The Power of Weakness: The Book of Mormon

BOOK OF MORMON

Alma the Younger

Alma the Younger is a giant of a man. In the Book of Mormon we learn about his qualities as a powerhouse missionary, an effective and dependable leader, and a thought-provoking writer. It is from his writings that we gain a greater understanding of the real-time rewards of living the gospel, that is, the pain we feel will be met in equal measure with the joy that we will experience. In addition, that it is through our suffering that we are able to attain true awareness, because we will have expanded the sphere of our understanding to include new possibilities, possibilities that would not have been available to us unless we had changed enough to see them. In his words, through the Atonement “…my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain! Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.” (Alma 36:20-21) And the most comforting of all, that no pain is ever wasted.

What we probably remember the most, however, is his miraculous conversion from ultimate bad boy to dedicated missionary, from an intentional and debilitating home wrecker to a kind, meek and nurturing prophet. The Book of Mormon is pretty explicit in tone about the inappropriate behavior of the son of the High Priest that can only be really described as straight up sinful, and not in the decadent way. He knew exactly what he was doing, and why it was wrong, but he did it anyway. There is almost a gleeful way in which he seems to purposefully break down people’s faith and morale.

And yet, while he and his trouble buddies (the four sons of the King) were headed off to the next town with the intent to undermine the authority of their fathers, an angel appears and commands them to repent. Surprised and chastised, all five of the men get a wakeup call and take the opportunity to repent.

As with any member of any church who tries to live in a clean way, I have wondered why on earth such a jerk of a man would get to see an angel while I don’t get to. Why couldn’t I be converted in such a powerful way? What is the difference between me and him? Why would I have to be converted step by step, little bit by little bit, when he gets it all at once with one very rousing moment? I figured it was one of those seemingly strange conundrums, it falls under why good things happen to bad people and other such frustrating realities.

Then, one day, it hit me. It was NOT the appearance of the angel that converted him. The angel was the reminder, not the solution. He wasn’t even aware of much of what was happening, anyways. In other words, Alma’s deep and abiding conversion did not come with the visitation of the angel, it came afterwards, after he “…did remember all [his] sins and iniquities, for which [he] was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, [he] saw that [he] had rebelled against [his] God, and that [he] had not kept his holy commandments.” (Alma 36:13) This is what converted him. Coming to a realization of how much he needed Christ and that is wasn’t just a game, or a piece of pitiful tradition, but that he was ACTUALLY accountable for what he had done, especially since he has known better. It was when he was being emotionally ripped apart as he realized that he was in trouble that he was ready to be converted. It was in the deepest, darkest moments that he remembered learning about Christ, and His Atonement. And the very moment he used a tiny bit of faith, and called on the name of his Savior, the pain was taken away. His conversion came when he chose to rely on Christ, with all the bits and pieces of his soul that he could muster.  This is how we are converted, too. As we live every day in an effort to be faithful, God will make known to us, in our faithfulness, the parts of us that we cast away as ugly, that is, our weak and sinful state because He knows it is only as we recognize that we are weak and imperfect that we can ever fully heal. This doesn’t mean we have to wander off as far as Alma did in order to have the same type of conversion, it just means that we can embrace the times in our lives that seem the most personally difficult, because we know that they have purpose. It seems strange that pain would be a gateway to such exquisite joy, but we have to remember what pain is. I define it as “an acute feeling of unmet expectations.” We want our families to always be there, we want to be financially comfortable, we want to feel successful, we want to get married to someone special, someone we can trust, someone who loves us in a way that gives love meaning, just to name a few. If any of these things do not happen, or happen sooner or later than we expect, or desire, then we feel pain. Pain is the feeling the fills the hole left by the happiness we were expecting to feel, or takes the form of fear that we in fact, might not be good enough. I’m not trying to downplay your suffering, I’m trying to emphasize the solution, the hope, the truth, for “There is no sin or transgression, pain or sorrow, which is outside of the healing power of His Atonement.” (C. Scott Grow) 

Pain doesn’t have to always hurt, its job is to inform. And through the Atonement, we can let go of the hurting, give it to Him who has felt all, and begin to grow. The most amazing part of this story, is that Alma didn’t hoard his pain, he didn’t identify by his weaknesses or his sins. Once he recognized he needed God, and that God could save him from his agony, he gave it all up. He identified with Christ, took on His name, and chose not to see himself as a sinner, but a child of God. What a lesson for us!

The Brother of Jared

Mahonri Moriancumer, or the brother of Jared, is a kind of LDS icon of humility and revelatory experience. We associate his story with miracles, seeing God, and finding answers to prayers. He led his family and friends on an ultimate adventure that took them away from the chaos of the Tower of Babel to a land of Promise, a spiritual and temporal refuge, where they could live in peace and prosperity.

As one reads the recounting of his life, it becomes clear that one of his biggest spiritual gifts was the gift of prayer, and faith in God’s miracles. His brother Jared would constantly ask him to pray for things, seeing him as some sort of prayer authority. In the life of Mahonri, miracles were an everyday occurrence. Everything he prayed for was answered, and he knew without a doubt that God would hear and answer him. He was a constant source of comfort for his friends and family, they knew that without his connection to God, they would not be alive, or at the very least, would be unable to communicate with each other. In other words, he led his people in the role of prophet. Following the voice of the Lord that traveled in front of them in a cloud, they reached the ocean, far from the reach of any danger, but not as far as the Lord had promised he had would take them. Here, “…as they came to the sea they pitched their tents; and they called the name of the place Moriancumer; and they dwelt in tents, and dwelt in tents upon the seashore…" (Ether 2:13) Very romantic.

Fast forward four years and we read this:

“And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord.” (Ether 2:14)

Come again? Here was Mahonri Moriancumer, trusted follower of God, the man with an apparent speed dial to heaven, and he just forgot to talk to God? Another possible explanation is that he didn’t rely on the Lord as much as he should have, because as far as the eye could see, all his needs and the needs of his people had been met. There was no reason to approach God in humility and complete reliance, if he didn’t think he needed anything else. Whatever the case may be, Mahonri had neglected his understanding of God in favor of his own mortal strength. He buried his talent, his gift, his right, his mission underneath a pile of convenient and tangible solutions. 

What comes next is the most shocking. After being chastised for unfaithfulness, the brother of Jared tenderly prays for the spiritual welfare of his people, as well as for himself. Filled with the mercy of God, he gets to work building barges that will take them through the next leg of their journey. It’s at this point in his life that he and the Lord discuss what should be used for light in the barges, seeing as they were “…built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish.” (Ether 2:17) The Lord tells him what won’t work, then encourages him to find a solution himself. He does, and brings sixteen white stones that he’s molten out of rock and asks the Lord to touch them with His finger, so that they will glow, and provide light for the people traveling in the barges. The Lord does so, and Mahonri sees His finger and is startled. Amazed and moved, the brother of Jared asks to see the Lord completely, and not just His finger. The Lord then shows Mahonri Moriancumer the end from the beginning. In a kind of culmination of his gift, the Lord shows him all things, and holds nothing back. 

Wait, wait, wait. Just a few verses before, the Lord was chastising Mahonri for forgetting to do what he was supposed to do! Why is it that he gets to see EVERYTHING now? 

Here is how I see it: Mahonri knows he has a gift, and that the Lord will answer his prayers so his faith is pretty strong. Then they get to the beach and he gets comfortable and complacent, he doesn’t feel needed in the role as prayer person, so he gets use to relying on his own strength to get things done, without giving adequate thought or credit to God, who deserves it. God points this out, Mahonri realizes what he’s done, asks for forgiveness, and increases his dedication to the Lord. In turn, The Lord, as is His way, places responsibility on Mahonri, sealing in his mind the realization The Lord trusts him. He feels empowered, knowing that it is not his strength, but the Lord’s strength that gives him the ability to be such a great leader. He takes his offering to the Lord, knowing that it’s weak, feeling like it’s a little silly, but armed with this rekindled understanding that in God, his efforts are enough, and places all his expectation in the success of the Lord. That kind of faith lends itself to earth-shattering, veil-tearing miracles. 

Faithfulness, righteousness, goodness is not a matter of how great we are, but how great God is, and how great we can become. But the only way we can become great, is if we first learn what it means to be weak, and understand what it feels like to define success according to God’s standards, even if our own experiences try to tell us otherwise. Mahonri understood this. The Lord’s chastisement stripped away his pride, and reinstated his desire to understand truth. Without that brush with his own weakness, I believe he never would have seen the great things even “…all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth.” (Ether 3:25)

As we come to understand the depth of Christ’s goodness, we will come to understand our own. A goodness that exists outside of all earthly, temporal, and everyday variables and successes, because it stems from the goodness, love, perfection, and power of an Almighty God.

Moroni sums it up beautifully in his commentary on the brother of Jared's experience. He is discussing weakness with the Lord, and includes the following instruction he receives here:

 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them...And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong... Ether 12:27,37

God is not looking for or expecting our perfection. He wants us to be filled with faith, hope, joy, light, love, excitement, fulfillment, and happiness. These things are possible in Him, for His "...yoke is easy and [His] burden light." Matthew 11:29-30 Christ knows, because He's gone further than any of us, He felt was we are feeling deeper than we have felt it, because His understanding was unrestrained. We can trust Him. We can depend on Him. We can give Him our weaknesses and in return, truly see!