Alma
61:2 I do not joy in your great afflictions, yea, it
grieves my soul
John
K. Carmack
“A person's deepest values and true character surface
under stress…Pahoran answered Moroni's scathing epistle without a trace of
bitterness or defensiveness. An ordinary person, having been placed in
Pahoran's devastating position and then wrongly blamed for creating it, would
have automatically responded: ‘Why are you blaming me, after all I've been
through? Find someone else to shoulder this responsibility. I'm through!’
Pahoran, to his distinct credit, said, ‘I do not joy
in your great afflictions, yea, it grieves my soul. But behold, there are those
who do joy in your afflictions, yea, insomuch that they have risen up in
rebellion against me, and also those of my people who are freemen.’ (Alma 61:2Alma 61:3Alma 61:2-3.)
(Heroes from the Book of Mormon, p. 140.)
Alma
61:9 in your epistle you have censured me, but it
mattereth not; I am not angry
Neal
A. Maxwell
“…we must always realize that in a perfect church
filled with imperfect people, there are bound to be some miscommunications at
times. A noteworthy example occurred in ancient American Israel. Moroni wrote
two times to Pahoran complaining of neglect because much-needed reinforcements
did not arrive. Moroni used harsh language, accusing the governor of the land,
Pahoran, of sitting on his throne in a state of ‘thoughtless
stupor.’ ("Alma 60:7Alma 60:7.) Pahoran soon made a very patriotic
reply, explaining why he could not do what Moroni wanted. Though censured,
Pahoran was not angry; he even praised Moroni for ‘the
greatness of your heart.’ ("Alma 61:9Alma 61:9.) Given the intense, mutual devotion
of disciples, discussions as to how best to move the Lord's work along are
bound to produce tactical differences on occasion. Just as in this episode,
sometimes scolding occurs that is later shown to be unjustified.
“Parley
P. Pratt recalled an episode when President Brigham Young chastened him and
others for their management of the westward migration. In this instance also,
there were two letters of a scolding nature, even alleging insubordination. Of
this Elder Pratt wrote, ‘I could not realize this at the time, and protested
that in my own heart, so far as I was concerned, I had no such motive; that I
had been actuated by the purest motives. . . .’ Later it became clear to Elder
Pratt that some of those scolded had motives that were not as pure as his. He
commented further, ‘. . . yet I thank God for this timely chastisement; I
profited by it, and it caused me to be more watchful and careful ever after.’ (Autobiography
of Parley Parker Pratt [Deseret Book, 1961], pp. 341-42.)
“It is
worthy remembering that Elder Pratt protested in his heart, not publicly. He took
it. Perhaps President Young, like Moroni, might have taken note of how
Elder Pratt was even sick at the time—but, like Moroni, President Young did not
know of the full conditions.
“The
stuff out of which offense is made is all around us, if we wish to seize upon
it. What we learn, however, from men like Pahoran and Elder Pratt should give
us pause, especially when we may be inclined to take umbrage instead of following
the Brethren.” (All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, p. 119-20)
Hugh Nibley
“The church is a training school in which everyone is
there for the training. So don't waste time criticizing the authorities. In
that regard the Book of Mormon gives us another neat example. Moroni had very
good reason to complain about the top men of the nation ‘sitting upon [their] . . . thrones
in a state of thoughtless stupor’ while the work of death was going on
all around them ("Alma 60:7Alma 60:7). Many today are complaining of a
like situation…But the moral of the story, as it turns out, is that Moroni in
his criticism was wrong, completely out of order; he simply did not understand
the situation. He was quite right about the crime, but it was not for him to
apportion the guilt. So let us, when distressed by the inadequacies of others,
remember the number-one instruction of the Book of Mormon: ‘This is my doctrine . . . that the Father commandeth all
men everywhere to repent and believe in me’ ("3
Ne. 11:323 Nephi 11:32). This life
is ‘a state of probation’ ("2 Ne. 2:212 Nephi 2:21).
‘Be wise in the days of your probation’ ("Morm. 9:28Mormon 9:28).”
(The Prophetic Book of Mormon, p. 564)
Alma
61:9 I…do rejoice in the greatness of your heart
One
might wonder why Mormon took the time to give us the detail of Moroni’s long
epistle and Pahoran’s reply. His purpose, assuredly, was not to show that
Moroni made a mistake in his hasty accusations. Rather, it was to show what
Pahoran termed ‘the greatness of [his] heart.’ The recurring theme of the war section of
Alma is that Moroni was a great man, for 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 (Alma 48:17). So we should
emulate Moroni in all respects and be thankful for the details given by Mormon
which demonstrate that amidst all of his greatness, Moroni was only human.
Gordon
B. Hinckley
“I have worked with seven Presidents of this Church.
I have recognized that all have been human. But I have never been concerned
over this. They may have had some weaknesses. But this has never troubled me. I
know that the God of heaven has used mortal men throughout history to
accomplish His divine purposes. They were the very best available to Him, and
they were wonderful.” (Ensign, May 1992, p. 53 as taken from
Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas
Bassett, p. 524)
Alma
61:13 he doth not command us that we shall subject
ourselves to our enemies
“In Moroni's patriotic letter to Pahoran and in
Pahoran's reply may be found the Nephite philosophy of war. It was not the will
of God that they should permit their freedoms to be trampled upon and
destroyed. They understood that there was a higher law than the law of man; and
when men commenced to destroy their freedom, Moroni felt justified in
threatening to stir up insurrections against tyranny and misrule. Christians
cannot be aggressors; otherwise they are not Christians. But true Christians
should resist infringement upon their freedom, even if they have to take up
arms against the oppressors. And in their resistance to oppression, men of
Christian faith should seek for the strength and blessings of God to accompany
their cause.” (Hyrum L. Andrus, War and Saints, p. 21 - 22.)
Alma
61:15 the Spirit of God…is also the spirit of
freedom
“The American tradition of freedom is essentially
spiritual in its origin and its orientation. The Spirit of God, the Book of
Mormon declares, is the spirit of freedom. The tradition of freedom in America
commenced when the Spirit of God ‘wrought upon’
the early colonizers so that they prospered and established free institutions
in this land. Christ declared to the Nephites that the Holy Spirit that would
be poured out upon modern Americans would cause them to be ‘mighty above all’; and that they would ‘be set up as a free people by the power of the Father.’
(3 Ne 21:4) When men are responsive to the Spirit of God, this divine agent
acts to strengthen the elements of character within them and to mature them
toward a position of true independence under God.” (Hyrum L. Andrus, Liberalism,
Conservatism, Mormonism, p. 65 - 66.)
Mark E. Petersen
“Without free agency there could be no gospel of
Christ. The character development provided by the gospel will lead us to the
perfection of which the Savior spoke in the Sermon on the Mount only if we
elect to live the gospel. Otherwise we can never receive of its benefits. (Alma 12:18Alma 12:18.)
That right of election—that right of free agency—must ever be preserved. If a
man commits sin, he must have the liberty to turn from his ways and repent, and
thus come under the purview of the gospel.
“Hence
the gospel is called the ‘perfect law of liberty’ (James 1:25James 1:25),
and those who are blessed by it enjoy the ‘glorious
liberty of the children of God’ (Rom. 8:21Rom. 8:21).
“When
Paul addressed the Corinthians he said: ‘. . . where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.’ (2
Cor. 3:172 Cor. 3:17.) This was reflected
in the Book of Mormon statement that ‘the Spirit of
God . . . is also the Spirit of freedom.’ (Alma
61:15Alma 61:15.)” (Adam: Who Is He?
p.62.)
Alma
61:21 my beloved brother, Moroni
Solomon
said, ‘he that is slow to wrath is of
great understanding’ (Prov 14:29), and
‘rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee’ (Prov 9:8). Though rebuked by
Moroni, Pahoran still loved his brother Moroni, thereby
proving that he was indeed ‘a wise man’ and ‘of great understanding.’
“Had Pahoran been angry and retaliated with sarcasm
and like accusations, the country might have perished. It might have lost two
great leaders. But because Pahoran was meek and humble and took responsibility
for his own actions, words, and feelings, hope returned. The nation rallied
under two great leaders and regained its liberty. Many also have been
influenced by his example, not only then but now as well.” (Anita R. Canfield, A
Perfect Brightness of Hope, p. 59.)