Deliverance

The Church has produced a number of Book of Mormon videos to accompany our study this year. I'm not sure how they decide which parts get a video. The story of the people of Alma in chapters 23 and 24 of the book of Mosiah did not make the cut. I was a little surprised as their story of coming into bondage and eventually being delivered is frequently used in lessons and talks.

I'm not going to go through all the details, you can read the story for yourself, but the most cited passage is likely the following:

"And it came to pass that so great were their afflictions that they began to cry mightily to God. And Amulon commanded them that they should stop their cries; and he put guards over them to watch them, that whosoever should be found calling upon God should be put to death. And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts. And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me...And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions. And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord. And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage." (Mosiah 24:10-16)

 I was trying to think of a modern-day application of these principles and I pulled the biography of Thomas S. Monson off the shelf, which included many experiences of East German Saints who lived behind the Berlin Wall, and President Monson's ministry among them. I flipped through looking for an appropriate section of the book to share in our family gospel study, and was blessed to find two pages that aligned closely with the travails of the people of Alma.

One story told how the translator had to edit then-Elder Monson's talks on the fly, such as changing references to President McKay to simply David O. McKay to avoid raising any suspicion with the government which was monitoring their activities. Another story told of how church leaders instructed the members that the only book they were allowed to have was the scriptures and everything else should be destroyed. One brother described how difficult it was for him, as he had spent years scraping together a small but cherished library of church books and manuals. Yet he decided to obey the counsel, and burned each one in the fire. He made the right decision, because his home was later searched by the police, and they did not find any unauthorized printed materials.

Those accounts are only a small sampling of the oppression which the East German Saints lived under, but President Monson described how faithful they were despite the difficult circumstances. At one point, he promised them in a church meeting that "if you will remain true and faithful to the commandments of God, every blessing any member of the church enjoys in any other country will be yours."

He felt the gravity of his promise later that night and prayed that his promise would be fulfilled, despite what seemed like insurmountable challenges. The words of the Psalm came to his mind, "Be still, and know that I am God."

I almost had to have someone else take over the reading, because I was having a hard time getting through it. The two accounts fit together so nicely.

"Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith. Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people. For behold, I will show unto you that they were brought into bondage, and none could deliver them but the Lord their God, yea, even the God of Abraham and Isaac and of Jacob."  (Mosiah 23:21-23)

Like the people of Alma, the East German Saints desired to live by the word of God, and yet they did not enjoy the freedom to fully practice their religion. They could have decided that worship was not worth the trouble and turned against the God who was allowing them to suffer. Many of them may not even have been at fault for what had happened to their people, but they were still forced to live with the consequences of a wicked political regime. Many of them probably died without seeing the promise of deliverance fulfilled. And yet they were able to wait patiently on the Lord, knowing that he would not forsake them.