An epilogue to the posts about Alma, Amulek and their Ammonihah experience... I know I devoted a lot of posts to these events, but I personally got a lot out of the messages that were in those chapters. I repeat what I have previously said: I believe the Book of Mormon is the word of God, preserved miraculously and produced in our day by the hand of God for our profit and learning. I ask you to read and pray about the the Book of Mormon. If you do this sincerely, you will obtain a testimony similar to mine. We are promised this by a prophet of God, which promise can be found in Moroni 10:4-5 "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
Moving on... As you may recall, the sons of King Mosiah refused the throne that was their birth-rite. They then persuaded their father to permit them to go to the lands inhabited by the Lamanites to teach them of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to convince the Lamanites that their traditions were wrong. Chapters 17 - 27 of the book of Alma tells of some of their experiences and successes during their 14 year mission. During the next few posts, I will discuss some of the valuable things I have learned and some interesting things I've noticed while reading and pondering these chapters.
As a parent, let me just say this: Letting go of my children as they grew up and moved into adulthood was difficult, and seeing them go off to live their lives may have been one of the most heart-rending things I have done. I cannot imagine how Mosiah felt, seeing all of his sons depart for places of danger and uncertainty. However, he did have two things that swayed his decision: The knowledge that his sons were men of God: "...they traveled throughout all the land of Zarahemla ... zealously striving to repair all the injuries which they had done to the church, confessing all their sins, and publishing all the things which they had seen, and explaining the prophecies and the scriptures to all who desired to hear them. And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer. And how blessed are they! For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth" (Mosiah 27:35-37).
King Mosiah also had the promise of the Lord: "And king Mosiah went and inquired of the Lord if he should let his sons go up among the Lamanites to preach the word. And the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites" (Mosiah 28:6-7).
How important their mission was! And how comforting it must have been to Mosiah to know that his sons would be protected and that their efforts would be fruitful. I hope that I may be as trusting of the Lord as Mosiah was. I hope that I may be as unselfish, too. May we each be as sure of our relationship to God as this great man was.
More posts about the mission of the sons of Mosiah to come...
Don
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