Alma 60 - Will Ye Sit in Idleness?

In addition to what I wrote recently about Alma 60's lesson about not taking offense, another thought came to me recently about how I can apply this chapter to myself. While reading, I asked myself, "Why did Mormon choose to include this chapter? Despite his good intentions, Moroni was misguided and his accusations toward Pahoran weren't even legitimate. So why even keep the letter here?" I've read through the chapter probably dozens of times over the years, and only a few days ago did it finally hit me: Moroni may have been wrong about how Pahoran was handling the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites, but he was right about how you and I might be handling the spiritual war that's going on around us right now.

Next time you read Alma 60, replace all references to physical death with spiritual death, and then put yourself in Pahoran's shoes as the one being interrogated. If you're like me, that will probably send you on quite a spiritual guilt trip, but I've noticed that as long as you have the Holy Ghost as your companion, the guilt isn't overwhelming; it simply nudges you into action. So, here are some of the words of Moroni applied to us in our day. Brace yourself...

 5 Behold, great has been the [spiritual] slaughter among [this] people; yea, thousands have fallen [because of the trials and temptations of this world], while it might have otherwise been if ye had rendered unto [them] sufficient strength and succor. Yea, great has been your neglect towards us.

 6 And now behold, we desire to know the cause of this exceedingly great neglect; yea, we desire to know the cause of your thoughtless state.

 7 Can you think to sit upon your [couches] in a state of thoughtless stupor, while [the devil and his servants] are spreading the work of [spiritual] death around you? Yea, while they are [spiritually] murdering thousands of your brethren—

 8 Yea, even they who have looked up to you for protection, yea, [and God has] placed you in a situation that ye might have succored them, yea, ye might have sent [help] unto them, to have strengthened them, and have saved thousands of them from falling [further from God.]

 11 Behold, could ye suppose that ye could sit upon your [couches]*, and because of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he [the Deliverer] would deliver you? Behold, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain.

*Sorry, couldn't come up with a better replacement for thrones!

 19 Or is it that ye have neglected us because ye are [caught up in the middle of your own comfortable lives] and ye are surrounded by security, that ye do not cause [spiritual nourishment] to be sent unto us, and also [your service] to strengthen [us]?

 20 Have ye forgotten the commandments of the Lord your God? Yea, have ye forgotten the [spiritual] captivity of [your past]? Have ye forgotten the many times [you] have been delivered out of [sin and sorrow through the power of the Atonement]?

 21 Or do ye suppose that the Lord will still deliver [you], while [you] sit upon [your couches] and do not make use of the means which the Lord has provided for [you]?

 22 Yea, will ye sit in idleness while ye are surrounded with thousands of those, yea, and tens of thousands, who do also sit in idleness, while there are thousands round about [in your wards and neighborhoods and families] who are falling [from God], yea, [spiritually] wounded and bleeding?

 23 Do ye suppose that God will look upon you as guiltless while ye sit still and behold these things? Behold I say unto you, Nay. Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also.

I'll stop there at Moroni's invitation: for each of us to "clean our inward vessel." For us to get up and get to work, first on ourselves and then on the rest of the world. When I looked at Alma 60 from this point of view, several questions came to mind, a kind of personal self-inventory:

• How often do I think about others in the world (thousands round about) who are struggling spiritually and physically?
• Am I content to just sit back and focus on my own spiritual and physical well-being?
• Do I assume that there are others who ought to be helping instead of me?
• Have I forgotten the miraculous role of the Atonement in my life, and therefore, what that Atonement could mean for others?
• What are the means which the Lord has provided for me to make use of in serving and lifting those around me?
• What can I do to fight the evil in the world and serve God's children?

The answers to those questions will be different for everyone, but I encourage you to think about them. Think about what you can do in your sphere of influence to bless the lives of those around you instead of sitting in idleness while this war takes its toll. Each of us can be an instrument in the hands of God to "succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees" (D&C 81:5), and He (like Moroni) expects us to do so.