Alma's sermon to Zeezrom, Hard Hearts and Soft Hearts

 This week in Come Follow Me, we read about Alma's mission to the people of Ammonihah and the conversion of Amulek and Zeezrom. One of the recurring themes in his sermon, and throughout the whole book of Alma is the idea of having a hard heart. The idea of having a hard heart is mentioned dozens of times in Alma.  It is interesting that the term "soft" heart is never mentioned, and the term "softened their hearts" is only mentioned twice. 

What does it mean to have a hard heart? One thing to consider is that the heart had a slightly different symbolic meaning in the Old Testament than it does in modern times. In our culture, the brain is the center of  understanding, the heart is the center of emotion, and the gut is the center of intuition. In the Old Testament, the brain where you store information,  but the heart is the center of understanding, the gut is the center of emotion. So if you are hard hearted, it doesn't mean you have strong negative emotions against something. It means that you are closed minded. You are unwilling to consider and understand things. 

Some of the passages in Alma 12 support the idea that the people of Alma's time also had the same symbols attached to the different parts of the body.  Having a hard heart seems to be associated with being unwilling to receive the words of the Lord.  In Alma 12:10, Alma says that "he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word".  Then in v.13 "Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned."  Having a hard heart clearly means you are not willing to accept  "the word".  It is about knowledge and understanding, not necessarily about emotion.

After these statements Alma goes into a recounting of the fall of Adam. He focuses on the fact that when Adam falls he gains the ability to know the difference between good and evil:

31. Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good—

32 Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption...

Simply stated, Adam and Eve gained the understanding of good and evil from the fall, and the result was that God gave them commandments so they would know to choose the good.

When Alma and Amulek were first teaching Zeezrom, he was hard hearted.  He was asking questions to trick Amulek into saying something self-incriminating instead of seeking honest answers. When Amulek and then Alma withstand the tricks, and point out Zeezrom's own wickedness, he begins to tremble, and he begins to soften his heart.  He was still asking questions, but his questions were honest and sincere.  He was asking questions with an open mind, ready to consider and possibly accept the answers. With his mind receptive to truth, he has become, in the symbolism of the Hebrews, soft hearted. 

Zeezrom, unfortunately was the exception. Most of the people of Ammonihah remain hard hearted. They were unwilling to listen to truth, and they were also wicked.  We learn in later chapters that most of the people of Ammonihah ultimately reject Alma's teaching and do horrible things to the believers. The text implies, however, that the root of their wicked behavior was their unwillingness to listen to truth not visa versa.

The unwillingness to listen to truth is also a prevalent problem in modern society.  Using this definition, it would be possible that some really nice people are also hard hearted.  They are set in their ways, maybe they have a pet philosophy and are closed minded to any other way.  I think it is also important to say to ourselves, as the early apostles did at the last supper, "is it I, Lord?" (Matthew 26:25)  Are there things, even gospel truths, that we are unwilling to consider? If the answer is "yes" we might consider Alma's words to Zeezrom in Alma 12:10, "he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion, until it is given to him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full." If that doesn't motivate us to give up our pet philosophies, I don't know what will.

Alma and the condescension of God.

 When Alma the Younger preaches to the people of Gideon he finds that they have not strayed from the path as much as the people of Zarahemla (Alma 7:6).  He is therefore not as pressed to preach repentance, but is at liberty to teach them more about Christ's condescension. In Alma 7:11-12 we read 

"And he shall go forth, suffering the pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the band of death which bind his people; and hie will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."

In several of the podcasts I listened to they suggested that Jesus suffered temptations and took upon him the infirmities of his people as part of the Atonement.  I think, however that his passage mostly refers to the incarnation.  By condescending to become a mortal being, he opened himself to temptation, pain, sickness and infirmity.  In other words, by taking on a physical body in the fallen world, he came to understand what it is like to have a physical body in the fallen world. This is one way he learned empathy for his creations.

Of course, he also suffered for sins so that we might repent, "the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance." (7:13)  

We learned in 2 Nephi 9:7 that the atonement was infinite.  Jesus suffered all things for us so that we might repent and have hope (1 Peter 3:18). His lessons on compassion and empathy, however, began way before his suffering in Gethsemane and his death in Golgotha. He began learning how to "succor his people" as soon as he was born.  He left his place as the creator God, and took on the form of a helpless infant. I find that I am in almost as much awe of Jesus' condescension as his atonement. Both were extreme voluntary sacrifice. Both were acts of consummate compassion. Both were evidences of his supreme love for all of us.

Two ways to serve: Alma the Younger and the Sons of Mosiah

After the miraculous conversion of Alma and the sons of Mosiah, they all wanted to go out and do missionary work.  The sons of Mosiah preached among the Nephites for a while, but then went off to preach to the Lamanites.  They were with the Lamanites for 14 years.

Alma, however, didn't get the chance to go with them.  Instead, when Mosiah did away with the monarchy and established judges, Alma was elected as the first Chief Judge.  He was already the high priest of the church, and for seven years he served in both positions.  During that time there was a war, in which he fought against the king of the Nephite rebels and slew him.  He had to deal with the aftermath of the war, figuring out how to care for all the widows and orphans, and how to recover economically from the devastation caused to the workforce and the crops by the war. Finally, after seven years he gave up the judgement seat. He was concerned with the spiritual state of the people and decided to devote himself exclusively to preaching the gospel.  In later chapters we see him preaching in many cities. He is sometimes successful and sometimes rejected. At one point he is thrown in prison and forced to watch the believers be martyred for their beliefs.  

Those familiar with the Book of Mormon know what happened to the sons of Mosiah during the same time period.  They went to the lands of the Lamanites. They were initially thrown into prison, but eventually they were released and had great success among some of the Lamanite people. Other Lamanites rose up against them, and they, too, watched their followers get slaughtered because they would not break their covenant with the Lord. Eventually they bring their remaining converts back to Zarahemla and establish a safe haven for them.

Often when I was growing up I thought the sons of Mosiah were the "cool" missionaries. The whole story of the conversion of King Lamoni is so dramatic, and they ended up with so many converts.  But beginning this story again this year, I am realizing that by staying back, Alma the Young had the tougher job. He faced many of the same missionary challenges as the Sons of Mosiah, but also had to shoulder all the political and military burdens as well. The outcome of his missionary labors wasn't as showy, but that doesn't mean he didn't work and suffer as much.  He did, perhaps suffer more. 

I think life is like that.  Some people do a ton of work, and don't see much benefit in this life. Others do a ton of work and are blessed to see the benefit of their labors. These two parallel stories show that it doesn't matter as much what kind of statistics we rack up in life.  Did we raise 10 kids or two.  Did we serve as a Stake President or just as an Elder's Quorum Secretary.  Did we baptize dozens of people on our mission or none. The Lord knows the degree of difficulty in our lives.  He blesses us for our consecration and our dedication. The outcome of our efforts is not as important as our willingness to make the effort. 

Paul and Alma the Younger

 This week in Come Follow Me we read about Alma the Younger's conversion.  Alma's son was going around secretly with the sons of Mosiah undermining the teaching of their fathers (Mosiah 27:8)  As they were doing this an Angel of God appeared to them and called them to repentance. Alma is struck down by this encounter, and remains in a coma for a total of three days. He is taken to his father who rejoices that the Lord has intervened in his son's life (v 20).  He assembles the priests and they fast and pray until Alma awakens. Alma awakens and proclaims that he has been redeemed of the Lord (v. 24).  He thereafter becomes a great missionary and leader of the church. 

This story probably sounds familiar to anyone who has read the New Testament.  It sounds very much like the conversion of Paul in Acts 9.  In his story Saul is going about threatening the church (v.1)  He also had an angel call him to repentance.  He was also knocked to the ground, but was not unconscious.  Instead he was made blind until Ananias came and gave him a blessing (v10). 

I thought I would go through the similarities and difference between these two encounters with the divine and then draw a few conclusions. 

• Both men were raised within a religious tradition: Alma was raised by his father, the religious leader of his community, and Saul was raised by a famous teacher to be a Pharisee. 
• Both men were actively fighting against the church.
• Both were accosted by an obscured being:  Alma's angel was in a cloud (Mosiah 27:11) and Saul's was in a "light from heaven" (Acts 9:3).  
• In both Saul and Alma fell to the earth (Mosiah 27:12, Acts 9:4). 
• Both angels asked Saul and Alma why they were persecuting the church (Mosiah 27:13, Acts 9:4). 
• Both men were incapacitated for three days: Paul was blind (Acts 9:9, Mosiah 27:23 note: here it said they fasted and prayed for him for two days, but later when he was telling the story to his son, he said he was unconscious for three days (Alma 36:10). 
• After both men where healed, but became great missionaries.  Both were involved with accepting into the church non-standard populations.  Paul became the missionary to the gentiles, and Alma's companions became missionaries to the Lamanites.  Alma became the religious leader of the Nephites, and also the first chief judge. He later abandoned the judgement seat and spent his time preaching. 

One topic of discussions on the podcasts I listened to this week is why did God send an angel to save Alma's son from wickedness, but so many other parents are praying for their own wayward children and no angel ever comes.  The angel even tells Alma that he had heard the "prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father."  

I think it goes back to an idea I have had for some time. The Lord only sends a vision or a visitation when he absolutely needs to. Whenever the Lord sends a vision, the receiver is under a huge obligation to God.  He no longer has faith, but instead has first hand knowledge of the divine. If that person would fall away after the vision, their final state would be dire. It would be unjust for the Lord to send a vision to someone who is not in a position to live up to the expectations the vision implied. 

He also sends visions when the receiver has something incredibly hard they need to do. The receiver almost invariably goes through years of hardship because of the task the Lord sets him. The Lord needed both Saul and Alma the Younger to perform specific tasks they were perfectly well suited to perform.  Saul was well suited to take the gospel to the gentiles because he was well educated, knew Greek and Latin, was a Roman citizen by birth, and was zealous. Alma was well suited to become a great missionary because he was raised by a father who was the founder of the church among the Nephites.  He was the natural heir in line to become the next High Priest. 

Some people wish they could have a vision of an angel or of God.  I do not wish it.  I know if I received a vision, it would mean that they Lord had a fearsome task for me to perform. I don't know if I am interested in that much responsibility. But, then, again, we presume that if God gives a vision or makes a visit, whatever they ask you to do, no matter how arduous, will be in your best interest in the end.