Lessons on the Book of Mormon 2020
Lesson No. Twenty-One

Lessons from the Nephite Church for the Latter Day Church

Righteousness brings peace and prosperity to members of the Church of Christ – Mosiah 26.  A generation after the Church of Christ was established among the Nephites, many members fell into sin.

To keep the Church righteous the Lord explained to Alma that those members who repent will be forgiven, and those who do not repent will not be numbered among the people of His Church.

“And it came to pass that Alma did regulate all the affairs of the church; and they began again to have peace and to prosper exceedingly in the affairs of the church, walking circumspectly before God, receiving many, and baptizing many” (Mosiah 26:27).

Pride and contention will destroy the Church of Christ – Alma 1.  Wickedness threatened to destroy the Church of Christ.  To preserve it the names of the wicked were blotted out, and many asked to have their names removed from the records of the Church or they became inactive.  (Alma 1:21-24)

The remaining members repented and “began to have continual peace again, notwithstanding all their persecutions.  And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly rich, having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood in need….And thus they did prosper and become far more wealthy than those who did not belong to their church” (Alma 1:28-29,31).

Righteousness in the Church of Christ protects all of society – Alma 4.  “The people of the church began to wax proud….and there began to be great contentions among the people of the church; yea, there were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God…And Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the example of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people” (Alma 4:6-9).

Alma understood the most effective thing he could do to save both the Church and society was to “preach the word of God unto them…seeing no other way that he might reclaim them save it were bearing down in pure testimony against them” therefore, “Alma delivered up the judgment-seat to Nephihah and confined himself wholly to the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to the testimony of the word, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy” (Alma 4:19-20). 

The Church of Christ in Zarahemla was full of pride, envy, and discrimination – Alma 5.  Alma asked these members:  “Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble?...Behold, are ye stripped of pride?  I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God…Behold, I say, is there one among you who is not stripped of envy?  I say unto you that such an one is not prepared…

And again I say unto you, is there one among you that doth make a mock of his brother, or that heapeth upon him persecutions?  Wo unto such an one, for he is not prepared, and the time is at hand that he must repent or he cannot be saved!  Yea, even wo unto all ye workers of iniquity; repent, repent, for the Lord God hath spoken it!” (Alma 5:28-32).

The Church of Christ in Zarahemla was cleansed and set in order – Alma 6.  Those who were not members of the Church who repented were baptized and received into the Church.  Those members who did not repent and humble themselves before God were rejected and their names were not numbered among those of the righteous.  Order was established in the Church and “the word of God was liberal unto all, and none were deprived of the privilege of assembling themselves together to hear the word of God”  (Alma 6:2-5).

Because most people repented the Church of Christ was established throughout the land – Alma 7-16.  The Church in Gideon, Melek and Sidom was set in order and the people repented.  (Alma 7; 8:3-5; 15)  In Ammonihah most of the people rejected the prophets and were destroyed.  (Alma 8-14)

“And the establishment of the Church became general throughout the land, in all the region round about, among all the people of the Nephites.  And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming.

“Now those priests who did go forth among the people did preach against all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and malice, and revilings, and stealing, and robbing, plundering, murdering, committing adultery, and all manner of lasciviousness, crying that these things ought not to be – Holding forth things which must shortly come; yea, holding forth the coming of the Son of God…and the Lord poured out his blessing upon the people” (Alma 16:15, 18, 21).

 Lessons from the Nephite Church of Christ for the worldwide Church of Christ in the latter days –  

  • If members of the worldwide Church of Christ are worthy the Lord will pour out blessing upon the people of their land just as He poured out blessings on all the lands of the Nephites.

  • Latter day prophets, like Alma, do all that is necessary to insure that members of the latter day Church of Christ, particularly those who hold temple recommends, are righteous and worthy. 

  • President Russell M. Nelson, like Alma, has addressed wickedness in our day, and he has called for repentance:  “The Creator of us all calls on each of us to abandon attitudes of prejudice against any group of God’s children. Any of us who has prejudice toward another race needs to repent! (Church New, June 1, 2020). 

  • The greatest thing a member of the Church of Christ can do in the latter days to establish peace and bring the blessings of God on their family, community, nation and the world is to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.  No diplomatic, military, or government service can do as much good.

Testimony – We have great reason to be confident in the future as temples are built throughout the earth.  This is an important indication that there are enough members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in that temple district who are worthy and are the covenant people of the Lord.

The prophecy of Nephi is being fulfilled:  “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory” (1 Nephi 14:14).