April 2—Mosiah 25-28
April 9—Mosiah 29, Alma 1-4
April 16—Alma 5-7
April 23—Alam 8-12
April 30—Alma 13-16
May 7—Alma 17-22 (final class)
ALMA’S AUTHORITY
“The case of Alma brings up at least two interesting questions: (1) Were the priests of Noah legitimate holders of legitimate priesthood, and (2) Where did Alma get his authority? We have to assume Alma and his one-time colleagues were ordained validly by Noah, who was also ordained validly by his father, Zeniff.The fact that Noah was not righteous after he was ordained and that Alma himself was part of Noah’s priestly group during his early ministry has nothing to do with Alma’s priesthood authority. Until superior priesthood authority withdraws permission to exercise priestly functions, a legitimately ordained holder of the priesthood continues to hold valid priesthood-however unrighteous he may be, however dead to spiritual promptings, and however unlikely it may be that he will ever actually exercise his priesthood.
Alma, in fact, claimed to have authority from God, a claim which Mormon implicitly acknowledges as valid. Alma was a descendant of Nephi, a fact which may or may not be significant in discussing his priesthood authority since we do not know precisely how the priesthood functioned or was apportioned among the Nephites.”
Daniel C. Peterson, https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/book-mormon-mosiah-salvation-only-through-christ/11-priesthood-mosiah
WORTHINESS AND ORDINANCES
“If serious sin, as such, invalidated priesthood ordinances, we could never know whose marriage was legal, or who was really a member of the Church. Did the man who ordained you to the priesthood have a secret, unrepented sin? If he did, your ordination is invalid.Your mission was illegitimate, any converts you baptized are actually non-members, and you are living in adultery since you should never have been admitted to the temple.Any of your converts who served missions and baptized are similarly fraudulent, and the consequences ripple onward and outward in utterly unforeseeable ways. How could we ever be sure of anything?”
Daniel C. Peterson, https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/book-mormon-mosiah-salvation-only-through-christ/11-priesthood-mosiah
BAPTISM
“Latter-day Saint discourse has long featured and benefited from two different New Testament metaphors in explaining and understanding water baptism.The first is the near universal insight used widely by Christians and pagans alike that washing in water can signify spiritual purification, a washing away of sin or contamination (see Acts 22:15– 16).The second is the more specifically Christian insight of Paul that immersion in water can represent the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (see Rom. 6:4).What seems to have gone largely unnoticed in LDS discourse is that discussions of baptism in the Book of Mormon offer instead a third understanding of baptism:”
“A surprising implication of this Book of Mormon language is that the covenant the convert signals at baptism is actually made before baptism and is the central element of repentance. Genuine repentance always includes a deliberate commitment by the penitent person to turn to Christ and walk in his path— taking his name upon oneself and keeping his commandments. Baptism and repentance are thus linked together: baptism completes repentance.
Indeed, the concept of repentance in Book of Mormon discourse focuses on the idea of “turning away” from the ways of the flesh or our own paths in life and choosing to walk with Jesus Christ in the straight and narrow path defined by his commandments and communicated to us by his servants or by the Holy Ghost. This turning is a choice, an act of human agency.The ideas of turning and coming unto Christ point to the covenantal aspect of repentance. Not only must the repentant sinner leave off sinning, he must also make a positive commitment to the Savior to keep his commandments, to enter the strait gate, and then to walk the straight and narrow path, as he comes unto Christ (2 Ne. 31:17–18).
This is the covenant that is witnessed to God and to the entire world by the convert through baptism of water.The choice to repent is a choice to burn bridges in every other direction, deciding to follow forever only one way, the one path that leads to eternal life. It is this privately made covenant that will be witnessed publicly at baptism and periodically thereafter through the taking of the sacrament.And it is referred to appropriately as the “baptismal” covenant.”
Noel B. Reynolds, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/node/13
HOW THE LORD RESPONDS
As you read the following accounts look for:
1. What did the people do in response to their afflictions? 2. How did the Lord respond to these people?
3. How does He help with their problem?
4. Why is the response different?
Mosiah 21: 13-16 (Limhi’s people)
Mosiah 24:8-15 (Alma’s people)
CHASTENING
“Sadly, much of modern Christianity does not acknowledge that God makes any real demands on those who believe in Him, seeing Him rather as a butler “who meets their needs when summoned” or a therapist whose role is to help people “feel good about themselves.” It is a religious outlook that “makes no pretense at changing lives.” “By contrast,” as one author declares, “the God portrayed in both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures asks, not just for commitment, but for our very lives.The God of the Bible traffics in life and death, not niceness, and calls for sacrificial love, not benign whatever-ism.”
“I would like to speak of one particular attitude and practice we need to adopt if we are to meet our Heavenly Father’s expectations. It is this: willingly to accept and even seek correction. Correction is vital if we would conform our lives “unto a perfect man, [that is,] unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). Paul said of divine correction or chastening,“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth” (Hebrews 12:6). Though it is often difficult to endure, truly we ought to rejoice that God considers us worth the time and trouble to correct.
Divine chastening has at least three purposes: (1) to persuade us to repent, (2) to refine and sanctify us, and (3) at times to redirect our course in life to what God knows is a better path.”
“The followers of Alma established a Zion community in Helam but then were brought into bondage.They did not deserve their suffering—quite the contrary.
[But] the Lord strengthened them and lightened their burdens to the point they could hardly feel them upon their backs and then in due course delivered them (see Mosiah 24:8–22).Their faith was immeasurably strengthened by their experience, and ever after they enjoyed a special bond with the Lord.”
“Remember that if we resist correction, others may discontinue offering it altogether, despite their love for us. If we repeatedly fail to act on the chastening of a loving God, then He too will desist. He has said, “My Spirit will not always strive with man” (Ether 2:15). Eventually, much of our chastening should come from within—we should become self-correcting.
All of us can meet God’s expectations, however great or small our capacity and talent may be. Moroni affirms,“If ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is [God’s] grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ” (Moroni 10:32). It is a diligent, devoted effort on our part that calls forth this empowering and enabling grace, an effort that certainly includes submission to God’s chastening hand and sincere, unqualified repentance. Let us pray for His love-inspired correction.”
D.Todd Christofferson, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/as-many-as-i-love-i-rebuke-and-chasten?lang=eng
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