pgs. 278 and 279...And thus we see how great the inequality of man is becaue of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil...

THE BOOK OF ALMA
THE SON OF ALMA

CHAPTER 28

The Lamanites are defeated in a tremendous battle—Tens of thousands are slain—The wicked are consigned to a state of endless woe; the righteous attain a never-ending happiness. About 76 B.C.

1 And now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were established in the land of ^aJershon, and a church also established in the land of Jershon, and the armies of the Nephites were set round about the land of Jershon, yea, in all the borders round about the land of Zarahemla; behold the armies of the Lamanites had followed their brethren into the wilderness.

2 And thus there was a tremendous battle; yea, even such an one as never had been known among all the people in the land from the time Lehi left Jerusalem; yea, and tens of thousands of the Lamanites were slain and scattered abroad.

3 Yea, and also there was a tremendous slaughter among the people of Nephi; nevertheless, the Lamanites were ^adriven and scattered, and the people of Nephi returned again to their land.

4 And now this was a time that there was a great ^amourning and lamentation heard throughout all the land, among all the people of Nephi—

5 Yea, the cry of ^awidows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and the daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard among all of them, mourning for their kindred who had been slain.

6 And now surely this was a sorrowful day; yea, a time of solemnity, and a time of much ^afasting and prayer.

7 And thus endeth the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi;

8 And ^athis is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their ^bincomprehensible joy, and the reception and safety of the brethren in the land of Jershon. And now may the Lord, the Redeemer of all men, bless their souls forever.

9 And this is the account of the wars and contentions among the Nephites, and also the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites; *and the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges is ended.

10 And from the ^afirst year to the fifteenth has brought to pass the destruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has brought to pass an awful scene of bloodshed.

11 And the bodies of many thousands are laid low in the earth, while the bodies of many thousands are ^amoldering in heaps upon the face of the earth; yea, and many thousands are ^bmourning for the loss of their kindred, because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are consigned to a state of endless wo.

12 While many thousands of others truly ^amourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the ^bpromises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending ^chappiness.

13 And thus we see how great the ^ainequality of man is because of sin and ^btransgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning ^cplans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men.

14 And thus we see the great call of ^adiligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the ^blight of Christ unto life.

* VERSE 9 (76 B.C.).

THE BOOK OF ALMA

THE SON OF ALMA

CHAPTER 29

Alma desires to cry repentance with angelic zeal—The Lord grants teachers for all nations—Alma glories in the Lord’s work and in the success of Ammon and his brethren. About 76 B.C.

1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the ^atrump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and ^acome unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires, the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their ^adesire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their ^bwills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.

5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is ^ablameless; but he that ^bknoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of ^cconscience.

6 Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to ^aperform the work to which I have been called?

7 Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth?

8 For behold, the Lord doth ^agrant unto ^ball nations, of their own nation and ^ctongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he ^dseeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.

9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do ^anot ^bglory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.

10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember ^awhat the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me.

I love the following message from the Institute Manual and how it pertains to this reading. It also happens to be exactly what my husband shared with our children the other morning before school so I know it must be important for me to understand if the Lord has brought it to my attention twice in such a short period of time! I am now committed to pay more attention when I see the words "and thus we see" in the Book of Mormon.

Mormon often used the phrase “thus we see” when he desired to impress a lesson upon his readers (see Alma 24:19, 27; 28:13–14; 30:60). At the end of his recital of the missionary labors of the sons of Mosiah and the subsequent battles between the Lamanites and the Nephites, Mormon emphasized two main points:

1. There is a great inequality of man due to sin, transgression, and the power of the devil. Satan devises cunning plans to ensnare the hearts of men and lead them to destruction (see Alma 28:13).

2. There is a great need for righteous men to labor diligently in the vineyards of the Lord and lead men back to God (see v. 14).