May 30, 2020
#37 May 25-31, Mosiah 29-Alma 4
Commenting on this blog
I really welcome your thoughts and comments on the things I write about in this blog. I’ve learned a lot from some of your comments. But most of you never see the comments. If you follow this blog on the blog webpage (dadsblog.boyerfamilybookofmormonstudyclass.org), you can read comments from other readers and make your own comments at the end of each post. But most of you don’t see those comments because you get the blog via email. You may want to check the website occasionally and read the comments. For instance, a few days ago, I posted a very insightful comment (actually in two parts because Google has a word limit on the length of comments) from King Udall. He has made some really good contributions in his comments in the past, and did so again for last week. I occasionally get a personal email from a reader sent just to me or just to our family. If I think the comment included would be interesting to all of the readers, I will usually (with permission) post the comment on the blog page.
If you have thoughts as you read which you’d like to share with others, feel free. I always appreciate the input. As you know, I try to write in a fairly conversational style, so don’t worry about making what you say sound all erudite and all; just share your thoughts and feelings. Thanks!
King Mosiah is a rock star!
When did you ever hear of a king who voluntarily gave up his throne without a fight so that his people could have more freedom and autonomy? Usually, the idea of giving up the throne for a king is the kind of stuff wars are made of and that makes heads roll (sometimes literally!) King Mosiah is unique in my historical perspective for his wisdom and sage approach to the future of his people. Here’s what happened:
Mosiah Chapter 29
In chapter 28, Mosiah gives permission to his four sons, Ammon, Aaron, Omner and Himni, to go to the land of Nephi to preach the gospel to the Lamanites. Because he is the king, these four sons are princes, potential heirs to the throne. But none of them wants to be king. So they leave on their mission and Mosiah is left to figure out what to do for a succession strategy. He gives the sacred records and the interpreters to Alma the Younger, who will shortly become the high priest.
After giving the records to Alma, Mosiah sent out throughout all the land, among all the people, desiring to know their will concerning who should be their king. (29:1) Just doing that is amazing! Whoever heard of letting the people choose their king?
The voice of the people came, saying: We are desirous that Aaron thy son should be our king and our ruler. (29:2) How did the people give their voice? Did they hold an election with ballots? Whatever they did, it sounds like the people had a say in the outcome of the decision. It sounds like a form of democracy before its time. It’s interesting to wonder why the people chose Aaron. Was he the oldest of the brothers? Ammon is always mentioned first and takes the lead when they go on their mission, so he is probably the oldest. Aaron will show later on that he is a great teacher, as when he teaches the father of Lamoni, king of the Lamanites. (See Alma 22) But we don’t know why the “voice of the people” chose him.
Trouble is, Aaron is not interested. He is on a mission and doesn’t want to be king. And neither do any of his brothers. They are also missionaries with him. So now what does Mosiah do? Perhaps he consulted with his good friend, Alma the Elder, and maybe with Alma the Younger. We don’t know, but he comes up with a remarkable plan. He describes his plan and his feelings in an amazing letter which is contained in verses 5 through 32 of this chapter. He sounds a lot like his father, Benjamin, in the beginning of his address in Mosiah 2.
He begins by addressing his subjects, O ye my people, or my brethren, for I esteem you as such (29:5). He addresses his people as his equals, not being inferior to him. Amazing! He reminds them that, since they have chosen Aaron to be king and he has refused, it would be unwise to chose someone else. Aaron may later decide he wants to be king and then there will be war! Remember that Mosiah has just been translating the plates of Ether by the Urim and Thummim. He has seen the downfall of the Jaredite society and, as we will see when we read the book of Ether, how generation after generation of wars were caused by those who want to become king and those who don’t want them or want someone else. I’m sure Mosiah is influenced by what he has read.
So he calls upon his people let us be wise and look forward to these things, and do that which will make for the peace of this people. (29:10) Here is his proposal:
I will be your king the remainder of my days; nevertheless, let us appoint judges, to judge this people according to our law; and we will newly arrange the affairs of this people, for we will appoint wise men to be judges, that will judge this people according to the commandments of God. (29:11)
If they could always have just men to be their kings, men like his father Benjamin, and men like himself, though he is too modest to say it, then it would be expedient that ye should always have kings to rule over you. (29:13) But that isn’t the case. Because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye should have a king or kings to rule over you. (29:16) He goes on to remind them of the wickedness of king Noah and the abominations and bondage which he caused. Further, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous king save it be through much contention, and the shedding of much blood. (29:21) He has his friends and guards and tears up the laws and tramples them under his feet.
So choose you by the voice of this people, judges, that ye may be judged according to the laws which have been given you by our fathers, which are correct, and which were given them by the hand of the Lord. (29:25) It sounds like Mosiah is proposing a form of democracy – the people choose the judges. And the judges will judge according the laws which have come from the Lord through his prophets. This has been called a “theo-democracy”, a combination of rule by God and choice by the people.
Mosiah then makes a remarkably prescient statement:
It is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people. (29:26)
Mosiah is a man before his time! But he has a warning for his people – and for us!
And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land. (29:27)
It happened to the Jaredites. It will later happen to the Nephites, and we have their record to prove it. Will it happen to America? Have we come to a point when the majority of the people are now choosing iniquity? You decide. Are we ripe for destruction?
Mosiah concludes with his hope for this land:
I desire that this land be a land of liberty, and every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the land, yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon the face of the land. (29:32)
I personally believe that the majority of the people of this land, as well as those in the United Kingdom and the countries of Europe and many other countries are basically good and, though they may not have an understanding of the fullness of the restored gospel, they generally want the right things for themselves and their families. I believe that the Lord will preserve them to give them the opportunity to hear and accept the gospel in this life when it is taught to “every nation, kindred, tongue and people.” (see Mosiah 3:20) And I believe He will preserve us, His people, so we can take the gospel to them. I personally believe that the temples being built by our church will save the lands in which they are being dedicated and used for sacred purposes. But, I also believe that the days foretold by prophets will come, when the wicked will be destroyed in preparation for the return of the Savior. (see Matthew 24) Hopefully, we aren’t quite to that point yet. But sometimes, I wonder.
In compliance with the wishes of their king, they assembled themselves together in bodies throughout the land, to cast in their voices concerning who should be their judges, to judge them according to the law which had been given them; and they were exceedingly rejoiced because of the liberty which had been granted unto them. (29:39)
The people loved their king! They did wax strong in love towards Mosiah; yea, they did esteem him more than any other man. … therefore they did esteem him, yea, exceedingly, beyond measure. (29:40)
The people elect judges and appoint Alma the Younger to be the first chief judge.
Thus commenced the reign of the judges throughout all the land of Zarahemla, among all the people who were called the Nephites; and Alma was the first and chief judge.(29:44)
The end of an era
It is the end of an era! For over 500 years, the Nephites have dated their calendar from when Lehi left Jerusalem (600 BC). The reign of Nephite kings began with Nephi 30 years later (570 BC). But that will now change. They will now date their calendar from the beginning of the reign of the judges. This corresponds to 91 BC. When the signs are given of Christ’s birth, they will then date their calendar from the time of His birth, as we still do in 2020 AD.
Alma dies at 82 and Mosiah dies at 63. Before they die, they consolidate the authority of the leadership of the church, which Alma held, and the leadership of the government, which Mosiah held, in one person, Alma the Younger, a repentant sinner. So it is time for a new book in the Book of Mormon, the book of Alma.
The last words in the book of Mosiah are,
Thus ended the reign of the kings over the people of Nephi; and thus ended the days of Alma, who was the founder of their church. (29:47) It truly is the end of an era!
Book of Alma
The book of Alma is the longest book in the Book of Mormon. It has 63 chapters and approximately 160 pages. It covers the period of time from 91 BC to 52 BC. That isn’t such a long time, only about 40 years. By contrast, the small book of Omni, one chapter and 4 pages, covers nearly 200 years.
Why such a big book for such a relatively short period of time? Good question! The best person to answer that question would be Mormon, the editor of the Book of Mormon. He is the one who was tasked by the Lord to choose the material that he thought would be most beneficial to us in our time. As we move closer to the first coming of the Savior in Nephite history, there are more lessons in the Book of Mormon for us in our day as we move closer to the second coming of the Savior in our time. I believe that’s why there is an expansion of the number of chapters devoted to fewer years as the Savior’s coming approaches. There are lessons in these chapters applicable to our time. We don’t know if we are 2, 20 or 200 years BSC (Before Second Coming), but I suspect we are somewhere it that time frame. Even the angels of heaven don’t know when He will come again. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (Matt 24:36). So if someone tells you that they have figured out the symbolism in the Book of Revelation or have had a revelation of their own and they know when the Savior will come again, you can be sure that they don’t know!
In some ways, the book of Alma should be called the “book of Second Alma” or the “book of Alma the Younger.” This book is not about the first Alma, the priest of wicked king Noah who was converted by Abinadi. He died in the last chapter of the book of Mosiah. This book is named for his son, the second Alma, the rebellious son of Alma who was stopped in his tracks by an angel when he and the sons of Mosiah were going about to destroy the church. The first 44 chapters are about Alma the Younger and the next 18 chapters about his son Helaman I. After a brief season with Alma’s son Shiblon, the plates will go to Helaman’s son, Helaman II and then it will be the book of Helaman. Make sense? I hope so. These books and writings are all organized and edited by Mormon. The organization of the Book of Mormon is amazing! I wonder how much Joseph and Oliver understood as they translated the plates. Though bright young men and obviously inspired, I suspect that they were moving so fast (nearly 10 pages/day) during the translation that it was all a blur to them when they were done. They were probably like the rest of us and had to go back and read the book again and again to get it all straight.
Mormon’s summary of the book of Alma is contained in the paragraph printed at the beginning of the book above the chapter heading. As far as we know, this was written by Mormon in putting the Book of Mormon together. Here is what he said about the book of Alma:
The account of Alma, who was the son of Alma, the first and chief judge over the people of Nephi, and also the high priest over the Church. An account of the reign of the judges, and the wars and contentions among the people. And also an account of a war between the Nephites and the Lamanites, according to the record of Alma, the first and chief judge. (Alma, Introduction)
Similar headings are found at the beginning of the books of 1st Nephi and 2nd Nephi (written by Nephi) and Jacob (written by Jacob). Mormon follows their pattern and writes a summary at the beginning of the books of Alma, Helaman, 3rd Nephi and 4th Nephi. There is no such heading at the beginning of the book of Mormon, but Moroni follows his father’s example and writes a heading at the beginning of the book of Ether. Neither Mormon nor Moroni writes a heading paragraph at the beginning of either of the books which they personally wrote. Why do I go through all of this? (You are probably wondering the same thing!) These are interesting, meaningful, non-random variations in the organization of the Book of Mormon that serve as an internal witness that neither Joseph Smith nor any modern writer wrote the Book of Mormon. It had to be of ancient origin by multiple authors and was translated by Joseph Smith.
One more comment about the book of Alma. When I used to read the Book of Mormon as a young man, I thought the book of Alma went on forever and would never end. I always kind of dreaded getting to it, but now I love it. There are so many profound doctrines, memorable stories and life lessons in the book of Alma, that it is now a favorite. I always enjoy it. When I was young, my favorite parts of the book of Alma were the war chapters. Now they are my least favorite chapters, but even they have wonderful lessons for us to learn. Let’s get started.
Alma Chapter 1
The honeymoon is over!
It didn’t take long for Alma as chief judge and chief priest to meet a significant test. My experience is that, as a newly called priesthood leader, there is a brief “honeymoon period” when the Lord and the Saints let a new leader get his feet on the ground a little before they present to him their most difficult problems. But it doesn’t last very long, sometimes less than a day. I remember the comment of a faithful brother in our ward after I was sustained as bishop of our family ward. While walking out to his car after church services that day, as I learned later, he turned to his wife and said, “Well, the glory is over for our new bishop. Now the work begins!” How true!
For Alma, the “honeymoon period” in his new responsibilities, if there was one at all, will last less than a year. He will soon meet one of his greatest tests in leadership and it will come in his first year as chief judge and high priest. Good luck, Alma!
Priestcraft raises its ugly head
In the first year of the reign of Alma in the judgment-seat, there was a man brought before him to be judged, a man who was large, and was noted for his much strength.
And he had gone about among the people, preaching to them that which he termed to be the word of God, bearing down against the church. (1:1,3)
This man, we will learn later, is named Nehor. Even though he never specifically mentions the name Jesus Christ (at least, not in the Book of Mormon text we have), he is definitely an anti-Christ, one of three in the Book of Mormon. We have already talked about Sherem (Jacob 7) and will later learn about Korihor (Alma 30).
What does Nehor teach?
Every priest and teacher ought to become popular; and they ought not to labor with their hands, but that they ought to be supported by the people.
And he also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life. (1:3-4)
Sound familiar? Where have you heard that philosophy before? You were there!
And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. (Moses 4:1)
It was Satan in the pre-earthly councils in heaven, for which we were all present, who offered to save everyone, but he wanted the glory. Nehor is teaching Satan’s lies. Satan has been preaching this same false doctrine since before the world was created. “I will be your Savior. None of you will be lost. It will be wonderful! You have nothing to worry about. But I want the throne!” Notice that in this philosophy, there is no need for a Savior or Redeemer. We don’t need saving or redeeming. He will do it. The trouble is that it is a lie. If there were a way to save all of His children and still have them learn the lessons and experience the growth and development they need to in this life, Heavenly Father would have figured it out long before Satan proposed it. This philosophy leads to an “eat, drink and be merry” approach to life. If everyone is going to be saved anyway, then why not enjoy the pleasures of this life? All roads lead to Rome. We’ll all go to heaven in the long run. But it is all a lie from the father of lies. And this is the biggest one of all – the mother of all lies – that he can and will save everyone.
I don’t think Satan was cast out of heaven for having another plan. Heavenly Father allows His children to form their own opinions and to think and believe what they choose to think and believe. But Satan wanted Father off of the throne. He was in rebellion. Lucifer led a mutiny, a coup by a third of the children of God attempting to unseat our Father from the throne and replace Him with Satan. I believe that is why Satan was cast out of heaven to the earth. He is still doing the same thing here which he did there. The war in heaven is still being fought, but now the battleground is on this earth. Satan is still teaching his false doctrines and he is still seeking to have us individually “put him on the throne” in our lives and replace the worship of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, with worship of Satan and the things of the world. The battle rages on for the souls of the children of God. That’s one of the reasons for the Book of Mormon, to expose the false philosophies of anti-Christs like Nehor so that we won’t be deceived by them.
In their weekly “Come Follow Me Insights”, Tyler Griffin and Taylor Halverson have an excellent discussion of how Nehor is a type of Satan and how we learn about Satan by learning about Nehor. It is very good, as their lessons always are. Here is the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KcE7nNJifI. And remember that their lessons are now available as podcasts. Here is the podcast link, if you prefer to listen on the go rather than watch on a device: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/book-of-mormon-central/id1067020550?i=1000475018436
Nehor takes his false doctrine a fatal step farther. Nehor, lifted up in the pride of his heart and having set up his own church and enjoying his nice income and costly apparel from the donations of his church members, runs into Gideon, who won’t stand for it. Remember Gideon? He is the man who chased king Noah up the tower and nearly killed him. And he is the one who proposed the plan to king Limhi for how to escape from the Lamanite captivity. That was all about 50 years ago.
As John Welch points out in his notes for this week (https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/sites/default/files/archive-files/pdf/welch/2020-05-22/mosiah_29_-_alma_4_formatted.pdf), in ancient Israel and presumably in ancient Nephite culture, there were no policemen or officers of the law. To bring a person to the law required the action of a citizen to accuse them and take them to the law, in this case to the judges. It sounds like Gideon, recognizing the lies in Nehor’s teachings, accused him of apostasy, a crime worthy of death under the Mosaic law. When he accuses Nehor of teaching false doctrine, Nehor takes out his sword and fights with Gideon. Unfortunately, Nehor, the younger and stronger man (Gideon is probably in his 70’s by now.) overpowers and kills Gideon. Nehor is now also guilty of murder. He is taken by the “people of the church” to Alma. This is Alma’s first big test as the the chief judge.
Nehor in his pride stood before Alma and pled for himself with much boldness. (1:11)
But Alma won’t stand for Nehor’s lies. He replies,
Behold, this is the first time that priestcraft has been introduced among this people. And behold, thou art not only guilty of priestcraft, but hast endeavored to enforce it by the sword; and were priestcraft to be enforced among this people it would prove their entire destruction.
And thou hast shed the blood of a righteous man, yea, a man who has done much good among this people; and were we to spare thee his blood would come upon us for vengeance.
Therefore thou art condemned to die, according to the law which has been given us by Mosiah, our last king; and it has been acknowledged by this people; therefore this people must abide by the law. (1:12-14)
Notice that Nehor was not condemned to die because of preaching false doctrine. We learn a few verses later that the law could have no power on any man for his belief. (1:17) Nehor was given capital punishment because of the murder of Gideon. And notice that Alma made it clear that Nehor was being condemned according to the law, a law that was established under king Mosiah, a law by which the people are still being governed.
Nehor is taken to the top of the hill Manti and there he did acknowledge, between the heavens and the earth, that what he had taught to the people was contrary to the word of God; and there he suffered an ignominious death. (1:15)
That is the end of Nehor, but unfortunately, it is neither the end of his philosophy nor the end of priestcraft among the Nephites. This did not put an end to the spreading of priestcraft through the land; for there were many who loved the vain things of the world, and they went forth preaching false doctrines; and this they did for the sake of riches and honor. (1:16)
Nehor has his converts and his lies and deceptions will live on. Reference to Nehor, i.e. the “faith”, the “order” and the “profession” of Nehor will be made several times in the Book of Mormon. Even though he gets only 15 verses in this one chapter, Nehor’s influence unfortunately is huge going forward.
Righteousness of the church
Despite the apostasy of Nehor and his followers, the faithful followers of Christ are “steadfast and immovable” and the church moves forward. In several verses (25-31) we learn about the faithfulness of the people of the church in the second year of the judges under the leadership of Alma, their high priest. Here is a bullet list of the characteristics of these people who, like the people of Alma’s father at the Waters of Mormon, are doing their best to create a Zion society. They are a good model for us. We can well ask ourselves, how are we doing at creating Zion in our setting – in our homes and families, in our wards and stakes?
Characteristics of the Zion society established under the leadership of Alma the Younger:
· Steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments
· Preachers no better than the hearers
· Priests humble and did not esteem themselves better than those they served
· Teachers no better than the learners
· All equal
· Everyone labored according to their strength
· Impart of their substance to the poor, needy, sick and afflicted
· Did not wear costly apparel
· Neat and comely
· Steady
· Prosperous - abundance of the things they needed
· Took care of the naked, hungry, thirsty, sick, malnourished
· Did not set their hearts on their riches
· Liberal to all - old and young, bond and free, male and female, in the church or out of the church - no respect as to those who stood in need
It was a good time for the righteous Nephites and lasted for four years, until the fifth year of the reign of the judges. Then there was more trouble!
Alma Chapter 2
Another troublemaker
For the sake of time (yours and mine), I’m going to summarize fairly briefly the next two chapters.
In the commencement of the fifth year of their reign there began to be a contention among the people; for a certain man, being called Amlici, he being a very cunning man, yea, a wise man as to the wisdom of the world, he being after the order of the man that slew Gideon by the sword, who was executed according to the law—
Now this Amlici had, by his cunning, drawn away much people after him; even so much that they began to be very powerful; and they began to endeavor to establish Amlici to be a king over the people. (2:1-2)
There is another troublemaker in Zarahemla. His name is Amlici. (By the way, the Pronunciation Guide says to pronounce his name ăm´lĭ-sī and his followers, Amlicites, are pronounced ăm´lĭ-sīts.) Amlici wants to be king. Maybe he is from some family or lineage that would have made him an heir to the throne if it weren’t for the end of the monarchy with Mosiah and the change to the rule of the judges. Could he be a relative of Mosiah who, in the absence of Mosiah’s four sons, thinks he should be king? Or maybe he is a descendant of Zarahemla and is upset that the Nephites under Mosiah I two generations earlier came into his land and took over the leadership of the people. Maybe he is just a proud man, like Nehor, who wants power and influence. Regardless, he is trouble!
Amlici gains quite a following, probably some of those who were in the church of Nehor. They are a threat to the stability and well being of the righteous members of the church of God. If it were possible that Amlici should gain the voice of the people, he, being a wicked man, would deprive them of their rights and privileges of the church; for it was his intent to destroy the church of God. (2:4)
So rather than have a war like in the “good old days” when someone wanted to be king, they will do the enlightened thing as taught them by Mosiah and hold an election to see what the “voice of the people” wants. Incredible! Sounds like a good idea and it would have been, except that, when Amlici loses the election, he will not accept defeat.
Now this did cause much joy in the hearts of those who were against him; but Amlici did stir up those who were in his favor to anger against those who were not in his favor. (2:8)
So much for the “voice of the people”! The people of Amlici “consecrate” him king anyway. His first order to his new subjects is that they should take up arms against their brethren; and this he did that he might subject them to him. (2:10) The Amlicites, with king Amlici as their fearless leader, attack the Nephites. Interestingly, who is the leader of the Nephites to lead them into battle? Of course, it is Alma. He is a “man for all seasons” – chief judge, high priest and general of the army. He is a “full service” leader of the people!
A serious battle is fought and people are getting killed on both sides. But the Lord did strengthen the hand of the Nephites, that they slew the Amlicites with great slaughter, that they began to flee before them. (2:18) When the battle is over, there are 12,532 of the Amlicites who are killed and 6,562 of the Nephites are killed. (Interesting that Mormon, being a general himself, puts in the exact numbers of those who were killed. He is obviously interested in the history of battles and wars.)
But things get worse. The surviving Amlicites escape and join with an army of the Lamanites on its way to attack Zarahemla. As before, the Nephites being strengthened by the hand of the Lord, having prayed mightily to him that he would deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, therefore the Lord did hear their cries, and did strengthen them, and the Lamanites and the Amlicites did fall before them. (2:28)
Following the tradition of champions (the strongest men) representing each side fighting against each other (think about David and Goliath), Alma and Amlici battle it out and Alma kills Amlici. Alma then takes on the king of the Lamanites (Is this the father of Lamoni who is later converted by Aaron in Alma 22 and becomes such a righteous man?) but he escapes and the Lamanites retreat. The Nephites follow the fleeing Lamanites and Amlicites and drive them out of the land. This time, there are so many killed that they aren’t even numbered.
Alma Chapter 3
The mark of the Amlicites
Chapter 3 talks about how the Amlicites had marked themselves so they were distinguished from the Nephites, for they had marked themselves with red in their foreheads after the manner of the Lamanites (3:4)
Mormon then goes on to write about how the Lamanites were marked generations ago by the Lord.
The skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren, who consisted of Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, and Sam, who were just and holy men.
And their brethren sought to destroy them, therefore they were cursed; and the Lord God set a mark upon them, yea, upon Laman and Lemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and Ishmaelitish women.
And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction.
And it came to pass that whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed. (3:6-9)
It is clear that, to suit His purposes in times past, the Lord has used skin color as a way to distinguish between His people and to indicate who would have certain blessings and who would not, as in this autosomal dominant trait of a dark skin that was passed down in the Lamanite lineage.
The Amlicites knew not that they were fulfilling the words of God when they began to mark themselves in their foreheads; nevertheless they had come out in open rebellion against God; therefore it was expedient that the curse should fall upon them.
Now I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the curse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation. (3:18-19)
Perhaps the most important thing to say at this point is that the Lord no longer uses skin color to indicate any restriction of blessings available to any of His children. He inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile. (2 Nephi 26:33)
Some are troubled by why there was a priesthood ban in our church based on black African lineage that persisted for over 100 years. I suspect we have all been troubled by this to a greater or lesser degree. Some are still very bothered and some have left the Church over this issue. If you are troubled at all, I strongly encourage you to read the Gospel Topics Essay titled “Race and the Priesthood.” It begins:
In theology and practice, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints embraces the universal human family. Latter-day Saint scripture and teachings affirm that God loves all of His children and makes salvation available to all. God created the many diverse races and ethnicities and esteems them all equally. As the Book of Mormon puts it, “all are alike unto God.”
This essay goes on to say,
Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.
Here is the link, if you would like to read the whole essay. If you never have, I urge you to do so. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/race-and-the-priesthood
In the fifth year of the reign of the judges, there are two more wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites. Alma himself being afflicted with a wound did not go up to battle at this time against the Lamanites; (3:22). Again, the Lamanites are defeated.
Mormon’s summary of this one year, the fifth year of the reign of the judges, is profound:
In one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.
For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it be according to the truth. (3:26-27)
Alma Chapter 4
In the sixth year of the reign of the judges, the people are humbled by the wars of the previous year with the Lamanites and they were awakened to a remembrance of their duty. And they began to establish the church more fully. (4:3-4) Many were baptized by Alma, in fact, in the seventh year of the reign of the judges there were about three thousand five hundred souls that united themselves to the church of God and were baptized. And thus ended the seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and there was continual peace in all that time. (4:5)
Let’s pause for a moment to notice something subtle but interesting in the writing and editing style of Mormon. You will see that from the beginning of the reign of the judges until the coming of Christ, Mormon will account for just about every year in his narrative. You see it in the last quote I used. There was only one verse devoted to the seventh year, but he accounted for it. Occasionally, he won’t mention a particular year, but, for the most part, Mormon will mention every year, even if briefly. He is a very conscientious editor-prophet. He knows that the times about which he is writing are exceptionally important to those of us who will be his readers many hundreds of years later and he doesn’t want to miss anything of value to us.
The Nephite pride cycle
In this chapter, we are introduced for the first time to what has been termed “the Nephite pride cycle.” We will see this cycle repeated several times among the Nephites. The pattern goes like this: prosperity -> pride -> spiritual decline -> adversity -> humility -> spiritual growth -> prosperity. It is described by Mormon in the next few verses.
And it came to pass in the eighth year of the reign of the judges, that the people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding riches, and their fine silks, and their fine-twined linen, and because of their many flocks and herds, and their gold and their silver, and all manner of precious things, which they had obtained by their industry; and in all these things were they lifted up in the pride of their eyes, for they began to wear very costly apparel. (4:6)
Because of the humility caused by the wars in the fifth year, there is spiritual growth in the sixth and seventh years and now, in the eighth year, pride begins to be manifest. Notice some of the telltale indicators of pride among the people – riches, fine silks, fine-twined linen, many flocks and herds, gold and silver, all manner of precious things and very costly apparel. In the future, watch how often “costly apparel” is the first or one of the first indicators of the growing pride of the Nephites. It’s interesting that it isn’t so much the attractiveness of the apparel, but its costliness that is important. Clothing then, like now, becomes an indicator of wealth, success, status, social groups and privilege.
Alma and the other church leaders were sorely grieved for the wickedness which they saw had begun to be among their people. For they saw and beheld with great sorrow that the people of the church began to be lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and to set their hearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, that they began to be scornful, one towards another, and they began to persecute those that did not believe according to their own will and pleasure. (4:7-8)
Notice also that it wasn’t their riches per se that were the problem, it was that they “set their hearts upon [their] riches”. As Paul wrote to Timothy, For the love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10)
Because their hearts were set upon their riches, look at the effect it had in their society and even in the church:
There began to be great contentions among the people of the church; yea, there were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God.
And thus ended the eighth year of the reign of the judges; and the wickedness of the church was a great stumbling-block to those who did not belong to the church; and thus the church began to fail in its progress. (4:9-10)
Alma makes a courageous decision
Alma was grieved by what he saw in the church.
Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the example of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people.
Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted. (4:11-12)
On the other hand, Alma saw that there were still many faithful members of the church.
Others were abasing themselves, succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as imparting their substance to the poor and the needy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of afflictions, for Christ’s sake, who should come according to the spirit of prophecy;
Looking forward to that day, thus retaining a remission of their sins; being filled with great joy because of the resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and deliverance of Jesus Christ from the bands of death. (4:13-14)
Seeing the afflictions of the humble followers of God, and the persecutions which were heaped upon them by the remainder of his people, and seeing all their inequality, [Alma] began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him. (4:15)
He makes a courageous decision. He decides to give up the position of chief judge and devote his whole time to office of high priest and trying to nourish and strengthen the church. Basically, he is going to go on a mission or several missions to try and reclaim the members of the church who are falling into iniquity. The next dozen chapters (5-16) will describe the missionary efforts of Alma as he endeavors to strengthen the church in various cities of the land, beginning with his own hometown of Zarahemla. These are wonderful chapters!
So, Alma selected a wise man who was among the elders of the church, and gave him power according to the voice of the people, that he might have power to enact laws according to the laws which had been given, and to put them in force according to the wickedness and the crimes of the people.
Now this man’s name was Nephihah, and he was appointed chief judge; and he sat in the judgment-seat to judge and to govern the people. (4:16-17)
Alma retains the position of high priest.
Alma did not grant unto him the office of being high priest over the church, but he retained the office of high priest unto himself; but he delivered the judgment-seat unto Nephihah.
And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them. (4:18-19)
Sometimes the only way to reclaim those who are lost or who are wandering is to “bear down in pure testimony against them”, but it can only be done in love. The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith while in Liberty Jail:
No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—
Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.
Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly. (D&C 121:41-45)
If we ever feel impressed to “bear down in pure testimony against” someone, we need to be sure that it is done with “gentleness, meekness and love unfeigned.” Otherwise, it will have the opposite of the desired effect and will turn people away from us and the gospel we want them to embrace.
So after wearing two hats for nine years as chief judge and chief priest, Alma takes off one of his hats, that of chief judge, and is off on a mission, like the sons of Mosiah, his friends who have been gone for nine years preaching to the Lamanites.
It’s important to remember that Alma has a family. We don’t hear anything about his wife, but she was surely a strength to him and a strong member of the church in her own right. They are raising at least three sons and perhaps some daughters, so I’m sure she is busy. And now her husband takes off on a series of missions! The women had to be strong too!
I love the Book of Mormon! The stories and the people are so real! How can anyone sincerely read this book with any kind of an open heart and mind and not know that it is true? That it is the word of God through ancient prophets and was translated by a modern prophet? It truly is, as Isaiah prophesied, “A Marvelous Work and a Wonder”, as is the whole of the Restoration!
Thanks for reading!
Richard
