Alma and Amulek Preach in Ammonihah

Event 79

Reference: Alma 9:1-34; 10:1-27

The words of Alma, and also the words of Amulek, which weredeclared unto the people who were in the land of Ammonihah.And also they are cast into prison, and delivered by themiraculous power of God which was in them, according tothe record of Alma.AND again, I, Alma, having been commanded of God that I shouldtake Amulek and go forth and preach again unto this people, or thepeople who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass as Ibegan to preach unto them, they began to contend with me, saying:AlmaCity ofAmmonihah82 B.C.2 Who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimonyof one man, although he should preach unto us that the earthshould pass away?People3 Now they understood not the words which they spake; for theyknew not that the earth should pass away. 4 And they said also:AlmaWe will not believe thy words if thou shouldst prophesy thatthis great city should be destroyed in one day.People5 Now they knew not that God could do such marvelous works, forthey were a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people. 6 And theysaid:AlmaWho is God, that sendeth no more authority than one manamong this people, to declare unto them the truth of such greatand marvelous things?People7 And they stood forth to lay their hands on me; but behold, theydid not. And I stood with boldness to declare unto them, yea, I didboldly testify unto them, saying:Alma8 Behold, O ye wicked and perverse generation, how have yeforgotten the tradition of your fathers; yea, how soon ye haveforgotten the commandments of God. 9 Do ye not rememberthat our father, Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the handof God? Do ye not remember that they were all led by himthrough the wilderness? 10 And have ye forgotten so soon howmany times he delivered our fathers out of the hands of theirenemies, and preserved them from being destroyed, even by thehands of their own brethren? 11 Yea, and if it had not been forhis matchless power, and his mercy, and his long-sufferingtowards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from theface of the earth long before this period of time, and perhapsbeen consigned to a state of endless misery and woe.12 Behold, now I say unto you that he commandeth you torepent; and except ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit thekingdom of God. But behold, this is not all—he has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly destroy you fromoff the face of the earth; yea, he will visit you in his anger, andin his fierce anger he will not turn away. 13 Behold, do ye notremember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that:AlmaCity ofAmmonihah82 B.C.Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shallprosper in the land?The LordAnd again it is said that:AlmaInasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall becut off from the presence of the Lord.The Lord14 Now I would that ye should remember, that inasmuch as theLamanites have not kept the commandments of God, they havebeen cut off from the presence of the Lord. Now we see that theword of the Lord has been verified in this thing, and theLamanites have been cut off from his presence, from thebeginning of their transgressions in the land. 15 Nevertheless Isay unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for them in the dayof judgment than for you, if ye remain in your sins, yea, andeven more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except yerepent. 16 For there are many promises which are extended tothe Lamanites; for it is because of the traditions of their fathersthat caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; thereforethe Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existencein the land. 17 And at some period of time they will be broughtto believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of thetraditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, forthe Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name.Alma18 But behold, I say unto you that if ye persist in yourwickedness that your days shall not be prolonged in the land,for the Lamanites shall be sent upon you; and if ye repent notthey shall come in a time when you know not, and ye shall bevisited with utter destruction; and it shall be according to thefierce anger of the Lord. 19 For he will not suffer you that yeshall live in your iniquities, to destroy his people. I say untoyou, Nay; he would rather suffer that the Lamanites mightdestroy all his people who are called the people of Nephi, if itwere possible that they could fall into sins and transgressions,after having had so much light and so much knowledge givenunto them of the Lord their God; 20 Yea, after having been sucha highly favored people of the Lord; yea, after having beenfavored above every other nation, kindred, tongue, or people;after having had all things made known unto them, according totheir desires, and their faith, and prayers, of that which hasbeen, and which is, and which is to come; 21 Having beenvisited by the Spirit of God; having conversed with angels, andhaving been spoken unto by the voice of the Lord; and havingthe spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and alsomany gifts, the gift of speaking with tongues, and the gift ofpreaching, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the gift oftranslation; 22 Yea, and after having been delivered of God out of the land of Jerusalem, by the hand of the Lord; having beensaved from famine, and from sickness, and all manner ofdiseases of every kind; and they having waxed strong in battle,that they might not be destroyed; having been brought out ofbondage time after time, and having been kept and preserveduntil now; and they have been prospered until they are rich inall manner of things—AlmaCity ofAmmonihah82 B.C.23 And now behold I say unto you, that if this people, who havereceived so many blessings from the hand of the Lord, shouldtransgress contrary to the light and knowledge which they dohave, I say unto you that if this be the case, that if they shouldfall into transgression, it would be far more tolerable for theLamanites than for them. 24 For behold, the promises of theLord are extended to the Lamanites, but they are not unto you ifye transgress; for has not the Lord expressly promised andfirmly decreed, that if ye will rebel against him that ye shallutterly be destroyed from off the face of the earth? 25 And nowfor this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has senthis angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them thatthey must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying:Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand; 26 Andnot many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory;and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of theFather, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy,and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people andto answer their prayers. 27 And behold, he cometh to redeemthose who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith onhis name. 28 Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, forthe time is at hand that all men shall reap a reward of theirworks, according to that which they have been—if they havebeen righteous they shall reap the salvation of their souls,according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ; and ifthey have been evil they shall reap the damnation of theirsouls, according to the power and captivation of the devil.Angel of Lord29 Now behold, this is the voice of the angel, crying unto thepeople. 30 And now, my beloved brethren, for ye are mybrethren, and ye ought to be beloved, and ye ought to bringforth works which are meet for repentance, seeing that yourhearts have been grossly hardened against the word of God, andseeing that ye are a lost and a fallen people.Alma31 Now it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken thesewords, behold, the people were wroth with me because I said untothem that they were a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people. 32And also because I said unto them that they were a lost and afallen people they were angry with me, and sought to lay theirhands upon me, that they might cast me into prison.33 But it came to pass that the Lord did not suffer them that theyshould take me at that time and cast me into prison. 34 And it came to pass that Amulek went and stood forth,and began to preach unto them also. And now the words ofAmulek are not all written, nevertheless a part of his wordsare written in this book.MormonCity ofAmmonihah82 B.C.1 NOW these are the words which Amulek preached unto thepeople who were in the land of Ammonihah, saying:Land ofAmmonihah2 I am Amulek; I am the son of Giddonah, who was the son ofIshmael, who was a descendant of Aminadi; and it was that sameAminadi who interpreted the writing which was upon the wall ofthe temple, which was written by the finger of God. 3 AndAminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi,who came out of the land of Jerusalem, who was a descendant ofManasseh, who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt bythe hands of his brethren. 4 And behold, I am also a man of nosmall reputation among all those who know me; yea, and behold, Ihave many kindreds and friends, and I have also acquired muchriches by the hand of my industry.Amulek5 Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the waysof the Lord, and his mysteries and marvelous power. I said I neverhad known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I haveseen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even inthe preservation of the lives of this people. 6 Nevertheless, I didharden my heart, for I was called many times and I would nothear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would notknow; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickednessof my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, whichis in the tenth year of the reign of the judges. 7 As I wasjourneying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lordappeared unto me and said:Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophetof the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a chosen man of God; forhe has fasted many days because of the sins of this people, andhe is an hungered, and thou shalt receive him into thy house andfeed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the blessingof the Lord shall rest upon thee and thy house.Angel of Lord8 And it came to pass that I obeyed the voice of the angel, andreturned towards my house. And as I was going thither I found theman whom the angel said unto me:AmulekThou shalt receive into thy house—Angel of Lordand behold it was this same man who has been speaking unto youconcerning the things of God. 9 And the angel said unto me he is aholy man; wherefore I know he is a holy man because it was saidby an angel of God. 10 And again, I know that the things whereofhe hath testified are true; for behold I say unto you, that as theLord liveth, even so has he sent his angel to make these thingsmanifest unto me; and this he has done while this Alma hath dweltat my house. 11 For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hathAmulek blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father andmy kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and theblessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the wordswhich he spake.AmulekLand ofAmmonihah82 B.C.12 And now, when Amulek had spoken these words thepeople began to be astonished, seeing there was more thanone witness who testified of the things whereof they wereaccused, and also of the things which were to come,according to the spirit of prophecy which was in them. 13Nevertheless, there were some among them who thought toquestion them, that by their cunning devices they mightcatch them in their words, that they might find witnessagainst them, that they might deliver them to their judgesthat they might be judged according to the law, and thatthey might be slain or cast into prison, according to thecrime which they could make appear or witness againstthem. 14 Now it was those men who sought to destroy them,who were lawyers, who were hired or appointed by thepeople to administer the law at their times of trials, or at thetrials of the crimes of the people before the judges. 15 Nowthese lawyers were learned in all the arts and cunning of thepeople; and this was to enable them that they might beskilful in their profession.Mormon16 And it came to pass that they began to question Amulek,that thereby they might make him cross his words, orcontradict the words which he should speak. 17 Now theyknew not that Amulek could know of their designs.But it came to pass as they began to question him, heperceived their thoughts, and he said unto them:O ye wicked and perverse generation, ye lawyers and hypocrites,for ye are laying the foundations of the devil; for ye are layingtraps and snares to catch the holy ones of God. 18 Ye are layingplans to pervert the ways of the righteous, and to bring down thewrath of God upon your heads, even to the utter destruction of thispeople. 19 Yea, well did Mosiah say, who was our last king, whenhe was about to deliver up the kingdom, having no one to confer itupon, causing that this people should be governed by their ownvoices—yea, well did he say that if the time should come that thevoice of this people should choose iniquity, that is, if the timeshould come that this people should fall into transgression, theywould be ripe for destruction. 20 And now I say unto you that welldoth the Lord judge of your iniquities; well doth he cry unto thispeople, by the voice of his angels:AmulekRepent ye, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.The Lord 21 Yea, well doth he cry, by the voice of his angels that:AmulekLand ofAmmonihah82 B.C.I will come down among my people, with equity and justice inmy hands.The Lord22 Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the prayers of therighteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now bevisited with utter destruction; yet it would not be by flood, as werethe people in the days of Noah, but it would be by famine, and bypestilence, and the sword. 23 But it is by the prayers of therighteous that ye are spared; now therefore, if ye will cast out therighteous from among you then will not the Lord stay his hand;but in his fierce anger he will come out against you; then ye shallbe smitten by famine, and by pestilence, and by the sword; and thetime is soon at hand except ye repent.Amulek24 And now it came to pass that the people were more angrywith Amulek, and they cried out, saying:MormonThis man doth revile against our laws which are just, and our wiselawyers whom we have selected.People25 But Amulek stretched forth his hand, and cried themightier unto them, saying:MormonO ye wicked and perverse generation, why hath Satan got suchgreat hold upon your hearts? Why will ye yield yourselves untohim that he may have power over you, to blind your eyes, that yewill not understand the words which are spoken, according to theirtruth? 26 For behold, have I testified against your law? Ye do notunderstand; ye say that I have spoken against your law; but I havenot, but I have spoken in favor of your law, to your condemnation.27 And now behold, I say unto you, that the foundation of thedestruction of this people is beginning to be laid by theunrighteousness of your lawyers and your judges.Amulek