Day 57: Alma 14

Not much is spoken of Amulek in talks, books, and commentary, but this man was faithful and strong to the end. He was that second witness to Alma, he was rejected by his people - whom he loved and knew well, and he watched the destruction of many good lives. Though not ever written in the scriptures, I believe he watched the martyrdom of some in his family. I surmise this idea because mentioned in previous chapters of him speaking of his children, then following some preaching, Alma then takes him into his own home.

My point in this comment is not to dwell much on the wickedness of those who would perform such acts of murder of innocent people, instead to testify of the Spirit of God within Amulek. Without a firm testimony and faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, how can one stand by to see so many killed for a belief/knowledge. And yet, so many have done so before and since, and will happen again.

What if you were in this situation of watching the martyrdom, or one about to be martyred? Would your faith be strong enough?

“Now, we find many people critical when a righteous person is killed, a young father or mother is taken from a family, or when violent deaths occur. Some become bitter when oft-repeated prayers seem unanswered. Some lose faith and turn sour when solemn administrations by holy men seem to be ignored and no restoration seems to come from repeated prayer circles. But if all the sick were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the Gospel, free agency, would be ended." (President Spencer W. Kimball Tragedy or Destiny," Improvement Era, March 1966, pp. 180)

“The right question to ask is not why good people have trials, but how shall good people respond when they are tried?…God does not deny us the experience we came here to have. He does not insulate us from tribulation or guarantee immunity from trouble. Much of the pain we suffer and inevitably impost upon others is self-induced through our own bad judgment, through poor choices… But much that happens to us in this life we cannot control; we only respond.” (Elder Marion D. Hanks, Ensign, Nov. 1992, p. 64)