In my recent scripture study, I’ve been trying a new approach. I’ve been slowing down, focusing less on “getting through” the chapters, and pausing to think about the people I’m reading about, reminding myself that they are real people. This has led me to see how the scriptures apply to my life in ways I’ve never thought about before.
Recently, I’ve been focused on Amulek. In thinking deeply about his life, I’ve realized Amulek is poignant inspiration to anyone feeling like their life is falling apart even though they chose to do what was right.
How Life Falls Apart for Amulek
Amulek met Alma on the 4th day of the 7th month in the 10th year of the reign of the judges (see Alma 10:6). Amulek’s life was about to become a roller coaster of emotion.
I’m guessing that Amulek was optimistic as he accompanied Alma in preaching to the people of Ammonihah. But he must have been shocked by the result. After his preaching, all the wives and children of those who believed in his words were thrown into a fire. We read:
“When Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames” (Alma 14:10).
We sometimes brush past this passage because its contents are so unpleasant. But we could sit with the women and children who are martyred and remember that sometimes things do not work out in mortality for the righteous.
We could contemplate Amulek’s feelings—after all, he earlier talks about his children and the women in his household (Alma 10:11). From this point on, they are never mentioned. It seems that Amulek’s family was martyred before his eyes.
Take a moment and sit with Amulek. He’s a real person. This is his real family. How does he feel?
From the place of martyrdom, Alma and Amulek were taken to a prison. There, they were held under inhumane conditions and abused by many lawyers and judges. Finally, after many days, Alma and Amulek stood on their feet, and Alma cried out, saying, “How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance. And they broke the cords with which they were bound” (Alma 14:26). The prison walls fell, causing the death of all those who had been persecuting Alma and Amulek.
Mormon specifies that the prison walls fell on the 12th day of the 10th month in the 10th year of the reign of the judges.
Remember that Amulek met Alma on the fourth day of the seventh month of this same year. So it’s been about three months and one week from the time Alma met Amulek until they were delivered from prison. We read through this account in a few minutes, but it can be helpful to slow down and think about this experience taking more than three months.
How would you feel if you had been Amulek over these three months? You have followed what an angel told you to do, and your life has fallen apart. What do you feel?
How Amulek’s Testimony Inspires Us Now
At the end of Alma 15, we see Amulek going with Alma to Alma’s home. After all, there is nothing left for Amulek in Ammonihah. How did he feel as he left his home for the last time?
Dr. Charles Swift, in his article about Amulek, writes:
“The story of Alma and Amulek is one of the most poignant in all of scripture. ... What begins as a joyful story of an angel directing a man to receive a prophet, and the two of them becoming missionaries who get to preach the gospel, ends with the horrible death of innocent women and children and Amulek’s having lost everything.”
Do we spend enough time thinking about Amulek? What can we learn from pondering Amulek’s life and slowing down to spend some time with him?
I learn so many lessons from Amulek. He reminds me that just because I do the right thing doesn’t mean that everything will work out. But that doesn’t mean we give up. I love that even after extreme trials, Amulek will go on to continue preaching with Alma.
Will life be challenging?
Absolutely. Amulek knows it, Nephi’s wife knows it, and Amaleki and Alma the Elder know it also.
So what should we do when life is unbearably hard?
Remember Amulek. And remember the last words we hear from him. Words he said to the Zoramites that have blessed me and millions of others. Words that are especially powerful in light of his own experiences: “Have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions” (Alma 34:41).
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