Lesson 19: None Could Deliver Them but the Lord

Purpose

To encourage class members to renew their determination to honor their baptismal covenants and trust in the Lord.

Reading Assignment:

• From last week's lesson: Mosiah 17:2-4
  2 But there was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the words which Abinadi had spoken, for he knew concerning the iniquity which Abinadi had testified against them; therefore he began to plead with the king that he would not be angry with Abinadi, but suffer that he might depart in peace.
  
  3 But the king was more wroth, and caused that Alma should be cast out from among them, and sent his servants after him that they might slay him.
  
  4 But he fled from before them and hid himself that they found him not. And he being concealed for many days did write all the words which Abinadi had spoken.
   
• Mosiah 18
• Mosiah 19
• Mosiah 20–22
• Mosiah 23–24

Additional Reading:

• Bible Dictionary, "Baptism"
• Celebrating Covenants - Bonnie D. Parkin
• The Power of Covenants - Elder D. Todd Christofferson
• Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You - By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Questions to Ponder:

1. Alma teaches the baptismal covenant and baptizes many people.  (Mosiah 18)

• What does it mean to "come into the fold of God, and … be called his people"? (See Mosiah 18:16–17; see alsoHebrews 8:10; Alma 5:60.)
• What were the people willing to do as members of "the fold of God"?
  • Mosiah 18:8  
    • How can we "bear one another's burdens"? 
    • How does bearing one another's burdens make those burdens light? 
    • How have you been blessed as others have helped bear your burdens? 
  • Mosiah 18:9
    • Why is it helpful to "mourn with those that mourn"?
  • Mosiah 18:9
    • How can we appropriately offer comfort to others?
  • Mosiah 18:9
    • What does it mean "to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places"?
• Alma invited the people to be baptized and enter into a covenant with the Lord.  
  • What is a covenant? (See Mosiah 18:10.) (See alsoCelebrating Covenants - Bonnie D. Parkin)
    • President Joseph Fielding Smith taught: "A covenant is a contract and an agreement between at least two parties. In the case of gospel covenants, the parties are the Lord in heaven and men on earth. Men agree to keep the commandments and the Lord promises to reward them accordingly" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1970, 91; orImprovement Era, Dec. 1970, 26).
  • According to Mosiah 18:8–13, what do we covenant to do when we are baptized? (See also Moroni 6:2–3; D&C 20:37.) 
  • What does the Lord promise to do when we are baptized and keep our baptismal covenant? (SeeMosiah 18:10, 12–13; see also 2 Nephi 31:17.)
    • Referring to Mosiah 18:8–13, President Marion G. Romney said, "I know of no better explanation of the baptismal covenant" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1975, 109; orEnsign, Nov. 1975, 73). 
• What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ? The Power of Covenants - Elder D. Todd Christofferson
• How did the people respond to Alma's invitation to be baptized? (See Mosiah 18:11.) 
  • What can we do to help others receive this great joy? 
  • Is there someone in your life with whom you can share the gospel?
• After the people were baptized, Alma commanded them to have "their hearts knit together in unity and in love" (Mosiah 18:21). 
  • What can we do at home and in our ward to follow this command? (See Mosiah 18:19–21.)
• Should covenants change the actions of our daily lives? (See Celebrating Covenants - Bonnie D. Parkin)
• What blessing come as a result of our obedience to the principles and commandments of the gospel? The Power of Covenants - Elder D. Todd Christofferson
• What does it mean to keep our covenants with honor and exactness? (See Celebrating Covenants - Bonnie D. Parkin)
• What does it mean to hold on to and celebrate your covenants? (See also Celebrating Covenants - Bonnie D. Parkin)
• What must we do to access divine power? The Power of Covenants - Elder D. Todd Christofferson

2. King Noah betrays his people and suffers death by fire.  (Mosiah 19)

• Some of King Noah's people began to turn against him (Mosiah 19:2–3). One of those people, Gideon, was about to kill Noah when Noah saw an army of Lamanites advancing toward them (Mosiah 19:4–6).
  • What did King Noah do when he saw the advancing Lamanites? (See Mosiah 19:7.) 
  • Who was Noah most concerned about? (SeeMosiah 19:8.) 
  • How does this compare to people today who, like Noah, try to lead us away from the Lord and His prophets?
• What had Abinadi prophesied about King Noah's death? (See Mosiah 12:3.) 
  • How was this prophecy fulfilled? (See Mosiah 19:18–20.)
  • Note that the people who eventually valued Noah's life "as a garment in a hot furnace" had at one time been blind to his wickedness, as shown in Mosiah 11:29.)

3. Limhi's people are chastened and eventually delivered by the Lord.  (Mosiah 20–22)

• After Noah was killed, his son Limhi became king. Limhi made an oath that he and his people would pay one-half of all they possessed to the king of the Lamanites in exchange for a promise that the Lamanites would not slay them (Mosiah 19:25–26).  After two years of peace, the Lamanites waged war against Limhi's people (Mosiah 20:7–10).
  • Why did the Lamanites seek to destroy Limhi's people? (See Mosiah 20:1–6.)
• When the Lamanites learned that they had misjudged Limhi's people, they returned to their own land in peace (Mosiah 20:17–26). However, "after many days the Lamanites began again to be stirred up in anger against the Nephites" (Mosiah 21:2). 
  • What did the Lamanites do to the Nephites rather than break their king's oath that they would not kill them? (See Mosiah 21:3.)
• How did the bondage of Limhi's people fulfill prophecies made by Abinadi? (Compare Mosiah 21:3–5, 14–15 withMosiah 11:20–25 and 12:2, 4–5.) 
  • Why were Limhi's people brought into bondage? (See Mosiah 7:25–32; 20:21.) 
  • Why is it important to remember that sin brings consequences?
• After failing three times to defeat the Lamanites in battle, what did Limhi's people finally do? (See Mosiah 21:13–14.) 
• Why was the Lord slow to respond to their cries? (SeeMosiah 21:15; see also D&C 101:1–9.) 
• Although the Lord did not deliver them immediately, what did He do for them? (See Mosiah 21:15–16.) 
• How does the Lord sometimes permit us to "prosper by degrees"?
• How did Limhi's people escape from the Lamanites? (SeeMosiah 22:3–12.) 
• How were they received by the people in Zarahemla? (SeeMosiah 22:13–14.)

4. The Lord delivers Alma's people from bondage.  (Mosiah 23–24)

• Notice the difference between the way the Lord blessed Limhi's people, who attempted three times to deliver themselves before they turned to Him, and the way He blessed Alma's people, who had turned to Him completely.  Compare to what Elder Holland teaches about our desire to do good in Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You - By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
• When Alma and his people were in the place of Mormon, King Noah "sent his army to destroy them" (Mosiah 18:33). The Lord warned Alma's people and strengthened them so they could escape (Mosiah 18:34–35; 23:1–5). 
  • How was this different from the experience of Limhi's people? (See Mosiah 19:6. Note that the first time the Lamanites attacked these people, when Noah was still their king, the people received no warning.)
• How did Alma respond when the people asked him to be king? (See Mosiah 23:6–7.) 
  • How had Alma learned the danger of "one man think[ing] himself above another"? (See Mosiah 23:8–14.) 
  • What can we learn from Alma and his people to help us avoid this error? (See Mosiah 23:15.)
• Under Alma's leadership, his people lived righteously and prospered (Mosiah 23:15–20). Nevertheless, the Lord allowed them to be brought into bondage under Amulon, who had been one of King Noah's priests (Mosiah 23:23–39). 
  • How did the bondage of Alma's people fulfill prophecies made by Abinadi? (See Mosiah 12:2, 4–5.) 
  • In what ways can our poor choices bring lingering consequences even after we have been forgiven of our sins?
    • Elder Marvin J. Ashton said: "Our freedom to choose our course of conduct does not provide personal freedom from the consequences of our performances. God's love for us is constant and will not diminish, but he cannot rescue us from the painful results that are caused by wrong choices" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1990, 24; orEnsign, Nov. 1990, 20).
  • Although the Lord could not prevent Alma's people from suffering the consequences of their past sins, He comforted and strengthened them in their afflictions. The rest of this lesson discusses how He delivered them from bondage.
• Referring to the bondage of Alma's people, Mormon said, "The Lord seeth fit to chasten his people" (Mosiah 23:21). 
  • Why does the Lord chasten His people? (SeeMosiah 23:21; D&C 95:1–2.) 
  • How should we respond when the Lord chastens us? (See Mosiah 23:22.)
• According to Elder Christofferson, what enabled the ancient saints to endure all their afflictions and persecutions? The Power of Covenants - Elder D. Todd Christofferson
• What did Alma's people do when Amulon threatened to kill them if they prayed? (See Mosiah 24:10–12.) 
  • How did the Lord answer their silent prayers? (SeeMosiah 24:13–16.) 
  • How did this help them "stand as witnesses" for the Lord, as they had covenanted in the waters of Mormon? (See Mosiah 24:14.)
• Why are our burdens easier to bear when we "submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord"? (Mosiah 24:15). 
  • In what ways has the Lord strengthened you to help you "bear up [your] burdens with ease"? 
  • How has this helped you stand as a witness of God?
  • What is the source of moral and spiritual power and how do we obtain it? (See The Power of Covenants - Elder D. Todd Christofferson)
• Why did the Lord bless Alma's people while they were in bondage more quickly and abundantly than He blessed Limhi's people? (Compare Mosiah 21:5–15 with Mosiah 23:26–27; 24:10–16.) 
  • How does this apply in our lives?
• Before the Lord delivered them, both Alma's people and Limhi's people were in bondage to wicked rulers. Alma observed that in the days of King Noah, the people had also been "bound with the bands of iniquity" (Mosiah 23:12). 
  • How is iniquity, or sin, a kind of bondage? 
  • How can we escape the consequences of both sin and stupidity? (See Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You - By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland)
  • What can we learn from Limhi's people and Alma's people about receiving deliverance from the bondage of sin? (See Mosiah 7:33; 21:14; 23:23;29:18–20; see also D&C 84:49–51.)