Alma 9

Alma compares the Lamanites to the people of Ammonihah and tells the people of Ammonihah that the Lamanites are in a much better position in the Lord's eyes than they are. Alma tells the people of Ammonihah that since they are a part of the Nephite nation, they have been a highly favored people, even above every other nation and people because they have been visited by the Spirit of God, they have conversed with angels, been spoken to by the voice of the Lord; they have the spirit of prophecy and revelation and the gifts of the Spirit. They have been delivered miraculously in many ways and saved from diseases and sickness, and they have been made strong in their wars. The Lamanites are the victims of the traditions of their forefathers, Laman and Lemuel and those who came after. They have not had any of the blessings the Nephites have had. So the Lamanites, who the Lord says will eventually come to him, will be spared. But the people of Ammonihah will be destroyed because they turned completely against all that the Lord has provided them.

In our own time, I think this will be the difference between people in our country who are devoutly religious and the wicked. The people of our nation have all been raised in a Judeo-Christian ethic. Those who have this background and choose to be wicked, will face harsher consequences because of this. More and more we are seeing the dividing line between the righteous and wicked becoming more obvious. Those who are unrighteous, like the people of Ammonihah, deride righteous people. To be Christian, or to believe in God, is naive. As predicted in the Book of Mormon, many of the sins of our day are not considered to be unrighteous at all. You can easily see this in the media. Consummation before marriage is normal, even necessary. Sexual relationships are a right to be practiced whenever desired. The acceptance of dishonest greed is found in many of the nation's largest corporations and throughout the government. As a nation, we will be held accountable because we are founded on principles and values that are now being ignored.