A Study Guide Companion for The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
MOSIAH
CHAPTERS 16 - 29
Chapter 16
At the Last Day everyone will know that Jesus Christ is the true and just God of this world.
Abinadi declared the state the wicked would be in at the Last Judgment. They will know that Jesus is the Christ and that they have not followed His commandments; instead they will recognize the consequences for their choice to follow Satan.
Abinadi described how Satan and how he gained power over people who opened their minds to the carnal and devilish. He also reminded the king and the priests that it was the devil who promoted the “fall” of Adam and Eve, mistakenly hoping to frustrate the Plan of Salvation.
Had it not been for our Savior, we would all be subject to Satan. We are born into corruptible bodies; we all sin and we cannot return to Heavenly Father’s holy Presence in our sins. Only the Lord Jesus Christ had Power to atone for our sins.
Abinadi, in concert with the Savior Himself and with many other scripture writers, used the metaphor, “Light,” to represent Christ and to describe how He banishes the “darkness of mortal corruption” with Resurrection. All mortals will put on immortality, which means living forever with their bodies and spirits united because of Christ’s grace—which includes His gift of Resurrection; but all judgments will not be the same.
Abinadi told the people that Christ was the Endless Light and Life of the world. He would bring everlasting life and would be the Judge of everyone. He laid it plainly on the line for the priests and Noah that they had every chance to repent of their evil and come unto Christ.
Their hearts would have to be very “hard” indeed, to listen to the powerful message of a prophet of God filled with the Holy Spirit—especially since they knew he could not be touched until after he delivered his message, and still remain in their sins. He described those who would rebel against God. One priest, about whom we will read in the next chapter, listened intently.
Abinadi’s final plea to the priests and the king, was to repent and be saved. They were responsible for teaching the population. Abinadi called on them to teach the Law of Moses as intended—to point the people to Christ
CHAPTER 17
Abinadi had delivered God’s message. Noah and every priest heard him as he expounded the true Gospel through the Power of the Holy Ghost. Now they were absolutely without excuse; all understood the unvarnished truth and had the opportunity to repent.
There was one priest who listened intently to Abinadi. This man was a descendant of Nephi, and as he listened, his heart was softened to the Holy Spirit of Truth and Light; he believed Abinadi’s message. He realized what Abinadi said about wickedness abounding in the kingdom was true. As the priests and the king met together, this young priest—Alma—pled for them to let Abinadi go.
Noah did not want a discussion of whether or not to let Abinadi go. He wanted the priests to come up with reasons to kill the prophet. Alma’s input angered the king, and he realized that Alma was no longer an ally. In addition to getting rid of Abinadi, Noah wanted to stamp out any of his following.
Alma escaped and went into hiding. While concealed, he wrote all the words Abinadi had spoken. Perhaps he wrote some during the time Abinadi was speaking, but he was likely trained in the memorizing techniques common to Jewish learning and remembered what Abinadi said; he was also undoubtedly filled with the Holy Ghost, who calls all things to remembrance. Alma had been converted.
Meanwhile, the king kept Abinadi in prison for three days. After meeting with his priests, Noah developed an evil plan; he had Abinadi brought before him.
Noah said Abinadi’s crime was his message that “God Himself would come down among the children of men,” perhaps contriving a charge of blaspheme against Abinadi, and he offered a “plea bargain” to him—to take back everything he said against Noah and his people. Noah wanted to restore whatever damage Abinadi might have done to his reputation; justice had no part in his plan. But God’s prophet would not lie, even to save his own life.
Noah had second thoughts, remembering what Abinadi said about the judgment of God. He was about to release the prophet—but opinions of his wicked companions were stronger than his duty to God.
There were no legal reasons to kill Abinadi. He preached the pure Gospel. Noah and his priests put him in prison while they conspired to come up with what they could consider valid under the law to kill him. Noah made the horrible decision to have Abinadi killed by burning him to death. The king sealed himself as a murderer of innocent blood, and he released a nefarious type of death to later followers of the Savior.
Abinadi prophesied of future martyrs. He also prophesied of terrible things that would happen to the present wicked society, including Noah, who would also be burned to death.
CHAPTER 18
Alma put his own life in danger by pleading for Abinadi’s life, but that did not stop it. When someone is converted, and wholly committed to his very soul, he or she does not stop to count the cost. The destiny of Abinadi was to die a martyr for his commitment—and Alma’s destiny was to begin a righteous line of Christians; both men were committed to Christ.
Alma understood that after gaining faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, his next personal step to benefit from Christ’s great Atonement was to repent. Alma did sincerely repent of his sins. After escaping the servants of the king, he began to teach the things he had learned from the prophet, Abinadi.
Alma went to the edge of the kingdom to a spot called Mormon and secretly taught those who would listen. This is the first time, chronologically, the name, “Mormon,” is used in The Book of Mormon.
Alma asked if his listeners would commit themselves to particular attitudes and actions. If they chose to commit, they would earn Eternal rewards as consequences of these attitudes and actions.
The Gospel principles were the same in Alma’s day as they are today. Alma’s listeners showed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; they believed what Alma said, which included repentance. Now Alma told them that the next step was baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. He testified that God’s Spirit (the Holy Ghost) would then be poured out “more abundantly” on them.
Alma’s listeners were totally thrilled with the opportunity the blessing of baptism.
God authorized Alma to organize a Church. This Church of God, also called the Church of Christ, began to grow. The Church organization included a priest for every fifty people so they could be more personally taught the commandments of God. These priests were given instructions to teach and clarify the Gospel, and to see to the needs of their assigned people.
God gave Alma spiritual insights and understandings through personal revelation. Alma told the priests in the church of Jesus Christ that he had established that they could teach “the things which he had taught” as well as things taught by earlier prophets.
Alma worked with his priests to be sure they were all teaching faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, and baptism for remission of their sins. He also wanted no jealousy among them; they were to be united in their faith.
Children of Christ have faith in Him and obey His commandments. As they obeyed God’s commandments, the priests and the righteous people they taught became the children of God.
Alma taught the people to pray every day and also to keep the Sabbath day holy.
When the people of the Church of Christ were baptized, as is true of people today when they are baptized into Christ’s Church, they made covenants to “bear one another’s burdens.”
Our Lord gives us everything we have; He is even willing to make us join-heirs with Him in the Celestial Kingdom if we live worthy lives, obeying His commandments.
Everything Alma taught were things that God commanded him to say. The faithful followers recognized Alma’s authority from God. They obeyed him, giving generously, temporally and spiritually, to each other.
The people of Alma met in Mormon and kept out of the king’s way; they did not want the king to even know about their meetings. But he found out. Satan cannot stand to have people good and happy if there is anything he can do to counter it. He kept Noah stirred up both about Abinadi’s words and about Alma’s defection.
Noah knew he was guilty in killing Abinadi—but this knowledge made him angry rather than repentant. He was furious that Alma had stood up for Abinadi and that Alma himself had escaped his (Noah’s) wrath. Hearing that Alma was leading a popular religious movement was like scraping an open wound.
Similar to the fabricated charge against Abinadi, Noah accused the peaceful new Church of Christ of stirring up a rebellion. Using this phony charge, he ordered his army to go kill the Christians (verse 33).
Although Alma’s followers would later be tested, the Lord did not let Noah’s army kill them. Alma and his people were warned of the encroaching army. “They took their tents and their families and departed into the wilderness.."
CHAPTER 19
The days of wicked King Noah’s power were drawing to a close. His search for Alma and his company was unsuccessful; he ruled a kingdom of divided loyalties. The dissenters were gaining in strength, and were ready to get rid of Noah.
In the land of Lehi-Nephi there was a strong man by the name of Gideon. Gideon, at this point, was a leader of the rebels against Noah, a small but powerful force. We will find that he became a king’s captain, and he was a creative thinker; later in his life, and likely at this time, he was a righteous man. In his favor he was an “enemy” of wicked Noah and was about to kill him.
Somehow the king was in a situation where he had no one to step in and protect him; he fought Gideon and realized that he was about to be killed, so he turned around and ran up the tower by the temple Gideon in hot pursuit.
From the tower wicked King Noah saw a large army of Lamanites heading toward the city. He pled with Gideon to spare his life because of the advancing enemy army.
Noah’s command to his people was to have them flee into the wilderness with him at the head of them all. Not surprisingly, at least some Lamanites caught up with them and began to kill them. Noah’s next command showed his cowardly nature. The women and children were slowing down the flight into the wilderness as panicked Nephites fled. Noah commanded the men to leave their families and run on ahead to get out of harm’s way.
Some men were as cowardly as Noah and did take off, leaving behind their slower wives and children. Fortunately, all the men were not that degenerate; many chose to die with their families rather than to run off and escape without them.
We do not know who came up with the plan to save the lives of those who stayed; perhaps it was the resourceful Gideon. In any case, it was it was decided that the beautiful young daughters would go forth and plead for mercy.
Although the Nephites’ lives were spared, the Lamanites obtained their objective of many years. The Nephites could stay in the land, and they would have their own “king,” but the king would have very limited power. All Nephites would stay as captives, paying tribute to the Lamanite king each year. They were to give half of everything they had to the Lamanites and they were to deliver Noah into Lamanite custody. One captive Nephite was Limhi, wicked King Noah’s son. Limhi was a just man and he was aware of his father’s iniquities, but he did not want his father killed.
However, Gideon knew that Noah and the priests should not get away with all the evil that they had brought upon the people. He was also likely disgusted by those men who joined the king and his priests, leaving their families to die.
The men who had taken off and left their wives and children had had second thoughts. In the heat of their fear they had acted cowardly, but they rallied and determined to go back. If their wives and children had been killed, they would seek revenge. In any case, they were now willing to perish with them.
Noah tried to stop them from going back. The angry men took Noah and executed him by fire. Then, although they planned to do the same to the priests, the priests escaped and fled into the wilderness.
It had not been long since Abinadi had been burned to death. Just before he died, Abinadi made several prophecies. One was that the people would be “smitten on every hand, and shall be driven and scattered to and fro, even as a wild flock is driven by wild and ferocious beasts." This prophecy was fulfilled; the people were driven out of their homes and fled into the wilderness. The Lamanites chased after them as they tried to escape and began to kill them as they scattered “even as a wild flock is driven by wild and ferocious beasts.” And Noah was burned to death.
Gideon was a powerful influence with which to be reckoned in the Nephite ranks. The returning men knew they needed to repent and apologize, but they were so glad that their families were safe that they “returned to the land of Nephi, rejoicing, because their wives and their children were not slain; and they told Gideon what they had done to Noah.
Because Limhi was son of the king, the Nephites chose him to be their next king. Although Noah was wicked, the people knew Limhi was a good man as had been his grandfather Zeniff. Gideon became the king’s captain. In their dire circumstances, there was a limited amount of things king Limhi could do for his people—now captives. But he did what he could.
King Limhi and the Lamanite king made a pact.
To keep the Nephites from escaping into the wilderness, the Lamanite king posted guards. The guards were supported by some of the tribute the Nephites paid to the Lamanite king—so ironically, the Nephites were paying to keep themselves captives! Although they were captives, their lives were protected from threat of the Lamanites for a time.
CHAPTER 20
Noah’s priests were ashamed to return to their abandoned wives and children; they were also afraid the people would kill them as the men who had first run away had angrily killed Noah, so they stayed in the wilderness. However, true to their evil natures, they soon began to cause grief, both to the Lamanites and to their own people.
Daughters of the Lamanites had a special place in Shemlon to go to dance and sing and enjoy themselves. The priests spied on them. (These were men who never tried to bridle unrestrained lust.) They waited until one day when there were only twenty-four young women—and they kidnapped them.
As the Lamanite king learned of the rogue priests, he promised Limhi that his Lamanites, although they were preparing for war, would not come after them to slay them
The Lord mercifully allowed Limhi to discover the Lamanites’ planned attack and he prepared his people to defend themselves. The people of Limhi gathered together and set up ambushes to strike at the invading Lamanites. The Nephites had kept their side of the treaty—but the Lamanites had agreed to not kill the Nephites. So when the Lamanites came up against them, the Nephites, although fewer than the Lamanites, “fought like lions for their prey."
When the Lamanites found their daughters had been abducted, they were furious. Thinking Limhi’s people had captured the young women, they quickly assembled their armies to go against the Nephites and completely destroy them. The Lord helped the Nephites, particularly when they were defending their homes and families because of the positive desires that they held along with the commitment they maintained to defend their homes and families.
The Nephites were left to bury the Nephite and Lamanite dead, and among the fallen Lamanites, they found the Lamanite king, who had been wounded and left for dead as his army rushed to retreat.
The Nephites were angry with the Lamanite king who had broken a treaty by leading his troops to attack the Nephites. Many Nephite and Lamanite lives had been lost. Nephite warriors bound up the king’s wounds and brought him in to Limhi, fully intending to kill him. Instead, Limhi decided to question the Lamanite king to gain an understanding for the reasons that he had broken the treaty.
The Lamanite king felt justified in breaking the oath, thinking the people of Limhi had kidnapped the young Lamanite women. This was the first time Limhi had heard about the kidnapping; his anger was now directed at his own people. He ordered a search to be made among the Nephites.
Gideon, the king’s captain, heard about the search and immediately realized the perpetrators of the crime were the wicked priests. Limhi agreed.
Limhi called off the search among the people. He presented Gideon's case to the Lamanite king.
As the Lamanite king learned of the rogue priests, he promised Limhi that his Lamanites, although they were preparing for war, would not come after them to slay them.
The Lamanite king went forth to his people to plea the case. The Lamanites accepted his argument.
CHAPTER 21
As the people of Limhi settled into their routines, working and paying tribute to the king of the Lamanites, they lived in comparative peace for a time. However, centuries of enmity, as well as recent events, caused the general Lamanite population to be angry and vengeful against those they considered Nephite interlopers.
The false traditions, passed down through generations since the time of the original Laman and Lemuel, was the root of Lamanite bad feelings toward Nephites.
From a Lamanite vantage point, because those Nephites moved into Lehi-Nephi, many Lamanite lives had been lost in battle in addition to the kidnapping of their daughters. Many had been displaced with the Nephite settlement.
As the people of Limhi settled into their daily and yearly routine, working and paying tribute to the king of the Lamanites, they lived in comparative peace for a time. However, centuries of enmity, as well as recent events, caused the general Lamanite population to be angry and vengeful against those they considered Nephite interlopers.
The false traditions, passed down through generations since the time of the original Lamanand Lemuel, was the root of Lamanite bad feelings toward Nephites.
According to Lamanite vantage point, because these Nephites moved into Lehi-Nephi, many of the Lamanites’ kin had been killed in battle, Lamanite young women had been kidnappedand carried off, and many Lamanites were displaced from the land these Nephites nowoccupied. (They did not consider that Nephites established the area and built the homes and other buildings in the first place.)
Because of the oath their king made—not to kill Nephites—the wandering Lamanites did not try to slay them, but they abused them.
They would smite them on their cheeks,
They would exercise authority over them,
They began to put heavy burdens upon their back—
and then they would drive them as they would a dumb ass.
The Lamanites resented the Nephites and they wanted them as their slaves. Lamanite guardssurrounded the whole territory so the Nephites could not escape. Lamanite abuse and afflictions increased and Limhi’s people felt more and more trapped and angry.
The Nephites reached what they considered the end of their rope; they continually complained to king Limhi, begging him to let them go to battle against the Lamanites. After all, they did win the first battle, following the kidnapping of the Lamanite young women.
Limhi did not agree to a drastic war action at first, but his people kept at him so much that he finally let them try their luck in battle against the Lamanites.
As Gideon had observed earlier, the Lamanite army was much larger than the Nephite army.Also, very recently the Nephites had lived extremely wicked lives, even killing a prophet. Maybe they did not yet deserve divine rescue.Because of so much anger and fear, Nephitemen went two more times to battle against the Lamanites; each time was only worse for theNephites. More Nephites were killed, and still the Lamanites prevailed.
So far, they still had not turned to the Lord in sincere repentance. But finally, discouraged as well as greatly reduced in numbers, the Nephites subjected themselves to “the yoke of bondage.”
After years of living wickedly, and then not giving the Lord credit when He blessed them, theyfigured out that the prophecies Abinadi made were being fulfilled. They cried to the Lord in humility, asking for deliverance from their afflictions.
God loved His people and He did not want them to suffer; but He especially did not want them to suffer eternally—which would happen without repentance.
The Lord is merciful. Although he did not immediately liberate them from Lamanite bondage,He did make their burdens lighter.
Little by little, as the Nephites humbled themselves and began to remember the Lord, they began to prosper. But the Lamanites were still a threat—so as the Nephites went out to tend their flocks and herds or to gather their grain, they went as much as possible in groups.
It has always been the practice among the Lord’s people to take care of one another. Thisfollows the Lord’s example, because He takes care of us all. Due to war casualties, there weremany more women than men. Limhi insisted all the men contribute to the support of the widows and their children.
Limhi took guards with him for protection against the Lamanites when he left the city; he also had the people on the look-out for the defector priests of Noah. The people of Limhi wanted topunish them for stealing the daughters of the Lamanites, causing death and destruction to come upon the people of Limhi, and for sneaking into the land and carrying off produce and precious things belonging to the people of Limhi.
The reason the guards had been so rough with Ammon and his partners when they saw them outside the city gates (Mosiah 7:7) was mistaken identity. They thought they were some of Noah’s priests.
Ammon and the rest of the reconnaissance group read the entire record of the people who leftZarahemla with Zeniff, and understood the fate of these descendants up until that time (keeping in mind that The Book of Mormon record was later abridged by Mormon).
Mormon interrupted his summary and interjected information. He had written of this important incident earlier, discussing it in more details (Mosiah 8:6-21). Now he reviewed that sometime during the period when the people of Limhi were suffering under Lamanite rule, Limhi secretly sent a small group of men to try to find Zarahemla to see if they could discover allies to help them. The men got lost in the wilderness, and then they came across a land covered with bones of a destroyed people.
In the barren land this reconnaissance group discovered, was a record on Gold Plates nestledamong bones of a demolished people. A man who lived in Zarahemla for nine moons before the coming of the Nephites (Omni 20-22.) was Coriantumr. Before he died he left a large stone that had the account of his people. The first king Mosiah interpreted the engravings on the stone “by the gift and Power of God.” The twenty-four Gold Plates found by king Limhi’s search party were written by a prophet from that same extinguished civilization.
King Limhi and Ammon rejoiced in anticipation, because they knew that king Mosiah II would someday soon be available to interpret the record.
Although Ammon and his brethren were glad to find the people descended from Zeniff’s party and that the people had at last turned back to the Lord, and were glad to learn of new records,they were still horrified by past atrocities.
Remembering the scriptures and possibly the earlier teachings of their parents or grandparentsfrom the time of Zeniff, the teachings of Abinadi, and the teachings of Alma, the people of Limhiknew that to fully witness their belief in Jesus Christ—and to commit to follow Him and obey Hiscommandments—they must be baptized.
We do not know why Ammon could not perform baptisms; we know that he had a testimony and a belief in the teachings of his king and the prophets. Perhaps he was called to perform other tasks and he had the humility to not overreach what the Lord wanted him to do.Perhaps the people of Limhi needed more time to solidify their testimonies to make baptism covenants. Baptism is a sacred ordinance in which the baptized person makes solemn promises.
Authority from God is prerequisite to baptizing people into His Church, and a
Church was not formed among them. Mormon merely stated in his abridgement that it was their decision to wait “upon the Spirit of the Lord,” but that they were desirous to become even as Alma and his brethren, who had fled into the wilderness. They also wanted to be baptized as a witness and a testimony that they were willing to serve God with all their hearts.
Ammon and his group as well as Limhi and his people were concerned about how to escape.
CHAPTER 22
King Limhi listened to the voice of the people. There was a tremendous mutual problem that needed input, and Limhi was humble enough to listen to any possibilities in solving it.
The forces of the Lamanites were too big to overcome in battle. That method had been tried and it tragically failed three times, with many of the Nephite warriors killed. Escape to the wilderness seemed the only possible solution, yet were surrounded by armed Lamanite guards.
Often God will use our strengths to make us “profitable servants.” Gideon was a strong man physically and had been at the forefront of the minority forces against wicked King Noah. He had a reflective, logical, problem-solving mind; he figured out that Noah’s priests had abducted the Lamanite women. We know that as an old man he had a vocal testimony of Jesus Christ and the true Gospel. He also recognized Abinadi as a prophet of God and that the Nephites brought their troubles upon themselves. The Lord chose Gideon to play an important role in delivering the people of Limhi from Lamanite bondage.
Limhi profited by listening to a good advisor in Gideon who had suggested that Limhi send the guards a tribute of wine. The idea was to get the guards drunk. in fact, Limhi sent even more than the usual tribute of wine to the Lamanite guards who consumed it all and passed out as Gideon had planned.
It was a huge undertaking to move a whole society of people, along with all the belongings they could carry, and also their flocks and herds, into the wilderness. The strategy took planning at several levels to muster everyone with their belongings and their supplies—all the while keeping preparations secret from the Lamanites. It was possible and successful because of the faith the people had in the Lord.
Ammon and his brethren took the people of Limhi back to Zarahemla, from which Zeniff had led their grandfathers and grandmothers decades earlier. The Nephites in Zarahemla received them with joy.
King Mosiah, who was a seer, received the records found by the search party King Limhi had sent out.
When Limhi’s people joined with the people of King Mosiah in the land of Zarahemla they brought with them two additional sets of Plates:
Their own records, which are known as the Record of Zeniff, and
2. The ‘records which had been found by the people of Limhi, which are later identified as the Records of Ether.
When Alma and his people came into the land of Zarahemla, they also evidently brought their own records with them.
These records and revelations show that through the histories of many separate groups of people, the Lord is aware of us all and He will bless us all if we keep His commandments.
At this time, the Lamanites were a wild people, used to marauding through the wilderness. When the Lamanite guards woke from their drunken stupor and found, to their chagrin and dismay, that the whole Nephite slave-force had fled, they reported their failure on the job to the Lamanite king. An army was sent after the escaped Nephites, but they got lost and did not catch up with the people of Limhi.
CHAPTER 23
While Limhi and his group were escaping to Zarahemla, there was another group of people who had left the main body of Nephites in Lehi-Nephi. The righteous Alma led this group. The people of Limhi (after they had repented and changed their wicked ways) “mourned because they did not know what happened to Alma after he and his people fled from wicked King Noah into the wilderness.
Prior to the time that Ammon was with the people of Limhi. The Lord strengthened Alma's group so wicked King Noah’s army could not overtake them.
Eight days journey into the wilderness does not seem like a long way to go to escape, but as we notice during all the travels and groups of people in Book of Mormon history, when the Lord did not want people to meet, He confused them within the wilderness.
When Alma’s colony found an area in which to stay, they immediately began to plant and to build. In addition to building homes and farms, they wanted to establish a government. They wanted Alma to be their king.
Wary of kings, having had a terrible experience with wicked King Noah, Alma said that if a king was just [righteous with good judgment], having a king could be good. But it was too easy to have a king who would take advantage of the people or cause them to sin. He reminded them that he himself was caught up in the wicked government of Noah and it was only the Lord’s goodness that saved him and gave him the blessing of helping the rest of them know God and His truth.
One of Alma’s most saving and beloved qualities was humility. He gave complete and honest credit to the Lord.
Alma reminded the people that they had escaped from the bonds of Noah and had been delivered from the hand of that evil king. He cautioned them to appreciate and protect their liberty.
Alma was determined that the new converts not only maintain their physical liberty, but that they not let false ministers spiritually enslave them.
Alma’s people were honorable and their leaders “nourished them with all things pertaining to righteousness.”
The people of Alma dwelt in this land about twenty-four years. They prospered and build a city called Helam.
There is a comparison to the city and land of Helam, which the people of Alma worked hard to construct, and the city of Nauvoo, which righteous saints in this dispensation worked hard to construct.
When the armies trying to re-capture the people of Limhi went into the wilderness searching for them, they got lost and wandered for a time. They stumbled onto the wicked priests who had captured and then married young Lamanite women. The priests had begun to till the ground and establish a settlement in a land that they called Amulon, after the leader of the priests.
Because of the Lamanite women, the Lamanite army spared the priests. (The women, although they had been kidnapped, were now considered married to the wicked priests.) Subsequently, the priests joined with the Lamanites army, and this big group went out to try to find the land of Lehi-Nephi. They did not find that land, but they did discover Alma and his people.
Alma knew that his people were under the protection of the Lord. They may have to suffer some before they would be delivered, but he had absolute faith that they would be delivered and assured his people.
Alma’s people surrendered to the Lamanites, but their lives were spared. The Lamanites moved in and took possession of the city and farms that Alma and his people had worked so hard to build.
Because the Lamanite army wanted to find the land of Nephi, they promised the people of Alma their freedom if they would show them the way back to Nephi.
Alma and his people kept their part of the agreement and showed them the way that led to the land of Nephi, but the Lamanites—perhaps with the encouragement of the dishonorable priests—broke their word. The Lamanites kept them captive, surrounded by guards.
Leaving enough of their army to keep Alma and his people from escaping, the remainder of the Lamanites returned to Nephi—and then some of the Lamanite guards returned, bringing with them their families and families of the guards who had stayed. It was apparent that the Lamanites were planning on taking up permanent residence
The former priests of Noah and their families were among those settling into the well-established land. The chief king of the Lamanites granted the [lesser] kingship of Helam to Amulon, the priests’ leader.
CHAPTER 24
Noah’s renegade priests rose to influential positions within Lamanite ranks. Although Lamanites were numerous and practiced in war and plunder, they lacked literacy and communication skills.
The priests, conversely, had been taught to read and write and verbally communicate since childhood. Their unholy power of deceptive persuasive speech is a reason for their strong influence during Noah’s rule.
There was a new “King Laman,” named for his father—king over many territories—including the territory that Limhi and his people had deserted and also Amulon’s territory.
Amulon gained the “ear” of the new king, and persuaded him of the advantages of language and communication strategies. The king was so impressed, that in his position as king over all the Lamanites, he placed the wicked Nephite priests throughout the kingdom to teach the Lamanites both spoken and written the language of the Nephites.
Amulon rose in power and influence with king Laman. His influence became so great that he was appointed king over the people in the land of Helam.
Although the Lamanite king limited Amulon’s authority, Amulon had enough power to subject Alma and his followers to hard labor under brutal task-masters.
Satan had such a hold over Amulon that when Alma’s people began to pray to God for deliverance, Amulon threatened to kill them unless they stopped praying, so Alma and his people then did not pray vocally, but they continued praying in their hearts.
We are not told why Alma and his people—or we—have to go through certain trials; we do not have the thoughts and wisdom of the Lord. But we do know that the Lord and His wisdom are perfect.
When the people of Alma prayed to the Lord with faith in their hearts, several miracles occurred. The Voice of the Lord came to them, and He made their burdens so light they could hardly feel them.
Although they desired to get on with their lives in freedom, in a place where their children could be raised without persecution, the faithful people of Alma were willing to be patient while they waited to be released from bondage. They had no doubt that the Lord was in charge.
The Lord promised to lead them out of bondage. The Lord gave Alma a plan of action to deliver his people from the land of Helam.
Alma was to go before the people and the Lord would go with him to guide him.
They were to spend the night gathering their flocks and grain, their tents and provisions.
The Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon the Lamanites, the guards, and all their task-masters.
Alma and all his people went into the wilderness away from the Lamanites.
The company traveled all day, and then they stopped in a valley to give thanks to the Lord.
Then the Lord spoke again to Alma (likely after the people had rested and were physically prepared to continue their journey). The Lord had determined a destination for the people.
CHAPTER 25
Because of the Lord’s blessing and guidance, Ammon and his brethren safely brought the people of Limhi into Zarahemla. There they were welcomed with joy by their relatives and others in the land. Later God led Alma’s faithful people to Zarahemla. This caused another great celebration among the Nephites of Zarahemla.
There was much speculation and curiosity among the people who had stayed in Zarahemla concerning the recent background of both Limhi’s group and Alma’s group, so king Mosiah called them all to come to a great general conference and read the records of both groups. The readings touched their hearts with both sorrow and joy. Their thoughts also turned to the Lamanites with longing for their accepting the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Mosiah II, who was the religious leader (a prophet and seer) as well as king, called upon Alma to speak. Because there were so many people, they divided into separate large groups. Alma then went from group to group, “preaching unto the people repentance and faith on the Lord."
Mosiah called Alma as religious leader over all the Nephites of Zarahemla.
Alma taught the priests and teachers, and then they went to the various Church assemblies and there taught the people the plain and simple Gospel that was taught to them by Alma.
CHAPTER 26
As a reminder, King Benjamin’s powerful speech opened the hearts of the good people of the land to the Spirit of God a generation earlier. The only ones who did not know of Jesus Christ and His mission—and did not make the covenant to keep God’s commandments at that time—were the little children too young to understand King Benjamin’s words. So these were the ones who Satan and his forces now attacked. Those who had been little children were growing-up, and many of them did not have testimonies as their parents had.
The unbelievers, prompted by Satan and his followers, refused to be baptized, would not pray, lived sinful lives and began to encourage Church members to sin.
The Church in Alma’s dispensation had just been organized a short time. Alma did not know all the appropriate procedures and he did not want to make the wrong decision over this important issue.
Wherever the Lord’s Church is established, there also will be His people. Those who bear Christ’s name and keep His commandments are His people. The members of the Church were blessed because they were willing to take on the name of the Lord.
God assured Alma that he was on the right track. He explained how “gathering of the righteous” worked. With Alma, it was like a “chain of righteousness,” beginning with Alma listening to Abinadi, and then other righteous people listening to Alma’s words, and then Christ’s Church was established, with righteous members taking Christ’s name upon themselves.
The Lord then commanded Alma to continue to gather His sheep, by testifying in Christ’s name, preaching His words, and then baptizing unto repentance all those who would “hear” the Lord’s Voice, receiving them into the Lord’s Church.
The Lord promised Alma Eternal Life.
The Lord made Alma a shepherd to gather in His sheep.
The Lord said that those who would “hear” His Voice would be baptized.
The Lord will receive those who are “baptized unto repentance” and join His Church.
Christ, having been endowed with the Godship of this (and countless other) worlds, created our bodies with Heavenly Father’s direction. We are all sinners at some time, and Christ, our Creator, took our sins upon His perfect Self—and in doing so, suffered incomprehensibly through His infinite atonement. Jesus said His people would know Him.
Conversely, the Lord told Alma about those who choose to transgress. He told Alma there would be many who would choose to not know Him.
As Alma received instructions from the Lord, he recorded them so he could exactly follow the word of God. Those who repented of their sins and confessed them, he numbered among the people of the Church. And those that would not confess their sins and repent of their iniquity ,the same were not numbered among the people of the Church - their names were blotted out. Because they were not following, or “knowing,” the Lord; they could not be called by His name.
CHAPTER 27
At first, the Church members ignored
persecutions inflicted upon them, but instead of stopping the abuse, the unbelievers stepped up their evil campaign against them.
The Church members went to Alma who in turn went to King Mosiah who consulted with his priests. King Mosiah issued a proclamation stating that Church members could not be persecuted. Alma, in turn, issued instructions for the members of the Church.
Alma told Church members not persecute others and that there should be equality among all people. In addition, no members of the Church should be prideful or arrogant. Further, priests and teachers, except in cases of sickness or in “much want” should support themselves; their reward would be the grace of God.
There began to be peace and the people prospered.
Satan always tries to thwart the work of God and destroy happiness. At this point he decided to use Alma the Younger, son of the Alma we have been reading about, and the sons of king Mosiah. As tools of Satan, these young men became wicked, idolatrousness and with great persuasiveness led many others into wickedness and tried to destroy the Church. The young men went about wrecking havoc in the Lord’s Kingdom by being wicked themselves, by trying to destroy God’s Church, and by getting others to follow their examples.
Suddenly an angel of God appeared, caused an earthquake where they stood. The young men fell to the ground and the angel told them to get up. “Arise and stand forth, for why persecutest thou the Church of God? For the Lord hath said: This is my Church, and I will establish it; nothing shall overthrow it, save it is the transgression of my people”
The angel reminded Alma the Younger and his friends:
God had delivered their fathers from Noah’s forces in Nephi, and then from Helam when they were in slavery.
They were to seek to destroy the Church no more.
They were to have the responsibility, by their future actions, of answering the prayers of Alma the Elder and the rest of the Lord’s people,
If they chose not to obey this message from the Lord, they would be cast off.
God had delivered their fathers from Noah’s forces in Nephi, and then from Helam when they were in slavery.
They were to seek to destroy the Church no more.
They were to have the responsibility, by their future actions, of answering the prayers of Alma the Elder and the rest of the Lord’s people,
If they chose not to obey this message from the Lord, they would be cast off.
Alma the Younger fell to the ground again was so weak he could not speak or even move. His friends carried him to his father, Alma the Elder.
When Alma the Elder prayed for his son to come to know God, he had great faith—but he could not have realized that his prayers would be so amazingly answered.
When his son’s friends told him of the angel and everything that happened, he rejoiced, although Alma the Younger lay helpless before him. The father knew that the power of God did this and surely it was for a reason. He had prayed that his son would come to a knowledge of the Truth.
Alma, Sr. called a multitude together for a witness what was happening and fasted and prayed with the priests so that Alma the Younger would be able to speak and receive strength in his limbs, and that…the people would know of the goodness and glory of God. They fasted and prayed for two days and two nights.
Alma the Younger woke and told the people to be of good comfort. Then he explained things that had happened to him during the two days of paralysis and weakness.
He said he had repented and was born “of the Spirit.”
He was close to being “cast off” and he realized the horror of that punishment, and called upon Christ. Then, because Christ saved him from the jaws of hell:
He wanted to warn everyone else so that they would not be cast off—but would also come to Christ.
He said he had been close to dying, and he said he had suffered much tribulation during the time he went through a repentance process.
He said that the Lord “snatched him [away from Satan]”…from the “dark abyss” and Eternal torment; he now beheld the marvelous Light of God.
He remembered all the terrible things he had done and had influenced others to do. He described his feelings as being in a dark abyss.
Alma contrasted where he was, spiritually, at the beginning of this experience to where he was after the Lord “snatched” him from Satan.
As Alma the Younger preached his first of what would be a lifetime full of sermons, he bore his testimony of the Savior, that the Holy Redeemer is the God of our world and we will be judged by Him.
The Lord had actually spoken to Alma the Younger during his struggle. He told him that what he was going through, all men and women must go through in varying degrees.
We are born into mortality, heir to a tendency to give in to carnal natures. But because we are also spirit children of Heavenly Father, we also are heir to the seed of godhood. The goal is to change from the carnal tendency to a state of complete righteousness, or to “put off the natural man” (Mosiah 3:19). Embracing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and honestly working toward this goal, in addition to being spirit children of Heavenly Parents and mortal children of our mortal parents, we can become Christ’s sons and daughters.
CHAPTER 28
Alma the Younger and Mosiah’s sons deliberately tried to break up God’s holy Church, and they persuaded some Church members to follow their wicked examples.
Note:
Because some years after the angelic visitation, Alma the Younger was ordained to take over as Church leader by his father, and it is of the younger Alma’s life that Mormon reports from now on, unless we need to particularly distinguish him from his father, we will refer to him as simply “Alma” rather than “Alma the Younger.”
The Lord visits all of us in different ways.
Some people hear His Voice. Some feel the warmth of His Spirit. Some receive His messengers. Some get feelings of advice. Some are guided in their thoughts.
Some are given special talents.
Because the sons of Mosiah had such a close call with Satan, they wanted to share the blessings of Salvation with everyone.
They could not tolerate the idea that these distant cousins did not have knowledge of the Savior, of His coming mission, and the wonderful understanding of Salvation that comes only through Him. These young Nephite princes, with a few special friends who had also experienced a conversion to Jesus Christ, had burning desires to go as missionaries to the Lamanites.
These sons of Mosiah also began thinking about how wonderful it would be if everyone in the Land of Promise worshipped the true God and were friendly with one another. Mosiah’s sons wanted peace throughout all the Promised Land. They also did not want anyone to suffer the terrible pains of torment which will come after death for those separated from our.
The sons of King Mosiah had been wicked sinners who, through the prayers of others and the mercy of God, had seen and accepted the Light of the Gospel. They still felt awful about their past lives and they wanted to atone for their former evil ways by helping save others—“snatching” them from Satan. The Holy Ghost gave them the idea to go and preach to the Lamanites.
It had only been a generation before that the people in the land of Zarahemla were rejoicing because the people of Limhi and Alma’s company had been rescued from the Lamanites. King Mosiah prayed, asking the Lord if he should let his sons go.
With the reassuring promise of his sons’ safety, as well as for the effectiveness they would have in their missionary labors among the Lamanites, king Mosiah let them go. The four sons of Mosiah, with some of their selected “brethren-friends,” left Zarahemla to journey to the land of Nephi in the middle of Lamanite territory.
The four sons of Mosiah were the hereditary heirs to the throne. Mosiah had no sons left in the kingdom on whom to pass the scepter of kingship.
Because Mosiah’s sons were determined not to be kings over the Nephites—but instead wanted to devote their lives to missionary labors with the Lamanites—King Mosiah turned all of the records over to young Alma.
Alma was given great responsibility when he was commanded to preserve the records and the interpreters and other special artifacts, and to continue to add to the records and then hand them down from generation to generation.
CHAPTER 29
The decisions made by Mosiah’s sons, as result of their experience with the angel of God, had major political implications among the people of Zarahemla.
After king Mosiah translated the twenty-four Plates given to him by Limhi, and then turned the records over to Alma, he dealt with a new problem concerning the government of the kingdom.
He sent an inquiry throughout the land, among all the people, asking who they wanted for their next ruler (verse 1).
Having had three generations of wonderful kings in Zarahemla, the majority of the people wanted to continue the dynasty. They said they wanted Aaron, a son of the king, to be the next king.
But Aaron had not only already left on his inspired mission to the Lamanites, before going he made it very clear that he would not become king. Neither were his brothers willing to rule. All of king Mosiah’s sons had chosen to devote their lives spreading the Gospel rather than ruling the kingdom.
King Mosiah undoubtedly thought and prayed about the problem, and then he finally sent another written word throughout the land. He did not want to risk upsetting peace in the land if a king was put on the throne who the people did not support. Another possibility was that Aaron might come back and regress to his old ways; he might fight for the kingdom.
King Mosiah stated advantages and disadvantages of having a king as a ruler. King Mosiah agreed to remain king for the rest of his life, but there would be a transition to a different type of government which would be set in place after he died. It would involve a system of judges to judge the people according to law and according to God’s commandments. They would be elected by the voice (vote) of the people.
King Mosiah said being a righteous king was not an easy job—such a king had a disproportionally amount of responsibility compared with the rest of the people—particularly regarding complaints, but also for their sins. It was only fair that this responsibility be shared!
As the people began to realize what liberty would mean to them personally, they rejoiced. Then they assembled together in bodies and voted for judges, appreciating that their king not only granted them the liberty to do so, but that he promoted it for their own welfare (verse 39)!
The people voted young Alma in as first Chief Judge. He was also the High Priest—the Church leader—having been ordained by his father.
Alma the Elder died at age eighty-two and king Mosiah died at age sixty-three. The reign of kings in Zarahemla ended and the days of Alma the Elder ended. Both Alma the Elder and king Mosiah had kept the faith, and they left legacies of righteousness.
