Monday, June 20, 2022

George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl on the Potency of "The Spirit of Prophecy"

  

The spirit of prophecy is the spirit of testimony. Except it be through the spirit of prophecy, no man ever testified of Christ. Filled to overflowing with that spirit, Alma diffused knowledge and understanding in every direction as if they were rays of light. Like Abinadi, in Lehi-Nephi, Alma was commanded of the Lord to declare His holy word, and to proclaim true, "the things which have been spoken by our fathers concerning the things which were to come." This, in meekness, Alma had done.

Alma now called upon a Higher Judge than he to witness the truth of all he had said. He carried his appeal to the supreme tribunal in the land, Conscience, "that court of righteous and holy decisions" which is folded up in the bosoms of even the humblest. Alma's case was that his people should eschew the very appearance of evil and be prepared for that day which Alma said was not far distant when "The Son of God cometh in his glory, in his might, majesty, and dominion."

In the cause he had espoused, Alma was his own advocate; the spirit of prophecy was his witness. Plainly, and with great deliberation, the spirit testified that there is a God in heaven, and that through Jesus Christ, His Only Begotten Son, all mankind might be saved from the sins of the world, "Yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name." Alma invited all men, everywhere, to repent of their sins and banish pride from their hearts which in times past had interfered in God's service. Keep the commandments of God that His Spirit will always be with you that thereby you will be holy unto Him, was the counsel Alma gave. The faithful knew that if the Holy Spirit was ever within them, many of the problems that otherwise would be painful to their hearts and perplexing to their minds could never assail their determination to do His will.

Like King Benjamin, forty years before, when that God-fearing monarch preached Salvation to his people, Alma was filled with the spirit of prophecy and by that same spirit his people, too, understood his words. Here we find an ideal place to repeat the words of the Apostle Paul:

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man that is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. (I Cor. 2:11)

The Apostle Peter, in writing to the Hebrew Saints in Asia Minor, said that the apostles had not followed "cunningly devised fables" when they recounted the life of Jesus, His power and coming: for they were eyewitnesses to His majesty; they saw His glory and heard the voice from heaven when they were in the holy mountain. But, he argued, if one wants still more evidence of Jesus' divinity,

We have a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye will do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scriptures is of any private interpretation.

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (II Peter 1:19-21)

Such is the value the Apostle Peter placed on the prophetic word. It is more sure than what? More sure than the historical part of the Gospel to which the apostles testified as eyewitnesses! It shines as a light in a room during the dark hours. It is given us to heed, not to ignore. Indeed, the prophetic word is one of the most wonderful manifestations of the Priesthood, caused by the operations of the Spirit upon the minds of holy men. It is the starlight for the guidance of the people of God, until the day-star, the sun, comes up in glorious effulgence.

Alma's testimony grew more overpowering as he fervently invoked God's blessings upon his beloved people. As a father, he cautioned them against pride and its attendant deceptions. As their High Priest, he warned them of its follies, and pointed out the path which is straight and narrow, and into which the Good Shepherd called them with His own voice. "If you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold," Alma said, "and ye are his sheep."

The final appeal Alma made was, no doubt, influenced by the words of Isaiah, all of whose sayings the Nephites loved. These words were engraved upon the Plates of Laban, Lehi had brought from Jerusalem, and were then in the possession of Alma:

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6-7)

Alma's message to the people of Zarahemla was now complete. He had testified as the Lord had commanded him to do; the burden of his message was:

The Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved. (I Nephi 13:40) (George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 7 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1977], 3:96-99, emphasis in bold added)