Lesson 31 Alma 43-52. Moroni and Amalickiah

Moroni and Amalickiah

Attention Activity
There is a quote that is really central to this lesson it is:
“Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere” (“This Is the Work of the Master,” Ensign, May 1995, 71).
It was said by President Gordon B. Hinckley. There are a lot of different ways to start class. One is to have the words to this quote written out on a few different papers, with one or two words per paper. Then you can have the students try and put it together like a puzzle or for bigger classes you can have some people come up and take a piece of paper and then the class has to try and put them in the right order. Once they have the quote you can also ask who they think said it. (It was also quoted by Elder Uchtdorf in his first conference talk as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Ensign, NOV 2004, p. 74. You can also talk about why he would quote that then.)

Class Discussion
The goal of this lesson is to teach that the things that we do affect our own outcomes as well as that of others. Starting with Alma 46:1-7 have students look over the verses and then describe in their own words. (Things were in disarray. People were dissenting away to the Lamanites and Amalickiah was trying to install himself as king.) Now let’s look at what Moroni does about it. “What is the purpose of the Title of Liberty?” “What do verses 16-18 teach us about how to govern in our families?” Read verse 20 and see what Moroni is trying to have the people do. (Enter into a covenant.) Now look in verses 28-41 and see what the status of the people is. (They are now willing to defend their faith and try and spread the gospel to other people.) The real question for this lesson is to have the students understand that the change happened because of what Moroni did. He was just one person and yet his actions led to great change in situations and in others actions. “What does this teach us about what can happen in our families?” “What does this story have to do with the quote from Pres. Hinckley at the beginning of class?”

Now have class members look at Alma 47:1. “What was the state of the Lamanites before Amalickiah got there?” (They were peaceful with themselves and with the Nephites as Amalickiah had to “stir up the Lamanites.”) Now you can lead them through just about any part that you want to in the next few chapters and talk about the effect that Amalickiah has on the condition of the Lamanites, the people around him, and the Nephites. It is just the opposite of the effect that Moroni has. Everything goes bad for everyone that listens to and follows Amalickiah. And yet so many follow him. “Why do you think people are willing to follow him when bad things happen to those that do?” “How have you seen these contrasting effects in your own life/family?”

Application
Hopefully your class understands that their lives influence others. Have them share what they feel they can do to have a positive impact on their families/communities. The important thing to point out is that what Moroni did wasn’t necessarily popular or what others were doing, it was just what was right. So even if others in a student’s family aren’t doing what is right, they can still have a huge impact. It is also helpful here or earlier in the lesson to point out that not everyone’s sphere of influence is as big as Moroni’s was. We just have to work to do what we can in the sphere we are placed in—most importantly in our own families.