What's in the Book of Mormon? Part 2 of 4

About 400 years and 27 pages separate the end of 2 Nephi from the beginning of Mosiah. A few brief books written by Jacob, Nephi's younger brother, and his descendants give us some information about this period, but we really know very little. In contrast, the books of Mosiah and Alma cover about only 80 years but fill 223 pages (about 40% of the Book of Mormon). These books contain amazing stories and sermons given by some of the most memorable characters of the Book of Mormon: King Benjamin, Abinidi, Alma the elder, Alma the younger, Ammon, Amulek, Captain Moroni, Helaman and his 2000 warriors, and others. This post will take a quick look at four themes which are important in both books: our need for a change of heart, God's ability to answer our prayers, war, and missionary work.

One of the central themes of the books of Mosiah and Alma (and the whole Book of Mormon) is our need to have our hearts changed through our own repentance and the atonement of Jesus Christ. In the Bible, Jesus teaches Nicodemus that "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) In the books we discuss in this post we see the process of being "born again" happen several times, and I will highlight only two significant episodes. The first comes from chapters 1-5 of Mosiah. King Benjamin was a righteous king who hard worked hard for the welfare of his people. As he neared the end of his life he called his people together to teach them important things about God and themselves. At the end of his speech, he asked if his people believed the words which he had spoken. They responded, saying: "Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." (Mosiah 5:2) The central point of this passage is truly amazing: it teaches us that through Christ, our dispositions can be changed so fundamentally that we no longer have any desire to do bad things. It's not that these people wanted to be out sinning, but were scared of what God would do to them if they did. No, they had become "new creatures" (2 Corinthians 5:17) through Christ, and only had the desire to do good continually. Of course, a change like this takes work to retain, but Christ makes is possible for us to achieve true, lasting changes in our character.

Another person who experienced a similar "mighty change" of heart (Alma 5:13) was Alma the younger. Alma's father, known as "Alma the elder," was a righteous man and a leader in the church. However, we read that Alma the younger "was a man of many words, and did speak much flattery to the people; therefore he led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities. And he became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; stealing away the hearts of the people; causing much dissension among the people." (Mosiah 27:8-9) Alma the elder prayed "with much faith" for his wayward son (Mosiah 27:14), and in due time the Lord sent an angel to call Alma the younger to repentance. (Mosiah 27:10-17) Alma the younger was so shocked by the appearance that he fell to the ground and could not move. (Mosiah 27:19) However, in his incapacitated state Alma was still conscious, saying that "I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments." (Alma 36:13) In this state of despair Alma prayed for forgiveness, and God forgave him. God's forgiveness filled him with indescribable joy. (Alma 36:18-22) From this moment of conversion on Alma worked tirelessly to "bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost." (Alma 36:24) Alma taught that this true change of heart, which he had experienced, was available to everyone: "all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters. And thus they become new creatures." (Mosiah 27:25-26) (Other stories of conversion include those of Alma the elder (Mosiah 17-18), the four sons of Mosiah (Mosiah 27), Zeezrom (Alma 15), Lamoni and his people(Alma 18-19, especially 19:33), Lamoni's father and his household (Alma 22), and some of the Zoramites (Alma 31-35).)

This last story is also a great example of our next topic: God's ability to answer our prayers. Alma the elder prayed for his wayward son, and Alma the younger prayed for forgiveness. God answered both of their prayers by granting special assistance or grace. Another great story of how God answered the prayers of his people comes from an earlier chapter in the life of Alma the elder. Alma was once a false "priest" to a wicked king, Noah, but was converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ through the teaching of the prophet Abinadi. He left Noah's kingdom with a group of followers and established a city. After some time the city was overtaken by a hostile group and the people were forced into slavery. In this condition, Alma's people prayed for deliverance, but their captors threatened to kill anyone who prayed. (Mosiah 24:10-11) We read that the people prayed to God in their hearts, and God responded by saying, "Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage. And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." (Mosiah 24:13-14) We read that God did empower the people to "bear up their burdens with ease" (Mosiah 24:15) and that they were soon delivered out of bondage (Mosiah 24:16-22). We should remember that in any situation, God can help us cope with and overcome difficulties in our lives in one of these ways. (For more on prayer, see the entry on the subject in the LDS Bible Dictionary, or see Mosiah 4:2-4, Alma 22:17-27, Alma 31:24-36, Alma 33:3-11, Alma 34:17-27, Alma 36:17-21, Alma 46:11-18)

Moving on, the Book of Mormon, like virtually any record of human history, has its share of wars and contentions. Chapters 43-62 (excluding 45) of the book of Alma cover about 14 years and constitute the most detailed discussion of an ongoing armed conflict in the Book of Mormon. Much of the writing focuses on Captain Moroni, the preeminent military commander of the Book of Mormon. Moroni revolutionized the way battle was conducted in his time by innovations in city fortifications (Alma 49, 50:1-6), use of protective armor (Alma 43:18-21), "stratagem" (Alma 43:27-42. 52, 55), and his ability to rally public support (Alma 46:11-28, 62). Moroni defended his people against many invasions and put down power-hungry coups within his own nation (Alma 46, 51, 59-62).

Though Moroni was "was a strong and a mighty man" and "a man of a perfect understanding" (Alma 48:11), the true source of his success was his righteousness and faith in God. Once, when Moroni was confronted with an enemy within his own nation which threatened to overthrow the government, Moroni wrote down on a banner the things he was willing to fight for: "in memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children." (Alma 46:12) Moroni "did not delight in bloodshed" (Alma 48:11) and only fought when he had to. Even when he had his enemies at a disadvantage he often offered them a way out on the condition that they surrender their weapons of war and promise never to fight his people again. (Alma 44:1-7, Alma 62:27-29) Moroni's leadership and administration were so effective that "there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni." (Alma 50:23)

Lastly, Mosiah and Alma tell the stories of many great missionaries. A missionary is someone who tells other people about God and the gospel, or the "good news" of Jesus Christ's redemption for us. People who have received a true change of heart through Christ's atonement have a strong desire to share what they have learned because they want others to have the joy they have found. As we saw above, Alma the younger received a mighty change of heart, and we read that he spent much of the rest of his life telling others about the gospel. (see Alma 4-5, 7, 8, 9-15, 29, 31-35, 43) Another great missionary was Alma's friend Ammon. Ammon was present when the angel came and called Alma to repentance. He too received a change of heart and spent fourteen years preaching the gospel to a group of people hostile to his own. (Alma 17:4) Some of the people who were converted through his teaching had previously been a violent and war-loving people, but they buried their weapons of war deep in the earth as a sign to God that they would never do violence to others again. (Alma 24:12-19) Other converts declared "that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil," (Alma 19:33) and were filled with joy. (Alma 19)

The joy found by these converts and others is available to all through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I have found great joy and comfort in my own life as I have sincerely tried to understand and apply the gospel of Jesus Christ in my own life. The Book of Mormon can help you understand Jesus Christ better, and it can help you achieve a true change of heart, similar to that of Alma the younger. If you would like to receive a free copy of the Book of Mormon or talk to current missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, call 1-888-537-7111, click here, or go to mormon.org to set up an appointment.