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Book of Mormon Commentary
Alma Chapter 16
Then he adds, "Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end”. Many think that in
the hour of crisis they will repent and turn to God. Amulek warns against this, "For that same
spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will
have power to possess your body in that eternal world" (232). Procrastinating the day of
repentance will usually make one subject to the spirit of the devil resulting in the condition when
"the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you" (234).
Alma 16:237 And now my beloved brethren, I desire that ye should remember these things, and that ye
should work out your salvation with fear before God, and that ye should no more deny the coming of
Christ; that ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the
name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God in whatsoever place ye
may be in, in spirit and in truth;
Amulek closes his message by exhorting them to daily thanksgiving, to be watchful in prayer
against temptations, and to have patience in afflictions.
ZORAMITES PREPARE FOR WAR, VER, 240-261
Alma 16:242 And it came to pass that after the more popular part of the Zoramites had consulted
together concerning the words which had been preached unto them, they were angry because of the
word, for it did destroy their craft; therefore they would not hearken unto the words.
The missionaries withdrew to the land of Jershon. As soon as they left, the crafty Zoramite leaders
called all the people together to learn who had accepted the teachings of the Nephites. The rulers,
priests, and teachers did not divulge their feelings, SO 'as to encourage each person to speak his
mind freely and to find out who favored the teachings of Alma and his fellows. It was obvious that
their message had appealed to the poorer class, and the Zoramites were hostile to this group
anyway. Therefore they "were cast out of the land; and they were many, and they came over also
into the land of Jershon" (245).
The missionaries had preceded them, and when the believing Zoramite brethren arrived, they
ministered to them. The chief ruler of the Zoramites sent word to the people of Ammon desiring
them to cast out those who had recently come over, and "breathed out many threatenings against
them" (247,248).
The people of Ammon were sympathetic to the believing Zoramites, as they, too, had recently
been fugitives from religious persecution.
Alma 16:250 And they did nourish them, and did clothe them, and did give unto them lands for their
inheritance; and they did administer unto them according to their wants.
This angered the Zoramites, and they went among the Lamanites and stirred them up to war on the
Ammonites.
Seeing that war was imminent, the people of Ammon went over to the land of Melek, giving place
to the Nephite armies in the land of Jershon, while the missionaries returned to the land of