Alma
58:2 we durst not go forth and attack them in their
strongholds
“We can use strategies from the Nephite war stories
to help us endure to the end and to overcome temptation. Helaman wrote, ‘And
they were so much more numerous than was our army that we durst not go forth
and attack them in their strongholds’ (Alma 58:2Alma 58:2). From this we learn that we must
avoid Satan's strongholds and consistently seek to stand in holy places.
Corianton could have avoided his encounter with the harlot Isabel had he stayed
away from the land of Siron (Alma 39:3-4). Virtually every city has a land of
Siron where circumstances, environment, and designing persons can influence us
to sin.” (Doctrines of the Book of Mormon: 1991 Sperry Symposium on the Book
of Mormon, p. 64)
Alma
58:3 it became expedient that we should wait
Hugh
Nibley
“So now they settle down to a long wait. They say the
war should be over by now. What's wrong? Now this long and painful wait starts,
and it's the biggest trial of all. They waited for provisions from Zarahemla,
but they were just a little trickle. They weren't getting any at all. The
Lamanites were receiving great strength from day to day on their part. This is
beginning to look bad. What about ending this war? The Lamanites began sallying
forth against them, taking courage and giving them a bad time. They waited and
waited many months. They were just stuck in this particular place for many
months. Remember what Clausewtiz said? The longer a war drags on, the greater
the losses and the greater the uncertainty of what's going to happen. It's a
terrible thing, and wars have that habit of dragging on whether you like them
to or not. This inaction became terrible.” (Teachings of the Book of Mormon,
p. 178.)
Alma
58:10-12 we did pour out our souls in prayer to God,
that he would strengthen us and deliver us
Gene
R. Cook
“I bear testimony that the Lord stands ready to
answer our prayers and to grant our righteous requests. There is a great
example of this in the book of Alma…Early one morning as our family was reading
the account of the wars in Alma, one of my children said, ‘Dad, I'm not getting
much out of these chapters about the wars. I wish we were back reading some of
those other things.’ I answered, ‘Well, these things are all in here for a good
reason, Son. I'm sure there are some hidden treasures in here we just haven't
found.’
“That
very morning we found a wonderful description of how the Lord responds to our
prayers. In "Alma 58:1Alma 58 we
read how the Lamanites and Nephites were in the midst of a battle…’Therefore,’ the Nephites said, ‘we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would
strengthen us and deliver us.’ ("Alma 58:10Alma 58:10.) What a beautiful description of
what we often ask for—to be strengthened or to be delivered from a problem.
“Then we
get another clue about prayer. The Nephites didn't just pray, but they prayed
fervently: ‘We did pour out our souls in prayer.’ That's
how we get answers—to pray with great intensity.
“Now
note in this next verse how quietly the answers came. The Lord did indeed
answer them, but they might have missed the answer if they weren't being
spiritually attentive.
‘Yea, and it
came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he
would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls,
and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope
for our deliverance in him.’ ("Alma 58:11Alma 58:11; italics added.)
“It may
be that the Nephites hoped for a miracle. Maybe they wanted angels to come to
deliver them, as had happened a time or two in the Old Testament. But what did
they receive? The Lord gave them assurance, peace, faith, and hope.
He didn't directly destroy their enemies, but he did give them the gifts they
needed so they could deliver themselves.
“The
next verse shows the effect of the Lord's answer on the people: We did take
courage with our small force which we had received [and you may feel that your
force or power to accomplish your desires is awfully small], and were fixed with a determination to conquer. ("Alma 58:12Alma 58:12.)
“In
other words, the Lord put inside these men the will and the power to do what
they desired—to begin with a strong resolve and then to see it through. After their
prayer was answered, the Nephites went on to secure their liberty.
“When the Lord instills hope and faith and peace and assurance in people, they can bring great things to pass. This, then, is often what we should look for when we ask for help—not a miracle to solve our problem for us, but a miracle inside, to help us come to the solution ourselves, with the Lord's help and the Lord's power.” (Receiving Answers to Our Prayers, pp. 155 - 157.)
Gene R. Cook
“Verse 11 probably provides one of the best
descriptions of how the Lord responds to us, again through thoughts or
feelings. He seems to do these four things:
1.
He visits us with assurances
that he will deliver us.
2.
He speaks peace to
our souls.
3.
He grants us great faith.
4.
He causes us that we
should hope for our deliverance in him.
“What a
tremendous way the Lord has of blessing us! He doesn't just solve our problems
but he gives us assurance, peace, faith, and hope so that we will move forward
to resolve our own problems under the direction of the Lord. Thus he makes us
strong.
“He
helps us grow, and if we pursue the process over the years, we will ultimately
become as God is. The effects of the influence of the Spirit are described well
in verse 12. After we have been filled with assurance, peace, faith, and hope,
we are then willing to take courage and have a fixed determination to
conquer our enemies, our problems, our sins. Where does that courage and
determination come from? From the Spirit of the Lord. The Lord actually
provides additional power and strength because we have humbled ourselves and
sought God.
“Every
time I read those verses or teach them to others, I think about where I learned
them—during family scripture reading.
“Two or three years after that experience, one of my
sons was having a difficult time understanding an answer to prayer and was
asking me about it. I opened up "Alma 58:1Alma 58, read those verses to him, and
explained them. It was like a light turned on in his mind. He was so excited
about these verses because they perfectly described his feelings and told him
more clearly how the Lord answered prayers.” (Raising Up a Family to the
Lord, p. 127-8.)
Alma 58:35 we do not
desire to murmur
“Helaman…almost as an apology for being negative he
writes, ‘we do not desire to murmur’ ("Alma 58:35Alma 58:35).
Elder Neal A. Maxwell has said, ‘If our lips are closed to murmuring,
then our eyes will be open.’ Notice how Helaman has shared an unpleasant truth
in a fashion that will still allow the lines of communication to remain open.
His sensitivity to his leaders, as well as his subordinates, is commendable. President
Harold B. Lee counseled, ‘The men under you will never be loyal to you if
they see that you are disloyal to those who preside over you.’ Helaman's letter
validates this principle. His was not the expression of a weak-kneed foot
soldier trying not to be responsible for the bad news he had born. He is once
again illustrating his total allegiance to his leaders; recognizing full well
that he cannot expect God to stand by him if he doesn't stand by his leaders.”
(K. Douglas Bassett, Alma, the Testimony of the Word, edited by Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr., p.
301)
Dallin H. Oaks
“The primary reason we are commanded to avoid
criticism is to preserve our own spiritual well-being, not to protect the
person whom we would criticize…Does this counsel to avoid faultfinding and
personal criticism apply only to statements that are false? Doesn’t it also
apply to statements that are true? The fact that something is true is not
always a justification for communicating it…For example, it is wrong to make
statements of fact out of an evil motive, even if the statements are true. One
who focuses on faults, thought they be true, tears down a brother or a
sister…One who focuses on faults, though they be true, fosters dissensions and
divisions among fellow Church members in the body of Christ.” (Ensign,
Feb. 1987, pp. 68-9 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of
Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 524)
Alma
58:40 they stand fast…and they are strict to
remember the Lord
Howard
W. Hunter
“Today another battle of far more serious consequence
is being waged. It is a battle being fought for the souls of men. Its outcome
likewise depends on the steadiness of the soldiery. The clarion call of the
chieftain is heard above the fierce artillery of the archenemy, ‘Stand firm! Be
true!’
“I am grateful
that most Latter-day Saints today are standing firm and remaining true to the
kingdom of God. Like Helaman's stripling warriors, ‘they
stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free; and they are
strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do observe to
keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually; and
their faith is strong in the prophecies concerning that which is to come.’
("Alma 58:40Alma 58:40.)
I am referring to those members of the Church who live their Christian beliefs
in the quiet commonplace of their daily lives.
“On
November 1, 1831, at a conference of the Church in Hiram, Ohio, the Lord
revealed in the preface to the Doctrine and Covenants that this is the ‘only true and living church upon the face of the whole
earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church
collectively and not individually.’ ("D&C
1:30D&C 1:30.)
This should raise a question in our minds of eternal significance: We know that
this is the true and living church institutionally, but am I a true and living
member individually?
“This
question may appear as a play on the words of the Lord when he said this is the
true and living church. When I ask, ‘Am I a true and living member?’ my
question is, Am I deeply and fully dedicated to keeping the covenants I have
made with the Lord? Am I totally committed to living the gospel and being a
doer of the word and not a hearer only? Do I live my religion? Will I remain
true? Do I stand firm against Satan's temptations? He is seeking to cause us to
lose our way in a storm of derision and a tide of sophistry. We can have
victory, however, by responding to that inner voice calling ‘Stand firm!’” (That
We Might Have Joy, p. 149)