Alma 39-42 Our Own Judges

The worth of souls

We can see the love that Alma has for his son, who has committed grievous sins, in the way he teaches with the spirit what he must do to gain redemption. There is no tone of anger, though that emotion may have been felt, Alma’s focus is to help Corianton understand the severity of his actions and to know that he has great worth. At no time does Alma call Corianton a ‘bad person’ or ‘evil’. I feel that it is prudent for us to follow this example and be careful when we are tempted to label a person as such. Calling a person bad, especially those who are young and impressionable, may have a greater impact on their feelings of self-worth than we intend. It is our actions that may be bad, such behavior must be recognized and called out when and, in the way, Holy Spirit prompts us. Understanding that we all have great worth is an idea that I wish could be permanently etched in our minds. Despite our actions, errors and attitudes we will always be of great worth unto God. There is never a point at which his love can’t reach us. We may not believe it when we are in the ‘gall of bitterness’ of sin. We may even begin to loathe ourselves and feel resigned to a fate of misery. We are especially vulnerable to these thoughts at young age and care should be taken to teach our children and youth as Alma is teaching Corianton in his young age. We need to recognize that such self-deprecating thoughts come from Satan who wishes us to be miserable like unto himself. We are always precious, we always have great value, every soul is beautiful and meaningful.

I feel that Alma’s reason for teaching Corianton so much foundational doctrine in these chapters is to give him hope. To help him understand who Jesus Christ is and the plan of redemption he made possible. Things that Corianton may have heard many times in the past, but are now made real to him as he recognizes his dire state and absolute reliance on the Savior. As parents are we so concerned about correcting behavior or punishing that we neglect the lesson that is most important? First we must teach our children and youth to build personal relationships with the Savior. Teach it often, without ceasing. Teach them that Jesus is the light and life, then we may also provide correction and guidance. Any correction that does not in some way include the Savior and the plan of redemption is missing the most important part. Can we truly teach principles like the Lord’s Law of Health without also teaching that “the worth of souls is great” (D&C 18:10) that God has a plan for us, and that his son made the plan possible?

Sister Joy D. Jones taught:

“Let me point out the need to differentiate between two critical words: worth and worthiness. They are not the same. Spiritual worth means to value ourselves the way Heavenly Father values us, not as the world values us. Our worth was determined before we ever came to this earth. ‘God’s love is infinite and it will endure forever.’

“On the other hand, worthiness is achieved through obedience. If we sin, we are less worthy, but we are never worth less! We continue to repent and strive to be like Jesus with our worth intact. As President Brigham Young taught: ‘The least, the most inferior spirit now upon the earth … is worth worlds.’ No matter what, we always have worth in the eyes of our Heavenly Father” 

Inquire diligently

In the example shown in chapter 40, Alma teaches us that God does reveal “mysteries” to his prophets and to us, and that it requires diligence to obtain them. What work qualifies as diligent depends on many things, but to me it seems at least “much prayer and fasting” is required. This lesson to Corianton is a great example of seeking and receiving revelation, and being satisfied with the answers that are received, exercising faith in both the revelation and in that part that was not revealed. How much do you want to know something? What are you willing to do to receive it? Are you willing to exercise faith in it when it is received? Honest answers to these questions provide a plan that we can follow to also have the mysteries of God revealed to us.

Restoration

It is fitting that the Plan of Salvation is also called the Plan of Restoration. Unto what are we restored? In this life we have the opportunity to choose what we want to be. Our choices help us create an eternal identity that will be restored to us after death. Thus, Alma teaches that, “if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good.” (Alma41:3)

I find it interesting that Alma refers to our restored state after this life as being our “natural frame”. Though it may not have been his intention this caused me to think of the bigger picture of eternity. Our current condition in this life is not our natural state or our natural frame (thank goodness). We are eternal beings, a concept that we cannot fully understand while behind the veil. This life is a temporary condition, after which we will be restored to our natural condition. Such a comparatively short amount of time to make such a lasting impact.

Death (Alma 42:8-9)

“it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death”

“it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death”

These two verses took reading a few times for me to understand their meaning. While there is more meaning than this, this is one that I learned: to be saved from spiritual death is far more important than being saved from physical death. This is why we are allowed to physically die, but we do not have to ever spiritually die. And why all, except for a very select few, are required physically die in order to gain the restoration of all things.

Punishment

I feel as though God does not punish us in the sense that we may think, as in “because you did this, I’m going to do this to you” etc. The law has been given, and we are free to choose. Our choices have consequences and a consequence of disobedience is that we distance ourselves from God, even unto spiritual death. Our agency also allows us to receive the blessings that come from choosing obedience, even unto eternal life. So, when we are passing through troubled times, let us not think that “God is punishing me for being bad” or ask “why is God doing this to me?” rather let us understand the nature of mortality. We have been given the higher law, we know the law, we have been given the higher covenant which we also know. We will always experience consequences whether they come by our own actions of that or others. For example, rather than saying the Nephites were destroyed as punishment, I feel it is more correct to state that the consequence of their wickedness lead to their death. Because they chose evil in this life, evil will be restored to them in the next. This is the sense of the word punishment as used by Alma. This is also why he said, “they are their own judges” (Alma: 41:7) 

The negative feelings or sorrow that we feel after disobedience comes when we recognize that through our actions, we have distanced ourselves from God. It is good that we are capable of feeling troubled, whether by sins or other circumstances, because this trouble can give way to humility. And humility is requisite for spiritual strength and repentance. This is why Alma has said, “only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance.” (Alma 42:29)