Mosiah 27:14-16 -- On Being Cast Off and Standing Safely

"And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith.
And now behold, can ye dispute the power of God? For behold, doth not my voice shake the earth? And can ye not also behold me before you? And I am sent from God.
Now I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam, and in the land of Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in bondage, and he has delivered them. And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy way, and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be answered, and this even if thou wilt of thyself be cast off."
Mosiah 27:14-16


Amazing to see an angel, but super scary and intimidating if he comes just to chastise you. The worst part is the end where he doesn't command him to repent at all, but just says basically this is the way it is, so even if you want to destroy yourself, stop trying to destroy the church. The power of God is very different if it isn't pleading with you to change, but just telling you to back off... and I think it was a good choice here too, because it was definitely a wake up call for Alma the younger.

Today I think it might be good to consider these verses a wake-up call for ourselves so that we can work on repenting and changing before it gets anywhere near the level that it was for Alma the younger. Let's avoid being cast off, and refrain from working against God. Let's rethink any conflict where we aren't on the same page with God. If we don't understand God's position and we want to learn why, God can help us with that if we go to him sincerely in prayer... but taking a stand against him is always going to be the wrong place to stand.