Amulek's Final Witness

Alma 34 is the last recorded sermon we have from Amulek, the great missionary companion to Alma. In it he bore a powerful witness of the atonement of Jesus Christ, the purpose of prayer, and the need for us to prepare to meet God. I particularly love the final invitations that he gave this group of poor Zoramites from verse 37 to the end. The Zoramites as a whole had a spiritual problem in that their profession of religion did not mean much in their lives; they said a single prideful prayer once a week and then “they returned to their homes, never speaking of their God again until they had assembled themselves together again to the holy stand” (Alma 31:23). Amulek’s encouragement to this group at the end of Alma 34 was in direct contrast to that kind of inconsistent, prideful, empty religion. He taught these poor Zoramites how to fill their lives with a constant state of worship and humility before God.

               Amulek’s final invitation to these Zoramites and to us was two-fold: humble yourselves before God and make your worship and spirituality a constant part of your lives. Unlike the prideful Zoramites who lauded their election by God, Amulek encouraged, “Work out your salvation with fear before God…. Humble yourselves even to the dust.” We should not go to God with pride about our supposed high standing like the Zoramites on the Rameumptom; rather we should be in a state of great respect for God and fear our own inadequacies before Him. We work out our salvation not with the attitude “that we are a chosen and a holy people” but with the knowledge that we are only as the dust of the earth and depend wholly on His grace. The Zoramites tried to physically lift themselves up on their stand “which was high above the head” but Amulek taught that we should instead lower ourselves down to the dust in humility before God  (Alma 31:13,18).

               In contrast to the Zoramite religion that entered their thoughts only for a short time once a week, Amulek also encouraged us to take the gospel deep into our hearts to affect us each day. We should not just worship God in one particular location but rather “worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth.” We should not say just a single prayer once a week but we should be in a constant state of prayer. He exhorted us, “Live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.” Amulek taught that we should be daily grateful for the mercies of God and seek Him constantly in prayer: “I also exhort you, my brethren, that ye be watchful unto prayer continually, that ye may not be led away by the temptations of the devil.” Prayer should be for us a continual state of our souls instead of an event we participate in only rarely. With that and coupled with “patience… [to] bear all manner of afflictions,” we can then have a “firm hope” that God will indeed save us. Amulek’s final witness to us was a testimony that, like he did, we must humbly turn our whole lives over to God and in Him we will find “rest from all [our] afflictions.”