Alma 9:11-15
From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 9
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Contents |
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Questions
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Verse 11
- Why does Alma refer to God's power as "matchless"?
- What is the link between being "cut off from the face of the earth" and being "consigned to a state of endless misery and woe"?
- What is the state of endless misery and woe that Alma refers to? Can we translate that into our modern understanding of the spirit world, or does it refer to something else?
- What is woe? Does it mean the same as misery, or does it imply something more?
- Are misery and woe a common couplet, or is there something beyond just a literary style here in their use?
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Verse 12
- What is the difference between being told to repent to "inherit the kingdom of God" or to avoid being utterly destroyed? Is Alma or the Lord trying to provide two different motivations to try and get the people to repent, or is there something else going on here?
- What is the place for such hellfire and damnation preaching in the modern church?
- What is the "fierce anger" of God mentioned here? How does this fierce anger jibe with our view of God as a patient and loving Heavenly Father?
- What does it mean for God to visit "in his anger" and "not turn away"? Is there a point at which it is too late to repent and God cannot turn back consequences for our actions?
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Verse 13
- What is the nature of the promise to Lehi? Is this a covenant? How does this promise or covenant relate to land covenants in the Old Testament?
- What does it mean to prosper?
- Why is the reward for obedience a tangible prosperity, while the penalty for not keeping the commandments to be "cut off from the presence of the Lord"? Does this imply something about prosperity that we don't normally consider (cf. Mosiah 2:22)? Might there be a connection between "inheriting the kingdom of God (vs. 13) and prospering in the land here? If so, does that imply that the kingdom of God is here, and consists of the opposite of being "cut off from the presence of the Lord"?
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Verse 14
- What does it mean that the Lamanites "have been cut off from the presence of the Lord"? What does that mean? Does this have anything to do with the literal presence of the Lord in the temple?
- What does Alma mean by the "presence of the Lord"?
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Verse 15
- Why is the wording here so similar to this verse in the New Testament: "But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee" (Matt 11:24)?
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Lexical notes
- Woe. According to Webster's 1828 dictionary, wo [sp] is a noun that means 1. grief; sorrow; misery; a heavy calamity, 2. a curse, and 3. is used in denunciation, and in exclamations of sorrow.
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Exegesis
- Prosperity and the Kingdom of God. In these verses, Alma seems to link the concepts of prosperity, inheriting the kingdom of God, and being in the presence of God. It is possible to read these verses as providing the following oppositions:
A) Inherit the Kingdom, B) In the presence of God, C) Prosper in the land
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D) Destroyed from off the face of the earth, E) Cut off from the presence of the Lord By this reading, prosperity should be seen as more than the accumulation of material success, but a quality related to living in the presence of God here on earth.
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Related links
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