Alma 28:1 the armies of the Lamanites had followed their brethren
into the wilderness
What could be the motivation
of these Lamanites in trying so hard to destroy their converted brethren? The people
of Ammon had not offended them, fought them in battle, or caused them any harm,
yet they are the object of great hatred. They could be accused of being
“traitors” to the Nephites but their conversion and migration presented no
military threat to them. So what is the driving force?
When hatred and malice are
demonstrated for the sake only of hatred and malice, Satan is the driving
force. These Lamanites would not have chased their brethren deep into Nephite
territory if they were not stirred up by the Amalekites. One of the Amalekites’
most pronounced qualities was hatred, for Satan has
great hold on the hearts of the Amalekites, who do stir up the Lamanites to
anger against their brethren to slay them (Alma 27:12).
Alma 28:2 there was a tremendous battle…such an one as never had
been known
Mormon does not give us the
details of this battle, even though it was the largest battle in Nephite
history, to that point. His motivation for describing the many wars in the end
of Alma is not just for the sake of military history but rather to teach us
many important lessons. The details of this tremendous battle apparently would
not be helpful for us.
What is interesting is to
recognize the scale and scope of Nephite/Lamanite battles. Their battles equal
the great battles of the last two centuries in terms of casualties. The
commentary for Alma 2:19 describes a previous battle in which the casualties
were on the same scale as the bloodiest battles of the Civil War and World War
II. This conflict, according to Mormon, was an even greater slaughter, yea, and tens of thousands of the Lamanites were slain and
scattered abroad. Yet, the exact number was not counted, Now their dead were not numbered because of the greatness
of their numbers; neither were the dead of the Nephites numbered (Alma
30:2).
Alma 28:3 there was a tremendous slaughter among the people of Nephi
We should not overlook the
great sacrifice of these Nephite warriors. They were not fighting for their
lands, wives, and children. They were fighting for converted Lamanites, people
who were guilty of great crimes against the Nephite people. Nowhere in this
narrative does Mormon tell us that there were any of the Nephites who were
opposed to protecting the people of Ammon. The Nephites were not judgmental.
They could forgive those who were once their bitter enemies. Not only that,
they were willing to die for them. Greater love hath
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (Jn
15:13).
Contrast the mercy and great
love of these Nephites to our own petty tendencies to be judgmental. We are
critical of people within our own church because of the smallest, most
insignificant things. We have unnecessary conflicts with neighbors and family
members because we have not caught the message of the Book of Mormon. We could
learn a great lesson from these Nephites who made the greatest of all
sacrifices for those who were once their enemies—and they did it without a word
of complaint.
Alma 28:4-6 there was a great mourning and lamentation heard
throughout all the land
The pain of losing a loved
one is understood only by those who have experienced it. Without the gospel of
Jesus Christ, such a tragedy is truly devastating. Without the message of
salvation, death is a final, tragic separation. Only through the Atonement is
this pain lessened. Mormon states that amidst the sorrow of the Nephites, their
only joy was because of the light of Christ unto
life (v. 14).
LeGrand Richards
“In
an interview the author had with a prominent minister, the minister admitted
that his church held out no hopes of the reuniting of family ties beyond the
grave. Then he added: ‘But in my heart I find stubborn objections. Take for
instance the kitten. When you take it away from the cat, in a few days the
mother cat has forgotten all about it. Take the calf away from the cow and in a
few days the cow has forgotten all about the calf. But when you take a child
away from his mother, though she lives to be a hundred years old, she never
forgets the child of her bosom. I find it difficult to believe that God created
such love to perish in the grave.’” (A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, p.
198)
Joseph Smith
“More
painful to me are the thoughts of annihilation than death. If I have no
expectation of seeing my father, mother, brothers, sisters and friends again,
my heart would burst in a moment, and I should go down to my grave. The
expectation of seeing my friends in the morning of the resurrection cheers my
soul and makes me bear up against the evils of life. It is like their taking a
long journey, and on their return we meet them with increased joy.” (Teachings,
p. 296 as
taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K.
Douglas Bassett, p. 292)
Joseph F. Smith
“I rejoice that I am born to live, to
die, and to live again. I thank God for this intelligence. It gives me joy and
peace that the world cannot give, neither can the world take it away. God has revealed
this to me, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it to be true. Therefore I
have nothing to be sad over, nothing to make me sorrowful...
“On the contrary, it is cause for joy
unspeakable, and for pure happiness. I cannot express the joy I feel at the
thought of meeting my father, and my precious mother, who gave me birth in the
midst of persecution and poverty, who bore me in her arms and was patient,
forbearing, tender and true during all my helpless moments in the world. The
thought of meeting her, who can express the joy? The thought of meeting my
children who have preceded me beyond the veil, and of meeting my kindred and my
friends, what happiness it affords! For I know that I shall meet them there.
God has shown me that this is true. (Conference Report, Oct. 1899, pp.
70-71)
Russell M. Nelson
“Our limited perspective would be
enlarged if we could witness the reunion on the other side of the veil, when
doors of death open to those returning home…We need not look upon death as an
enemy…I know by experiences too sacred to relate that those who have gone
before are not strangers to leaders of this Church. To us and to you, our loved
ones may be just as close as the next room—separated only by the doors of
death.” (Ensign, May 1992, pp. 72-3 as taken from Latter-day
Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 292)
Alma
28:6 a time of solemnity, and a time of much fasting
and prayer
We
seldom think of fasting when we are mourning but the Nephites fasted and prayed
in the midst of their sorrow. The greatest comfort in times of sorrow is the
comfort of the Holy Ghost and nothing brings us closer to the Spirit than
fasting and prayer. Therefore, a great way for us to cope with death and loss
is to pray and fast.
Alma
28:11 they have reason to fear…that they are
consigned of a state of endless wo
The
warnings of the Lord are not just idle threats. The wicked will suffer endless
wo in spirit prison, thou shalt weep for the loss of
them that die, and more especially for those that have not hope of a glorious
resurrection…And they that die not in me, wo unto them, for their death is
bitter (DC 42:45-47).
“’Now this
is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of
awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them;
thus they remain in this state ... until the time of their resurrection’
(Alma 40:14). From modern revelation we
learn that the expression ‘endless wo’ does
not mean that the intended punishment is of endless duration, but rather that
it is God's punishment, and God is endless; therefore he has chosen to call
that punishment that comes from him by this name, or endless. This is done to make the warning more
express, ‘that it might work upon the hearts of the
children of men’ in the hope that it will dissuade them from sin. (See D&C 19:4-13.)” (McConkie and
Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 3, p. 193)
Alma
28:12 they rejoice…and even know…that they are
raised to dwell at the right hand of God
At
funeral services of the righteous, many comments and testimonies are given that
the deceased will come forth in the morning of the first resurrection because
of their righteousness. But how can the friends and family of the deceased know
this? It is according to the promises of the Lord. Those
who have kept their baptismal and temple covenants have received the promise
from Him who cannot lie that they will be heirs of salvation. This is the
challenge for us—to endure to the end, faithful to our covenants.
F. Burton Howard
“I
once attended a funeral service with Elder M. Russell Ballard. A
statement he made there has remained with me to this day. He said, ‘life isn’t
over for a Latter-day Saint until he or she is safely dead, with their
testimony still burning brightly.’ ‘Safely dead’—what a challenging concept.
Brothers and sisters, we will not be safe until we have given our hearts to the
Lord—until we have learned to do what we have promised.” (Ensign, May 1996, p.
28 as
taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K.
Douglas Bassett, p. 292)
Alma
28:13 the inequality of man is because of sin and
transgression
This
phrase has more than one level of meaning. Inequality in mortality is rarely blamed
on sin and transgression, but the sins of pride, greed, deceit, stealing, and
dishonesty all breed such inequality. If all were righteous and living the law
of consecration, there would be no inequality at all. But
it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another,
wherefore the world lieth in sin (DC 49:20). If inequality is because of
sin, then the converse should also be true—that equality is a function of
righteousness. The law of equality, under the law of consecration, is a
necessary and fundamental component of celestial law, That
you may be equal in the bonds of heavenly things, yea, and earthly things also,
for the obtaining of heavenly things; For if you will that I give unto you a
place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things
which I have commanded you and required of you (DC 78:5-7).
The
second level of meaning to Mormon’s comment is that there is inequality in the
rewards given to men. This inequality also comes because of sin and transgression.
He is contrasting the death and punishments of the wicked, consigned to a state of endless wo (v. 11), to the
death and rewards of the righteous, raised to
dwell…in a state of never-ending happiness (v. 12). In many respects
this inequality is greater than that of mortality. In other words, the
difference between the blessed state of the righteous and the cursed state of
the wicked after death is much greater than the disparity between the rich and
the poor during mortality.