Book of Mormon 24 - “Give Us Strength According to Our Faith … in Christ”

The scriptures in Alma 13 to 16 are rich in doctrine and tell an epic tale that highlights the power of God to work miracles in the lives of mere mortals.

In Alma 13:3 we read, “And this is the manner after which they were ordained – being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works…” I have heard some very odd comments about foreordination, so I chose to do a little research into this topic. In the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (1938, p. 365), Joseph Smith explained, “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was.” These callings needed to be confirmed through righteous living in this mortal estate. This is completely different to the belief in predestination. Some religions teach that once we accept the Saviour we are predestined to be saved and it does not matter what we do in this life. Alma makes it very clear that this is not the case with foreordination. If we fail to live the way the Lord wants us to, we may never receive the foreordained calling. In verse 4, it says that “others” who were foreordained to great callings, did not receive the calling in this life because they did “reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds.”

I enjoyed reading a wonderful BYU talk given by Elder Neal A. Maxwell, called A More Determined Discipleship (1978). Elder Maxwell spoke about foreordination in the clearest terms. He stated, “…it clearly underlines how very long and how perfectly God has loved us and known us with our individual needs and capacities.” To me, this is a wonderful thought. I have always known God loves me. I have not always understood why! But this has helped me to understand that He not only loves me, but understands me completely. It is wonderful to know that although He knows and understands my weaknesses, He still loves me!

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Elder Maxwell went on to state that the doctrine of foreordination can increase our understanding of how essential this brief period of mortality is and can motivate us to live good lives and perform good works. “This precious doctrine can also help us go the second mile because we are doubly called.” He compared the relationship between our first and second estates to the process of agreeing in advance to surgery. The “anaesthetic of forgetfulness” settles on us when we enter this life. A surgeon does not stop mid-surgery to wake a patient and ask him/her for further permission to continue the operation. God instructed us and then sent us to this period of learning and testing. The decision made was irrevocable.

As mortals it is difficult for us to understand omniscience, but, as Elder Maxwell stated, “we simply have to trust in what the Lord has told us, knowing enough, however, to realise that we are not dealing with guarantees from God but extra opportunities – and heavier responsibilities.”

“Prophecies foreshadow events without determining the course, because of a divine foreseeing of outcomes. So foreordination is a conditional bestowal of a role, a responsibility, or a blessing which, likewise, foresees but does not fix the outcome.” Elder Maxwell provides the example of David. God foresaw his failure but was not the cause of that failure. God likewise foresaw Martin Harris’s loss of the Book of Mormon pages but did not cause it to occur. “Foreordination is clearly no excuse for fatalism, or arrogance, or the abuse of agency.”

I would like to include a powerful statement and example from Elder Maxwell’s talk, in its entirety, as it is such a wonderful example and so clearly explained. “Once the believer acknowledges that the past, present, and future are before God simultaneously – even though we do not understand how – then the doctrine of foreordination may be seen somewhat more clearly. For instance, it was necessary for God to know that the economic difficulties and crop failures of the Joseph Smith Sr. family in New England would move this special family to the Cumorah vicinity where the Book of Mormon plates were buried. God’s plans could scarcely have so unfolded if – willy-nilly – the Smiths had been born Manchurians and if, meanwhile, the plates had been buried in Belgium!”

The remainder of these chapters in Alma are epic in the events they depict. 

• The people who had listened to Alma and Amulek were divided: a few believed and repented of their sins, while others were angry and wanted to destroy these great missionaries.
• Alma and Amulek were bound and taken before the chief judge.
• Zeezrom was wracked with guilt. He testified of his own sin and claimed that Alma and Amulek were spotless before God. The people reviled him, spat on him, stoned him, and cast him out.
• All those who had believed the words of Alma and Amulek were gathered together and burned alive. Their scriptures were also thrown into the fire.
• Alma and Amulek remained silent when questioned by the judge. He ordered the guards to throw them into prison.
• After three days in prison they were again questioned and remained silent.
• Many arrived at the prison to persecute Alma and Amulek. They were spat on, hit, stoned, stripped, starved, and mocked.
• After many days, a large group of people led by the chief judge again challenged Alma and Amulek. Each one in turn smote these two great men and challenged them to free themselves and then they would believe God would destroy their city.
• Alma and Amulek rose to their feet and Alma cried to the Lord (Alma 14:26): “…O Lord, give us strength, according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance.”
• There was a huge rumble of the earth, the prison walls were “rent in twain” and fell, and all those who had persecuted Alma and Amulek were destroyed in the fall.
• Alma and Amulek alone survived the devastation of the prison. Their cords were loosed and they walked free.
• Many people who had heard the noise, saw Alma and Amulek walk away from the prison rubble. They were terrified and ran away.
• Alma and Amulek went to Sidom, converted many and healed Zeezrom.
• The Lamanites completely destroyed the city of Ammonihah.

The Power of God was upon Alma and Amulek by Gary L. Kapp

As I read these scriptures, I pictured the events unfold. I marvelled at the strength and courage of Alma and Amulek. I was impressed by the change in Zeezrom. I also saw the repercussions of refusing to accept and follow the Lord’s teachings. The people of Ammonihah were utterly destroyed by the Lamanite army. “…in one day it was left desolate; and the carcasses were mangled by dogs and wild beasts of the wilderness” (Alma 16.10). This has been prophesied by Alma and Amulek. Zoram, the chief captain of the Nephite army, approached Alma for his counsel. With the Lord’s help the Nephites were able to free themselves from the Lamanite threat. 

I will trust in the Lord. There is nothing in this life that is more important than trusting in the Lord, following His counsel, and striving to be the best we can be.