LeGrand L. Baker

Alma 26:1, LeGrand Baker, ‘Could We Have Supposed?’ — Covenant of Invulnerability

1 And now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say thus: My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings? (Alma 26:1)

There may be no other scripture that so accurately express the sense of awe that the faithful feel as they watch the Lord fulfill the promises he has made to them. It is an echo of the much shorter, but equally profound question asked by Enos: “Lord, how is it done?”(Enos 1:7.)

The answer, while unfathomable from our perspective, is very simple to say in words: At the Council in Heaven we made covenants with God. On our part, we promised what we would do when we came here; on his part, he promised he would make it possible for us to do it—not easy—not even safe—but possible (Paul explains that in the first chapter of Ephesians). However, like the Prophet Joseph, Peter, and Abinadi, it might appear to others that we had been prevented from achieving our objective; but like with them, the end cannot come until the Father has fulfilled his covenants to help us succeed—unless, of course, we have chosen to not fulfill our part.

His promise is renewed here in this world as we are taught what we must do to return to him. His promise is virtually a guarantee of invulnerability—not against hurt or sorrow, but against failure if we do our part. The following are two excerpts from my forthcoming book on the Psalms, They discuss our of invulnerability. The first is from my discussion of Psalm 45 which portrays the king (and through him all the audience) receiving that promise during the proceedings of the Council in Heaven.

In his blessing to the king, the Father promised that when all these conditions are met, “thy right hand shall teach thee awesome things.” {1} Then Elohim concludes his blessings to the future king of kingship and priesthood with this final promise.

5. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee (Psalm 45:5).

Many of the psalms that contain blessings, conclude with similar promises of military invulnerability {2} as we move through linear time. {3} In ancient Israel there were two kinds of enemies. One challenged the king’s earthly responsibility for providing personal and national peace and security. The other (a holdover from the previous world) challenged his powers of one’s righteousness and priesthood. That is the context of these seeming military blessings in this and other psalms. They appear to suggest military conquest, but in fact they are reiterations of the assurance of the Lord’s guarantee that no power on earth or in hell could prevent one from keeping one’s premortal covenants, and from enjoying the blessings derived therefrom. It was a promise to the king who was newly dressed in sacred clothing; that by truth, meekness and righteousness; even though he found himself surrounded by enemies, he would remain invincible until his covenants were fulfilled and his mission accomplished.

The promise of invulnerability is often found in psalms that speak of the king’s actually approaching God. It is a reminder of the promise received in the Council that God is the guarantor that one will have the power to fulfill one’s eternal covenants. That promise of invulnerability is important because, as is always so in the cosmic myth, the assignment is impossible and only the intercession of the heavens can make a path through the obstacles that would prevent its fulfillment. The obstacles and the impossibility of the task are ever-present but then so is the guarantee that the Father will fulfill his part of the covenant.

It is the same guarantee as the prayer that concludes the first chapter of Ephesians, after Paul reminded his readers of their pre-mortal relationship with their Father in Heaven, and of the covenants and instructions they received before they left home. {3}

With those definitions in mind, consider the impact of Elohim’s blessing to the king as a single, coherent promise:

3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. [names of sacred clothing: glory is priesthood, majesty is kingship]
4 And in thy majesty ride prosperously [successfully] because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible [awesome] things. [Then follows the promise of invulnerability]
5 Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. (Psalm 45:3-4)

Elohim’s blessing to the king was a comprehensive covenant, embracing all of the powers and authorities of sacral kingship and priesthood—there was nothing left to be added except the promise about his posterity, and that was reserved for the conclusion of the psalm.

Two statements in the Doctrine and Covenants suggest that the powers of a king, as described in Psalm 45, closely parallel the powers of the Melchizedek priesthood. These passages are not the same as the statement in the psalm, but the messages seem to be the same. They emphasize the powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood in terms that sound very much like “truth, meekness, and righteousness.”

“Truth” is defined as knowledge of reality in sacred time: “truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come” (D&C93:2.).

“Meekness” is keeping the covenants we made at the Council and remake here:

9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. …
14 The secret [sode, decisions of the Council in Heaven] of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. (Psalms 25:9-10, 14)

“Righteousness” is zedek – correctness in temple and priesthood things.

The first of the D&C scripture reads:

19 And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries [“Mysteries” would probably be the same as sode in the Old Testament] of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God [knowing the truth].
20 Therefore, in the ordinances thereof [In Isaiah and the Psalms, the word “ordinances” would probably appear as the code words “way”or “path”], the power of godliness is manifest.
21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live [a sode experience].
23 Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God (D&C 84:19-23).

The second reads:

18 The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church—
19 To have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven [truth], to have the heavens opened unto them [sode experience], to commune with the general assembly and church of the Firstborn [Council in Heaven], and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant (D&C 107:18-19).

The Veil Ceremony in Psalm 21.

The 21st Psalm describes the king’s request to enter the Holy of Holies through the veil. (In Alma 5 in the Book of Mormon, when Alma was asking the people in the congregation if they could still the song of redeeming love, as they had once sung it, it seems likely that the hymn he was referring to was the 21st Psalm.) The psalm begins by someone describing the action on the stage. It might have been a chorus, as in a Greek play, or a narrator, or it might have been the entire congregation who sang this part:

1. The king shall joy in thy strength,
O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2. Thou hast given him his heart’s desire,
and hast not withholden the request of his lips
(Psalm 21:1-2).

This is what we know about what has already happened on the stage: the king had asked the Lord for something, and the Lord had granted that request. In the next verse there is an unusual word, “preventest.” The footnote in the LDS Bible helps with that. It says that the words “thou preventest him” might be translated “thou wilt meet him.” When we use that phrase, this is the way the chorus described the Lord’s response to the king’s request:

3. For thou wilt meet him with the blessings of goodness:
thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head (Psalm 21:3).

In the next verse we learn what the blessing was that the king had requested:

4. He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him,
even length of days for ever and ever. [i.e. through all eternity]
5. His glory is great in thy salvation:
honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him (Psalm 21:4-5).

“Honour and majesty” are the names of the clothing that represents his kingship and priesthood: {4}

6. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever:
thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance (Psalm 21:6).

The king had received a blessing that reached “for ever,” and now the king is “exceeding glad” because he had seen the countenance of God:

7 For the king trusteth in the Lord,
and through the mercy of the most High he shall not
be moved (Psalm 21:7).{5}

That he will not be moved indicates that the king will keep the covenants he has made with the Lord.

The next five verses in the psalm are spoken by God to the king. It is easy for us to read them in the context of our own time—and that without much understanding, for they sound like a battle hymn whose emphasis is victory in war. But when one recalls that they were written in a time very unlike our own, then the words have a different ring altogether. In the days of ancient Israel, there were no police forces that kept one safe as he traveled. People built walls around cities, and the wealthy built fortifications on their own estates. The words in our psalm, and many like them in other psalms and in Isaiah, are promises of protection—of personal invulnerability—the same kind of invulnerability he promises all those who keep his commandments:

8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies:
thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
9. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger:
the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath,
and the fire shall devour them.
10. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth,
and their seed from among the children of men.
11. For they intended evil against thee:
they imagined a mischievous device,
which they are not able to perform.
12. Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back,
when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy
strings against the face of them (Psalm 21:8-12).

The final verse is an anthem of praise, sung by the people who sang the first verses of the psalm:

13. Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength:
so will we sing and praise thy power (Psalm 21:13).

About these events, Margaret Barker observes:

“The rituals of the holy of holies were thus taking place outside time and matter, in the realm of the angels and the heavenly throne, and those who functioned in the holy of holies were more than human, being and seeing beyond time.” {6}

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ENDNOTES

{1} The Tanakh (official Jewish translation) uses “awesome” rather than “terrible.”

{2} Some important examples are Psalms 2, 21, 110.

{3} At the conclusion of Paul’s discussion of the covenants we made with God in the premortal world (Ephesians 1:1-14), Paul prays that his readers may know three things:

First, “what is the hope of his calling.” Calling is a verb, thus it is God’s calling—his premortal assignment—to the Saints.

Second, “and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” That is, what great blessings await those who keep their covenants.

Third, “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead.” (v. 18-20 and on to v. 23)

In other words, Paul’s prayer concludes with the hope that we will know that the Father has also promised us that he will enable us to fulfill our covenants if we are faithful to the instructions of the Holy Ghost.

{4} “Majesty” clearly represents his kingship, just as it does elsewhere in the scriptures. In Job 40:10 the fact that the Lord is talking about clothing is made even more clear: “Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty.” In Moses 7:3-4, and in his sode experience, Enoch is dressed properly. One must be clean and properly clothed to come into the presence of God. In our psalm the phrase, “honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him” suggest that God himself has dressed the king in royal garments.

{5} The prophet Enoch describes an experience in a similar sequence:

3 And it came to pass that I turned and went up on the mount; and as I stood upon the mount, I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory;
4 And I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face (Moses 7:3-4).

{6} Barker, Great High Priest, 81

Alma 22:15-18, LeGrand Baker, ‘give away all my sins’

15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
16 But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest.
17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying:
18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead. (Alma 22:15-18. Italics added)

It is apparent to me that to “give up” and to “give away” are not the same things. To “give up” is a passive approach. It is to abandon, to surrender, to desist from, to discontinue.

It may require some effort. It can be difficult, but the difficulty is to achieve the passivity. For example if one gives up smoking one may have to exercise a good deal of willpower in order to discontinue, but the willpower is directed toward inactivity. Another example: To give up telling lies is not the same as to seek to tell the truth, because not telling a lie does not impose the burden of saying anything at all. (If one determines to tell the truth, that would be a major change for the better, but it is also something different from simply giving up the habit of telling lies.)

Repentance is “giving away” one’s sins. The sins are forever there and they carry consequences. But both the sin and the consequence can be “given away” to the Saviour who will accept their burden and pay their price.

To give away is never passive, but always active. If you and I are sitting by a desk and my dollar bill is on the desk, and you take it, that’s stealing. If I proffer it to you and you don’t accept it, but I give it anyway, that’s throwing it at you, not giving it to you. If you do not accept I cannot give away, because throwing it at you is not the same as giving.

To give away requires action on the part of both persons, and that action always presupposes a written, spoken, implied or symbolic contract or covenant. An example of an implied covenant is that if you invite me to lunch (give me food), I could not accept your invitation without also accepting the implied covenant that you would pay for it and I won’t have to. An example of a written covenant is that if I wish to give you my car, I must go to the court house and fill out the necessary paper work. If you accept, you also accept the burden of paying the future taxes on the car.

As I understand it, The ordinance of baptism functions like that paper work in the courthouse. It is the formality of giving our sins to the Saviour. For us the meaning of the contract is that our sins may go into remission. It evokes the blessings of the atonement to put the sins in remission. The word initially meant a diminution of force or effect, a slackening of energy— like putting cancer in remission— and therefore making the sins inoperative. -The Saviour accepts the burden of the sins so that it will not weight us down as we seek to turn our lives around. “Repent” literally means to turn around and go the other way. To use the example above: repentance not only means that we stop telling falsehoods, but also to begin telling the truth and testify of it.

Repentance is giving one’s sins to the Saviour. The ordinance of baptism is literally a transfer of ownership.

Repentance is a maturation process. It requires persistence, refining, and re-refining. It requires both the gift of the atonement, and a knowing response on our part to the tutoring of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit teaches us how to repent and it cleanses us from those sins, then teaches us more and cleanses, and teaches and cleanses, ad infinitum. Thus, by the Spirit, our spirits are refined. As Moroni explained,

And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost… (Moroni 6:4)

That principle is taught to us weekly in the covenant of these words:

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat inremembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and [willing to] always remember him and [willing to] keep his commandments which he has given them; that [to the end that:] they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (D&C 20:77 bold added)

Being thus committed by covenant, our cleansing is again renewed by water that represents the Saviour’s blood— the cleansing waters of life.

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (D&C 20:79 bold and italics added)

I suppose that to understand this whole principle most clearly, one must simply take the Saviour at his word when he summed up it up to the Nephites. There, the first Beatitude (the one that is left out of the New Testament) might be translated into today’s terms as simply, “Blessed are those who follow the Prophet and the Brethren.” It reads,

1 …. Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am.
2 And again, more blessed are they who shall believe in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that ye know that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins. (3 Nephi 12:1-2)

Alma 19:2-29, LeGrand Baker, The Queen’s Conversion.

Mormon’s remarkable ability to tell nothing, yet tell all that needs to be told rises to surpurb heights in his recounting of the queen’s conversion. The story begins after king Lamoni’s apparent death. His body is taken to the queen and she summons Ammon to attend her.

3 And it came to pass that Ammon did as he was commanded, and went in unto the queen, and desired to know what she would that he should do.
4 And she said unto him: The servants of my husband have made it known unto me that thou art a prophet of a holy God, and that thou hast power to do many mighty works in his name;

The fact that Ammon can do “many mighty works” might simply have been known from the incident with the flocks, but that he is “a prophet of a holy God” could only have been known from some additional evidence. That source of that evidence is easy to recognize, for Mormon tells us that Ammon taught the king and also his servants (probably meaning those who were privy to his person). (18:37) When Ammon arrived, the queen did not ask for a miracle, she only asked for his assurance that her husband was not dead. They entered the king’s chamber:

8 And he said unto the queen: He is not dead, but he sleepeth in God, and on the morrow he shall rise again; therefore bury him not.
9 And Ammon said unto her: Believest thou this? And she said unto him: I have had no witness save thy word, and the word of our servants; nevertheless I believe that it shall be according as thou hast said.
10 And Ammon said unto her: Blessed art thou because of thy exceeding faith; I say unto thee, woman, there has not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites.

Just as we are told only the barest of details about the conversations between Ammon and the king, so are we told almost nothing about the conversation between Ammon and the queen. Her simple answer, as it is recorded here, seems not so insightful as to rank her faithfulness above all the women of the Nephites, yet that is Ammon’s his response. So we may assume that there is a complex background, and a great deal happening within their conversation that is only barely suggested by Mormon’s report of it. There is an echo in the way Mormon tells the story that reflects John’s solemnity: “He who has ears, let him hear.”

11 And it came to pass that she watched over the bed of her husband, from that time even until that time on the morrow which Ammon had appointed that he should rise.
12 And it came to pass that he arose, according to the words of Ammon; and as he arose, he stretched forth his hand unto the woman, and said: Blessed be the name of God, and blessed art thou.
13 For as sure as thou livest, behold, I have seen my Redeemer; and he shall come forth, and be born of a woman, and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name. Now, when he had said these words, his heart was swollen within him, and he sunk again with joy; and the queen also sunk down, being overpowered by the Spirit.

The queen lay there until Abish,

29 …took the queen by the hand, that perhaps she might raise her from the ground; and as soon as she touched her hand she arose and stood upon her feet, and cried with a loud voice, saying: O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an awful hell! O blessed God, have mercy on this people!
30 And when she had said this, she clasped her hands, being filled with joy, speaking many words which were not understood; and when she had done this, she took the king, Lamoni, by the hand, and behold he arose and stood upon his feet.

The queens affirmation that Jesus “has saved [past tense] me from an awful hell!” and her prayer, “O blessed God, have mercy on this people!” is intriguing. If “Jesus” is, as it must be, a reference to the premortal Jehovah, and if her appeal to “God” is a prayer to Heavenly Father (Elohim), then her words suggest she, like her husband, has had a sode experience.

Sode is the Hebrew word meaning the secret deliberations of a council, and many scholars use the phrase “sode experience” to identify visions where a prophet is returned to the Council in Heaven to re-experience and re-commit himself to the covenants he made there. (such as Isaiah 6 and 1 Nephi 18-15) Amos 3:7 assures us “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret [sode] unto his servants the prophets,” and Jeremiah 23:18-22 defines a false prophet as one who presumes to speak for God without having “stood in the counsel [sode] of the Lord.”

If this story and the queen’s response are, in fact, evidence that she has had a sode experience, then this is one of the few places in scripture that records a woman’s returning to the Council.

The accounts Mormon gives of their being “as dead” during those experiences reflect a truth that is attested in many places. Experiences in sacred time also require the passage of linear time. Three other examples are Lehi’s going to lay down on his bed before he had his sode experience; Alma laying as though he were dead for three days; and Enoch’s great vision taking 60 days. (The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, 68:2, in R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913] 2:469)

Alma 19-26, LeGrand Baker, Mormon’s messages

For the most part, the Book of Mormon is the story of a single family, with only three possible breaks in the genealogical record. They are King Mosiah I who was apparently a younger brother of the king of the Nephites, and who took the sacred regalia and fled from the Land of Nephi before it was destroyed by the Lamanites. The second is Alma who is clearly identified as “a descendent of Nephi” even though we are given no definitive statement of how he is connected with the royal family. The third is Mormon himself, who also tells us that he is also “a descendent of Nephi” but whose precise family ties are not given. Thus the story of that family becomes the golden thread that goes from the beginning to the end of the book, giving it structure and continuity

The Book of Mormon is written to the Lamanites but it is about the Nephite royal family, because their family, church, and state records were the sources to which Mormon and Moroni had access. The reason I point that out here is because this story of the Lamanite conversion, and the later story of the miraculous preservation of their “stripling soldier” sons, are among Mormon’s most significant diversions from the mainstream of Nephite history, but even these stories of Lamanite faithfulness are dependent on Nephite records. The missionaries who converted the Lamanites were sons of the Nephite king. The prophet/general Moroni after whom Mormon named his own son was a high ranking member of the Nephite aristocracy. Heleman, Moroni’s military subordinate who commanded the faithful Lamanite youth, was a son of Alma and the father of Heleman who would become the Nephite Chief Judge.

Mormon never tells a story without a purpose, and he usually defines that purpose to us with a phrase like, “and thus we see.” Because this departure into Lamanite history is so unusual, I think it would be wise to focus our attention on the message Mormon wants us to gain from it, rather than on the details of the story.

The chapters that describe these events invite us to stop and consider the underlying principles that support them, but if we do that the Book of Mormon Project may get bogged down in the details. So rather than risk that, Let’s just do a quick overview, stopping only to call attention to the principles Mormon emphasizes.

Let’s pick up his story where Ammon is with King Lamoni.

22 Now, one of them, whose brother had been slain with the sword of Ammon, being exceedingly angry with Ammon, drew his sword and went forth that he might let it fall upon Ammon, to slay him; and as he lifted the sword to smite him, behold, he fell dead.
23 Now we see that Ammon could not be slain, for the Lord had said unto Mosiah, his father: I will spare him, and it shall be unto him according to thy faith—therefore, Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord. (Alma 19:22-23)

After the king and his servants testified of what they had seen and heard,

35 …there were many that did believe in their words; and as many as did believe were baptized; and they became a righteous people, and they did establish a church among them.
36 And thus the work of the Lord did commence among the Lamanites; thus the Lord did begin to pour out his Spirit upon them; and we see that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name. (Alma 19:333-36)

From there Mormon takes us with Aaron to the palace of the Lamoni’s father, the king of all the Lamanites.

17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying:
18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead. (Alma 22:17-18)

The king and queen, and many of their servants were converted.

1 Behold, now it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation among all his people, ….
4 ….that Aaron and his brethren went forth from city to city, and from one house of worship to another, establishing churches, and consecrating priests and teachers throughout the land among the Lamanites, to preach and to teach the word of God among them; and thus they began to have great success…..
6 And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away. (Alma 23:1-6)

A new covenant with God is always associated with a new covenant name. The name is the token of the validity of the covenant. The converter Lamanites chose a name that reminded them of their rich heritage. As we use it, the prefix “anti” usually means “against,” but it also means “like.” The name they chose— Anti-Nephi-Lehi— might be understood as meaning: “Like the ancient prophets Nephi and Lehi.” (Alma 23:16-17)

Righteousness on the part of some, often brings anger and an unexplainable need for retaliation on the part of those who do not repent, as it did here. The Lamanites who were not converted tried to use force to overthrow the king and his followers. However,

6 Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not.

As the king’s first prayer had been answered, so he taught its principles to his people.

7 Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the traditions of our wicked fathers.
8 And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have opened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites.
9 And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders which we have committed. ….
11 And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do, (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain— ….
15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby…..(Alma 24:6-15)

To that sermon, Mormon adds:

19 And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.

The Lamanites attacked, but were met with no resistance.

23 Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword—
24 Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbear from slaying them; and there were many whose hearts had swollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done…..
26 And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved.
27 And there was not a wicked man slain among them; but there were more than a thousand brought to the knowledge of the truth; thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people.
28 Now the greatest number of those of the Lamanites who slew so many of their brethren were Amalekites and Amulonites, the greatest number of whom were after the order of the Nehors. ….

Again, Mormon stops to remind us what is happening:

30 And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things. (Alma 24:19-30.)

The frustrated Lamanites then attacked Nephite cites.

2 But they took their armies and went over into the borders of the land of Zarahemla, and fell upon the people who were in the land of Ammonihah and destroyed them.
3 And after that, they had many battles with the Nephites, in the which they were driven and slain.
4 And among the Lamanites who were slain were almost all the seed of Amulon and his brethren, who were the priests of Noah, and they were slain by the hands of the Nephites;
5 And the remainder, having fled into the east wilderness, and having usurped the power and authority over the Lamanites, caused that many of the Lamanites should perish by fire because of their belief—….
8 Now this martyrdom caused that many of their brethren should be stirred up to anger; and there began to be contention in the wilderness; and the Lamanites began to hunt the seed of Amulon and his brethren and began to slay them; and they fled into the east wilderness.
9 And behold they are hunted at this day by the Lamanites. Thus the words of Abinadi were brought to pass, which he said concerning the seed of the priests who caused that he should suffer death by fire.

The conversion story continues:

13 And it came to pass that when the Lamanites saw that they could not overpower the Nephites they returned again to their own land; and many of them came over to dwell in the land of Ishmael and the land of Nephi, and did join themselves to the people of God, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi.
14 And they did also bury their weapons of war, according as their brethren had, and they began to be a righteous people; and they did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe to keep his commandments and his statutes. …. (Alma 25:1-14)

Having told the story in his own way, and calling our attention to the most relevant parts, Mormon returns to the official account kept by the king’s sons, to tell us the missionary’s reaction to their own adventure:

17 And now behold, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni, and their brethren did rejoice exceedingly, for the success which they had had among the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had granted unto them according to their prayers, and that he had also verified his word unto them in every particular.(Alma 25:17)

Next week, lets read Alma 26, which is Ammon’s joyful summarizing of their missionary success.

Alma 18:21-24, LeGrand Baker, “And thus he was caught with guile.”

Alma 18:21-24
21 And now, if thou wilt tell me concerning these things, whatsoever thou desirest I will give unto thee; and if it were needed, I would guard thee with my armies; but I know that thou art more powerful than all they; nevertheless, whatsoever thou desirest of me I will grant it unto thee.
22 Now Ammon being wise, yet harmless, he said unto Lamoni: Wilt thou hearken unto my words, if I tell thee by what power I do these things? And this is the thing that I desire of thee.
23 And the king answered him, and said: Yea, I will believe all thy words. And thus he was caught with guile.
24 And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness, and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?

“Guile” is an interesting choice for the word that concludes verse 23. For the most part it has a very negative connotation, such as this admonition from Peter:

8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. (1 Peter 3:8-10)

Shortly before that, in the same letter, Peter had explained what he meant by “speak no guile.” He was writing to people who would suffer—some would be killed–- for the sake of their testimonies. He drew a contrast between how one should respond when punished for a guilt, and when punished for no guilt at all. He wrote,

19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

One of the greatest compliments ever paid to anyone is recorded in the gospel of John:

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. (John 1:47-51)

As is so typical of the Saviour, his words were paraphrased from the psalms. By using the psalms Jesus expanded his words by giving his hearers a context in which to understand his teachings. Here he was referring to Psalm 32. Like so many of the psalms, this one was intended to be performed on the stage, and is spoken by multiple voices.

The first two verses appear to be spoken by a chorus (as in a Greek play), or a narrator.

1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

The next verses are in first person, so are spoken by the one in whom there is no guile. He is in prayer, addressing his words to God.

3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer.
5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.
6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.

The next words are spoken by God. They are a blessing with a charge to follow instructions, but not mindlessly.

8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

The final words are a commentary on what has occurred, spoken by the chorus who introduced the scene.

10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. (Psalm 32:1-11)

Jesus’s apostles, knowing the context of Jesus’s words, could understand that Nathanael’s being without guile also meant that he need not be prodded like a mule before he would get something done. That tells us the underlying meaning of the Saviour’s promise, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”

Notwithstanding the negative aspects of “guile,” the more closely we look at the positive aspects of the concept the more reasonable Mormon’s choice of the word becomes. There is a passage in the New Testament that will help us understand. It may require more than one reading, for Paul often does, but it helps explain the passage in the Book of Mormon. Paul writes to the Corinthians,

14 Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. [He is referring to himself as a parent for it was he who taught them the gospel.]
15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
16 But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. (2 Corinthians 12:14-16)

The key to understanding Paul’s words is “I seek not yours, but you.” The guile was the way Paul always approached his missionary task. Whenever he, the perfect Jew, entered a city, he went first to the synagogue to teach from their own scriptures the promises of the Messiah, and then he taught the fulfillment of those promises. After he established a base of operation among the Jews he had converted, then he expanded his reach to the Gentiles. His method looks simple and it proved very effective.

Ammon used a similar approach. He established his credibility before he tried to teach.

Mormon also helps us understand his meaning when he introduces the idea with these words, “Now Ammon being wise, yet harmless….”

Mormon’s lesson is about how to introduce people to the gospel, and about keeping one’s balance between enthusiasm and propriety. The Saviour taught that same lesson to his apostles. He said,

16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. (Matthew 10:16-20)

A serpent (think of a lovely garden snake rather than of a viper) is wise because he is cautious and he doesn’t want some big guy stepping on his head. The Lord used that same simile when he cautioned the Prophet Joseph, “Therefore, be ye as wise as serpents and yet without sin; and I will order all things for your good, as fast as ye are able to receive them (D&C 111:11).”

In another revelation, this one addressed to the Twelve, he instructed them to go into all the world to teach the gospel, he taught them that signs will follow those who believe, then forewarned them,

73 But a commandment I give unto them, that they shall not boast themselves of these things, neither speak them before the world; for these things are given unto you for your profit and for salvation.(D&C 84:73, see v.62-74),

The Prophet Joseph amplified those instructions when he spoke to the Saints during April Conference of 1844— the very last conference he attended before his death. He said,

“I want you to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Preach principles that will stand the test of ages; teach them good precepts and save souls, go forth as men of God, and you will find friends wherever you go. Drink deep of the Spirit of Truth and a great and mighty work shall be wrought in the world; hundreds and tens of thousands shall flock to the standard and go up to Zion.” (History of The Church, 6: 321)

We are frequently admonished to do the same as we seek to bring someone to the gospel: to first become an honest friend. After that friendship is established on a foundation of mutual trust, then introduce our friends to the missionaries and the gospel. They will gravitate to the truth we embrace because they have already felt the sincerity of our love.

Alma 18:16-21, 32 — LeGrand Baker — communication by the thoughts of the heart

To the ancients, the heart was the cosmic center of the individual (they had no idea what the brain was for). The heart was the academic and emotional center of the person. One thought with the heart. How they came to that conclusion is easy to understand. When we get a really good idea we don’t feel it in our head, but we feel a kind of excitement in our chest— in our heart. The heart was credited with evert thought and every emotion: one loved, hated, contrived, learned, rejoiced, and sorrowed in the heart. It was understood that was also true with God. The psalmist explained, “The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations (Psalms 33:11).”

God can communicate with people through the thoughts of their hearts because he knows what we are thinking.

The prophets understood that and it was comforting. The psalmist was secure in the knowledge that because God knows his heart God can judge him in righteousness. In humility, the psalmist asks,

1 O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways…..
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalms 139:1-24).

Job also understood that principle. As he approaches the veil, he acknowledges God’s power to judge.

1 Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee (Job 42:1-5).

The Lord explained to Oliver Cowdery “that there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart (D&C 6:16).” Jesus never lost that power. John tells us that the Saviour simply knew what people were thinking. He wrote,

24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.(John 2:24-25)

Sometimes the Saviour responded to what people were thinking rather than to what they said. Luke 5:16-22, 9:46-48, 24:36-39 are examples.

Paul explained this by saying that God “… is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:12b-13) That principle was emphasized in an 1830 revelation given through the Prophet Joseph where God quoted the statement by Paul. (D&C 33:1)

Therefore, when a prophet or other righteous person can perceive the thoughts of others, that perception is through the gift of the Spirit. God gives some people that temporary ability as it is necessary for them to fulfill their own eternal covenants. He gives others that ability on a more on-going basis so that they can be a righteous judge. The story told in Helaman 9:39-41is a rather dramatic example.

The Spirit of Discernment is a powerful tool by which the Lord gives his servants understanding beyond their natural abilities— the wisdom to govern and conduct the affairs of his kingdom as he would have it done. The Spirit of Discernment is manifest in several ways. Perhaps the simplest is the ability to perceive the light or the darkness in another person’s countenance. But it is often much more explicit than that. I suspect there is hardly a bishop or stake president in the church who has not had multiple experiences in knowing the intent of another person’s attitudes and desires, or even though he may not know the precise words as the other person thought them. But it can be more than that. For those who have the right, the Spirit can give them power to conduct conversations it the privacy of their hearts without physically hearing the words spoken.

It is in the quietude of our hearts that we speak to God, and it is through our hearts that he speaks to us, as in this remarkable story of Alma and his friends in the wilderness.

11 And Amulon commanded them that they should stop their cries [vocal prayers to God]; and he put guards over them to watch them, that whosoever should be found calling upon God should be put to death.
12 And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.
13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage…….
16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage. (Mosiah 24:11-13, 16)

Thus the Lord spoke to each separately, and they understood and acted in unison. Similar experiences— receiving instructions through the Spirit and acting accordingly— are not at all uncommon in the Church, but we rarely talk about them. The unison with which missionaries sometimes act and teach is an “ordinary” example. Knowing how to respond to unspoken questions is part of a missionary’s calling, as the Lord promised earlier missionaries,

5 Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men;
6 For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.
7 But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things. (D&C 100:5-7)

We recently watched a conversation between the Alma and Zeezrom where they conversed without words (Alma 12:1-8). Now, in Alma 18, we see another such conversation between Ammon and king Lamoni. We are told only the spoken words the king’s servants might have heard. What we are not told is the very private conversation that only the king and the prophet spoke to each other in the silence of their hearts.

16 And it came to pass that Ammon, being filled with the Spirit of God, therefore he perceived the thoughts of the king. And he said unto him: Is it because thou hast heard that I defended thy servants and thy flocks, and slew seven of their brethren with the sling and with the sword, and smote off the arms of others, in order to defend thy flocks and thy servants; behold, is it this that causeth thy marvelings?
17 I say unto you, what is it, that thy marvelings are so great? Behold, I am a man, and am thy servant; therefore, whatsoever thou desirest which is right, that will I do
18 Now when the king had heard these words, he marveled again, for he beheld that Ammon could discern his thoughts; but notwithstanding this, king Lamoni did open his mouth, and said unto him: Who art thou? Art thou that Great Spirit, who knows all things?
19 Ammon answered and said unto him: I am not.
20 And the king said: How knowest thou the thoughts of my heart? Thou mayest speak boldly, and tell me concerning these things; and also tell me by what power ye slew and smote off the arms of my brethren that scattered my flocks—
21 And now, if thou wilt tell me concerning these things, whatsoever thou desirest I will give unto thee; and if it were needed, I would guard thee with my armies; but I know that thou art more powerful than all they; nevertheless, whatsoever thou desirest of me I will grant it unto thee…..
32 And Ammon said: Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning. (Alma 18:16-21, 32)