Alma 13-16

A TEAM OF WITNESSES


Have you ever thought about why there are two of so many things?  Missionaries always have a companion.  Why?  Just to keep them out of trouble?  Just for safety under the "buddy system?"  Why are there also two home teachers, and two visiting teachers, two parents and two grandparents (in the ideal situation)?  In each instance, they are a team of witnesses, and this is how a team of witnesses works:  One testifies, and the other establishes or verifies the words of the first, and then he expounds upon them, or explains things beyond (Alma 12:1).  One visiting teacher gives a little lesson from the Ensign or the Liahona, the other visiting teacher adds to it.  One parent states a family rule that is in line with a gospel principles, and the second parent backs it up.  The Lord's various systems of helping His children almost always involve the law of witnesses.

Picture from MormonMissionaryPrep.com

Alma and Amulek were one of the Lord's great missionary companionships.  When they were challenged by a wily lawyer named Zeezrom, they withstood him as a team of witnesses.  They knew that Zeezrom knew the truth and was denying it in order to get gain.  First Amulek warned Zeezrom that he was headed towards becoming a "child of hell" (Alma 11:23).  He warned that the devil was working to "encircle" him about with the chains of hell (Alma 12:3-6).  Zeezrom began to be entertain the possibility that they were right (Alma 12:7).  At this point (Alma 12:8) he "began to inquire of them diligently, that he might know more concerning the kingdom of God."  Now he was asking sincere questions.  Alma taught him about the plan of redemption, and presented before him his options of repenting or continuing in evil (Alma 12:34-35).

THE DISCUSSION ON PRIESTHOOD

A lot of other people were listening as well. Following this discussion, Alma seemingly changed the subject and suddenly launched into the topic of the priesthood (Alma 13:1).  All of chapter 13 is about the priesthood.  Pretty random, right?  But it's always a mistake to assume something in the scriptures is random, so instead we want to ask, why did he find this relevant to explain at this important teaching moment?

Well, the Ammonihahites had claimed at the outset not to recognize his authority, since they had broken themselves off from the church.  They had the scriptures, although they twisted them for their own use.  With these remarks about the priesthood, Alma was establishing his authority as being the same authority that Melchizedek had in their scriptures.  They had been led astray by priestcraft, the devil's method of leadership, based on selfishness.  They needed to return to priesthood, the Lord's leadership method of love and service.

So Alma reminded them of Melchizedek, the great high priest, to show them that he had the same calling and authority and was doing the same service (preaching repentance) that Melchizedek did (Alma 13:17-18 first sentence).  Not only was Melchizedek an excellent example of a high priest, but the people of Salem were an excellent example of people who were very wicked (like those of Ammonihah), entrenched in the selfishness of priestcraft, but who turned completely around and became so righteous that they may have been taken up into heaven like the City of Enoch (second sentence of Alma 13:18).  (Very little remains in our Bible about Melchizedek and Salem, but there is more in JST Genesis 14.  The Nephites certainly would have had more in their brass plates than we do now because they had passed through fewer hands than the Bible has.)  Alma counseled the people to follow this example (Alma 13:14).

THE WAKE OF ZEEZROM'S WICKED PAST

Some of the people were inspired by these teachings and wanted to change.  One of them was Zeezrom himself.  However, the majority of the people were murderously angry with Alma and Amulek.  They tied them up and took them before the chief judge, another crooked person.  They testified against them in another court and Zeezrom was present to witness this (Alma 14:6).  Alma and Amulek had both warned Zeezrom that he would be "encircled about by the pains of hell."  They were prophets and they had "forth-told" about this.  They didn't need to actually see the future to see that this would happen.  They knew the principles upon which happiness is based, and they knew that Zeezrom's actions were contrary to them.

Zeezrom tried to reverse his negative influence, but couldn't (Alma 14:7).  When we make big mistakes, yes, we can always repent and learn from them, but our sins always leave a wake.  Others are affected by our actions and example, and we often cannot reverse those consequences, as much as we might desire to do so.  The realization of this brings great suffering, such as Zeezrom experienced, when we realize the "blindness" of others' minds, "which [we have] caused."

THE MASS MARTYRDOM

The evil people threw all the believing men out of the city, casting stones at them.  Then they took the wives and children left behind and threw them into a fire, along with scriptures (Alma 14:8-9).  Alma and Amulek were forced to watch all these innocents burn to death.  Even though Alma and Amulek knew that "death is sweet if [you] die unto [Christ], " (D&C 42:46), and they knew that those being killed were, in the long run, much better off than those killing them, it was still something that--how could you get over it?  As Amulek said to Alma, "How can we witness this awful scene?"  (Alma 14:10)

Which brings us to one of the great and dividing questions of all time:  Why would a loving God allow this to happen?  Of course, these innocent women and children could have been easily saved with His power!  Why did he constrain Alma not to exercise his priesthood? (Wait for class response.)

God must let a people ripen in iniquity before His judgments can be just in destroying them.  People will not be judged for what they might have done.  (Alma 11:41; 41:3-4)

THE IMPRISONMENT

After this, Alma and Amulek were cast into prison.  They were left there for many days and served as an entertainment for the people, who came continually to spit upon them and taunt them and slap them.  They were given no food or water or clothing, and were tightly tied up (Alma 14:22).  Continually the people mocked them with question such as, "If you have such mighty priesthood power, why don't you free yourselves?" but Alma and Amulek did not answer a word.  Why do you think they didn't?  (Class response)

Finally, Alma stood up and offered a mighty prayer from deep within his heart (Alma 14:26).  His prayer was immediately answered, and he and Amulek received Incredible Hulk-type strength to stand--remember they had been starved and beaten for days--and break their bands.  This caused a realization on the part of the accusers that they had committed a really big "oops"; they had never intended to actually receive the sign from heaven they had kept demanding.  They ran for the prison doors, but the earthquake didn't wait for them to get there (Alma 14:27-28).

Even after this miraculous occurrence, those on the outside who were still alive did not have any desire to listen to Alma and Amulek, but sent them out of the city (Alma 15:1) where they found asylum in the land of Sidom.

SURVIVING TRAGEDY

Here they found all the men who also had been thrown out of Ammonihah, and they related the horrifying story of the gruesome deaths of their families (Alma 15:1-2).  Imagine being one of these men.  What did they feel?  How did they go on?

Unfortunately, like the missionaries of Ammonihah, there are righteous people today all over the world who must witness awful and senseless crimes where the ravings of the devil are unleashed upon innocent people.  How can they carry on?  By believing, as did Alma, that if they survived the tragedy, their mission is not complete and the Lord will help them carry it out (Alma 14:13).  As John Bytheway counseled the Columbine, Colorado seminary students after the 1999 massacre at their high school, "Don't let tragedy define your life.  You have your own mission to accomplish and you should not be deterred."  (See John Bytheway, When Times Are Tough: 5 Scriptures That Will Help You Get Through Almost Anything, published by Deseret Book)

(By the way--sorry, John, I couldn't avoid the pun--here are the 5 scriptures in case you want to branch off on this topic: "[We] know that [God] loveth his children" [1 Nephi 11:17]; We know that God allows evil to exist in the world [Moses 7:26-33]; "Our work is not finished" [Alma 14:13]; The Atonement is not just for sinners [Alma 7:11-12]; One day the Lord will reveal all things [D&C 101:32-36] )

The Lord offers victims comfort:

"All they who suffer persecution for my name, and endure in faith, though they are called to lay down their lives for my sake yet shall they partake of all this glory.  Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full.  Therefore, care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and for the life of the soul.  And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life."  (D&C 101:35-37)

You can, even after a tragedy, still have a fulness of joy!  How is this possible?  Through the Atonement.  The Atonement is not just for sinners, but for every kind of suffering (Alma 7:11).  Because of the Atonement, Christ knows "how to succor his people" (Alma 7:12).

What about those whose actions cause the sufferings of others?  The story of Zeezrom tells us that the Atonement also is available for them.

Zeezrom was in this same city in Sidom--he had fled here when he was cast out of Ammonihah--and he lay here sick and dying of a fever, brought upon him by his anguish of conscience.  There was no way that he of himself could get over the terrible sickness of mind and body that his wickedness had caused.  Alma knew that the only way out of such a situation of guilt is the same and only way that he got out of it and that we can get out of it.  Once again, it was through the Atonement of Christ.  He had experienced it himself (Alma 36:17-20).  He could see that Zeezrom was just a mirror of himself, and he knew what to do about it (Alma 15:8-12).

AMULEK'S SACRIFICE

We make covenants in the temple that we would be willing to sacrifice for the gospel, but have any of us ever had to sacrifice much?  There are people in the world who sacrifice greatly for their testimonies, such as Amulek did.  Amulek lost everything he had except for the most important thing, his testimony of Christ (Alma 15:16).  Although he was a great missionary, he was also a homeless beggar.  But he had a new family in the gospel (Alma 15:18).  We must always follow the example of Alma in succoring new converts who have sacrificed to join the Church.

Was it worth the sacrifice?  Well, King Benjamin had taught that you can never be in debt to the Lord.  No matter how much you give Him, He will give you more back.  It is always true, if not always instant.  And it was true for Amulek in this life as well as in the life after, which "life after" came much later for him than it did for those who cast him out.

THE DESOLATION OF NEHORS

Amulek had warned the people of his home town that the presence of the righteous among them was preserving them (Alma 10:22-23).  It is still true today.  Spencer W. Kimball wrote, "There are many upright and faithful who live all the commandments and whose lives and prayers keep the world from destruction."  (Ensign, June 1971, p. 16)  When the Ammonihahites cast out the righteous, they sealed their own fate.

In the following year, word came that the Lamanites were on the warpath.  The city of Ammonihah was the first thing in that path, and before an army could be gathered, that city was massacred.  There were many prisoners of war taken from the surrounding cities.  The chief captain of the armies, Zoram, was a God-fearing man, and he knew that Alma had a testimony of Christ (the spirit of prophecy), so he asked him to exercise that testimony and call upon God, through the spirit of revelation, to know how to get these prisoners back.  Alma inquired of the Lord and received very specific instructions on where to find the Lamanites and what to do.  Zoram followed these instructions and was 100% successful in rescuing the prisoners and scattering the armies of the Lamanites (Alma 16:5-8).

But it was all too late for Ammonihah, whose devastation was 100%.  The judgments of God had to be executed upon them, because they were just (or fair) judgments.  The Lord had said they would be destroyed, and he is a God of truth (Alma 16:9-11).

THE HAPPY ENDING

With the influence of the Nehors gone, Alma and Amulek were free to preach the gospel to a very receptive audience of Nephites  (Alma 16:15-16, 21).

Here is where we find the good news in this story:  Thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, everyone who is true to the faith, no matter what trials they have to go through, gets to live happily ever after.  In this life, things are seldom fair.  Wicked people sometimes prosper; righteous people sometimes suffer.  Martyrdom is not that uncommon in the history of the Lord's people.  But the Lord's people will always be more than compensated ("All things work together for good to them that love God," Rom. 8:28), and all will eventually be made more than fair.  In the short term, Amulek suffered as the Nehors prospered, but he always had the peace of the gospel, which they refused, and in the end, his life was spared when theirs were not.

Alma 8-12

You may want to have some missionary-related visual aids, such as pictures of missionaries from your area, pictures from your own mission, a globe, missionary name tags, ties, etc.  Or use the many fabulous pictures now available from the just-barely-updated LDS Media website!  It's so great!!!  (The images posted here come from that source.)

  

IN-CLASS STUDY

If you have a large class of adults, have two tins of small treats--one which just has the treats, and the other which has 11 treats with scripture references taped to them.  Tell the class if they read (past tense) the assignment at home, they can take a treat from the treat-only tin.  If they didn't, this is their opportunity to delve into the scriptures.  But always give them an out--if they would rather die than participate (sometimes you have even adults who will not come back to class if you ask them to read aloud because it's too difficult for them) tell them they can give their assignment (and its treat) to someone else.  

If you have a small teenage class, just hand out the snacks and the references to those willing to read.  (Give the super-small ones to the challenged or less confident readers.)

Allow one minute for the students to look up and study their references.  

• Mission Area:  Read Alma 6:1-4
• Mission Area:  Read Alma 7:26
• Mission Area:   Read Alma 8:4-5
• Mission Area:   Read Alma 14:1-2
• Mission Area:   Read Alma 15:13-14 
• Missionary Tool: Read Alma 8:4
• Missionary Tool:  Read Alma 8:10
• Missionary Tool:  Read Alma 8:24 (first four lines)
• Missionary Tool:  Read Alma 8:14-15; Alma 10:7; Alma 10:10
• Missionary Tool:  Read Alma 10:7
• Missionary Tool:  Read Alma 9:2,6; Alma 10:12

OBJECT LESSON

If I hold a piece of paper up high in the air, and I let go of it, what is going to happen to it?  (Demonstrate.)  Of course, it will always fall to the ground.

Richard L. Evans made a very profoundly obvious statement:  "If we don't change direction, we will arrive at where we're going."  (April 1970 Conference Report)

Depending on which direction we are going, this is either a great encouragement or a terrible threat.  (Drop paper again.)  Is there anything I can do to prevent the paper from falling to the ground at my feet?  (Fold the paper into an airplane.)  If someone changes  it, its course will change.  (Fly the paper airplane.)  Of course, paper has no agency, so we can make it change.  People are different, and because of that, this is kind of a depressing lesson.

OVERVIEW OF ALMA'S MISSION AREAS

Alma, as you recall, retired from his position as chief judge in order to serve a full-time mission.  Over a period of a couple of years, we have record of his teaching in five cities.  Our five ill-fated class members are going to tell us what they are and give us a very brief report on how successful Alma was in each place.

Cheat Sheet for teachers:

1. Alma 6:1-4  Zarahemla--Somewhat successful
2. Alma 7:26  Gideon--Successful
3. Alma 8:4-5  Melek--Highly successful
4. Alma 14:1-2  Ammonihah--Some success/Much miserable failure  
5. Alma 15:13-14  Sidom--Highly Successful

 Today's topic is the mission area that was the most miserable failure of all of these:  Ammonihah.

As one of the greatest missionary companionships of all time, Alma and Amulek did everything possible to help the people of Ammonihah change direction from the collision course they were on.  Many great tools for conversion were in place which worked in the other cities and would have worked here were it not for the one thing missionaries have no control over: the agency of the people.

TOOLS FOR MISSIONARY WORK (HELPING OTHERS TO CHANGE)

Have the class members with Missionary Tool scriptures tell what tool they each discovered from their scriptures.  There is no particular order.  Write them on the board.

• Alma 8:4--Authority.  This was very effective in Melek, but was this tool effective in Ammonihah?  (Read aloud the first three lines of Alma 8:12.)
• Alma 8:24--Testimony.  Here is another chance to earn more treats:  If you were paying attention last week, do you remember where to find the definition of the spirit of prophecy?  (Rev. 19:10)  What about the spirit of revelation?  (D&C 8:2-3)
• Alma 8:14-15; Alma 10:7; Alma 10:10--Angelic Visits.  The work of angels in conversion has many interesting parallels here.  Alma was very rebellious, but the visit of an angel convinced him to allow Christ to change him.  Now he received a very different visit from an angel.  (Alma 8:15)  This angel directed him to return to Ammonihah after having been thrown out of the city forcibly.  In Ammonihah there is another man who is rebellious:  Amulek.  (Alma 10:4-7)  An angel directs Amulek to receive Alma into his home.  Could Alma's mighty prayer for Ammonihah have brought about the angelic vision and conversion of Amulek?  Very possibly.  Are there any more angelic visitations involved in this mission?  (10:10)  Alma spent significant time tutoring Amulek (Alma 8:27) and helping his testimony to grow, and angels helped with this process.  Imagine what kind of an experience it would be, if you were the least bit receptive, to have the prophet of the Lord living in your home, and angels dropping by to visit!  This must have been necessary, because Amulek would need a very strong testimony to endure what lay ahead in the mission field.
• Alma 10:7--Fasting.  "[Alma had] fasted many days because of the sins of the people."
• Alma 9:2,6 and Alma 10:12--Two witnesses.  Alma was at first preaching alone (Alma 9:2,6).  When Amulek began to testify to the people, he first established his lineage (10:1-3), then his worldly authority and perspective (just what they had asked for:  someone like themselves) (10:4-5), and then he testified of the authority of Alma as a source of truth, whom they had already heard and rejected (10:7-10).  He told them what joy Alma had in store for them.  (Read aloud 10:11.)  The people were astonished that there really were two witnesses (10:12).  This was what they had asked for.  But did it work to change them?  No.  They had already made up their minds not to change, regardless of what happened.

THE TRIAL

Amulek called the people to repentance and testified that they would be destroyed if they didn't repent. (Read aloud Alma 10:21-22.)  "There are many upright and faithful who live all the commandments and whose lives and prayers keep the world from destruction."  (Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, June 1971, p. 16)

The people of Ammonihah did not care much for this kind of rebuke.

(Read aloud Alma 10:31-32.)  Now this idea of lawyers "getting gain according to their employ" does not seem weird at all to us, but it was a new thing at the time.

"Ancient judges were not paid professionals.  In the Old World, kings were...responsible for the administration of justice...  Prior to Mosiah's new law introduced around 91 BC it is unlikely that any judges were paid...in Nephite society.  As well-intended as Mosiah's program was, it quickly led to abuse...(Lawyers] soon made it a 'business' and sought to 'get gain' through this system" (FARMS, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 39)

Zeezrom, then, was quite motivated by money, and assumed everyone else was.  He was also quite crooked, and assumed everyone else was.  So he attempted to bribe Amulek with six onties of silver to deny Christ.  (Alma 11:22)  This was the equivalent of a judge's wage for 42 days, or 42 measures of barley.  Of course, this had no effect upon Amulek: he would not sell his testimony for money.  Amulek condemned Zeezrom for denying his own testimony.  (Read aloud Alma 11:24.)  Amulek then answered Zeezrom's trick questions about God, and taught about life after death.

When Amulek was finished, Alma stepped up.  (Read aloud Alma 12:1.)  This is how missionaries, or teams of witnesses, work.  One testifies, and the other establishes the testimony of the first.  So first Alma expounded upon Amulek's testimony that Zeezrom was doing the work of the devil.  Then he expounded upon Amulek's teachings of the resurrection and judgment.

THE LAST MISSIONARY TOOL

After giving the people the choice between the course of destruction they were presently on, and a new one they might have if they repented, Alma exercised a final tool for effecting change in others, a tool always used by the prophets and apostles in their conference talks, a tool always used by the Apostle Paul in his epistles:

• Encouragement.  In the next chapter, next week's assignment, he finished his speech by telling them about people who magnified their calling in the Priesthood, and by encouraging them to follow that example.  (Read aloud Alma 13:14, and Alma 13:27,30.)

CONCLUSION

There may be a lot of wickedness in many parts of the world today, many people headed down the wrong path.  (Drop the piece of paper again.)  The preaching of the Word by the missionaries may change that as it did in Melek and Sidom and Gideon, if the people are receptive.  (Show the paper airplane again.)  But only we as members of the Church  have the capacity for messing up as badly as did the people of Ammonihah.  (Read aloud Alma 9:19-23, paying attention to the word "having" in this passage.  Class members may want to underline that word because it itemizes the privileges they rejected.)  This is such a danger that it is put in a kind of boldface in the temple endowment ceremony:  rejecting great blessings and covenants, such as those made in the temple, puts you directly into the devil's hands.  If you willfully reject great blessings, great opportunities to become like Christ (crumble the paper airplane into a ball and drop it), you fall much faster than if you had never had the gospel in the first place.

Next week we'll see how this happened in Ammonihah.  You people who like horror novels, be sure to read it.  It's an easy assignment--only 4 chapters--and very fascinating.  (Alma 13-16) 

Mosiah 11-17

ADVENTURES IN THE BOOK OF MOSIAH

The book of Mosiah can be very confusing, with all the different groups of people moving back and forth, so here is a little diagram to keep track of what is going on as you read the book.

My son made this awesome map--much easier to read than mine!

And it's a .png that should print up well as a document,

but, if not, try printing it as a photograph.

Thanks, Nick!

ABINADI

 Abinadi was a prophet among the group of Nephites who had been lead back to the Lamanite territory by Zeniff.  Their second king, Noah, had led the people into apostacy.  Abinadi had nearly been killed calling them to repentance, and had fled for his life.

“And it came to pass that after the space of two years that Abinadi came among them in disguise, that they knew him not, and began to prophesy among them, saying:  Thus has the Lord commanded me, saying—Abinadi, go and prophesy unto this my people” (Mosiah 12:1).

Wait a minute!  If Abinadi was in disguise, why did he immediately tell them who he was?

Remember that in the scriptures, names have important meanings and are often symbolic.  In this case, the name Abinadi is perhaps more of a title than a name because it means “prophet of the Father and the Son.”  (Gary Poll, BYU Education Week  Lecture, August 2002).  So by identifying himself as “Abinadi,” he was actually saying, “I have the authority as a prophet of the Lord to receive and pass on revelation to you,” not “Remember me? I am that guy you threw out a couple of years ago.”

Then Abinadi proceeded to give a dire prophecy to the people.  For what purpose?  The same purpose the Lord always reveals frightening prophecies of destruction:  to give the people a second chance.  To give them an opportunity to change the future.  Prophecy is always an act of mercy.

But these Nephites did not want to hear the message.  They were too smart.  So they cross-examined Abinadi to show what an idiot he was.

THE CROSS-EXAMINATION AND MARTYRDOM OF ABINADI

Here is a little reader’s theater you can do about this event that makes it a little easier to understand the line of the argument.  You will need the following readers:  Abinadi, The Priest/Lawyer, The Narrator, King Noah, and all the rest of the class can be The Other Priests.  It will be easier to follow if you prepare large cards with the characters’ names on them, punch holes in the top corners, and put strings in them so the reads can put their names around their neck and everyone can keep track of who is who.  The reference for the complete dialogue is noted after each scripture quoted.

PRIEST:   “What meaneth the words which are written, and which have been taught by our fathers, saying: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth?”  (Mosiah 12:20-24)  If you’re a messenger from God, this scripture says you should be bringing us good news!

ABINADI:  “Are you priests, and pretend to teach this people, and to understand the spirit of prophesying, and yet desire to know of me what these things mean?  …Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not been wise.”  (Mosiah 12:25-27)  Knowing a bunch of scriptures isn’t enough—you have to use them in your life.  But since you think of yourselves as the messengers with the beautiful feet and the good tidings, what is it you are teaching?  (Mosiah 12:27)

PRIEST: “We teach the law of Moses,” of course!   (Mosiah 12:28)

ABINADI:   “If ye teach the law of Moses why do ye not keep it?  Why do ye set your hearts upon riches?  Why do ye commit whoredoms and spend your strength with harlots, yea, and cause this people to commit sin? …And what know ye concerning the law of Moses?  Doth salvation come by the law of Moses?  What say ye?” (Mosiah 12:29-31)

PRIEST:   Why, of course, salvation comes by the Law of Moses! (Mosiah 12:32)

ABINADI:  “I know if ye keep the commandments of God ye shall be saved…  (Mosiah 12:33-37)  So let’s take a look at one or two of the commandments, shall we?  How about “Thou shalt have no other gods before me? “  Do you keep that one?  I don’t think so!

KING:  “Away with this fellow, and slay him!  For what have we to do with him, for he is mad.  (Mosiah 13:1-2)

ABINADI:  “Touch me not!  For God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me, for I have not delivered the message which the Lord sent me to deliver,” and I haven’t even had a chance to answer the question you asked me.   (Mosiah 13:3-4)

NARRATOR:  “Now it came to pass that after Abinadi had spoken these words that the people of king Noah durst not lay their hands on him, for the Spirit of the Lord was upon him; and his face shone with exceeding luster, even as Moses’ did while in the mount of Sinai, while speaking with the Lord.”  (Mosiah 13:5)

KING:  Yikes!

ABINADI:  “Ye see that ye have not power to slay me, therefore I finish my message.  Yea, and I perceive that it cuts you to your hearts because I tell you the truth concerning your iniquities.”  I’ll finish my message and then it doesn’t matter what happens to me, because the purpose of my life was to deliver this message to you.  However, beware!  What happens to me is going to happen to you, too!  Now I will finish going through the Ten Commandments with you, since you seem to have forgotten them. (Mosiah 13:6-24)

NARRATOR:  Abinadi recites the Ten Commandments, which are the foundation of the Law of Moses.

ABINADI:  So, have you kept those commandments?  Definitely not, or I wouldn’t be here.  So, getting back to the original question, if salvation were to come by the Law of Moses, you would all be sunk.  Let me tell you the purpose of the Law of Moses, which many of the Israelites also didn’t understand.  It was to bring men to Christ who has the power to save.  The Law of Moses was there to keep them out of trouble, and to get them ready to receive Christ when he comes.  Moses said so himself, and so did all the other prophets.  Let me quote you some great verses from Isaiah prophesying about Christ.  (Mosiah 13:25-14:12)

Let me teach you about Christ.  He is one in purpose with God the Father.  He will come down to earth and suffer temptation and pain and emotional distress, and he will be killed.  Those people who come unto him will be his seed, or his children.  They are the people who have paid attention to the prophets, believed in Christ, and have exercised faith in him that he would redeem them from their sins, and also those who died without hearing of Christ, and also little children who die.  (Mosiah 15:1-11,24,25)

And, obviously, the prophets themselves are also the children of Christ.  “And these are they who have published peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!  And O how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet!  And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that are still publishing peace!  And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time henceforth and forever.  And behold, I say unto you, this is not all.  For O how beautiful upon the mountainsa re the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people.”  (Mosiah 15:12-18)  So does this answer your question? 

If you’re going to teach the Law of Moses, if you want to be people with beautiful feet upon the mountains, “teach that redemption cometh through Christ the Lord.”  (Mosiah 15:14-15)

KING:  Yeah, but we don’t like being told we’re doing something wrong and we need to change, so we’re going to kill you anyway.  (Mosiah 17:1)

ALMA:  Hey, I know I’m just a young priest, but what he’s saying makes sense, you know?  I think we ought to let him go.  (Mosiah 17:2)

KING:  Hey!  What’s with you?  Get out of my face!  (Mosiah 17:3)

(Alma goes and sits in the corner.)

ALMA:  (To himself) Okay, well, I think he was telling the truth, so I’m going to write down everything he said so I can remember it and tell others about it.  (Mosiah 17:17:4)

KING:  Abinadi, we’re sticking with our plan to kill you unless you take back everything you said, and tell us we’re okay just the way we are.  (Mosiah 17:7-8)

ABINADI:  I won’t take it back, because it’s true.  If you kill me, my blood will come up in testimony against you because I am innocent!  (Mosiah 17:9-10)

KING:   That sounds scary.  And it’s actually true that he’s innocent.  Maybe we shouldn’t kill him.  I mean, what harm is he doing? (Mosiah 17:11)

OTHER PRIESTS:  What?!!!  Your highness, he has said that you are a bad guy!!!!  You’re going to just let that go???  (Mosiah 17:12)

KING:  You have a point.  I don’t want to look dumb.  Let’s kill him.  Here:  Take these bundles of kindling and light them on fire and let’s jab him with them, until he burns up.

OTHER PRIESTS:  That’s more like it.

NARRATOR:  “and it came to pass that they took him and bound him, and scourged his skin with faggots, yea, even unto death.”   (Mosiah 17:12)  But Abinadi never faltered.  He died telling the truth and teaching about the saving power of Jesus Christ.

YOU NEVER KNOW…

Many church members in the latter days get the chance to be “beautiful upon the mountains” and preach the gospel of peace.  They offer, perhaps not their entire lives as did Abinadi, but their entire lives for two years or 18 months, and ongoing member missionary work after that.

My father, Clair Wyatt, served a mission to England in the 1950s.  While in Scarborough, he taught the gospel to a lovely young couple, Mary and John Clark, who had one small daughter.  The Clarks joined the Church.  After Dad returned home from his mission, the Clarks moved to Australia and he lost touch with them.

Elder Wyatt conducting a "street meeting"

 1950

30 years later, my brother Scott was called on a mission to Sydney, Australia.  The very first week of his mission, he and his companion were called by a member family to teach their nonmember son-in-law.  When he met the family and they found out his last name was Wyatt, they asked if he knew the Elder Wyatt who had taught them the gospel back in England!  They had had a large family, and had named one of their children after him.  By the time my brother met them, from that little family of three, 49 family members had been born into the gospel, all nonmember in-laws had joined the Church, and all their sons had served missions and taught the gospel to others.   The son-in-law my brother taught joined the Church as well.

After that, my father kept in touch with the Clarks until they died.  Before their deaths they did a great amount of family history work, bringing the opportunity of salvation to many family members in past generations as well.

My father was blessed to find out in some degree the extent of his success in sharing the gospel.  Most missionaries do not, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.  What if you give your all to preach the gospel for two years and don’t get to see much of a result for their labors?  Did you do something wrong—maybe not set your goals high enough, fast and pray often enough, study the scriptures thoroughly enough, or work long enough hours?  Was your mission a waste?

Well, Abinadi would give a rousing “NO” in answer those questions!  He thought it was worth giving his life for!  But how discouraged he must have felt as the flames consumed him:  Only one person had seemed to consider that his message might possibly have value.  His one posthumous (that means “it didn’t happen until after he died”) convert was Alma.   

But let’s look at the lineage of conversion caused by that message:

ALMA—priest of Noah; founder of Church in Land of Nephi; baptized King Limhi and his people; became a great teacher; King Mosiah gave him authority over the entire church when they were reunited in Zarahemla

ALMA THE YOUNGER—Alma’s son; rebelled but was brought back to the Church by the visit of an angel in answer to his father’s prayers; keeper of records and interpreters; chief judge; high priest, resigned as judge to serve reactivation missions (the original Senior Missionary); spent many mission years serving with Amulek, the ultimate "Green Companion," who was converted and trained due to his efforts; didn’t even have to die but was taken up to heaven by the Lord.

HELAMAN—Alma II’s son; prophet, high priest, and leader of the elite band of converts-turned-soldiers, the Stripling Warriors; now sung about in Primary all over the world.

HELAMAN—Helaman’s son; record keeper and chief judge

NEPHI & LEHI—Helaman II’s sons; great missionaries with 8,000 Lamanite converts; Nephi was chief judge; resigned just like his great-grandfather in order to serve a mission; a great prophet just prior to Christ’s appearance in America.

NEPHI & TIMOTHY— sons of Nephi and Lehi; Nephi was record keeper, wrote the book of Third Nephi; raised his brother from the dead; the first named of Christ’s apostles; Timothy his cousin was also an apostle.

NEPHI & JONAS—sons of Nephi II; Nephi was the record keeper and wrote Fourth Nephi; Jonas was one of the twelve apostles, along with his father and uncle.

How’s that for missionary success?!!!

All missionaries would do well to remember Elder Wyatt and Elder Abinadi during discouraging times because you just never know…

(Reference for the information on the Nephites mentioned by name: the Index of the Book of Mormon.)

Old Testament Lesson #46 "A Kingdom, Which Shall Never Be Destroyed"

Daniel 2

PRELIMINARY QUESTION

Ask the class to be thinking about this question (post it on the board):  "What is one thing you really like about Daniel or one message from his book?"  (You will ask for their answers later in the lesson.)

THE GROWTH OF THE KING'S TESTIMONY

"A God of Gods."  Chapter 2:  Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had a troubling dream which he could not remember or which he would not tell (v. 1-4).  (See footnote a in verse 5:  It is possible the original meaning was that he did remember the dream, but was testing others' ability to divine it.  Harper-Collins Study Bible also suggests this possibility on p. 1305, as does Ellis T. Rasmussen,  An Introduction to the Old Testament and Its Teachings, 2:92, quoted in the Institute Manual, Section 28-9.)  He was deeply impressed, whichever the case may be, that the dream was significant and he needed to know the interpretation.  He called all his wise men and priests and asked for the interpretation.  They answered, quite reasonably, that they could not interpret the dream if they did not know what it was.  Nebuchadnezzar did not back down from his challenge, however.  He offered "gifts and rewards and great honour" to them who could state and interpret the dream (v. 6), and a gruesome death if they failed (v. 5, 12).

The king's guard went forth to slay these men, and on their way, were intercepted by Daniel (v. 14) who asked what was going on.  When he heard, he went straight to the king to ask for himself, and to offer to learn and give the interpretation.  Then he returned to his quarters and shared the news with his three friends, and begged them to pray for him, as all their lives depended upon it (v. 14-18), and also the lives of the other wise men or priests (v. 24).  "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision.  Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven" (v. 19).

The story is inconsistent in that Daniel has direct access to the king in verse 16, and in verse 25 the captain of the guard brings Daniel to the king and introduces him as "a man of the captives of Judah," as if the king did not know who he was. Verse 16 is "widely regarded [by scholars] as a late addition to harmonize with Chapter 1" (Harper-Collins Study Bible, p. 1306). 

Oh well.  No one's perfect, and neither were the writers and editors of the Old Testament.    The contradiction doesn't affect the important points of the story.

When Daniel related and interpreted the dream, Nebuchadnezzar learned the difference between the idols of Babylon and the God of Israel.  Whereas the Babylonian priests defended their inability to respond by saying that no one could give this interpretation unless they were helped by the gods, and those gods do not dwell near enough to people to aid them (v. 11), Daniel showed the God of Israel to be immediate and personal, even in a foreign nation such as Babylon (Richard D. Draper, "The Prophets of the Exile: Saviors of a People," Voices of Old Testament Prophets: The 26th Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium, p. 96).  The phrase "God of heaven" here used is a Persian title for the Jewish God (Harper-Collins, p. 1306).  Whereas the stars were considered to be some of the Babylonian dieties, The God of Israel was God even over them, by this definition. 

Daniel gave every bit of glory for the recall and interpretation of the dream to Jehovah (v. 20-30), thus introducing him to the king as a God of gods, who is invested in the doings of man, and who knows all, as evidenced by the fact that he reveals secrets (v. 19, 22, 28, 29, 30).  The dream itself showed that God could place and remove kings and define and direct empires.

The king's beginning testimony:  "Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets" (v. 47).

A God who can deliver.  Chapter 3:  Here is the story of Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego surviving an attempted execution by furnace after they refused to worship the Babylonion idol.  Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed that he sent forth a decree that the Jews and their God be respected (v. 28-29).

The king's growing testimony:  "No other God...can deliver after this sort" (v. 29).

A God who is eternal and all-powerful.  Chapter 4:  The king had a second troubling and prophetic dream, which Daniel interpreted.  At this point, although the king had learned quite a bit about the God of Israel, he had not accepted him as his god, relevant to his life.  The interpretation of the dream was terrifying, and Daniel hesitated before giving it (v. 19).  But the king was ready to take it, no matter what, and it revealed that he would be removed from his position of power to a condition of madness for seven years.  What was the purpose?  The growth of his testimony.  He would be mad "till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will" (v. 25).  Daniel counseled the king, "Break off thy sins by righteousness [an interesting visualization for all of us--we don't just repent and stop sinning; we break our sins actively through righteous living] and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; [so that] it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility" (v. 27).  When the dream was realized, the seven years were spent, and the king was restored to himself, he sent out a proclamation to all of his dominion declaring his personal worship of the God of Israel.

The king's final, mature testimony:  "[He] liveth for ever, [his] dominion is an everlasting dominion...none can stay his hand...Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment; and those that walk in pride he is able to abase" (v. 34, 35, 37).

Whether King Nebuchadnezzar changed from believing in many gods (polytheism) to believing in many gods with one god ruling over them (henotheism) or to completely joining the Israelites in believing in only one supreme God (monotheism), is hard to tell from the writings, but it is clear that he had a powerful belief in Jehovah at the end of this progression of events (Draper, p. 97).

THE DREAM OF CHAPTER TWO

For the meaning of the dream and its fulfillment, go to Section 28-13 in the Institute Manual.

DANIEL:  THE MAN AND HIS MESSAGE

Now we return to our opening question:  "What is one thing you really like about Daniel, or one message from his book?"  (For this section, prepare ahead of time a large circle of posterboard.  Write on it in large letters "Total Christian."  Now turn the circle over and cut it into wedges like a pie.  Number the wedges discretely at the point, clockwise, so that you can reassemble them in the right order.  On each wedge write one of the six statements listed below in bold Itallic about Daniel.  I recommend that you actually cut eight wedges, however, leaving two of them blank to be filled in with class members' ideas. [Don't you hate having to guess what the teacher is thinking?]  As each class member shares an idea, post the wedge that correlates with his idea, or write his idea on a blank wedge.  Comments that you can add are included below.  As each wedge is added, secure it to the next one with transparent tape.)

Daniel was a patient member-missionary, 24/7.  Daniel was not afraid to share God's message with even the mighty King of Bablyon.  He continued this missionary work as the king gained a testimony of God in graduated steps over many years.  Almost all of the stories relating to Daniel's sharing of the gospel took place in relation to his work.  He never set aside his religion because it conflicted with his job.  Daniel was a religious diplomat, able to live companionably with people of other faiths while remaining completely true to his own beliefs.

How can we do this?  We can begin by taking our faith with us everywhere we go, every day of the week.  When co-workers or classmates ask us how our weekend was, we can share not only the fun activities of Saturday, but the spiritual events we enjoyed on Sunday.  We can make it comfortable for those around us to ask us questions about our faith, by making it known that we are Latter-day Saints or Mormons, by briefly bringing up points of doctrine we believe in as they relate to daily situations, and by being patient and not pushy.

Daniel was steadfast at all costs.  Nothing could stop Daniel from obeying the Lord.  He ate what he was commanded of the Lord to eat.  He prayed as he was commanded of the Lord to pray.  He told the king dream interpretations that could have cost him his head, as he was commanded of the Lord to tell.  (Read 10:12.) 

Daniel 1:1 takes place in 605 BC and Daniel 10:10 in 536 BC (Alec Motyer, The Story of the Old Testament, p. 143), a span of seventy years. 

How do we remain steadfast as Daniel did?  How do we avoid being burned out over seventy years?  Total consecration:  "The antidote to exhaustion is whole-heartedness." (David Steindle-Rast, Mt. Savior Benedictine Monastery, New York, http://www.gratefulness.org/.)

Daniel humbly acknowledged God's help.  He always expressed gratitude for God's hand in his life, and never took credit for wonderful works God did through him.  (Read Daniel 2:27-30).  He did not expect to succeed without mighty prayer.  (See Daniel 2:16-18.)

The great but humble composer J.S. Bach frequently signed his manuscripts with the phrases "Help me, Jesus," "In the name of Jesus," or "To God alone, the glory" (Patrick Kavanaugh, Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers, p. 20).  His reliance on God undoubtedly made his works great.

How can we do this?  We might keep a journal of the hand of the Lord in our lives as counseled by President Eyring.  We might note the tender mercies extended to us as counseled by Elder Bednar.  We might develop an attitude of gratefulness.  We might replace the word "lucky" in our conversations with "blessed."  We might offer to pray for friends who are suffering trials, even if they are not of our faith, or of any faith.

Daniel lived close to the Spirit.  He could find out what God wanted him to do in any situation that came up.  He lived an obedient life, and took good care to keep his body and his spirit, even at the cost of angering a king, in tune with God's Spirit (1:15-17).

Daniel was submissive to the Lord's will.  He made the best of the circumstances he found himself in.  He was not able to choose his career or his locale, or much about his life, but he accepted it.  People tried to undermine him, bad things happened, but Daniel did not expect perfection.  He took what he was given and carried on as faithfully as possible, a great example of "blooming where you're planted."

Shadrach, Meshach and Abedneggo are excellent examples of this as well.  The words "but if not" in Daniel 3:18 show that they understood that God's way might not be obvious to them, but they still accepted His will.

"You want to make God laugh?  Then tell him about your plans."  (John Chancellor)

"When I narrow my vision to search for an ideal that my mind has created, life seldom complies.  But when I broaden my vision to simply notice what life is offering, I find that I am surrounded by an abundance of care and support."  (Gregg Krech)

"Discontent cheats you out of the life you have" (David Steindl-Rast).  We tend to expect perfection in a manner that does not confrom with God's plans, and that expectation smothers gratitude.  One of the most grateful people I knew was a dear friend and visiting teaching companion named Nola Gay Webb who, at the time that she was enduring the slow and painful process of dying of her second cancer, shared the following story told by Janet P. Lee with the sisters we visited:

"When my daughter Stephanie was five years old, I took her to register for kindergarten. When we arrived, she was invited to go into a classroom to play 'games' with the teachers and other children. As a former elementary school teacher, I was certain the 'games' were a method of testing for placement purposes.
 
"A teacher was sitting just outside the room with a box of crayons and several sheets of blank paper, and I smiled confidently to myself from across the hall as Stephanie was asked to choose her favorite color and write her name. 'She could write all the names in our family,' I thought to myself. 'She is so well prepared, there isn't anything in that room she can't handle!' But Stephanie just stood there. The teacher repeated the instructions, and again my daughter stood still, staring blankly at the box of crayons with her knees locked and hands behind her back.
 
"In the sweet, patient voice that teachers use when they are beginning to feel slightly impatient, the teacher asked once more, 'Stephanie, choose your favorite color, dear, and write your name on this piece of paper.' I was about to come to my daughter's aid when the teacher kindly said, 'That's okay. We will help you learn to write your name when you come to school in the fall.' With all the restraint I could muster, I watched Stephanie move into the classroom with a teacher who believed my daughter did not know how to write her name.
 
"On the way home I tried to ask as nonchalantly as possible why she had not written her name. 'I couldn't,' she replied. 'The teacher said to choose my favorite color, and there wasn't a pink crayon in the box!'

"I reflect on this incident often as I watch my children grow and observe life in general. How many times are we, as Heavenly Father's children, immobilized because the choice we had in mind for ourselves just isn't available to us, at least not at the time we want it?"  (Janet P. Lee, "Knowing When to Persevere and When to Change Direction," BYU Devotional Address given January 14, 1992.  By the way, this is a wonderful talk, well worth reading.)

Daniel was Grateful.  (Read 2:17-23.)  We Latter-day Saints, living in these enlightened times, and many of us in well-developed, prosperous environments, must continually work to be grateful.  "We get, too quickly, used to things."  We are not surprised after a while by our blessings.  When was the last time you were surprised that the light turned on when you flicked the switch?  Yet, if it doesn't come on, your attention is rivited to that deficit.  A friend of mine, on a humanitarian trip to teach doctors in Mongolia to operate on ears and throats, was astonished at the patience of the medical staff there as the electricity would go off for long periods of time in the middle of surgical procedures.  They would just keep the patient comfortable, visit among themselves, and calmly wait for the return of power.

"We get, too quickly, used to things.  Once we take it for granted, it no longer brings us joy.  Instead, we think, What's next?" (David Steindl-Rast)

(Set a teacup inside a glass serving bowl with a capacity of about a half gallon or two liters.  Pour a quart or liter of water from a large measuring cup into the teacup and notice how the cup overflows.)  The cup is the expectation.  The water is the blessings.  The expectation was more than fulfilled, therefore we easily notice the overflow and this gratitude brings us joy!  "Our cup runneth over!"  (Pour the water back into the measuring cup.  Now remove the teacup from the serving bowl.  Pour the water into the serving bowl, and it is not filled.)  If we increase the size of the container (our expectations) we decrease the amount overflowing (the joy).  The amount of joy we experience as a result of our blessings is directly related to our expectation.  If last year's wants become this year's needs, the container of expectation becomes large; it is human nature.  That is why when the Lord prospers a people, they often become ungrateful, forget to acknowledge His hand, and slip away from their faith.

We need to take the effort to slow ourselves down enough to be grateful.  Perhaps keeping a gratitude journal, or sometimes praying or fasting in gratitude only, would help us to teach ourselves to be surprised and to remain in a sense of wonderment about our blessings.

 SUMMARY

(Flip the taped-together circle over to show the words "Total Christian.")

Daniel was the total Christian.  He survived trials, fears, captivity, displacement, almost certain death, prosperity, jealous vendettas, adulation, imprisonment, and great power, all the while keeping the faith.  In every circumstance he was true.  How did he do that?  Well, one slice of the picture cannot tell it alone.  He was steadfast because he was also grateful.  He was grateful because he was humble.  Because he was humble, he was also diplomatic.  Because he was faithful, he could submit himself to the Lord's will.  He was in tune with the Spirit because he recognized the Lord's hand in everything.  Everything in Daniel's life linked together to form a total disciple.

As latter-day children of Israel living in the Promised Land (whichever land that may be, as all parts of the world now have temples), we must follow Daniel's example.  We are the individual snowflakes in the avalanche of the Lord's kingdom.  The stone rolls faster down the hill as each person becomes closer to total consecration in his faith and commitment.

(If there is classtime left, you may wish to show the last five minutes of the Church video, "An Ensign to the Nations.")

Old Testament Lesson #39 "How Beautiful Upon the Mountains"

Isaiah 50-53

These chapters are massive in scope and depth and importance, so I have not designed a specific lesson plan.  First I will just give notes from my sources on these particular scriptures.  Then I will share some lesson ideas for each of the two major points of these chapters, from which you can choose (with the Spirit) how to arrange your lesson.

CHAPTER 50

This chapter is the same as 2 Nephi 7, and Jacob gives wonderful commentary on it in 2 Nephi 9.  It begins with rhetorical questions about who has abandoned who?  It is not the Lord who has left the House of Israel, but the reverse.

vs. 4-9 are a "servant song," and the servant is Jesus Christ (Parry, p. 441).  It's strange to read Jesus Christ saying that "the Lord God" has done all these things for him, but if you look closely at the King James Version, you can see that every time "Lord" comes up in these verses, it is with a capital "L" and lower case "ord."  In the King James Version, Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ, is written as Lord with all four letters capitalized, such as in verse 10.  (See a previous entry for the reason why.)  So we can assume that Jesus Christ is calling his Father, "Lord God," with Lord meaning the sovereign leader.

v. 7  "I set my face like a flint."  Bruce R. McConkie wrote, "The course of his life was toward the cross and he was steadfast and immovable in his determination to follow this very course" (quoted in Parry, p. 441).

v. 8  "Who will contend with me?  Let us stand together."  In ancient civil court, the opponents stood together in front of the judge.  In criminal court, the accuser personally charged the defendant (Parry, p. 445)

v. 10 "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light?"  It is a rhetorical question.  The obvious answer to the reader is "no one; it is impossible."  The words "Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God" are not found in the Book of Mormon account.

v. 11 Those who "kindle a fire" or "compass themselves about with sparks" are those who are living by their own light, and not by the light of Christ. 

CHAPTER 51

This prophecy is also found in 2 Nephi 8:1-25, and includes the first two verses of Chapter 52.  The meaning is fairly straightforward, so I didn't add any notes here.

CHAPTER 52

This chapter is highly significant.  It has been quoted by Jacob, Abiniadi, Jesus Christ, and Moroni in the Book of Mormon (for examples, see 2 Ne. 8:24-25; Mosiah 12:20-25; 3 Ne. 20:36-37; and Moro. 10:31), and in the D&C (for example, D&C 113: 7-10).  Paul also quoted from it (for example, 2 Cor. 6:17). Victor Ludlow says John the Revelator did as well, but I haven't found it myself (Ludlow, p. 432, 438).

Note that prophetic future tense (also called prophetic perfect tense) is used in this chapter, meaning that the time sequence is all mixed up in the grammar: sometimes the writer is speaking using past tense, sometimes he uses future tense, sometimes he uses present tense.  This is common among prophetic writings.  It shows the great faith and vision of the prophet, and illustrates the fact that the Lord operates outside of time.  All things are present to him, so our literary tools of past, present, and future tense are not relevant, and are therefore interchangeable.

v. 1-3 were quoted by Christ to the Nephites in 3 Ne. 20:36-38.

v. 7 was quoted by Christ to the Nephites in 3 Ne. 20:40.

v. 10 In 3 Ne. 20:35 (Christ's quote of this verse to the Nephites) it says "Father" for both "Lord" and "God," and adds the phrase, "and the Father and I are one."

v. 11-15 were quoted by Christ to the Nephites in 3 Ne. 20:41-45.

v. 13-15 Victor Ludlow thinks this servant is Joseph Smith, rather than Jesus Christ, since's Christ's commentary on the prophecy in 3 Ne. 21:7-11 refers to the restoration and Joseph Smith.  I don't know whether I agree, but it's an interesting thought.

CHAPTER 53

This entire chapter is another "servant song" of Jesus Christ. 

v. 1 The writer is amazed at how few have listened to the prophets testify of Christ!

v. 2 "For he [Jesus Christ] shall grow up before him [Heavenly Father]."

v. 3-6 are all used as lyrics for Handel's Messiah.  (See previous entry.)

v. 4  This prophecy of Christ was quoted by Matthew, one of 14 quotes he included in his gospel to convince the Jews that Jesus Christ was the Jehovah of the Old Testament.  (See Matt. 8:17)

v. 5 "Bruised" can be translated as "crushed."  (See Gen. 3:15 footnote.)

v. 10 "It pleased the Lord" means it was God's will; it was a part of God's plan.

v. 11 "...by his knowledge" means through the knowledge of him (see Hosea 4:1; 6:6)

LESSON FOCUS ONE:  THE ATONEMENT

Certainly, the greatest message of these chapters of Isaiah is the central gospel message, that of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Elder Bruce C. Hafen wrote one of the best short treatises on this topic, which makes it highly personal and applicable to all, and which dispels many misunderstandings about the Atonement.  He writes, "It is unfortunate when we convey incorrect ideas to [those not of our faith]; but it is worse when we, by our limited doctrinal understanding, deny ourselves the reassurance and guidance we may desperately need at pivotal moments in our lives."  This article, called "Beauty for Ashes," and published in the April 1990 Ensign, can be found at this link. 

If you want to focus on the Atonement for those lesson, you could...

• teach the wonderful concepts contained in Elder Hafen's article. 
• open or close the lesson with a special musical number, if there is vocal talent in your ward, using any of the beautiful sacrament hymns. 
• play a recording of the Tabernacle Choir singing a hymn about Christ. 
• ask 2 or 3 class members, several days ahead of time, if they would be willing to comment on the role of the Atonement in their lives.  (Be very prayerful in your choice of speakers, and be very specific in the time limit you give them.) 
• choose any of the short stories in the backs of previous editions of the Ensign, such as in the "Latter-day Saint Voices" section, or the "Mormon Journal" section in the older Ensigns, and ask particular class members to share those stories and add their own testimony or comments.

LESSON FOCUS TWO:  MISSIONARY WORK

The title of this lesson refers to the work of spreading the gospel:  "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace" (Isa. 52:7). 

Abinidi commented on this scripture, asking who were the children of Christ:  "Yea, and are not the prophets, every one that has opened his mouth to prophesy, that has not fallen into transgression, I mean all the holy prophets ever since the world began? I say unto you that they are his seed. And these are they who have published peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth! And O how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet!

"And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that are still publishing peace! And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time henceforth and forever!

"And behold, I say unto you, this is not all. For O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people; For were it not for the redemption which he hath made for his people, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, I say unto you, were it not for this, all mankind must have perished.  (Mosiah 15:13-19)

If you choose to focus on the importance of sharing the gospel of the Atonement with others as the topic of your lesson, you could...

• open or close the lesson with a musical number such as "O, That I Were an Angel," sung by an individual, or a hymn such as "Go Forth With Faith," sung by the class (particularly if there is a piano in your room and access to hymnbooks). 
• ask 1 or 2 class members who are converts to share their conversion stories, and 1 or 2 class members who are returned missionaries or exemplary member missionaries to share their missionary stories. 
• show all or part of the church video "Called to Serve" (21 minutes long).
• select a segment on a particular country meaningful to you or to your ward members (for example, the country in which a ward member is presently serving a mission) from the church video "An Ensign to the Nations." 

Sources:

Parry, Parry, and Peterson, Understanding Isaiah.
Victor Ludlow, Isaiah: Prophet, Poet, and Seer.

Doctrine and Covenants Lesson #41 Every Member A Missionary

(D&C 1:4-5,30; 65; 109:72-74; 123:12; OH p. 116-117, 124-125)

A LOVE STORY

Every missionary story is a love story, because missionary work is all about love.

"For God so loved the world,

that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him

should not perish,

but have everlasting life."

(John 3:16)

"Beloved, if God so loved us,

we ought also to love one another."

(1 John 4:11)

"And faith, hope, charity, and love,

with an eye single to the glory of God,

qualify [us] for the work."

(D&C 4:5)

This is why we do missionary work: because we love God, we love his gospel, and we love people. But senior couple missionary stories have an extra element of love: the love of the husband and wife companions for each other.

This is that kind of a love story.

My great-uncle, James Rowell Leavitt Wyatt was born in Wellsville, Utah on July 31, 1895. He didn't look like other babies; he had a large purple birthmark that covered the entire right side of his face.  He wanted to serve in the military during World War I but was turned down because of the blindness in one eye caused by the birthmark. This was a disappointment to him.  He wanted to serve a mission for the church instead, but his father would only allow one son to serve, and that honor went to my grandfather, Jim's brother. Despite this double disappointment, Uncle Jim kept a life-long goal to serve a mission one day.

He married a kind and beautiful woman, Janette Bradshaw Bailey, and had a large family, and when that family was raised, they applied for the opportunity to serve a senior mission. With great joy they received the call to serve in the Tongan Mission. The Tongan Mission was made up of many small islands in the South Pacific. Uncle Jim and Aunt Janette were assigned to the island of Niue (nee-oo-ay), a very small land mass of 12 x 18 miles (about the size of Bear Lake on the Utah/Idaho border). The island of Niue is very isolated, many miles from any major island. Now it's an exotic, although remote, travel destination, served by a weekly flight on Air New Zealand, but in those days, the early '60s, the only transportation on or off the island was by boat. The ship came once a month, and left again later the same day.

In addition to teaching the gospel, Aunt Janette taught the islanders to quilt, and to play the piano for their church meetings, and to use their native fruit to make something completely new and wonderful: banana bread! Uncle Jim and Aunt Janette loved the people of Niue, and the islanders loved them.

"Now therefore, ye are no longer strangers and foreigners,

but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God."

(Eph. 2:19)

Janette Bradshaw Bailey Wyatt & James Rowell Leavitt Wyatt

in front of a banana tree on the island of Niue, Circa 1963.

As their 18-month mission was drawing to a close, Aunt Janette was suddenly taken very ill with a heart attack. She was in severe pain.  Uncle Jim and another elder administered to her, but she got no better.  They called for the doctor, who came to their home and then rushed her to the British hospital on the island (Lord Liverpool Hospital), but they could not save Aunt Janette.  Uncle Jim held her in his arms as she suffered. Finally she relaxed in his embrace, said, "Happy birthday, Dad," and took her last breath.  He had not remembered until then that it was his birthday, July 31st, 1963.  (This was, coincidentally, the very day that I was born.  Perhaps we passed each other on the way.)

The boat had just come and gone the day before and there would be no getting on or off the island for another month. The heat of the island required a burial within 24 hours. Janette Bradshaw Bailey Wyatt was laid to rest just outside the island church the following day. Uncle Jim conducted a beautiful funeral service for her, preached a sermon, and dedicated her grave without the comfort of his children and relatives in his grief, but he had a greater comfort, for

Neither death, nor life...
shall be able to separate us from the love of God,

which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

(Romans 8:38-39)

Uncle Jim preached the gospel and served the people of Niue for the remainder of the month.

The boat finally came, and Uncle Jim began the long journey home without his beloved wife. It was a Sunday, and as they put out to sea, some of the sailors asked him to conduct a church service for them, and so he continued his missionary work as he traveled.  When Uncle Jim arrived home, his family and friends gathered around him and held a memorial service for Aunt Janette.

She remained buried on Niue for three years while the Church worked through the necessary red tape to bring her body back to the United States.  The Latter-day Saint islanders made her grave a shrine. They built a little picket fence around it so the animals wouldn't disturb it. They brought fresh flowers to the grave often. They had loved and respected Aunt Janette and they grieved her passing.

After I wrote this post, one of those children who shooed away chickens and dogs from her grave wrote to me.  His name is Joseph Pouha, and he was seven years old at the time.  He added a wonderful perspective to the story which I am including here.

 

Joseph Pouha with his wife and children

When the news hit the island that the Church hoped to exhume Aunt Janette's body, the nonmember islanders were aghast and opposed, for it was in violation of all cultural beliefs and practices to ever disturb a body, and even worse, to allow an outsider to do it.

The Church members had come through a period of terrible persecution, both physical and emotional, when this happened.  Joseph's mother, Vetesenelia "Foli" Pouha, one of the original 26 converts, had been baptized by cover of night, and was abused and disowned when her family found out.  Then she had been greatly persecuted again when she decided to marry a returned missionary and outsider from Tonga, Nafetalai "Feki" Pouha.  You may have seen a Hollywood movie about Feki's mission on the island of Tonga:  He was Elder John Groberg's companion in Disney's movie, The Other Side of Heaven.  (If you haven't seen the movie, do it! Or read Elder Groberg's book of the same name which is also wonderful and, of course, more accurate.)  Feki spent his adult life gaining the love and trust of the Niueans through his work in the construction arm of the government, his service in the Church, and his kindness and aid to other people, especially ministers of other religions.

Things had smoothed over until Aunt Janette's death and possible exhuming riled everyone up again.  There were heated conversations in meetings between the government, the other ministers and the LDS authorities.  Often it was shouted that digging up a grave was the work of tevolo (the devil), and the question was asked, what islander would dare to do such a thing?  The answer came from Feki Pouha.  He would be willing to do it.  And because of his stature among the people, because they knew his heart and his love, the act was no longer questioned and he was allowed to do it in peace, with no disturbance. A young elder who was serving a mission in Niue named David Huddy agreed to help. Since he was Hawaiian, he did not have the same cultural restraints as the Niueans.

Brother Pouha spent a week in preparation, instructing those who would help him, and making sure that all possible protocol was followed, and all reverence was observed.  A small white linen tent was erected around the grave in the mission home yard.  Little Joseph stood close by the tent and heard his father pronounce a priesthood blessing on the body of Sister Wyatt.  He gave charge to those present, "both on this side of the veil and legions of Aunty Wyatt's family on the other side of the veil to watch and take care that all would proceed with the will of God."

The casket was exhumed at night and transported in a box by bicycle to the ship in darkness, so that any Niueans taking passage on the ship would not be frightened by its presence.

Brother and Sister Huddy

When her body arrived back in Utah, a formal funeral was finally held, and she was re-buried in the Wellsville Cemetery.

"So being affectionately desirous of you,

we were willing to have imparted unto you,

not the gospel of God only,

but also our own souls,

because ye were dear unto us."

(1 Thess. 2:8)

James and Janette Wyatt served their long-awaited mission with faith and love and gave the ultimate sacrifice for the spreading of the gospel to the islands of the Pacific.  Feki and Foli Pouha have also served the Kingdom of God in many ways which are ever increasing.  Foli became the Church's first accredited Polynesian genealogist and also helped translate the Book of Mormon into the Niuean language.  Feki served missions to Tonga and Nieua, and together they served a mission to Hawaii.  Brother and Sister Pouha eventually moved to Utah where Feki, who had been very ill, died two weeks later.  When the government of Nieu heard of the passing of Brother Feki, they closed their offices for a week to honor the man that became their servant leader.  Their children and grandchildren are continuing their legacy and have served missions throughout the world, including Puerto Rico, Uganda, and Colorado.

My great thanks goes to Joseph Pouha and David Huddy for sharing "the rest of the story" with me.  As Brother Pouha wrote in his e-mail, "There is a Niuean saying, 'Koe tagata, koe tagata motu, ka koe nakai koe motu tu taha,' which means in English, 'Every man is an island, but not an island to himself.'  [Two beautiful islands] may seem far apart, separated by miles of water, but if someone could reach down deep and unplug the water, we will find that both islands [are] connected."  So it is with all peoples of the world, in all times, all children of the same Father.

(Source: Carolyn J. Wyatt with Jane Wyatt Salisbury [daughter], unpublished manuscript; additional contributions made by granddaughter, Suzanne (see comments below), and personal correspondence with Joseph Archie Pouha and David Huddy.