Shiblon and the Word

I was impressed by Shiblon today as I read these words from his father: “I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the Zoramites.  For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee” (Alma 38:3-4).  It shows that we actually are missing a lot of the story about the missionary efforts amidst the Zoramites—Shiblon was both put in jail at some point and stoned, and yet he bore it with patience.  What struck me was the simple phrase “for the word’s sake.” One way to interpret this phrase is that Shiblon was willing to suffer because of the word of God.  He valued the scriptures and trusted so much in their message that he was willing to suffer physically rather than to deny them.  What faith and courage he had!  

               Alma’s words to Shiblon also contain a few other references to “the word” which I believe deepen our understanding of what it meant for him to suffer for the word’s sake.  Most importantly, Alma taught Shiblon, “I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness” (Alma 38:9).  Christ, as John taught us, is The Word, and here Alma taught that same thing.  So when Shiblon suffered for the word’s sake, he also suffered for The Word’s sake, or for the Savior and his testimony of Him.  Alma also encouraged Shiblon, “As ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach….  Now go, my son, and teach the word unto this people” (Alma 38:10, 15).  Here perhaps we can say that the word represents the sum total of the gospel, and Alma was commending his son for not only believing the word but for teaching it, and surely Shiblon suffered because he was willing to so teach the people.  He valued performing missionary work more than his physical safety; he valued teaching God’s children of His plan more than his own comfort and peace.  Shiblon suffered for the word: the word of the scriptures, the spoken word of the gospel, the Word Himself.

               The two brief references to Shiblon after this chapter confirm the importance that the word of God played in the remainder of his life.  In the middle of the great war between the Nephites and the Lamanites, when a period of peace had come to the people, we read that there was “exceedingly great prosperity in the church because of their heed and diligence which they gave unto the word of God, which was declared unto them by Helaman, and Shiblon, and Corianton” (Alma 49:30).  Shiblon continued preaching the word to the people, helping bring the peace that comes with living according to the word.  Near the end of his life when Helaman died, “Shiblon took possession of those sacred things which had been delivered unto Helaman by Alma” (Alma 63:1).  Shiblon became the designated keeper of the words of the Lord, a responsibility that he surely fulfilled with great devotion.  The last we read of Shiblon was that he passed along those sacred records to Helaman the son of Helaman (Alma 63:13).  Shiblon was a follower of the word, a preacher of the word, a protector of the word, and a true believer in The Word.