Have you ever heard someone say, "It's my life, I'll do with it what I want"? I am pretty certain we are all familiar with this statement. A lot of us have heard it from our defiant children. People who have this mentality have the illusion that what they do has no or very little effect on others. There is a very powerful story in the BOM that proves this theory wrong.
The BOM always lists the seven Lehite tribes in this order: Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, Zoramites, Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites (Jacob 1:13; 4 Nephi 1:37-38; Mormon 1:8-9). The Nephites, Jacobites and Josephites were the believers in Christ and were collectively called Nephites while Lamanites, Lemuelites and Ishmaelites were non-believers, referred to as Lamanites. Zoramites are always listed in the middle of the tribes, because Zoramites were the swinging tribe. Sometimes they sided with the the Nephites and sometimes with the Lamanites.
About 74 BC was a particularly tense period of time during which the Nephites feared that the Zoramites would 'enter into a correspondence with the Lamanites' (Alma 31:4). To prevent this, Alma the Younger organised a mission to the Zoramites to strenghten their alliance with the Nephites and be counted amongst the believers. Thus the Zoromite mission became a political move as well as a spiritual endeavour. The mission did yield some converts, who had to flee to Jershon to join the people of Ammon (Alma 35:6) but the mission was overall a failure. The majority of the Zoramites did not choose to repent and they joined the Lamanites and ignited the wars contained in the Book of Alma. Their aim was to reclaim and persecute the believers who had defected to Jershon. And here is the startling part of the story: Zoramites' tipping point was Alma's son, Corianton. Alma attributed the failure of the mission to Corianton because his misconduct caused the Zoramites to not believe in Alma's words (Alma 39:1-4). Not only did Corianton abandon his mission but his behaviour was so sinful that he led many people into disbelief (Alma 39:3,4,11,12). In his attempt to bring Corianton to repentance, Alma expounded on the seriousness of sexual sin but he specified that leading people to spiritual destruction was worse and that this conduct stood next to two unpardonable sins, that of murder and the denying of the Holy Ghost (Alma 39:5,6).
I am certain that Corinaton never knew that his choices would lead to wars as he made his way to the land of Siron in search of Isabel. And I am equally certain that Alma the Younger had no idea that his persecution of the Church and leading people into sin (Mosiah 27:8) was a sin next to murder. This is something he learnt through many years of reflection, following his repentance. And this might be another thing he learnt: what pain you inflict on others, one day becomes your own. It is no coincidence that he had an erring son because once upon a time, he was one too. He too led away many believers and caused his father, who was the high priest of the whole land of Zarahemla, great embarrassment and sorrow (Mosiah 26:38,39; 27:14)
We are spiritual beings. We are energy that spreads far and wide and affects all those around us. What we do matters. We lead each other into light or darkness. We are beacons of faith or destroyers of truth. Imagine if the light of this world was taken away and Satan reigned supreme. Imagine if there was no Christ to light the way, and because of it, we knew no love, compassion, faith, hope, joy. We do not want to cower in the shadows of darkness. As we journey on life's many roads, may we leave a trail behind us for others to follow into the light of His love where awaits eternal life.
- Cathryne Allen, Did Not Our Hearts Burn When He Opened To Us The Scriptures?
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