the Lord". He is not afraid. He is facing the possibility of being burned because of his testimony and he stands fearless in his charge to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. He knows his work is not finished and he has complete faith in the Lord to protect them.

22:
22 And many such things, yea, all manner of such things did they say unto them; and thus they did mock them for many days. And they did withhold food from them that they might hunger, and water that they might thirst; and they also did take from them their clothes that they were naked; and thus they were bound with strong cords, and confined in prison.

Their work was not done but the people were allowed to imprison them. They suffered great affliction, similar to Joseph Smith in liberty jail (D&C 121) They suffered this way for many days but they suffered patiently and without complain. With faith that the Lord would deliver. Then in the following verses the lawyers and judges come again to the prison to beat these men

25-27:
25 And it came to pass that they all went forth and smote them, saying the same words, even until the last; and when the last had spoken unto them the power of God was upon Alma and Amulek, and they rose and stood upon their feet.
26 And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance. And they broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them.
27 And it came to pass that so great was their fear that they fell to the earth, and did not obtain the outer door of the prison; and the earth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that they fell to the earth; and the chief judge, and the lawyers, and priests, and teachers, who smote upon Alma and Amulek, were slain by the fall thereof.

Finally it is time for Alma to act. He has given these men chance enough and through his faith in the Lord he asks for strength to deliver himself from bondage.

"There was a rush and there was an earthquake. You notice that miracles are in the timing, not in the event. This was earthquake country. It’s not surprising that there was an earthquake, but just at that moment was when it was helpful. They all made a rush for the gate, so naturally they crowded the exit. They jammed the exit, nobody could get out, the gate collapsed, and they were all killed there. The only safe people were Alma and Amulek who stayed behind. The people tried to get as far from them as they could". Hugh Nibley. TBM, 2:350.

Alma and Amulek were delivered from prison and the word of the Lord was fulfilled. Amazing.