LESSON PLAN FOR ALMA 43-52

Watch the video presentation on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/F411fDJwVlw

NOTE

I’m sure you’ll notice that this week’s block is rather large. It’s reminiscent of some Old Testament lessons where the blocks are large and in some cases entire books of scripture. But that’s ok. It just means you have to adjust your approach a little bit. You can’t cover it all, and I’m not even going to attempt to do that here. What we have to do as teachers in these cases is to become familiar with the entire block, study it carefully, and then, with the help of the Spirit, decide what we feel will be the most applicable, most relevant, and most inspiring principles to dig deeper into. Covering a few truths well is more important than covering many truths poorly. So with these 10 chapters, we’re going to dig deep into two stories: Captain Moroni and his title of liberty, and Lehonti on Mt. Antipas. Hopefully, I can give you a meaningful way to approach these stories, but be aware that there are plenty of other equally powerful stories and principles in these chapters that you may wish to focus on. 

ICEBREAKER

For an icebreaker on the war chapters, I usually like to begin with the following activity. I ask my students what the following hymns have in common. 

60, 246, 250, 251, 253

• 60 The Battle Hymn of the Republic

• 246. Onward Christian Soldiers

• 250. We are all enlisted

• 251 Behold a Royal Army

• 259 Hope of Israel

Did you figure it out? They all have a common theme. War. Each one uses war imagery.

Just listen to the words of one of my favorite hymns  “Hope of Israel” 

"Hope of Israel, Zion’s army, children of the promised day, see the Chieftan signals onward, and the battle’s in array, hope of Israel, rise in might, with the sword of truth and right, sound the war cry, watch and pray, vanquish every foe today."

So why so many war hymns? Is it because we, as a church, in general, are a warlike people? That we love fighting. Any chance we have to get into a war, we jump at because God likes war?

No, I don’t think that's it at all. These hymns are not about fighting literal battles, but spiritual ones. War becomes a metaphor for mortality. And I think it’s a good one. Just ponder the similarities and what different elements of war could represent on a spiritual level. What are the weapons? Who are the generals? What do the casualties look like in this conflict? Who are the medics? Each has a spiritual counterpart. The adversary is trying to conquer our souls and indeed we must fight to maintain our divine freedom. 

One of the reasons I believe Mormon included so many war chapters in the Book of Mormon is because he wanted to teach us principles of spiritual conflict as well as physical. Certainly, there are some powerful principles taught in these chapters about actual war and conflict, but I’d like to focus on the spiritual side if you don’t mind. I feel it’s a little more applicable since most of us won’t find ourselves on the actual battlefield.

TRANSITION

So let’s begin with a quick search question to get us into the scriptures. There is a very inconvenient truth in Alma 46:9. And we’re not talking about global warming here. It’s a fact that, oh, I wish weren’t true, but unfortunately it is. Such a tragic truth. What is it?

The answer is that all it takes is just one very wicked man to cause a great deal of evil, and tragedy, and sadness for many other people. One wicked person. That’s all it takes. Can you think of any examples of this unfortunate truth?

• Adolf Hitler comes to mind. How many millions of people died because of the evil of that one man.

• Osama Bin Laden

• These mass shootings that have taken place over the years at the hands of sick individuals, how many families have they shattered? 

• John Wilkes Booth

• Josef Stalin

• And many, many others. 

AMALICKIAH

The specific individual that Mormon is referring to here is a man named Amalickiah and I’ll briefly give you a sense of the evil of this man. I mean he is a real piece of work here. He makes Voldemort seem almost cuddly. 

• 46:3 large and strong

• 46:4 seeking for power

• 46:5, 7, 10 Uses flattery to deceive

• 46:6 Causes dissension

• 46:9 A wicked man

• 46:10 He was a man of cunning device, led away hearts to do wickedly, sought to destroy the church of God, and the foundation of liberty. 

• 47:1 Stirred up the Lamanites to anger

• 47:4 Subtle man to do evil

• 47 He craftily and secretly murders both Lehonti and the King of the Lamanites.

• 47:30 By his fraud he gained the hearts of the people.

• 48:1 Inspires with hatred

• 48:3 Hardened hearts and blinded minds, stirred them up to anger

• 49:26 Exceedingly angry

• 49:27 Swears with an oath to drink Moroni’s blood

Amalickiah is a great type for Satan who also sought power through flattery and subtlety. And Amalickiah will bring great evil, and bloodshed, and devastation amongst both the Lamanites and Nephites. The influence that just one wicked person can have is truly great. 

However, on the other hand, there is some good news in all of this. All truths come in sets of two. If that is true. If one person can cause so much evil, what else must also be true? The opposite.  One person can be an incredible influence for good. Just one individual has an immense power to bring happiness, and goodness, and justice to this world. Can you think of any examples of that?

• George Washington

• Gandhi

• Abraham Lincoln

• Paul of Tarsus

• Martin Luther King

• And many, many others.

In these chapters, the foil or counterpart to Amalickiah is a man named Captain Moroni. 

CAPTAIN MORONI

It’s very obvious that Mormon looks up to Captain Moroni as a hero and role model. For one, he includes so many chapters about him and his leadership in the Book of Mormon, two, he names his son after him, and three, he gives him one of the greatest tributes in all the Book of Mormon. Just take a look at Alma 48:17.

17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

Oooh. I love that description. When Mormon penned this tribute, I don’t think he had Captain Moroni’s military genius in mind, As the great prophet Yoda once said: "Wars not make one great”, but it was his character that he so admired. Remember the other name that we’ve given to anti-Christs, faith-shakers? Men like Sherem and Korihor who sought to shake people from the faith? But anti-Christ’s aren’t the only ones that can do some shaking.  We can turn the table back on them and do some shaking of our own. WE can shake the very powers of hell. We can go after Lucifer and his kingdom. We can be hell shakers. That’s what I want to be. Not only do I want to stand firm against Satan’s attacks, I want to attack him. I want to make him wring his hands in frustration over my actions. I want to steal his followers and turn them into disciples of Christ. If we want to do that,  If we wish to shake hell, then we need to be like Captain Moroni. He stands as a shining example of what kind of people God’s warriors are. Men and women. So let’s take a closer look at his great example. 

HELL-SHAKERS

What was it that Moroni did that shook the foundations of hell? I see a number of them in these chapters. We’re going to do a brief activity to cover a large number of them and then we’re going to dig deep into one particular quality that I feel Moroni exemplifies better than almost anyone else in the scriptures. So as a teacher, I would place these references up on the board in a grid, or if I was teaching my family, perhaps I would do it on a piece of paper, and then allow your students to come forward and fill in the boxes with the “hell shaker” qualities they see in these verses, and there could be more than one quality listed in each of these boxes.  I’m also going to make this chart available as a handout if you’d like to approach it that way. 

1. 43:23

2. 44:5

3. 46:17

4. 48:7

5. 48:9

6. 48:11

7. 48:12

8. 48:13

9. 48:16

For you and I, let’s take a closer look at each of these verses and the kinds of things your students might identify.

1. 43:23

I see Moroni doing two things here. One, he sends spies to watch the camp of Zerahemnah’s army so he’ll have an idea of where they are and two, he inquires of the Lord for help on what to do. I love that. Moroni is going to do everything that lies in his power and his own ingenuity to defeat the Lamanites, but at the same time, he will also rely on the Lord for inspiration and divine assistance. Sometimes I think we rely too much on one or the other. Hell shakers rely on both. Like Saint Augustine said, "Pray as though everything depended upon God. Work as though everything depended on you."

2. 44:5

There are a number of principles in this verse, but I love this final phrase where he speaks about the sacred word of God, or the scriptures. Moroni says that it is to the scriptures that we “owe all our happiness”. If we wish to become hell shakers, we need to find love and joy in the word of God. In the scriptures.  Hell shakers find happiness in scripture study and the strength and knowledge it provides them. 

3. 46:17

Moroni’s prayers were capable of shaking hell. In this verse, he pours out his soul to God.  He didn’t just say his prayers. He poured out his soul. Moroni was a man who had a firm connection with heaven. He understood the wrestle and the work of prayer. Not only did he have physical stamina, but spiritual stamina as well. Hell shakers pour out their souls to God in real prayer.

4. 48:7

Moroni understood what kind of preparation was most important. When he was about to lead his men into battle, his first concern wasn’t drills, and planning war maneuvers, and physical training, his first priority was spiritual preparation. Faith before fighting. Hell shakers make spiritual preparation a priority. They pray, they fast, they study their scriptures, they make decisions on how they will react to certain temptations before they ever face them. 

5. 48:9

Moroni believed in strengthening that which was weak. Hell shakers accept the fact that they are not perfect, that they have weaknesses. But they don’t allow weaknesses to remain weaknesses. They work on them. They live by the message that a later Moroni would write:

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

6. 48:11

Moroni was a man motivated and inspired by righteous causes.  Hell shakers aren’t motivated by fame, popularity, power, money, hate, or revenge. Like Moroni, they are motivated by higher ideals such as knowledge, freedom, and the good of their fellow man. 

7. 48:12

Two things here. Moroni’s heart swelled with thanksgiving for his many privileges and blessings. Hell shakers have hearts that swell with gratitude. They look for the good in their lives and count their blessings from God. They also labor exceedingly. Hell shakers are hard workers. Rather than being slothful servants, they are always anxiously engaged in a good cause. 

8. 48:13

Moroni was firm in the faith of Christ. Hell shakers have a solid faith in their Redeemer.  To borrow from Alma’s metaphor, he’s grown the tree. His tree stands firm against the winds of adversity and temptation and doubt. Hell shakers water, and prune, and nourish their testimony tree. They aren’t blown about by every wind of doctrine, or popular opinion, or passing fad. 

9. 48:16

What stands out to me here. Moroni kept the commandments and resisted iniquity. Hell shakers are obedient, to God, to the commandments, to standards, to the counsel of prophets. They find security and happiness in the commandments of God. They see them as divine guidance rather than restrictions. 

Well, I think that gives you a good idea of what kind of a man Moroni was and why Mormon would pay him such a high tribute. I echo his sentiments in thinking that if just more people out there could share these qualities, then Satan wouldn’t stand a chance. The devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. I hope we can emulate him.

MORONI’S TIME

But if you don’t mind, let’s take a look at one of the things that I love most about Moroni. Yes, it’s probably what he’s most well known for, but it’s for good reason. Go with me to chapter 46. 

Two words describe this period of time in which Moroni is living. What are they in verse 7?

Precarious and dangerous. Because of the evil influence of Amalickiah, many of the Nephites are unsure of what to do or how to act. And in precarious and dangerous circumstances, we need Captain Moroni’s. 

FLYING YOUR TITLE OF LIBERTY

So, I want you to read 46:11-22, 29, 36-37 and be ready to answer the following questions?

1. What did the title of liberty represent to Moroni?

2. What did he do before he went out among the people?

3. What did he do with the title of liberty?

4. What were the results of his actions?

5. How could this story apply to you?

Let’s examine these questions one by one.

1. What did the title of liberty represent to Moroni?

It represented what he stood for. What he believed in. What he felt was worth standing for and fighting for. 

2. What did he do before he went out among the people?

He prayed mightily for God’s blessing. 

3. What did he do with the title of liberty?

He fastened to the end of a pole, went out in front of all the people, and waved it in the air for all to see. 

4. What was the result of his actions?

The people who were hesitant, that didn’t quite know what to do about Amalickiah and his followers, came running to sustain Moroni’s standards, his beliefs. They too stood for the same things and rallied to support them. Moroni discovered that he was not alone in his convictions. In verse 29 we discover that those who supported Amalickiah began to doubt the justice of their cause and he and many of his followers flee out of the land and in verses 36-37 we find that peace is once again established in the land. 

5. How could this story apply to you?

I feel it could apply in a number of ways, but above all, we too live in dangerous and precarious times. Our standards and values are often mocked, ignored, or invalidated. There are a lot of people who are hesitant and not sure which side to follow. And what do we need most in such circumstances? We need hell shakers like Captain Moroni. People who are willing to stand up for what they believe; that are not ashamed to wave their title of liberty, their standards, their beliefs for the world to see. People that refuse to hide their light under a bushel; that boldly and unapologetically live what they believe. And when we do this, oftentimes, maybe not always, but often, we inspire others to do the right thing as well.  We give others the strength that perhaps they can’t find within themselves. When that happens, Satan goes running, and we find ourselves at peace once again. Sometimes when I teach this I like to include a bit of an object lesson. I like to bring in a piece of white cloth attached to the end of a stick with Moroni’s words written on it. Then I hold it up and wave it in front of the class at certain points in the lesson to emphasize the principle.  I find it really helps them to visualize the message. 

EXAMPLES

As a teacher, share a personal experience with waving your title of liberty or of seeing someone else do it. Here are some of my own examples.

Some examples of waving your title of liberty. 

I remember walking out of a school dance with some friends during a very inappropriate song with some suggestive dance moves. A little while later a young woman came out and asked us why we had left. Well, we told her that we didn’t think the song was appropriate. She told us how cool she thought that was and that she admired our commitment to our beliefs and she too decided to skip that dance. 

I was teaching this lesson on one occasion and a young lady told me about an experience that she had had with flying her title of liberty. She went to the movies with a number of her friends and they had told their parents that they were going to watch one particular movie, but once in the theater, her friends decided to jump into a different movie that was clearly inappropriate for their age and church standards. She didn’t want to see it, but she was afraid of what her friends would say and think, so she went in. After about 10 minutes into the movie, she knew that it was a mistake, that she did not want to see what was on the screen. There was language and violence and sexual innuendo, and she began to feel very uncomfortable. She said she wanted to leave but didn’t want to make a scene. So she continued to sit there and lasted only about 5 more minutes until she decided that she just couldn’t do it. She wanted out. So, she followed Captain Moroni’s example. She decided to wave her title of liberty. She leaned over to her friends and whispered, I don’t feel comfortable watching this movie, I’m going to leave and I’ll just wait for you outside until it’s over”. And she stood up and walked out. To her surprise, her friends came out just moments later saying that they decided that they wanted to watch something different also. One of the girls came up to her later and said. “I’m so glad you did that. I didn’t really want to watch it either. I just didn’t know what you guys would think. Thanks for leaving. You gave me the strength to leave also”. 

She was a captain Moroni. She waved her title of liberty and as a result, others came rallying around her. She gave them the inspiration and the strength that they needed. Now I can’t guarantee that you will always get that same result. Sometimes waving your title of liberty may bring you ridicule and persecution rather than support. But I can guarantee you that it will bring peace to your heart because your actions and your beliefs will be in harmony. Now, this principle does need to be balanced of course. The scriptures do tell us that there are times when we are instructed not to “cast our pearls before swine”. Sometimes, silence is the appropriate response. Also, when we fly our personal titles of liberty, we don’t need to be self-righteous or obnoxious about it either. We can take this principle too far. More often than not, we just need to have the courage to tactfully, humbly, but assertively stand up for our convictions. 

Now there are many ways that we can fly our title of liberty. We can wave the title of honesty when it’s so much easier to lie. We can wave the title of clean language when everyone around us is cursing. We can wave the title of modesty when most others are dressed in the styles of the world. We can wave the title of faith when the skeptics and unbelieving surround us.  I love that it is called the title of liberty. Freedom. It wasn’t called the title of restriction; the title of reluctantly following the rules. But the title of liberty. Our commitment to our beliefs, our standards, the commandments, gives us freedom—freedom from the bondage of sin, and remorse, and penalty. Waving our title of liberty is not an easy thing to do. But when we feel that we don’t have the strength to do it, we can follow Captain Moroni’s example before he went out among the people. We too can pray mightily for strength and God’s blessing. And when we do that, I’m confident that the strength will come. Satan will scurry away with his tail between his legs, and your heart will be filled with peace, regardless of what happens around you. 

At this point in the lesson, I usually like to ask the following question because most individuals have had some kind of experience with this principle, and it’s good to hear examples of it.  

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

Have you ever had an experience with waving your title of liberty or have you ever seen somebody else wave their title of liberty? What happened?

I always love to hear the experiences this question prompts people to share. They provide inspiration and motivation to everyone that hears them. 

CONCLUSION

Well, we live in dangerous and precarious times, there are a lot of Amalickiah’s out there who are seeking to take away our freedom from guilt, sin, and consequence. More than ever, we need young people and adults who are willing to stand out; who are not afraid to conspicuously stand for something, no matter what the consequences. Jesus taught us to let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven. May we be Captain Moroni’s, hell shakers, title of liberty wavers, and if we are, I can guarantee that Satan will never have power over our hearts. And who knows who you might inspire? Maybe your actions will be the catalyst for the righteous actions of many, many others. 

LEHONTI’S MOUNTAIN

Another great story from these chapters with a similar message is found in chapter 47. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end as happily as Captain Moroni’s. In this story, we get to see what happens when we don’t fly our title of liberty.  It revolves around a captain of the Lamanite army by the name of Lehonti. 

ICEBREAKER

As an icebreaker for this story, you could try the following activity. Put the following slide up in front of your students or give them a handout of it and ask them to correct the details of the story after reading Alma 47:1-19. Sometimes I’ll throw a little treat out to those who identify a mistake and correct it. 

And here are the answers.

This didn’t take place 74 BC, but 72 BC. It wasn’t a wicked apostate Lamanite, but a Nephite named Amalickiah, not Amlici who was seeking to dethrone the KING of the Lamanites. The group of Lamanite soldiers were led by a man named LEHONTI, not Lemuel. They do go to the land of Onidah, which meant the place of arms, not legs. They decide to make their stand at the TOP of a mountain called ANTIPAS not Antiparah. It says that these men were fixed in their MINDS with a determined resolution not to fight the Nephites. Amalickiah wished to dethrone THE KING, and take possession of the army. So Amalickiah positioned his men at the BOTTOM of Mt. Antipas and sent an embassy to Lehonti to request the he come DOWN to the BOTTOM of the mountain. 

Now with that summary in mind, let’s try to liken the scriptures a little. If we look at this as a parable of sorts, what could the following elements symbolize?

• Amalickiah=

• Lehonti=

• Mt. Antipas= We’ve already decided earlier that Amalickiah is a perfect metaphor for Satan. An individual who seeks power over us and subjects us to his will.

But we also always want to find ourselves in the scriptures, so let’s say that Lehonti represents us.

And what is our Mt. Antipas? I would say that mountain is our standards, our faith, our beliefs. Our commitment to following the commandments. As long as we stay on top of that mountain, we’ll be safe, just as Lehonti, as long as he remained on top of Mt. Antipas, would be safe from the influence and desires of Amalickiah. 

And just look at the words that are used to describe how Lehonti and his men felt about remaining on that mountain. They were FIXED in their minds with a DETERMINED RESOLUTION not to come down and fight the Nephites.  Such good words. Hopefully, that’s how we can describe our feelings of commitment to our standards. That we are fixed with a determined resolution not to come down from them. The Lord promises us that as long as we stay on top of that mountain, we’ll be safe from the influences of the adversary. 

What we get in the rest of the story is a perfect case study of how Satan can lure the committed from their place of safety.  I mean, how on earth can the adversary get youth who are fixed in their minds with a determined resolution to keep the commandments to come down from them? Well, he does what Amalickiah does here. 

I invite you to take a closer look at verses 10-19 for the tactics Amalickiah uses to get Lehonti to come down from Mt. Antipas. How does he accomplish this? 

I see four things.

One, he is persistent. 

Look how many times Amalickiah asks Lehonti to come down from Mt. Antipas. In a matter of three verses, he requests four times for Lehonti to come down. Satan is very persistent in his endeavors to bring us down, which means we have to be just as persistent in refusing him. Resisting temptation once is not going to be enough to keep the devil at bay. We should expect him to try again and again and in different ways.  I know that there are certain temptations that Satan is still trying out on me, that I’ve had to resist time and time again. He’s very patient and relentless. Don’t expect him to give up without a fight. 

Two, he usually requests that we just come down a little from our standards. When Amalickiah sees that the can’t get Lehonti to come all the way to the base of the mountain, he goes up almost to the camp and requests that he come down just a little to speak with him. Isn’t that exactly the way Satan works with us? He knows he can’t get us to commit spectacular sin from one day to the next. Especially those that are fixed in their minds with a determined resolution. So he asks us to just come down a little bit—to compromise slightly on our standards, to push our actions just a bit over the line, or into the gray areas. Maybe he can’t get us to become completely dishonest individuals, but perhaps he can get us to lie or cheat just a little at first. Perhaps he can’t draw us immediately into a full-blown pornography habit, but perhaps he can lure us into looking at some provocative images at first and then slowly move us into more and more explicit material. Maybe our language gradually declines into more vulgar expressions or more frequent use. Or maybe he begins by prompting us to neglect our scripture study, then our prayers, then our church attendance, and before we know it we become completely inactive in our worship. I’m afraid the only safe thing to do is to be exact in our obedience—to not come down even a little bit from Mt. Antipas. 100% is often easier to live than 90. 

Three, he makes you feel like you are in control. I imagine that the rationalization Lehonti may have given for coming down a little from his mountain, was the fact that he had his guards with him. He felt like he was in a position of power and safety. And once Amalickiah had him down a little, look at what he tells him. Now come down all the way, BUT, you will be in control. You surround my army, you take control of my men, and then, I’ll put you in charge. You’ll be in control the whole time. I just have one small request. Just put me second in command. That’s all I ask. That small favor. So what does Lehonti do? Tragically, he falls for it. He comes all the way down, and just as Amalickiah promised, he puts Lehonti in charge. Unfortunately, from the moment he came down, Lehonti was never really in control. Amalickiah was getting exactly what he wanted. That’s what the devil does with us too. He always makes us think that we are in control. That we can handle it. That nothing bad is going to happen. That we can stop whenever we want. I can imagine there are people who begin smoking, vaping, drinking, or doing drugs who never imagine that they would become addicted—that they just us these things recreationally, that they can stop whenever they want. Until they find themselves out of control. When young people begin dating too early, or too seriously, or people become too physical, too quickly in their relationships. They feel like they are in control. They wouldn’t ever do something serious. They would never fall into the trap of immorality. They are stronger than that. Unfortunately, as soon as we come down from the safety of our standards, we are placing ourselves more and more firmly in Satan’s power, rather than our own. 

Finally, what happens to Lehonti? How does Amalickiah finally get his way? Well, if you are second in command, how do you become first in command? The leader just has to die. So we see in vs. 18 that Amalickiah administers poison by degrees until Lehonti dies. What a tragic ending to a story that sounded so hopeful at first. It began with a man who was fixed with a determined resolution not to come down. This could have been another Captain Moroni, title of liberty type story. But sadly, it ends with his death, and those men he was leading, will eventually be compelled to go to war with the Nephites anyway. Once again we see Satan working slowly, patiently, little by little. Small doses of poison here and there, until he has his way. But I’m sure that all throughout that process, Lehonti felt he was in control. Barely noticing how sick he was starting to feel. In fact, disturbingly, I think we can assume that. Lehonti drew his last dying breath, thinking that he was in control. Not realizing that he had lost that control long ago, the very moment he decided to come down just a little from his mountain. It is a fatal fallacy to ever think that we are in control once we step down from our Mt. Antipas.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

A few questions you might consider asking

• What helps you to remain fixed with a determined resolution to stay true to your standards?

• What standards are you grateful for and how have they kept you safe?

• Have you noticed the adversary using these tactics on you? What’s your plan for dealing with them in the future?

CONCLUSION

We have got to remember that Satan is subtle, sneaky, and very good at what he does. We’ve got to respect and recognize that.  Consequently, I invite you to stay on safe ground.  Make a stand on your Mt. Antipas. Remain fixed with a determined resolution to persist in taking up your position there. There is spiritual security in staying true to prophetic counsel, scriptural principle, moral standards, and gentle guiding influence of commandments. But be aware of Satan’s tactics when his influence arrives for it most assuredly will.  Heed the warnings of Lehonti’s story. You can almost hear him whispering from the pages of Alma 47. “Don’t do what I did, stay on Mount Antipas, and never come down!”  There is safety for the soul in its reliable heights.