Unit 15: Day 4

Alma 8–10

Introduction

After Alma taught in Zarahemla, Gideon, and Melek and had many people accept his message, the people in Ammonihah rejected his message and cast him out of their city. However, obedient to the Lord’s command, Alma returned to Ammonihah. The Lord prepared Amulek to receive Alma in Ammonihah and join him in testifying to the people. Alma and Amulek warned the people of Ammonihah that if they did not repent, they would be destroyed. Amulek faithfully obeyed God and used his reputation, good name, and influence to support the prophet Alma and testify of Jesus Christ.

Alma 8

Alma obediently returns to Ammonihah, where he prepares Amulek to preach

After Alma taught the gospel in Zarahemla and Gideon (see Alma 5–7), he traveled to Melek. Read Alma 8:4–5, and identify how the people of Melek received Alma’s teaching. (The phrase “holy order of God” in Alma 8:4 refers to the priesthood, as you will see in Alma 13.)

After Alma finished teaching in Melek, he traveled to Ammonihah to preach. He had a very different experience with the people who lived there. Study the following pictures and scripture passages, and then write a caption for each one, summarizing what happened to Alma while he was in Ammonihah:

Alma 8:8–13.

Alma 8:14–16.

Alma 8:18–26.

Consider the following questions (you do not need to write down your answers):

• The angel who appeared to Alma was the same angel who appeared to him and the sons of Mosiah earlier. How might the angel’s words have been comforting to Alma (see Alma 8:15)?

• Why might it have been difficult for Alma to return to Ammonihah (see Alma 8:16)?

Despite the difficulty of the command, Alma “returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah” (Alma 8:18). President Howard W. Hunter taught that the Lord loves such obedience: “Surely the Lord loves, more than anything else, an unwavering determination to obey his counsel” (“Commitment to God,” Ensign, Nov. 1982, 58).

1. Choose one or more of the following situations. Then write in your scripture study journal how the individual could be blessed if he or she were obedient:

   1. As a young woman is leaving for school, her mother asks her to wear a more modest shirt.

   2. A new priest is challenged by his bishop or branch president to earn his Duty to God award.

   3. Two missionaries feel impressed to visit a less-active family, in which the mother is not a member of the Church.

You may want to write the following principle in your scriptures next to Alma 8:18–20: If we respond quickly to the word of the Lord, He will help us fulfill His commandments.

2. Write in your scripture study journal about a time when you felt that the Lord helped you to be righteous and obedient despite challenging circumstances.

Read Alma 8:27–32, looking for more ways in which the Lord helped Alma do what he had been commanded to do.

Alma 9

Alma warns the people of Ammonihah to repent and prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ

Alma 9 records Alma’s efforts to teach the people of Ammonihah about their need to repent and be redeemed through the Savior, Jesus Christ. To try to help these wicked people recognize their need to repent, Alma called upon them to remember what God had done for them and for their fathers.

Look in Alma 9:8–10, 13 for repetition of the words remember and forgotten. How do you think the inhabitants of Ammonihah would have been different if they had remembered the things Alma spoke of?

3. Answer the following question in your scripture study journal: Why do you think it is important to remember the spiritual experiences you have had in the past? Then write about one spiritual experience that you do not want to forget.

After calling the people in Ammonihah to repent, Alma taught them that they should prepare for the time when the Savior would come to earth. Read Alma 9:26–27, and mark words and phrases that help you better understand characteristics of the Savior. (The word equity means fairness and justice.) What do these words and phrases teach you about the Savior? During the coming week, take time to think about them.

Alma 10

Amulek describes his experience with an angel and exhorts the people to repent

Circle the statement that best describes how you woke up this morning:

• I woke up on my own, without using an alarm or being called by someone.

• I woke up the first time my alarm went off or the first time I was called.

• My alarm went off several times, or I had to be called several times before I awoke.

Read Alma 10:6, and look for how many spiritual “wake-up calls” Amulek received while he continued to rebel against the Lord. On the lines provided, write your answer to this question: What do you think the phrases “I would not hear” and “I would not know” indicate about Amulek’s spiritual condition before the angel came to him?

As recorded in Alma 10:2–11, Amulek described his life before he was visited by an angel and his conversion to the gospel. Search Alma 10:1–6 for details that help you know more about Amulek.

Amulek recounted how an angel instructed him to take Alma into his home and care for him. Read Alma 10:7–11, and look for how Amulek and others were blessed because Amulek obeyed the angel.

Write this principle next to Alma 10:11–12: When we hear and obey the Lord’s call, blessings come to us and to others. There are many ways the Lord can “call” to us—through a prompting from the Spirit; through a feeling; through a dream; through the words of a Church leader, teacher, or parent; through being called to a Church position; through adversity; or through other ways.

4. In your scripture study journal, answer the following question: When have you felt you were blessed because you obeyed a “call” from the Lord?

As described in the remainder of Alma 10, many of the people in Ammonihah would not listen to Amulek’s words. Amulek warned them that if they did not repent, the day would come when they would be destroyed. Read Alma 10:22–23, and identify why the people were being saved from destruction at that time. What do these verses teach you about the importance of being righteous even when those around you are not?

5. Write the following at the bottom of today’s assignments in your scripture study journal:

   I have studied Alma 8–10 and completed this lesson on (date).

   Additional questions, thoughts, and insights I would like to share with my teacher: