They Would Not Hear

Alma 21:5-10

"5 Therefore, as Aaron entered into one of their synagogues to preach unto the people, and as he was speaking unto them, behold there arose an Amalekite and began to contend with him, saying: What is that thou hast testified? Hast thou seen an angel? Why do not angels appear unto us? Behold care not this people as good as thy people?
6 Thou also sayest, except we repent we shall perish. How knowest thou the thought and intent of our hearts? How knowest thou that we have cause to repent? How knowest thou that we are not a righteous people? Behold, we have built sanctuaries, and we do assemble ourselves together to worship God. We do believe that God will save all men.
7 Now Aaron said unto him: Believest thou that the Son of God shall come to redeem mankind from their sins?
8 And the man said unto him: We do not believe that thou knowest any such thing. We do not believe in these foolish traditions. We do not believe that thou knowest of things to come, neither do we believe that thy fathers and also that our fathers did know concerning the things which they spake, of that which is to come.
9. now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death and suffering of Christ, and the atonement of his blood.
10. And it came to pass as he began to expound these things unto them they were angry with him, and began to mock him; and they would not hear the words which he spake"



5- "Those who will not hear the word of God as preached by one such as Aaron will not hear it if preached by one who has come back from the dead. The issue is the message, not the messenger. DCBM, 3:152)
6- He is defensive. Which only proves Aaron's point. They are hard hearted and argumentative. The guilty take the truth to be hard.
7-8: They do not believe in Jesus Christ or the principle of revelation.
9-10: They chose to ignore him because if he were right, then they were wrong and would have to change. What do people do when they feel uncomfortable? Often they make a joke of it to lighten the situation or deflect the pressure. They Mock Aaron to take the focus off themselves.


This happens in daily life, to each of us I think. Maybe not in such a drastic way- we aren't usually calling people to repentance but it happens. Maybe we turn off an inappropriate song or movie, or we dress more modestly than those around us- living your personal standards can make others feel uncomfortable. Especially if they know they should be living the same standards. So to remove some guilt they will try and get you to feel that YOU are in the wrong. They will mock you so that you either change your standards or go away- either accomplishes the goal- THEY don't have to change and they no longer feel uncomfortable. I have, I'm ashamed to admit, been on both sides of this fence. But as I gain a greater understanding of my Savior Jesus Christ and his plan for each of us, I also gain a greater understanding of others and of myself. I am less inclined to pass judgement on others and more inclined to see my own faults and shortcomings. We are all a work in progress I guess.