Alma 5

This begins what will probably be a trend in this blog of spiritual topics, which I will expound mostly in an effort to put into coherent order some thoughts I have had regarding religion and the laws by which we as mortals live. I know that blatant spirituality does not enjoy universal appeal these days, but hopefully those of you who are reading my blog (if indeed there by more than one who meet this description) who do not enjoy topics of a higher nature will forgive what you may see as a series of tangential ramblings; I make no apology for what will come because this blog will at last be fulfilling what may be its primary role. I am sure nothing I say (in this post, at least) will be new to you.
So, the first thing I wanted to share with you is a couple of experiences I had which relate to Alma 5. Number one is the first time I can remember receiving revelation; number two is an important clarification I received during my mission.
So, the first. I was sitting up in the choir seats next to my dad during a sacrament meeting. I was reading Alma 5 to pass the time, and while I read thought after thought entered my mind which did not relate exactly to the text on the page, but which were pertinent to my life and which had a ring of what I can only describe as rightness to them. Since I did not recognize revelation for what it was at the time, at the end of the meeting I had come to the conclusion that Alma 5 was the most amazing chapter in the Book of Mormon, because the answer to any question anyone could possibly have was contained therein. Imagine my shock the next time I read the chapter and discovered that all those many concepts I had learned that day in church were not actually contained in the text. The reason we are asked to read the scriptures on a daily basis, I have learned, is not because the words in the scriptures have so much to offer (although they do), but because the Holy Ghost needs a prepared mind with which to work.
Number two. During the later part of my mission I was visiting a less-active member I had never met during a companion exchange. We were sharing an uplifting message, and I felt a sudden prompting to read Doctrine and Covenants 19 with her, a section I did not know well. Any of you who have read D&C 19 can well imagine the panic which surely gripped the heart of my temporary companion as we read with this woman about the severity of the punishments of God. We finally arrived at this passage:
"Therefore I command you to repent--repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore--how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not." (D&C 19:15)
We then read verses 16-19, which I will share with you later, after which I felt the need to turn to Alma 5 and start from the beginning. This probably seems like anything but an improvement, since Alma 5 seems specially designed to make anyone with sins keenly aware of them. After all the questions, verse 32 reads:
"Yea, even wo unto all ye workers of iniquity; repent, repent, for the Lord God hath spoken it!"
...which sounds a lot like the idea expressed in the above verse. My companion may have wondered what had possessed me to be so hard on this poor sister.
The thing which I learned that day, and which I shared with the member we were teaching, is the fact that prophets of God don't call on wicked people to repent because God wants to punish them. This is not a bully who is telling is to obey and threatens us with the consequences of rebellion. I had a hard time once reconciling what I was told about God in Sunday School - that he was a kind, loving God by nature - with what I read in the scriptures as prophets warned of the punishments awaiting the wicked. The fact is, the same prophets who warn of the miserable end awaiting the sinner immediately follow those warnings with statements of hopeful anticipation of Christ's redemption of the sinner. The one in Alma reads:
"Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you. Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life..."
The one in D&C 19 is much more powerful, which is fitting; the principle of following a rebuke with an increase of love has, I believe, an element of proportion. It reads as follows:
"For behold, I God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffere even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit - and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink - Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men."
The point the Lord is making is one which we all need to learn, and which I am sure many people misunderstand. The reason Christ goes to so much trouble describing the sufferings of the wicked and calling us to repentance is that He has already felt those sufferings. He has an intimate knowledge of Eternal and Endless punishment. He has experienced the consequences resulting from broken laws. Because of their great love for us, Heavenly Father and Jesus will go to great lengths to help us be spared from that suffering. They cannot break eternal laws, but they are very willing to be generous in their help and in forgiveness. How it must pain them both for a sinner in need of repentance to reject the blessing of the atonement! I can imagine Jesus pleading with us: "Please, repent now and come to me. Escape the pain I know you will feel. I have already suffered for you; there is no longer any need for you to suffer and pay for your sins yourself. Accept the conditions our Father has laid out, reject sin and lay claim on my mercy. I love you and I don't want you to suffer." Far from being motivated by any sort of spite or cruelty, the Lord commands his prophets to issue strict calls to repentance because he knows what is coming if those warnings are not heeded.
For anyone who is curious, the message was well received; we were all touched by what we learned and at least two of us were moved to tears (I won't say which two).