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OBJECT/ICEBREAKER
For an object to this lesson, I might bring in a first aid kit. The larger the better
ICEBREAKER
Then for an icebreaker, I would share a story about rescue. And in recent history, there is a story that stands out to me as a shining example of the amazing things people can accomplish when they work together to help someone in trouble. You might remember hearing about this, but back in 2018, a soccer team consisting of 12 young boys and their coach in Thailand became trapped in the Tham Luang cave due to sudden flooding. The group had decided to go and explore the cave, and while deep inside the cave, a rainstorm swiftly moved into the area and began filling the chambers of the cave with water. They found a higher dry spot out of the water and then hunkered down, waiting for help as their exit was now blocked by hundreds of yards of narrow flooded passageways. Once the group was discovered The complex and dangerous rescue operation involved divers from around the world, including British divers Richard Stanton and John Volanthen, who first reached the boys after days of searching and diving deeper and deeper into the cave. Over the course of 18 days, rescuers worked tirelessly, navigating through narrow, flooded passageways to bring everyone out safely. The rescue operation involved sedating the boys and then one-by-one carefully moving them through the flooded cave in scuba gear back to the entrance. In the end, all 12 boys and their coach were rescued safe and sound. The operation was a remarkable display of international cooperation and bravery with many people risking their lives to try and save the lives of people in trouble.
You also might want to ask if anyone in your class has ever been involved in a rescue situation of some sort and to share their experience with everyone.
Well, sometimes people can get themselves into sticky spiritual situations as well. People we know and love can wander from the gospel’s paths of safety and become lost and hurt. They may end up getting themselves into a situation where they can’t really escape alone. Do you know anybody like that? An individual in need of spiritual rescue? That person could be a wayward child, a sibling, a friend, a neighbor. I’m sure we can all think of individuals who have strayed from the iron rod for whatever reason. When that kind of thing happens though, our Heavenly Father sends rescuers. He alerts the spiritual search and rescue teams to go out and strive to bring his children home again, safe. This rescue effort usually involves a great deal of effort and sacrifice. But when successful, the souls that are saved are of far more worth than the cost.
THE BIG PICTURE
Before we zero on the details of this week’s chapters, I want to have us take a few steps back to take a bit of a birds eye view at this portion of the book of Alma. Throughout the entire first half of Alma, I see a common thread woven into almost every chapter and story. A theme. That theme, to me, is rescue, or to use more of a church word, ministering. The efforts that God and his servants expend to save his sheep. Sheep in all kinds of different positions. From last week, in Alma 5, the audience was a group of church members beginning to stray, and Alma sought to rescue them. Then in the city of Gideon in Alma 7, we had a relatively righteous group of church members that Alma wished to prevent from straying and needing rescue. But now we have Alma 8 all the way to chapter 16 where we read the story of Alma preaching to the people of Ammonihah. That story is going to be our focus for the next two weeks. And the people of Ammonihah are VERY wayward, rebellious, and (let’s face it) downright wicked sheep. They are people who had once professed to be members of the church but had since abandoned it. We’ll be studying the efforts of Alma to rescue and bring back these wandering sheep. Then following that story, there’s a shift in chapters 17-28 to a different kind of sheep or people. These are those who had never had any association with the church to begin with; the spiritually unaware or those unfamiliar with the gospel. These chapters describe the missions of the sons of Mosiah to the Lamanites. So there we’re going to learn a lot about missionary work and conversion. Then we’re going to watch Alma working within his own family, his own sons.
And with this broader perspective, I see an overarching principle here about our rescue or ministering efforts. Whether it’s the work of conversion, retention, or strengthening, or parenting, or teaching, it’s all rescue work and it’s all important. We should be careful not to get so wrapped up in one aspect of rescue that we begin to neglect the others. I remember learning this lesson on my mission. When I first arrived, I wanted to work full-time on conversion, spreading the gospel to new families and individuals, performing baptisms and finding new converts to bring to the church. That’s what I felt missionary work was all about. But with the help of inspired companions and mission presidents and local church leaders I quickly learned that the work of retention and reactivation were just as important as proselytizing and, as I later discovered, just as rewarding as newfound conversion. Similarly, now, as a seminary teacher, and a podcaster, I could quickly become so focused on helping and working with the youth, and all of you, that I might begin to neglect the souls of my own children and family, or my own soul. I’ve got to strive to not let that happen. We all need to find balance in our efforts to rescue. Why? Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 comes to mind: “The worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” And that would be active souls, less active souls, rebellious souls, non-rebellious souls, ignorant souls, the souls of our friends and family, and then indeed our own souls. All are precious to God, and no one work is more important than the other because “all are alike unto God” (2 Nephi 26:33). Well, the Book of Alma seems to dedicate time to covering each of these types of ministering to give us perspective and counsel on working with each kind of group.
LESSON #1 SEARCH AND RESCUE
So this week, and next, the people of Ammonihah. The focus? How do we work with the truly wayward? Rescuing the rebellious soul. And the Ammonihah chapters are split into two lessons in the Come Follow Me manual. Chapters 8-12 and then 13-16. And just take a look at how we’re first introduced to these people in Alma 8:9
9 Now Satan had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma.
So these people are in trouble, and heading towards certain spiritual death. But, they don’t even realize their peril. These are rebellious people. In terms of rescue, they’re like the mountain climbers I’ve read about in stories who get severe altitude sickness or hypothermia to the point that they don’t realize they’re in trouble and even hamper or refuse efforts to help them. But still, God sends the people of Ammonihah a rescuer. Alma.
SEARCH
From that perspective, let’s see what Chapter 8 can teach us about working with the rebellious. For a SEARCH activity, study the following verses that I’ve pulled out, looking for Spiritual Search and Rescue Principles. What does Alma teach us about rescuing rebellious souls? And to make this a little more personal. If there is someone out there that you know and love that is in need of spiritual rescue, have them in mind as you study. Perhaps you’ll learn something here that can help guide you in your own situation.
1. Alma 8:10
2. Alma 8:14
3. Alma 8:15
4. Alma 8:18
5. Alma 8:19/26
6. Alma 8:30
8:10
10 Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance.
Pray for them. And for Alma, this is no mundane, routine kind of prayer either. Look how he describes it. Labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God, mighty prayer. These are all the same words that Enos used to describe his prayer. Here, Alma prays that they will feel the spirit, that they will be baptized unto repentance. And as we’ve already seen in the Book of Mormon thus far, the prayers of the righteous really can make a difference in the lives of others. Remember the reason an angel came to warn Alma the younger when he was young. Not because Alma deserved it, but because so many righteous people were praying for such an intervention. Never underestimate the power of fervent righteous prayer.
8:14
14 And it came to pass that while he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying:
Care deeply and sincerely about them. Look at how Alma reacts to their rejection. "weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul” Alma doesn’t walk away feeling bitter and condemning. Even after they’ve reviled and spit on him, he doesn’t go out to shake the dust off his feet or say “good riddance” with the wave of his hand. He’s not even walking away saying, “Well, I guess I tried. But if they won’t listen, they won’t listen” kind of attitude. Alma really feels for these people. He finds no joy in the fact that they will suffer the consequences of their wickedness. Sometimes I knew missionaries that seemed to feel that way. When they had been rejected by people or neighborhoods, or treated poorly, they quickly wrote them off with a “your loss” kind of attitude and a negative feeling for them. It reminds me of Jonah in the Old Testament. After he teaches the people of Ninevah, they actually do repent. But instead of rejoicing over their transformation, he walks out of the city, sits on a hill and relishes the thought of watching God destroy them. Then, when God tells him that he won’t destroy them, he’s upset. Alma shows us a better attitude to have when dealing with the rebellious. If we truly care about people, we will mourn their wickedness and the misery it is sure to bring, not celebrate their destruction or gloat triumphantly over them with a “I told you so” when things go wrong for them. In chapter 9:30 Alma calls them his beloved brethren. He sees them as his brethren, not enemies.
8:15
15 Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy first message from him. Behold, I am he that delivered it unto you.
The principle I see here would be: Don’t allow their decisions to destroy your joy. Now this may seem to run a little contrary to the principle that I just taught you in the last verse we looked at. Yes, we should feel sorrow for the wayward, however, keep balance here. Don’t let their rebelliousness make you miserable. In this instance, an angel visits Alma, the very angel that had visited him the first time. An old friend! He tells Alma that he should lift up his head and that he has great cause to rejoice. The point? We can still rejoice in our own righteousness even when others won’t join us in it. The true source of happiness is personal righteousness. Though we cannot control the actions of other people, we can control our own, and we shouldn’t lose our personal peace, our reward for worthy action, because of something we can’t control. Though, yes, I’m sure there will be times when we do feel sorrow for the wayward, we should not let it destroy our own enjoyment of life and the blessings of righteous living. This counts for parents too!
4. 8:18
18 Now it came to pass that after Alma had received his message from the angel of the Lord he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah. And he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the south of the city of Ammonihah.
A truth here. Be enthusiastic and fervent in your efforts to help them. The angel tells Alma to return and to try again. Don’t give up too easily on others. I love that Alma returns “speedily” to Ammonihah. And these are people who had just treated him terribly. Yet, he’s anxious to return. Why? Because the angel tells them that there is still a chance! Perhaps that’s why he’s so eager. He is feeling a sense of anticipation that they may still have a chance to change, and that energizes him. We too can continue to hope for and work for the salvation of those who seem lost at the time. Sadly, most of the people of Ammonihah will not repent, but he does save some! Alma will walk away from Ammonihah with a handful of converts. And he’s about to meet one of them right now. That man is Amulek, whose been prepared by the Lord to receive him. Alma tarries many days with Amulek and blesses him and his entire household.
8:19/26
19 And as he entered the city he was an hungered, and he said to a man: Will ye give to an humble servant of God something to eat?
26 And now, Amulek, because thou hast fed me and taken me in, thou art blessed; for I was an hungered, for I had fasted many days.
Pray AND fast for them. In verse 19 we learn that Alma is hungry, but a detail that’s easy to miss here is the reason why Alma is hungry. He’s been fasting. He tells us that in verse 26. Alma understood the added power that fasting gives to prayer. This reminds me of the story from the life of Christ where the apostles are not able to heal a certain boy. The boy is brought to Christ who heals him immediately. Afterwards, the apostles come to ask the Savior why they weren’t able to do it. Christ’s answer: This kind cometh not out but by prayer and fasting. That seems to suggest to me that there are some problems that can only be solved with a combination of both. I think that when serious problems come into our lives or into the lives of these we love, we readily turn to prayer for help. But how often do we turn to that second means of petitioning divine help. Prayer AND fasting carries immense power.
8:30
30 And Alma went forth, and also Amulek, among the people, to declare the words of God unto them; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost.
Take the Holy Spirit as your guide. This verse tells us that both Alma and Amulek were filled with the Holy Ghost as they went forth teaching amongst the people. We too are going to need the influence of the Spirit in helping the wayward. Everybody’s situation is different. We’ll need the guidance of the Spirit when interacting with them to know how they can best be helped.
Well those are all the principles that I found in chapter 8. Maybe you saw something different in those verses?
TRUTH
We must seek to rescue the spiritually lost.
TAKING IT TO HEART
Can you think of anyone you know that needs rescue?
What principle from Alma 8 might help you most to help them?
VIDEO
A video that you might consider showing here is entitled “The Hope of God’s Light”. It’s a powerful true story of a young man who was spiritually rescued by the combined efforts of a number of different people in his life. People who were inspired to reach out and help him in his journey to the light. It could be a good way of helping your students feel the power and importance of reaching out to the lost.
THE TAKEAWAY
I’ve always thought it would be cool to be part of a search and rescue team. I mean, how rewarding would it be to see a person snatched from the jaws of certain death because you made the effort to help them. To know that you saved a life, that you made a difference. Like the divers in the Thai cave rescue story. How must they have felt after they pulled the last boy to safety and delivered him into the arms of his parents. I’m sure it’s very similar to the feeling a person must get when they help to change the heart and spiritual trajectory of a wayward soul.
LESSON #2 THREE WITNESSES
ICEBREAKER
For an icebreaker, try the following handout with your students. The first activity is a letter tiles unscramble. The goal is to figure out the secret word by placing the tiles in the correct order in the blank spaces. And with a little bit of thought and work, they should be able to determine that the word is WITNESSES. And it’s important that that word is plural. We’re not just talking about a singular witness here, but witnesses.
Now, after Alma testifies to the people of Ammonihah, they lodge a complaint at him. They give a reason for why they shouldn’t have to take him seriously. What is that complaint? Find it Alma 9:2-6.
And what’s their objection? Verse 2
2 Who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony of one man, although he should preach unto us that the earth should pass away?
And then later in verse 6
6 And they said: Who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things?
And you know, they kind of have a point there, don’t they? One single witness of something isn’t very strong. In a court of law, that’s typically not enough to convict someone. You might even be familiar with Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 13:1. And that’s question #3 on our handout. What important eternal principle is taught by Paul that verse. "By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” So Paul and God would agree with them, and say, “You know Ammonihahites. You’re right. Alma’s witness alone isn’t very strong is it? Let’s remedy that. And if you know the rest of the story, that initial argument of theirs is almost ridiculous. I mean, they’re playing right into the Lord’s 1strategy here. You can almost hear a muffled chuckle from the heavens as they make their triumphant assertion. Little do they know that God has at least two more witnesses waiting in the wings to appear, each one more compelling than the last.
Now let’s see if we can find those witnesses by filling in the chart on our handout. Who does God send in the following verses to testify to the Ammonihahites of their need to repent and change?
Witness #1 ALMA (Alma 8:8, 9:1)
Witness #2 AMULEK (Alma 9:34, 10:1-4)
Witness #3 ZEEZROM (Alma 10:31, 12:7-8, 14:6-7)
Who are these three witnesses? We’ve already talked about the first one.
Our first witness is Alma, and he returns after his initial rejection and preaches to the people again. And we have his teachings all throughout Alma chapter 9. A summary of his message. You’ve forgotten the great things God has done for you and your fathers. You need to change. It’s time to repent. And justice awaits you if you refuse. Especially after you have been so richly blessed. Alma’s voice is the first voice to plead with them. But alas, he’s rejected rather quickly. Dismissed as a SINGLE witness.
So enter witness #2. Who is it? A man named Amulek. He testifies to the people of Ammonihah in chapters 10-11.
And who is our third witness? Witness #3 is a man named Zeezrom. We’re introduced to him in chapter 10:31, which says:
31 And there was one among them whose name was Zeezrom. Now he was the foremost to accuse Amulek and Alma, he being one of the most expert among them, having much business to do among the people.
And at first, if you don’t know the story, you might think, uh, Brother Wilcox, yeah, Zeezrom is a witness all right, but for their side. He’s coming out and attacking Alma and Amulek. Why are you including him here in the “God’s witnesses side?” We’ll talk about that in a minute.
But the next question on the handout is a bit of a tougher one. It’s a pondering question. It asks: Do you notice anything interesting about the order of the witnesses God sends? Alma-Amulek-Zeezrom. Why that order? And that’s just to get them thinking. When you get to that question. I would spend a little time as the teacher summarizing the stories of Amulek and Zeezrom. Because we already know a lot about Alma. We’ve read his story. His rebellious youth. His angelic intervention. His mighty change. His appointment to chief judge. His stepping down from that high position to engage in his current efforts to teach and turn his wayward people back to God. But what about those other two witnesses? What’s their story?
Amulek as Witness
Who is Amulek then? Amulek’s story is quite a fascinating one. He is actually from Ammonihah himself. We learn in chapter 8:19-22 that as Alma reenters the city after his initial rejection he just “happens” to run into a man who he asks for food. Remember he’s been fasting. And that man basically says, “Why yes, I’ve been expecting you.” And he explains to Alma that an angel had visited him and told him that a holy man would visit him and that he should feed him and listen to him. And he’s promised that if he will, that that man will bless him and his household. So Alma enters Amulek’s house and tarries with him many days teaching him and his family. Amulek tells the people his side of that story in Alma 10:1-11. And we learn something interesting about Amulek in verse 4. It says:
4 And behold, I am also a man of no small reputation among all those who know me; yea, and behold, I have many kindreds and friends, and I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry.
So Amulek is a man “of no small reputation” among them. He’s successful, admired, popular, and prosperous—a highly respected citizen of the city.
Well he goes forward and testifies against the people and calls them to repentance as well. Sadly. In 10:24
24 And now it came to pass that the people were more angry with Amulek, and they cried out, saying: This man doth revile against our laws which are just, and our wise lawyers whom we have selected.
Zeezrom as Witness
Now, as compelling as Amulek’s story is, Zeezrom’s is even more compelling. In Alma 11, we first see him offering Amulek a huge sum of money as a bribe to try and get him to deny God. He offers him 6 onties of silver. Six whole onties. And usually I’ll facetiously ask, “Can you believe that? Would you take 6 onties of silver to deny God?” And we’ll talk about that money system later in this video, but sufficeth to say for now, that this is a large sum of money. But Amulek refuses and calls Zeezrom out by saying that Zeezrom never even intended to give him the money, even if he did deny God. Well, Zeezrom continues to question Amulek who withstands all his questions and then launches into Zeezrom with a brilliant rebuttal in 11: 39-45. And keep in mind that Zeezrom is a lawyer. So take note of the kinds of words that Amulek uses to get through to him. Just look at this:
:41 All shall rise from the dead and stand before God and be judged according to their works.
:43 stand before God, a bright recollection of all our guilt.
:44 and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works.
Do you notice anything there? It’s all lawyer language. Just exactly the type of message that is going to strike a chord with a lawyer. Amulek speaks to him in terms that he’s particularly going to understand. And you know, it’s little nuances like that that bolster my testimony in Joseph Smith as a translator of the Book of Mormon, and not its creator. Well, Amulek’s message gets through to him.
Take a look at what happens next:
11:46
46 Now, when Amulek had finished these words the people began again to be astonished, and also Zeezrom began to tremble. And thus ended the words of Amulek, or this is all that I have written.
Then 12:1
1 Now Alma, seeing that the words of Amulek had silenced Zeezrom, for he beheld that Amulek had caught him in his lying and deceiving to destroy him, and seeing that he began to tremble under a consciousness of his guilt, he opened his mouth and began to speak unto him, and to establish the words of Amulek, and to explain things beyond, or to unfold the scriptures beyond that which Amulek had done.
Then jump to 12:7-8
7 Now when Alma had spoken these words, Zeezrom began to tremble more exceedingly, for he was convinced more and more of the power of God; and he was also convinced that Alma and Amulek had a knowledge of him, for he was convinced that they knew the thoughts and intents of his heart; for power was given unto them that they might know of these things according to the spirit of prophecy.
8 And Zeezrom began to inquire of them diligently, that he might know more concerning the kingdom of God. And he said unto Alma: What does this mean which Amulek hath spoken concerning the resurrection of the dead, that all shall rise from the dead, both the just and the unjust, and are brought to stand before God to be judged according to their works?
And then, to finish this point off, let’s dip into next week’s chapters just a little bit and go to
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.
And later in Alma 15:1-12, we learn the rest of Zeezrom’s story as he becomes physically sick under the burden of his guilt. He calls for Alma and Amulek who miraculously heal him, and he immediately goes out and becomes a missionary for the Church. And THAT is how Zeezrom goes from foe to friend, from antagonist to protagonist. From persecutor to preacher.
Which takes us back to our initial question. Do you notice anything interesting about the order of the witnesses God sends? They get stronger and more forceful, don’t they?
Now Alma is one thing. The former chief judge of the whole land. But why is Amulek a stronger witness, to the people of Ammonihah, at least. Because he’s one of them! Isn’t he. He’s from the city. And not only that, but he’s a very respected and prosperous citizen of their own community. God sending Amulek is upping the ante for them, in particular. And at first, it takes them aback. In 10:12 the people began to be astonished, seeing there was more than one witness who testified of the things whereof they were accused. And that’s kind of our key idea there. More than one witness.
And then Zeezrom’s witness is even stronger than that. How? Because Zeezrom is not only from Ammonihah, but he’s their champion. Their big gun that they use to try and take Alma and Amulek out. But by the end of the story, he’s one of their biggest advocates.
Our next question on the handout then:
What does this story teach you about how our Heavenly Father works with the wayward?
One point that could be made, it shows that God gives people many chances to change, doesn’t he. He’s not going to give up on his children easily. He’s willing to try a number of different tactics to persuade them to change before he ever gets close to resigning them to self-destruction. Go back to 8:24 where Alma says that he was “about to set my back towards this land forever”. Well Alma may have been ready to turn his back on them. But God hadn’t. He was going to give them another chance. He had already planned to send more rescuers. And it seems like he tries harder and harder each time as well. There’s that amplification of witnesses. He’s going to give them every opportunity and excuse to change that he can. So he says, “Well Alma’s witness didn’t work, let’s try Amulek, ah, that didn’t work either, ok let’s try Zeezrom.” He just keeps continuing his efforts to change their hearts, calling them many times.
Amulek testifies of this very thing in Alma 10:5-6.
5 Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his mysteries and marvelous power. I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation of the lives of this people.
6 Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges.
Amulek recognizes, in the moment he’s saying it almost, that God had given him many chances. That he had been called many times, and yet, he wouldn’t hear. But eventually, thank heavens, he did hear. God continued to give him another chance, even after he had rejected so many. He realizes that God had been there all along, helping him, calling him, pleading for him. He just didn’t recognize it.
And then, another point that could be made. What do each of those three witnesses, Alma, Amulek, and Zeezrom, have in common that would make them even more particularly effective witnesses to people like the Ammonihahites. There’s something about their past that they all share. Can you figure out what it is? And it’s that each of them was once a wayward soul themselves. Each of them had been, at one time, rebels against God, but had changed. What better witnesses than those who could relate best to the people of Ammonihah themselves. And in Zeezrom’s case, somebody whose heart had changed right then, in the moment! And he was their hero! I am ever amazed at the diligence, the long-suffering, and the patience of our Father in Heaven when it comes to the salvation of his children. He tries so hard to help them. It reminds me of Jacob 5 where we see the good gardener just keep working with his trees, over and over again to help them bring forth good fruit. “Spare it a little longer” he says and, “It grieveth me that I should lose this tree.” The people of Ammonihah are a real-life example of that divine attitude.
So, for you and me, don’t lose hope for those you love. Keep giving them chances like their Heavenly Father does. You never know when one particular witness is going to make the difference.
TRUTH
God sends many witnesses and offers many chances in an effort to rescue his children from spiritual calamity.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Have you ever witnessed a “spiritual rescue”? If so, what happened?
What witnesses or rescuers have had the most profound effect on your life?
As a personal example, I remember a certain individual in my previous ward who for years had no interest in coming back to church. But because of the continual efforts of faithful neighbors, home teachers, bishops, and family members who continued to love them and serve them and give them opportunities to change. They eventually returned. God sent rescuers, multiple witnesses. And in their case, it worked!
THE TAKEAWAY
So let’s go out and join the spiritual search and rescue team. Let’s be Alma’s, and Amulek’s, and Zeezrom’s and do our best to show people how they can and that they can return. God is a long-suffering, laboring, spare it a little longer, kind of God. I pray that we can mirror that same merciful, loving approach to the wayward.
LESSON #3 THE ZEEZROM CHALLENGE
ICEBREAKER
Another fun little activity you can do with your students here involves the explanation of the money system used by the Nephites and described here at the beginning of Alma 11. And you all know that I don’t typically just do academic or scholarly type study with you, my focus is always leading towards relevance and finding personal meaning in the scriptures. But I do just find this fascinating, I just had to include it this week, so bear with me. But when Zeezrom first comes on the scene, he offers Amulek a sum of money to deny the existence of God. You know, in a materialistic society, the mindset becomes that everybody has their price. Since Zeezrom is so wrapped up in making money and having it solve all his problems, he sees an opportunity here to just rid himself of this Amulek problem here. His goal is to discredit Amulek. So he thinks, “Well, I’ll just throw enough money at this issue, that should be the end of it. I mean, who wouldn’t take 6 onties of silver just to say something.” But how much is 6 onties?
Mormon wants us to understand what that amount of money means. He knew that future readers of the Book of Mormon probably wouldn’t have an awareness of those terms. Is that a lot of money? A small amount? Just what is being offered here? So he explains. And it is a little confusing but, I’ll try to lay this out for you in a chart. Here are the Nephite coinage amounts or weights. Now I’m not going to go into great detail on each of these measures but we disc1over that an onti is the largest denomination of silver, being worth 7 of the base measure of one called a senum. And a senum was the amount of money they would pay a judge for one day’s worth of work. That’s our money connection to the real world that we can go off of. And I believe that we can assume that a judge’s wages were probably fairly high. At least one of the highest paid professions in that society, seeing how much they seem to revere their laws and lawyers in Ammonihah. If Zeezrom is offering Amulek 6 onties, then that would be 6 X 7 = 42 days’ worth of a judge’s work. I imagine that that’s a lot of money! About a month and a half’s worth of work.
Another interesting fact here about the Nephite money. It’s actually a more efficient system of money than the one we use in the United States today. What do I mean by that? Well let’s fill out the following chart. The American money system uses what denominations of coinage. We have 1-dollar bills. Then what’s the next highest? 5$, then 10$ and we’ll just stop right there. We go 1, 5, 10. What’s the Nephite system though? In their money, they had 1’s, 2’s, 4’s, and 7’s. Weird huh? Those seem to be some odd increments, don’t they? But let’s do the math to see for sure. So let’s fill this out. How many pieces of money would we need to give somebody in order to make a payment in that amount?
If we owed somebody a dollar, in the American system we would give them one piece of money. A 1$ bill. And in the Nephite coinage system, they also would give one piece of money, a Senum, or a Senine. So it’s a tie here in efficiency. What if you owed somebody two dollars? In the American system, you would give the two pieces of money. 2 1$ bills. But in the Nephite system. You actually have a 2. So you would give someone just one piece of money, like a 2$ bill or an Amnor, or Seon. Nephite system wins. What about 3? In the American, we’d need 3 pieces of money. 3 1$ bills. In the Nephite? Just 2, a 1 and a 2, makes 3. More efficient. 4$, In the American, 4 1$ bills. In the Nephite, just 1 piece of money. A 4. Nephite coinage wins. How about 5. In the American system, just 1 bill, a 5$ bill. In the Nephite, 2 pieces of money, a 4 and a 1. Yeah, finally! The American system wins! But don’t get too excited. 6. American system 2 bills. The Nephite system, 2 bills. Tie. 7, American system, 3 bills. Nephite system 1 bill. Nephite system wins. 8, American system, 4 bills. Nephite system, just 2. Nephite system wins. 9, American system, 5 bills. Nephite system, just two, a 7 and a 2, Nephite system wins. 10, American system, 1 bill, Nephite system, 3 bills. American system wins that time. All together then, which system is more efficient. We’ve got 2 ties, American system winning 2 out of 10 times, Nephite system winning 6 times. I declare the Nephite system champion, in terms of efficiency at least.
Now, what spiritual meaning does that have for all of us? Not much. Like I said, this is just kind of for fun. But if there was a more relevant kind of application in this, I think it would be a testament to Joseph Smith as the translator of the Book of Mormon, rather than the author of the Book of Mormon. If he were making it up, why on earth would go through the trouble of inventing an entire money system, that actually works, and makes sense, and lo and behold, is even more efficient than the system you are familiar with. To me, it’s just another one of those small evidences of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon we can point to. Fascinating.
DEFENDING THE FAITH
Now if you wanted to maybe continue to give a lesson along the lines of that concept and story of Zeezrom offering money to Amulek to convince him to deny the existence of God, let me just give you a few quick ideas on how you could carry that lesson forward. You could do the money explanation we just studied as kind of the icebreaker to the lesson, and then ask your students the following.
What does Amulek’s response to Zeezrom teach us about dealing with those who seek to challenge our faith, or draw us away from the gospel with offers of worldly rewards. I mean, do we have a price? Is Zeezrom correct in his thinking. How highly do we value our discipleship? It’s a good question to consider. If somebody came along and offered you money to leave the Church, to stop practicing its principles, to deny your belief in it, what would it take to for you to accept it? 50,000$? A million? 5 million? A billion? I think we might find that many in the world are willing to sell their discipleship for far less. How about for acceptance from your peers? For indulgence in lustful actions? For extra profit in our business? For ease and avoidance of commitment and work? The adversary makes us these offers all the time. He wants us to trade something of much higher value, for something that we want right now. It’s that classic desires of the natural man vs the desires of the saint struggle we’ve talked about a lot this year already.
But what does Amulek do? How does he resist this temptation?
SEARCH-RESISTING THE LURE
I have 3 suggestions. They come from the following verses.
Alma 11:22
Alma 11:23
A then a general principle from Alma 11:26-45
So from Alma 11:22, we hear Amulek say that he has the Spirit of the Lord with him. So if we want power to resist temptation and the lures of the world, be sure to keep the Spirit. Don’t do things that drive his influence away. Fill your life and thoughts and actions and media choices with things that are conducive to the Spirit, and put yourself in environments and with people that help you to maintain that Spirit as much as possible. Then, when the temptations come, you will have that assistance and that strength when you need it.
And then, one of my favorite temptation resisting techniques of all scripture comes from verse 23. I love Amulek’s response to Zeezrom here. Sometimes I joke with my students and say that if anyone ever tries to tempt them to do something that they know is wrong, to simply shout out “Alma 11:23, and then turn around and run away screaming”. I just call it the Alma 11:23 method. And when that other person hears that reference, they will be so curious to know what it means, that they will go and read it, and they’ll get their answer. What does Alma 11:23 say? How does Amulek respond to Zeezrom?
O thou child of hell, why tempt ye me? Knowest thou that the righteous yieldeth to no such temptations?
Now, isn’t that a great response? So if you’re on a date, and somebody starts to push you into doing something you don’t feel comfortable doing? What do you say? You shout Alma 11:23 and then turn around and run away screaming. If someone offers you alcohol or drugs or tobacco, you can shout Alma 11:23 and run away screaming. Or if something pornographic or inappropriate pops up on your phone, you can point your finger at it and shout Alma 11:23 and then throw your phone as far away from you as possible, and then turn around and run away from it, screaming.
And yes, I know, I’m being a bit facetious here. But really, what’s worse in the long run? A little embarrassment in front of your peers, or dealing with the long-term consequences of a bad decision. What’s worse, a broken phone, or an addiction to pornography? If we can have the courage to simply dismiss temptation, to confront it boldly and with decisiveness, like Amulek does right here. With a “I’m not even going to entertain the thought. I’m not going to go along with this even a little bit. I’m going to reject that thought, that notion, resolutely, unequivocally, right here from the beginning with such force and certainty that I will rid myself of the influence from the get-go.
And then finally, an overall principle here from the rest of chapter 11. Zeezrom seeks to trap Amulek in his words with a number of doctrinal questions—thinking that he can somehow trip him up and find something to condemn him by. But Amulek withstands each of his questions and then launches into a doctrinal explanation of the final judgment. We mentioned that earlier. What’s the technique suggestion here? Know the doctrine. The better you know the gospel, the greater grasp you have of the scriptures, the doctrines of the gospel, and the teachings of the prophets, the better able you will be to withstand temptation. Sometimes ignorance is our greatest barrier to righteous living. So why do we have Sunday school, and Gospel Doctrine, and seminary and institute, and general conference, and Come Follow Me, and a charge to study the scriptures personally on a daily basis? It’s Defense Against the Dark Arts training. When we truly understand the principles of the gospel, it is far easier for us to resist the lure of worldly enticements. Truth conquers temptation every time.
TRUTH
When I am tempted to give into the lures of temptation, if I have the Spirit, resist with boldness, and know the doctrines of the gospel, then I will have strength to resist.
I WILL GO AND DO
Which of Amulek’s three techniques do you need to practice more?
What can you do this week to implement it?
THE TAKEAWAY
Don’t sell out. Don’t fall for the enticements. They’re just not worth it. As Amulek points out in verse 25, Zeezrom never intended to give him what he promised, even if Amulek had agreed. That’s how the adversary works. He over promises then under delivers. He never intends to actually give us what he vows. It’s the old bait and switch technique. I’ll offer you ease, pleasure, advantage, and popularity. But in the end he only has addiction, consequence, misery, and captivity to give. But the spiritually discerning won’t fall for it. We can look back at the devil with boldness and declare, “O thou child of hell, why tempt ye me? Knowest thou that the righteous yieldeth to no such temptations?”
FRUSTRATING THE PLAN
One last thought. Much of chapter 12 is deeply doctrinal. It’s virtually a full explanation of the Plan of Salvation. It’s got almost all the parts. Judgment, the Fall, Mortality, Resurrection, Prophets and Revelation, Agency, the Atonement. It’s all in there and I encourage you to study and know it well. We won’t go into great depth on those verses here, but there is one question that I want to cover with you in this chapter that I think ties in nicely with the problems of the people of Ammonihah. Something about the Fall that isn’t really taught anywhere else in the scriptures as clearly as it is here.
DISCUSSION QUESTION
Sometimes I’ve been asked what Satan was hoping to accomplish by giving the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil to Adam and Eve. And perhaps I would start by asking that question and hearing their thoughts. I mean, how did that advance or help his diabolical plan? Didn’t that just play into what Heavenly Father wanted to do anyway? To have Adam and Eve partake of the fruit and bring about mortality? Well, to those questions I usually respond with a question of my own. I ask, “Was there any possible way for Satan to have frustrated or ruined the plan of Salvation that God had established? Were there any loopholes in its framework? And the surprising answer to that, is YES. There was one way that Satan could have ruined the plan. And what was that way? Alma 12:23 and 26
23 And now behold, I say unto you that if it had been possible for Adam to have partaken of the fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: If thou eat thou shalt surely die.
And then 26
26 And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of life they would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the plan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word of God would have been void, taking none effect
Those phrases sure sound like things that Satan would have desired right? He would have loved for God’s word to be made void, to make him a liar, to make us forever miserable and to frustrate the plan of redemption. What was the way for him to do that? All he needed to do was have Adam and Eve first partake of the forbidden fruit, and then to immediately partake of the fruit of the tree of life. They then would have lived forever in their sins. Well, obviously God wasn’t going to allow that to happen, and it seems from the accounts we have of the Adam and Eve story, that the Father shows up fairly quickly after they’ve partaken of the forbidden fruit. That’s also why God places an angel with a flaming sword at the tree of life at this point, to protect the plan of redemption from being frustrated at this point. But doesn’t that make sense? I’m not asserting that that IS the reason behind Satan’s actions in the Garden of Eden, but I think it’s a good possibility. You can see the logic to it in his warped mind. “If I can get them to partake of the fruit of this tree, then maybe I can get them to partake of the fruit of that tree afterwards. A partaking of deeper and more devastating consequences.
A PERSONAL APPLICATION
Is there any personal application that we can draw from that episode though? I think so. I feel that that’s a perfect illustration of how Satan works with us too. A tactic he’s predisposed to use. He tried it with Adam and Eve, and he’ll try it with us as well. He tempts us to partake of forbidden fruit, whatever that fruit may be. Lust, laziness, pride, dishonesty, anger, or greed, and then to swiftly move us on to the next temptation, and the next, and the next, steadily downward, moving us further and further away from the light of the gospel.
FRUSTRATING OUR PLAN
Satan sought to frustrate God’s plan and thank heaven he was unsuccessful. But that conclusion often prompts another question that I’ve had many students ask me over the years. If Satan knows he’s going to lose in the end, that he will never succeed in defeating God or his plan, then why in the world does he keep trying? My response to that? Satan may know that he can’t frustrate God’s plan for all (he doesn’t have that power) BUT he can frustrate God’s plan for us, for you and me, if we allow him to. He wasn’t able to make all God’s children forever miserable, but he can make you forever miserable. He couldn’t make God a liar, but he can try to make you a liar. He couldn’t make God’s word void, but he can make a void in your life where God belongs. Don’t let that happen to you. If we turn to God and trust in Him, then perhaps he can send cherubim and a flaming sword, or shielding angels our way to protect us from terrible consequences. This is what had happened to the people of Ammonihah. At that point, Satan had successfully brought frustration and misery into their lives by waving forbidden fruit in front of their eyes and slowly moving them on to more and more forbidden fruit, probably in a similar fashion to what he tried with Adam and Eve. I pray that we will avoid the fate of the Ammonihahites.
CONCLUSION
The people of Ammonihah have a lot more to teach us, as well as Alma, Amulek, and Zeezrom. This has just been part 1 of the Ammonihah saga. Next week we’re going to revisit some of these same themes again. We’ll learn more about rescuing. Alma 13 is one of the greatest chapters on this topic. And then, we’ll watch just how low these Ammonihahites can go. In fact, they’re going to be responsible for one of the most horrific scenes in the entire Book of Mormon. And God has one final witness to send to them. We’ll take a look at that next time. Until then, maybe we should ponder which side of this divide we wish to be found on. Are we going to be part of God’s search and rescue team? Or are we more likely to be one of the victims, needing their help. We probably will all find ourselves in some way on both sides of that equation at different points in our lives. But hopefully we’ll more frequently find ourselves as rescuers, and not rescuees.
