Trigger warning – this lesson has descriptions of genocide.
Main Points
This story is broken into two parts in the Come Follow Me Curriculum. Part One is Chapters 8-12. Part Two is Chapters 13-16. You can’t really study one half of the story without the other. It’s important to know how the two halves of the story fit together. So here is the quick run down of the main beats of the story.
Part One
- Alma goes to Ammonihah to preach.
- The people reject him.
- He leaves, but is visited by an angel and told to go back
- Amulek was also visited by an angel and told to help Alma
- Amulek takes Alma to his house
- The both go preach
- They are met with hostility by the lawyers of the city
- Questioned by Zeezrum
- Questioned by Antionah
- They preach long sermons in response to the questions
Part Two
- Arrested and taken before the Chief Judge
- Men who believe are cast out
- Women and children are burned
- Alma and Amulek are abused in prison for many days
- God’s power destroys the prison and kills everyone inside, but Alma and Amulek walk out unharmed
- They go to Sidom and find believers
- Zeezrum is there. He is sick and haunted by what happened
- He believes and is healed.
- Ammonihah is destroyed by Lamanites less than a year later
Context
As with all my lesson plans I like to start out establishing some context.
Who wrote this? Mormon compiled the Book of Mormon almost 500 years after this story happened. There is a lot of dialog in this story so we can assume that this was written down much closer to the time it happened. Chapter 9 is specifically in the first person with Alma telling what he said and did. At some point over the next few chapters the narration slips back into third person.
When does this story take place? About 82 BC. This is the 10th year of the Reign of the Judges.
Where does this story take place? The city of Ammonihah which is roughly northwest of Zarahemla.
Who is mentioned by name in the text?
Alma – This the son of Alma. We often refer to him as “Alma the Younger” even though that title is never used in The Book of Mormon. He was serving as both the Chief Judge and the High Priest of the church, but he has given up being Chief Judge so that he can focus all his efforts on preaching.
Amulek – A resident of Ammonihah who helps Alma and then preaches with Alma. He says he knew of the mysteries of the Lord but would not hear them. It wasn’t until he saw an angel and helped Alma that he had a change of heart.
Zeezrum – Zeezrum’s story arc is one of the most interesting parts of these chapters. He was one of the lawyers in Ammonihah who were trying to destroy Alma and Amulek and stir up the anger of the people of Ammonihah. He is shaken by the words of Amulek and Alma and has a change of heart. He tries to stop the violence the people of Ammonihah commit and is cast out. He is sick from what he has done and is eventually healed by his faith.
Antionah – A chief ruler of Ammonihah. He asks Alma one question at 12:20-21. We don’t hear anything more from him specifically so we can assume he does not have a change of heart like Zeezrum.
Chief Judge of the Land – unnamed man who repeatedly assaults Alma and Amulek when they are in prison.
Topics of this Lesson Plan
It’s impossible to cover every specific bit of theology brought up in this story in one lesson plan. So we are going to focus on two main topics here.
- Why is God so mad at the people of Ammonihah?
- Amulek’s conversion
Why is God so mad?
One of the things that you’ll notice in this story is God is pretty annoyed at the people of Ammonihah. Alma and Amulek are repeatedly telling the people that they will be destroyed unless they repent. But the reasons for God’s anger aren’t very clear from a quick surface reading.
It would be nice if there was a very clear reason spelled out at the beginning of the story. Something along the lines of what we see in the story of King Noah where we are told all of the things he and his people are doing wrong. But there is nothing like that here.
Instead there are some clues scattered through the text. Let’s go through some of them.
One of the best clues actually comes in the middle of the text. At Alma 12:33-35 Alma quotes God’s words to the people. The words are “If ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son; therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.” Based on these verses we can see that there is a problem with the people’s hearts. They have hardened them against God and against other people.
We hear about the people’s hearts at the beginning of the story too. Alma 8:9 says “Satan had gotten a great hold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah.” Hearts are brought up many times throughout these chapters.
Here are some other clues about why God is so angry at the people of Ammonihah
- Alma 8:10:13 Shows that the people do not respect Alma because he is no longer the Chief Judge. The Book of Mormon for the Least of These has this to say about these verses: “They frankly admit that they would treat Alma differently if he held traditional power. Because he left the judgment seat, they feel free to enact violence on his body and throw him out of the city. How people treat those with less power than themselves reveals much more about them than does their treatment of people with privilege and status . . . the people are focused on power and are willing to brutally dismiss those without it.” (The Book of Mormon for the Least of These page 161.)
- Alma 8:16 is where the angel is talking to Alma. The angle says the people, “do study at this time that they may destroy the liberty of the people . . . which is contrary to the statutes, and judgements, and commandments which [God] has given to his people.” The Book of Mormon for the Least of These has this to add: “The people of Ammonihah work — with effort, struggle, and intentional plan– to destroy liberation. Satan’s strong influence in this city has the inhabitants focused on power and those who hold power, but also on a desire to disempower others and curtail their liberty.” (Book of Mormon for the Least of These page 162.)
- Alma 10:5-6 is Amulek talking about his relationship with God before the angel appeared to him. He says, “I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; . . . Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I could not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart.” This is specifically about Amulek, but perhaps this could describe many of the people in this city. They knew God and yet would not turn their hearts to him.
- Alma 11:20 is speaking about the lawyers and judges of the community. It says “Now, it was for the sole purpose to get gain, because they received their wages according to their employ, therefore, they did stir up the people to riotings, and all manner of disturbances and wickedness, that they might have more employ, that they might get money according to the suits which were brought before them.” The Lawyers and Judges of the community are corrupt. They are not interested in rooting out injustice. Instead they are stirring up hate.
- Alma 14:7 shows the believing men of the city being cast out of the city with stones. Then in 14:8 we read of women and children being burned alive because of their beliefs. A society that does that sort of thing doesn’t just happen overnight. How much violence was already happening in this society? How hardened were the people’s hearts that they could do something this atrocious?
So why is God so mad? He’s mad that the people have “hard hearts.” What that means is that the people in power are abusing that power. They aren’t protecting people with less power. Instead they are trying to make more money. They are willing to protect their power with acts of violence.
A lot of times we can think that God only gets mad at the easy to list types of sins. Sins like Immorality, drinking, murder, etc. The people of Ammonihah might have been doing those things but the text doesn’t highlight those sins. Instead the text is talking about how these people treat other people.
Take a minute to examine your own life. How are you treating other people? Is there anything that you could improve or change?
Examples of Repentance – Amulek’s story
There is a lot of talk about repenting and turning to the Lord in these chapters. What’s interesting is that this story contains three great examples of people who have repented and turned to the Lord. Alma himself once sought to destroy the church and was called to repentance by an angel. His story of his change of heart happens at the end of the book of Mosiah, and it’s not brought up in this story – but we remember that it happened. Every word Alma says about repentance is personal to him.
Amulek’s change of heart is documented in these chapters. We’ll focus on him in a minute.
The third person we see repenting is Zeezrum. We will look at his story arc in detail in next week’s lesson.
This week we’ll look at Amulek. I love that we have his own words describing himself. In Alma 10:1-9 he tells his story. He says, “I am a man of no small reputation among all those who know me.” He has a large extended family, many friends, and has made a lot of money in “the hand of [his] industry.” He also lays out his family history and while the names and events are unfamiliar to us – it’s obvious that these have some sort of social cachet.
He describes knowing God in some sense, but of not actually paying attention. His phrasing is so interesting.
He says things like:
“I was called many times and I would not hear.”
“I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know”
“I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart.”
Amulek is easy to picture. I think many of us know people like Amulek – or perhaps have been like Amulek. Maybe we even are currently like Amulek. Someone whose life is going well, and yet their spiritual life is lacking.
What happens next though is not so common. An angel appears to Amulek. There’s no denying this. Amulek has to pay attention to the angel.
But the angel doesn’t come with strong words calling Amulek to repentance. Instead he directs Amulek to take some specific actions:
- Return to his house
- Feed a prophet of the Lord
Maybe God knew that Amulek needed to actually DO something in order to kick off his change of heart. Lectures weren’t going to work in this case. But service would. Amulek needed a specific assignment. A specific call to action.
Have there been times in your life when your testimony was strengthened by action rather than by listening to preaching?
Amulek follows the angel’s directions and finds Alma. He takes Alma into his house and feeds him. Alma blesses Amulek and his house. Alma stays with Amulek for many days. The Book of Mormon for the Least of These has this to say about Alma 8: 26-27: “Although the angel warned Alma of impending danger and Alma hurried back to Ammonihah, Alma and Amulek take this time together. Setting aside space to build companionship in justice work is priceless. Before we can begin to do the work, it is worth asking whether we need to mend old relationships or form new ones. That does not pause or stop the work; it is part of the work.” (The Book of Mormon for the Least of These page 163)
After Alma and Amulek have built their relationship Alma is commanded to preach to the people, and he is told to take Amulek with him. I wonder what Amulek’s reaction was to that. Did he say something like, “Hey wait, I was just commanded to feed you. This is more than I bargained for.” Or did he say something like, “Yes, I’m ready.” What would your reaction be if you were asked to preach in your hometown?
Alma begins preaching and the people mock him and say that they won’t believe his words because he is just one man. After Alma has preached for a while Amulek begins speaking. His words are in Chapters 10 and 11. He lends credibility to Alma’s words because he is a second witness and he is a prominent member of Ammonihah.
He withstands Zeezrom’s questioning and even perceives Zeezrom’s plans to trick him. He speaks clearly of the difference between the temporal death (physical death of our bodies) and a spiritual death from our sins. It’s unclear if he knew all this theology before Alma arrived or if these are things that Alma has explained to him. Either way he has a lot of knowledge about theology. His words have the effect of silencing Zeezrom and causing Zeezrom to tremble.
Alma takes over preaching again from Amulek in Chapter 12 and 13.
In Chapter 14 1we see that Alma’s words combined with Amulek’s lead many people to believe and repent and search the scriptures. Unfortunately, most of the people are angry and want to destroy Alma and Amulek. The two men are tied up and taken to the Chief Judge of the land. There is so much chaos and violence stirred up in the land that the male believers are violently forced out of the city. The women and children are burned while Alma and Amulek are forced to watch.
Amulek’s reaction to this horror is something we all would say. He asks, “How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.” (14:10)
Alma explains that they cannot. The spirit is preventing him from saving these people. We’ll get into the possible reasons in the next lesson. But it still couldn’t have been an easy scene for Amulek to witness. As an added horror it’s possible that his wife and children were some of the victims. In earlier chapters we read of Almulek having women in his house. But they are never mentioned again. Were they killed? Or did they disassociate from him when he became a believer? Either way his family appears to be gone.
Almulek’s other line of dialog in this section is also very relatable. He asks, “Behold, perhaps they will burn us also?” (14:12)
He and Alma are not burned, but they are put in prison and repeatedly assaulted and questioned by “lawyers, and judges, and priests, and teachers.” (14:17) Alma and Amulek are silent in the face of this abuse. They are starved and not given any water. They are also naked. This is far from where their friendship started. It’s interesting that Amulek, who just weeks before was not very interested in God, is willing to endure all this with Alma. He doesn’t give up. He doesn’t say, “Oops, I was wrong. I think I’ll go back to my riches and my regular job now. I take back everything I said.” No, he stands by Alma through all these things and suffers in silence with him. His ability to withstand all of this is a testament of how much his heart has changed.
After many days Alma cries out, “How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ unto deliverance.” He and Amulek break their bonds and the prison walls fall down. Everyone else in the prison is killed, but Alma and Amulek walk out unharmed.
Amulek does not have any other dialog in this section. He travels with Alma to Sidom and helped establish the church there. Then Alma takes Amulek to his home and did “administer until him in his tribulations and strengthened him in the Lord.” (Alma 15:18)
But that’s not the end of Amulek’s story. Years later Alma goes on a mission to the Zoramites in Antonum. He puts together a “dream team” missionary group. He takes his buddies Ammon, Aaron, and Omner, (they are all back from their mission to the Lamanites.). He brings two of his sons Shiblon and Corianton. He also brings Amulek and Zeezrum. Amulek’s preaches a whole sermon to the Zoramites. It is recorded in Alma 34.
His last words are “And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have patience, and that ye bear with all manner of afflictions; that ye do not revile against those who do cast you out because of your exceeding poverty, lest you become sinners like unto them; but that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from your afflictions.”
How do you think Amulek’s experience in Ammonihah influenced those words to the Zoramites? How do you think his knowledge of Jesus Christ has strengthened him and given him patience over the years? Do you think he ever wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t paid attention to that angel?
Conclusion – Sort of
We’ve looked at the reasons why God was angry at the people of Ammonihah. We’ve also looked at Amulek’s story arc. But we are far from being done with this story. Next week we will examine Zeezrum’s story arc. We will also attempt to take a wide eyed look at the horrors of the violence that is carried out on the believers.
Further Resources
This has been a long lesson plan and yet we’ve barely scratched the surface of what is contained in Alma 8-12. Here are a few more resources that you can look to for more ideas as you study the chapters.
1. The Book of Mormon for the Least of These -Volume Two by Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming
2. A Brief Theological Introduction to Alma 1-29 by Kylie Nielson Turley.
3. Maxwell Institute Interview with Kylie Nielson Turley about her book. Click here for the youtube link.
