The Deliverance of Our Fathers

Alma gave this instruction to his son Helaman: “I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our fathers; for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Alma 36:2).  He similarly questioned the people of Zarahemla about how they remembered their fathers: “And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them?” (Alma 5:6)  Alma also declared on another occasion, “Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the Lord did deliver them out of bondage….  Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same God who delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians did deliver them out of bondage” (Alma 29:11-12). This focus of Alma (the Younger) on remembering the captivity and deliverance of his fathers seemed to have been due to the injunction given him by the angel when he first was called to repentance: “Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam, and in the land of Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in bondage, and he has delivered them” (Mosiah 27:16).  He appears to have taken this counsel to heart and sought to help others as well remember how the Lord had delivered their fathers. 

               There were several instances in Nephite history when the Lord showed his power to deliver them, and any of these may have been referred to in the general counsel to remember the deliverance of their fathers.  The first was the deliverance of Lehi and his family—they were delivered from Laban, from the Jews who sought to kill Lehi, from the terrible desert, the perils at sea, and ultimately they were miraculously brought to the promised land.  Alma reminded the people of Ammonihah about their story of deliverance: “Do ye not remember that our father, Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the hand of God? Do ye not remember that they were all led by him through the wilderness?  And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he delivered our fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from being destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren?” (Alma 9:9-10)  Nephi and those who followed him were also delivered from Laman and Lemuel when they left the land of their first inheritance and settled in the land of Nephi in 2 Nephi 5.  Alma may have also been referring to this deliverance.  Hundreds of years later Mosiah was “warned of the Lord that he should flee out of the land of Nephi, and as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord should also depart out of the land with him, into the wilderness” (Omni 1:12).  Again, this was a story of deliverance as they were saved from their enemies the Lamanites, while all other Nephites were presumably destroyed.  It seems to me that Zeniff may have been referring to this specific deliverance when he wrote, “I and my people did cry mightily to the Lord that he would deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, for we were awakened to a remembrance of the deliverance of our fathers” (Mosiah 9:17).  He and his people found strength in remembering how their fathers had been delivered by the hand of the Lord.

            We have much more detail about the subsequent deliverances to the people of Nephi.  Limhi and his people were delivered miraculously by the Lord so that they could escape the oppressive rule of the Lamanites.  Similarly, Alma (the Elder) and his people at the land of Helam were miraculously delivered by the hand of the Lord so they could escape from under the hand of Amulon.  All of these stories provide a powerful witness to what Nephi taught as he opened the Book of Mormon, testifying that the Lord would “make [his people] mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Nephi 1:20).  Alma and Nephi wanted us to learn and remember these stories so that we too can receive the delivering power of the Lord.