Aaron in Jerusalem

After the sons of Mosiah separated when they arrived at the land of the Lamanites, Aaron went to the city of Jerusalem and preached to the Nephite dissenters there who were after the order of Nehor. Mormon recorded an interesting exchange that he had with an unnamed Amalekite that I think is very relevant to our day. The unbeliever responded to Aaron’s teaching with these harsh words, “What is that thou hast testified? Hast thou seen an angel? Why do not angels appear unto us? Behold are not this people as good as thy people? Thou also sayest, except we repent we shall perish. How knowest thou the thought and intent of our hearts? How knowest thou that we have cause to repent? How knowest thou that we are not a righteous people? Behold, we have built sanctuaries, and we do assemble ourselves together to worship God. We do believe that God will save all men” (Alma 21:5-6). To me that sounds a lot like how the world at large responds to the teachings of modern prophets on issues of morality. People take offense quickly and reject the notion that they could be doing anything wrong, especially as it relates to moral issues. They reject the authority of others on what is right and assert their right to determine that for themselves. God, if they believe in Him at all, will surely save them no matter what they do.

               I believe that Aaron’s response to this Amalekite is instructive for disciples in our day when we meet similar opposition. Instead of arguing, Aaron focused the conversation on Jesus Christ: “Now Aaron said unto him: Believest thou that the Son of God shall come to redeem mankind from their sins?” Even though the man said he didn’t believe in the Son of God, Aaron continued, “Now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death and sufferings of Christ, and the atonement of his blood” (Alma 21:7-9). Aaron was not combative, but he was firm in his testimony of the Savior and tried to teach from the scriptures the doctrines of the atonement and resurrection of Christ. He knew that this man needed to understand what Christ had done for him to see why he needed to repent of sins and follow the teachings of the Savior. Ultimately the man did not receive his words and Aaron was cast out, but the example is still a powerful one for us. As the world tries to focus attention and debate on specific types of actions that go against the teachings of the Savior, we should focus on the Savior Himself. We will rarely convince someone that this or that gospel commandment is the right way to live when taken out of context from the Savior who gave that commandment. As we stand up for the principles of the gospel like Aaron did in the Lamanite city of Jerusalem over two millennia ago, we should keep our testimony and teachings centered on Jesus Christ.