APRIL/MAY READING
April 30—Alma 13-16
May 7—Alma 17-22 (final class)
FOURTH DAY OF THIS SEVENTH MONTH
“On the fourth day of the seventh month,Amulek left home to visit close kindred (vv. 6– 7). Perhaps he and his family were on their way to celebrate a traditional Israelite feast with extended family, for the seventh month was a prime festival time on the annual calendar under the law of Moses. Indeed, if the Nephite calendar began the year in the fall, then their seventh month fell in the spring and was the month of Passover; otherwise, if their calendar began in the spring, the seventh month was in the fall, the time of Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Tabernacles, and Yom Kippur. Assuming that Amulek was traveling to be with his close family relatives during the Passover season, perhaps he anticipated that Elijah was coming when the angel told him to return home to “feed a prophetoftheLord”(v.7). AlthoughthevisitorturnedoutnottobeElijahcoming before “the great and dreadful day of the Lord”(Malachi 4:5), Alma did come to announce the day of destruction in the city of Ammonihah. Indeed, in that very year, the destroying angel passed over only the few in that land who were willing to receive Alma’s message.”
John W. Welch, https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=2238&index=9
LAW OF APOSTATE CITIES
“Alma 16:9-11 records the utter destruction of the wicked city of Ammonihah by Lamanite soldiers. Recent research has uncovered several striking affinities between that account and the ancient Israelite law regarding the annihilation of apostate cities.That law is found in Deuteronomy 13:12-16. Alma, who had been the Nephite chief judge, was most likely well aware of this provision, since the law of Moses was contained on the plates of brass, which were in his possession. Accordingly, Alma’s concept of justice would have included the idea that an apostate city should be destroyed in the specific way set forth in their governing law.
While Alma clearly lacked both the desire and the power to have the city of Ammonihah destroyed by a Nephite military force, and certainly no legal decree was ever issued calling for the extermination of the city,Alma carefully recorded and documented the fact that the inhabitants of Ammonihah had satisfied every element of the crime of being an apostate city.When the justice of God destroyed that city,Alma effectively showed in the record that this fate befell them in accordance with divine law.”
“Deuteronomy 13:12-16:
If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, . . . Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which we have not known; then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly. . . .And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit . . . : and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.”
John W.Welch, https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1110&index=50
“Recognizing the way this tragic story conforms to the law of apostate cities is evidence that both Alma and Mormon were familiar with the legal standards this section in the law of Moses required.Ammonihah was destroyed in fulfillment of the Israelite law governing the lands of promise. In observing the law of Moses strictly (Alma 30:3),Alma appears to have consciously acted according to each of its requirements, and then Mormon arranged his abridgement to emphasize the complete fulfillment of this law.This case both ties the text to the ancient world and indicates technical legal sophistication on the part of its authors. Understanding this background also illuminates the strong arm of the Lord’s justice.The people’s wickedness and the law of apostate cities provide the theological justification for the utter annihilation of Ammonihah.The narrative structure reinforces this theological reason for the event by placing it right after Alma and Amulek’s missionary efforts in Alma 9–10, withholding the Lamanites’ reasons for the attack until later (see Alma 25:1–2).”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-was-the-city-of-ammonihah-destroyed-and-left-desolate
GOD’S PURPOSES
“God does not seek our repentance or righteousness for his own glory, or deter our wickedness for his sake. He seeks our repentance for our sake.
The Prophet Joseph clearly taught: God “never has, he never will, institute an ordinance, or give a commandment to his people that is not calculated in its nature to promote that happiness which he has designed, and which will not end in the greatest amount of good and glory to those who become the recipients of his law and ordinances.”
Givens, Fiona and Teryl, The Christ Who Heals
DAY OF JUDGMENT
“That Day of Judgment will be a day of mercy and love—a day when broken hearts are healed, when tears of grief are replaced with tears of gratitude, when all will be made right.
I have confidence that we will not only be satisfied with the judgment of God; we will also be astonished and overwhelmed by His infinite grace, mercy, generosity, and love for us, His children.”
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October Conference, 2016
REPENTANCE
“Our task on earth is to resist the conforming of our spirit to our natural environment with its allures and distractions, and to shape our affections, inclinations, and desires in the mold shown us by the Savior.This is repentance: a conscious choice, born out of contraries, to be shaped and directed into a genuine spiritual begetting after the image of God, in accordance with the seed of divine potential in all of us.”
Givens, Fiona and Teryl, The Christ Who Heals
ALMA’S TEMPLE TEACHINGS
“Alma knew that his opponents were serious challengers, and he gave them the strongest answers he could. As the High Priest of the temple in Zarahemla, he spoke powerfully of eternal truths. He drew on scriptures and sacred ordinances that the Nehorite priests would have known about to some extent. He invited them to repent .
Although easy to miss with just a quick or superficial reading, the temple themes presented do “suggest that Alma, and probably some of his contemporaries, were familiar with the ordinances, covenants, and teachings associated with temple rites of the Melchizedek Priesthood.”
The fullness of the rites alluded to by Alma are experienced in the temple itself, because of their highly sacred nature. Likewise, the sacred drama of the Creation, the Fall, and humankind’s journey back into the presence of God is more fully unfolded in the temple. Nevertheless, themes and symbols associated with temple ordinances appear in the scriptures, both ancient and modern. Just as Alma’s discourse at Ammonihah points the faithful today towards the house of the Lord and encourages them to make and keep the covenants necessary to receive the blessings of eternal life and exaltation, his words gave his opponents in that apostate city an unmistakable opportunity to understand and to repent.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/why-did-alma-teach-his-opponents-about-the-temple
ENTERING GOD’S REST
“I once wondered if those who refuse to repent but who then satisfy the law of justice by paying for their own sins are then worthy to enter the celestial kingdom.The answer is no.The entrance requirements for celestial life are simply higher than merely satisfying the law of justice. For that reason, paying for our sins will not bear the same fruit as repenting of our sins. Justice is a law of balance and order and it must be satisfied, either through our payment or his. But if we decline the Savior's invitation to let him carry our sins, and then satisfy justice by ourselves, we will not yet have experienced the complete rehabilitation that can occur through a combination of divine assistance and genuine repentance.Working together, those forces have the power permanently to change our hearts and our lives, preparing us for celestial life.”
Hafen, Bruce, The Broken Heart
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Alma 5-7
APRIL/MAY READING
April 23—Alma 8-12
April 30—Alma 13-16
May 7—Alma 17-22 (final class)
APOSTASY
“There are certain scriptures that are doctrinal anchors—in a sense they are our gospel compass, pointing the way we should follow. In one such scriptural reference the Lord revealed the only way his Church could be destroyed from the face of the earth:“This is my church, and I will establish it; and nothing shall overthrow it, save it is transgression of my people.” (Mosiah 27:13) That scripture is a doctrinal keystone—it teaches a central truth upon which we may build—namely, that only transgression or wickedness from within will bring about the downfall of Christ’s Church. God will protect his church against all external influences as long as the Church is pure and righteous. But if his people become wicked, then, even though God’s power remains intact, he seems unwilling to give divine sanction and protection to a church filled with iniquity. Otherwise, the integrity and purity of his Church would be compromised.”
Tad R. Callister,The Inevitable Apostasy, pg. 25-6
ALMA’S 50 QUESTIONS
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-did-alma-ask-church-members-fifty-probing-questions
“It is reasonable that Alma’s powerful address to the church in Zarahemla was given in connection with the observation of a sabbatical year, as called for under Israelite tradition.As such,Alma presented his series of introspective questions as part of a covenant renewal ceremony, possibly involving admission into the temple precinct.Alma’s speech came in the ninth year of the reign of the judges, 42 years after King Benjamin’s covenant renewal address, or in the sixth sabbatical year since then.That would have been the final sabbatical year before the Nephite celebration of the jubilee year, the fiftieth year after King Benjamin’s speech.This is conceivably why Alma was keen to quote and echo Benjamin in his speech, and this may also explain why there were exactly fifty questions – as a means of spiritual preparation for the jubilee.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-did-alma-ask-church-members-fifty-probing-questions
“Not all questions are of equal import. Some are amusing; some lead to the discovery of trivial insights; others open doors to significant discoveries in fields such as science, history, and music; and yet others are of such a deep and soul-searching nature that, if explored, they not only inform us, but they change us.”
Tad R. Callister,The Inevitable Apostasy, Introduction
MIGHTY CHANGE OF HEART
5:7—Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word.
5:9—...and their souls did expand
5:12—And according to his faith there was a might change wrought in his heart.
5:13—And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God.
5:14—And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye been spiritually born of God?
5:19—I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? 5:26—...if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?
5:49—And now...I am called...to cry unto them that they must repent and be born again. 7:14—...for the Spirit saith,‘If ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdneZ4fIIHE
“The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment.The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”
President Ezra Taft Benson
April 23—Alma 8-12
April 30—Alma 13-16
May 7—Alma 17-22 (final class)
APOSTASY
“There are certain scriptures that are doctrinal anchors—in a sense they are our gospel compass, pointing the way we should follow. In one such scriptural reference the Lord revealed the only way his Church could be destroyed from the face of the earth:“This is my church, and I will establish it; and nothing shall overthrow it, save it is transgression of my people.” (Mosiah 27:13) That scripture is a doctrinal keystone—it teaches a central truth upon which we may build—namely, that only transgression or wickedness from within will bring about the downfall of Christ’s Church. God will protect his church against all external influences as long as the Church is pure and righteous. But if his people become wicked, then, even though God’s power remains intact, he seems unwilling to give divine sanction and protection to a church filled with iniquity. Otherwise, the integrity and purity of his Church would be compromised.”
Tad R. Callister,The Inevitable Apostasy, pg. 25-6
ALMA’S 50 QUESTIONS
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-did-alma-ask-church-members-fifty-probing-questions
“It is reasonable that Alma’s powerful address to the church in Zarahemla was given in connection with the observation of a sabbatical year, as called for under Israelite tradition.As such,Alma presented his series of introspective questions as part of a covenant renewal ceremony, possibly involving admission into the temple precinct.Alma’s speech came in the ninth year of the reign of the judges, 42 years after King Benjamin’s covenant renewal address, or in the sixth sabbatical year since then.That would have been the final sabbatical year before the Nephite celebration of the jubilee year, the fiftieth year after King Benjamin’s speech.This is conceivably why Alma was keen to quote and echo Benjamin in his speech, and this may also explain why there were exactly fifty questions – as a means of spiritual preparation for the jubilee.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-did-alma-ask-church-members-fifty-probing-questions
“Not all questions are of equal import. Some are amusing; some lead to the discovery of trivial insights; others open doors to significant discoveries in fields such as science, history, and music; and yet others are of such a deep and soul-searching nature that, if explored, they not only inform us, but they change us.”
Tad R. Callister,The Inevitable Apostasy, Introduction
MIGHTY CHANGE OF HEART
5:7—Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word.
5:9—...and their souls did expand
5:12—And according to his faith there was a might change wrought in his heart.
5:13—And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God.
5:14—And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye been spiritually born of God?
5:19—I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? 5:26—...if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?
5:49—And now...I am called...to cry unto them that they must repent and be born again. 7:14—...for the Spirit saith,‘If ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdneZ4fIIHE
“The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment.The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”
President Ezra Taft Benson
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Mosiah 29, Alma 1-4
APRIL/MAY READING
April 16—Alma 5-7
April 23—Alam 8-12
April 30—Alma 13-16
May 7—Alma 17-22 (final class)
KING MOSIAH AND THE JUDGESHIP
“The immediate situation that prompted Mosiah II to institute a system of judges to govern the Nephites was the departure of his four sons.The people asked that Aaron be appointed king, but he and his brothers had gone to the land of Nephi to preach to the Lamanites and had renounced their claims to the monarchy.
Mosiah had other reasons for abolishing the monarchy. One of these was the iniquity that resulted from King Noah’s reign over the Nephites who lived in the land of Nephi and who had recently emigrated to the land of Zarahemla, where Mosiah reigned. But most of the reasons Mosiah gave his people had no precedents in Nephite history. Rather, they appear to have been prompted by Mosiah’s knowledge of the Jaredite history that he had recently translated.”
John A.Tvedtnes, https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1275&index=2
“Why might Mormon have wanted his readers to know this? Recognition of these factors adds rhetorical weight to Mosiah’s warning, one that Mormon himself saw eventually go into fulfillment: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. (Mosiah 29:27)
Seeing the historical grounding of this cautionary counsel makes Mosiah’s warning all the more potent as a forewarning to readers in the latter days.This was no idle threat, nor was it merely hyperbole in a war of competing ideologies. It was based on the outcome of real historical events Mosiah had become familiar with while translating the Jaredite record. As such, it stands as a witness and warning to modern readers, underscoring the importance of collectively making righteous choices as a society.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/what-do-the-jaredites-have-to-do-with-the-reign-of-the-judges
NEHOR
“In spite of his bold defense, Nehor was convicted. Priestcraft was specifically defined in Nephite writings as preaching for self-aggrandizement and to get gain (2 Nephi 26:29), something Nehor had clearly done. Priestcraft, however, was not against the law, strictly speaking; it was tolerated openly during the reign of judges (e.g., v. 16), although it was condemned as immoral and evil. Since God was the one who had forbidden priestcraft in a prophetic text that made no mention of any human penalty (2 Nephi 26:29–30), and since the public law of Mosiah guaranteed freedom of belief and an “equal chance,” it seems clear enough that divine justice was all that could touch a person who was guilty of priestcraft alone.
But Nehor was found guilty of more than simple priestcraft. In the final analysis, Nehor was executed not for murder, and not for priestcraft, but for a composite offense of endeavoring to enforce priestcraft by the sword.Alma’s judicial brilliance is evident in the way he fashioned this ruling.A simple charge of murder was problematic (if not precluded) under Numbers 35, and as far as we know, no human punishment was prescribed for priestcraft alone in any specific text. By innovatively combining these two offenses, however,Alma was able to convict Nehor of killing for the culpable purpose of enforcing priestcraft.Whereas proof of a culpable homicide under ancient Israelite law required the showing of an evil motive of hatred or premeditation,Alma found evidence of a conscious and presumptuous motive in Nehor’s use of a sword to enforce his economic interests as a religious leader, which intended outcome Alma subsumed under the evil of priestcraft.”
Exodus 21:12–14, Numbers 35:1–34, and Deuteronomy 21:1–9, made it a mandatory duty of the “congregation” or the “elders” to slay the killer. If the judges did not prevent or punish the shedding of “innocent blood,” the guilt of blood attached to all their people.Alma reflected his awareness of this public duty in his concern that Gideon’s blood would come upon himself and all his people if Nehor were not executed.
Another factor at work here was the newly promulgated law of Mosiah. In homicide cases after Mosiah’s reign, Nephite law clearly continued to require “the life of him who hath murdered” (Alma 34:12; see 1:18; 30:10). Convicted of a culpable slaying, Nehor was thus “condemned to die, according to the law which has been given us by Mosiah, our last king” (1:14).
Alma went on, however, to state that the newly adopted law of Mosiah “has been acknowledged by this people; therefore this people must abide by the law” (Alma 1:14). One may wonder why Alma appended this additional justification for the sentence he imposed.Alma’s reminder may have been designed to quell the protests from Nehor’s followers that surely were to follow.Alma’s resort to popular authority may also have served to reinforce the power of the newly arranged system of judges to impose the death penalty. It seems that Alma was the first to claim for the new judges under the law of Mosiah the power not only to judge but also to execute; he justified doing so on the ground that since the people themselves had no option open to them but to execute the murderer (Alma 1:18; 30:10), the judge, empowered by the voice of the people, could and should carry out or supervise the execution himself. Here again,Alma’s conduct conforms with biblical law.”
Jack W.Welch, https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=2238&index=8
ALMA’S ENEMIES
“Recent textual studies indicate that the matter of the Nephites’ enemies may not be as black and white as [we sometimes believe.] This is certainly true during the public career of Alma the Younger (circa 91–73 BC), when the Nephite missionaries to the Lamanites came into contact with the mysterious Amalekites (see Alma 21–43).As we will see, these Amalekites were in fact the same group as the Amlicites, whom Alma encountered earlier in his career (see Alma 2–3).This observation is based on evidence in the text of two kinds: spelling variations in the original handwritten manuscripts of Oliver Cowdery and hints in the traditional text that many readers have not noticed.These findings shed new light on the structure of Alma’s writings and lead us to the more crucial question, Is reading the text in terms of generally good Nephites versus usually bad Lamanites too simplistic for what the record actually says?”
“In 2002 Royal Skousen explained that the apostate groups in the book of Alma currently spelled Amlicites and Amalekites are most likely the same group of dissenters, founded by Amlici, and that the names should be spelled identically. Skousen noticed that these types of errors in the original and printer’s manuscripts were due to the inconsistencies of Oliver Cowdery’s spelling style.
Skousen’s careful analysis of the original, dictated manuscript shows how such errors might have crept in. Often when a name was first introduced, Joseph Smith would apparently pause to spell it out.Thus we find words crossed out in the original manuscript with corrected spellings above. Joseph apparently did not respell the name when spoken later, for we find Cowdery spelling certain names in many different ways, despite their original correction.After Cowdery prepared the manuscript, the printer was told to refer to the original spelling of names for all subsequent instances of names. In the case of Amlicites/Amalekites, there was no mention of either group by name between Alma 3:20 and 21:2.Thus when the printer came across the name again in what is now Alma 21:2, he likely supposed this was a new group and, rather than referring back to the spelling in what is now Alma 3:20, followed the spelling Amalekite rather than Amlicite.The Amalekite spelling may have seemed logical because there were biblical Amalekites (see Numbers 13:29) and there were earlier men in the Book of Mormon named Amaleki (see Omni 1:12; Mosiah 7:6).
It is clear that the spelling was rather loose and that many of the common letters, especially the c and the k, were interchanged freely.The fact that the words currently spelled Amalekites were often spelled with a c alone or with a ck adds additional support to the internal evidence previously noted. Using the earliest records we have (Cowdery’s handwritten manuscripts), there is little support that the Amlicites and Amalekites were two separate groups.”
“Alma knew that his teachings that the sources of evil are often internal was not always easy to hear. Indeed, he ended his ministry by delivering the flip side of the oft-quoted “Inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land” (Alma 36:30), with an equal but opposite “Thus saith the Lord God—Cursed shall be the land, yea, this land” (Alma 45:16). Alma’s entire nation, if not repentant, would become extinct (see Alma 45:11, 14).This was a prophecy so horrific that he commanded Helaman not to repeat it at the time (see Alma 45:9). Then, after blessing his sons, the earth, and the church,Alma departed out of the land for good (see Alma 45:8, 15–18).This is a decidedly different tone than the more positive side of Alma so often emphasized.While his testimony of the Savior is crucial, we should not overlook this other way that he organized his writings. By getting a clearer picture of how Alma began and ended his testament with the influence of Nehor and the Amlicite-led dissenters of Nephite origin, we gain deeper insight into Alma’s understanding of individual and societal evil. Alma places his greatest emphasis on internal evil.The battle is most often fought within ourselves.”
J. Christoher Conking, https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1399&index=12
THE NEXT MORMONS
“Millennials focus on prayer and the scriptures may reveal a hunger for depth. Through their religious practices, they seem to be hunting for a spirituality that is deep, authentic and demanding.They exhibit high rates of scriptural devotions, prayer, and relational grassroots interactions with other church members; we’ve seen elsewhere that they also have a strong belief and a particular emphasis on missionary service. However, they have a far less focus on religious behaviors they may see as superficial or less important, like avoiding tattoos, coffee, or mature entertainment.There is a sharp divide between their theoretical and actual church attendance.They are committed tithe-payers, but appear to accept “net” tithe paying more readily than older Mormons.What is particularly interesting is that their understanding of what it means to be “active” in the church may well be changing from the ways that older Mormons have traditionally understood that term; Millennials are not tying their identities as “active” Mormons as strictly to practices like attending church meetings or keeping the Word of Wisdom.”
Jana Riess,The Next Mormons: How Millennials are Changing the LDS Church
April 16—Alma 5-7
April 23—Alam 8-12
April 30—Alma 13-16
May 7—Alma 17-22 (final class)
KING MOSIAH AND THE JUDGESHIP
“The immediate situation that prompted Mosiah II to institute a system of judges to govern the Nephites was the departure of his four sons.The people asked that Aaron be appointed king, but he and his brothers had gone to the land of Nephi to preach to the Lamanites and had renounced their claims to the monarchy.
Mosiah had other reasons for abolishing the monarchy. One of these was the iniquity that resulted from King Noah’s reign over the Nephites who lived in the land of Nephi and who had recently emigrated to the land of Zarahemla, where Mosiah reigned. But most of the reasons Mosiah gave his people had no precedents in Nephite history. Rather, they appear to have been prompted by Mosiah’s knowledge of the Jaredite history that he had recently translated.”
John A.Tvedtnes, https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1275&index=2
“Why might Mormon have wanted his readers to know this? Recognition of these factors adds rhetorical weight to Mosiah’s warning, one that Mormon himself saw eventually go into fulfillment: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. (Mosiah 29:27)
Seeing the historical grounding of this cautionary counsel makes Mosiah’s warning all the more potent as a forewarning to readers in the latter days.This was no idle threat, nor was it merely hyperbole in a war of competing ideologies. It was based on the outcome of real historical events Mosiah had become familiar with while translating the Jaredite record. As such, it stands as a witness and warning to modern readers, underscoring the importance of collectively making righteous choices as a society.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/what-do-the-jaredites-have-to-do-with-the-reign-of-the-judges
NEHOR
“In spite of his bold defense, Nehor was convicted. Priestcraft was specifically defined in Nephite writings as preaching for self-aggrandizement and to get gain (2 Nephi 26:29), something Nehor had clearly done. Priestcraft, however, was not against the law, strictly speaking; it was tolerated openly during the reign of judges (e.g., v. 16), although it was condemned as immoral and evil. Since God was the one who had forbidden priestcraft in a prophetic text that made no mention of any human penalty (2 Nephi 26:29–30), and since the public law of Mosiah guaranteed freedom of belief and an “equal chance,” it seems clear enough that divine justice was all that could touch a person who was guilty of priestcraft alone.
But Nehor was found guilty of more than simple priestcraft. In the final analysis, Nehor was executed not for murder, and not for priestcraft, but for a composite offense of endeavoring to enforce priestcraft by the sword.Alma’s judicial brilliance is evident in the way he fashioned this ruling.A simple charge of murder was problematic (if not precluded) under Numbers 35, and as far as we know, no human punishment was prescribed for priestcraft alone in any specific text. By innovatively combining these two offenses, however,Alma was able to convict Nehor of killing for the culpable purpose of enforcing priestcraft.Whereas proof of a culpable homicide under ancient Israelite law required the showing of an evil motive of hatred or premeditation,Alma found evidence of a conscious and presumptuous motive in Nehor’s use of a sword to enforce his economic interests as a religious leader, which intended outcome Alma subsumed under the evil of priestcraft.”
Exodus 21:12–14, Numbers 35:1–34, and Deuteronomy 21:1–9, made it a mandatory duty of the “congregation” or the “elders” to slay the killer. If the judges did not prevent or punish the shedding of “innocent blood,” the guilt of blood attached to all their people.Alma reflected his awareness of this public duty in his concern that Gideon’s blood would come upon himself and all his people if Nehor were not executed.
Another factor at work here was the newly promulgated law of Mosiah. In homicide cases after Mosiah’s reign, Nephite law clearly continued to require “the life of him who hath murdered” (Alma 34:12; see 1:18; 30:10). Convicted of a culpable slaying, Nehor was thus “condemned to die, according to the law which has been given us by Mosiah, our last king” (1:14).
Alma went on, however, to state that the newly adopted law of Mosiah “has been acknowledged by this people; therefore this people must abide by the law” (Alma 1:14). One may wonder why Alma appended this additional justification for the sentence he imposed.Alma’s reminder may have been designed to quell the protests from Nehor’s followers that surely were to follow.Alma’s resort to popular authority may also have served to reinforce the power of the newly arranged system of judges to impose the death penalty. It seems that Alma was the first to claim for the new judges under the law of Mosiah the power not only to judge but also to execute; he justified doing so on the ground that since the people themselves had no option open to them but to execute the murderer (Alma 1:18; 30:10), the judge, empowered by the voice of the people, could and should carry out or supervise the execution himself. Here again,Alma’s conduct conforms with biblical law.”
Jack W.Welch, https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=2238&index=8
ALMA’S ENEMIES
“Recent textual studies indicate that the matter of the Nephites’ enemies may not be as black and white as [we sometimes believe.] This is certainly true during the public career of Alma the Younger (circa 91–73 BC), when the Nephite missionaries to the Lamanites came into contact with the mysterious Amalekites (see Alma 21–43).As we will see, these Amalekites were in fact the same group as the Amlicites, whom Alma encountered earlier in his career (see Alma 2–3).This observation is based on evidence in the text of two kinds: spelling variations in the original handwritten manuscripts of Oliver Cowdery and hints in the traditional text that many readers have not noticed.These findings shed new light on the structure of Alma’s writings and lead us to the more crucial question, Is reading the text in terms of generally good Nephites versus usually bad Lamanites too simplistic for what the record actually says?”
“In 2002 Royal Skousen explained that the apostate groups in the book of Alma currently spelled Amlicites and Amalekites are most likely the same group of dissenters, founded by Amlici, and that the names should be spelled identically. Skousen noticed that these types of errors in the original and printer’s manuscripts were due to the inconsistencies of Oliver Cowdery’s spelling style.
Skousen’s careful analysis of the original, dictated manuscript shows how such errors might have crept in. Often when a name was first introduced, Joseph Smith would apparently pause to spell it out.Thus we find words crossed out in the original manuscript with corrected spellings above. Joseph apparently did not respell the name when spoken later, for we find Cowdery spelling certain names in many different ways, despite their original correction.After Cowdery prepared the manuscript, the printer was told to refer to the original spelling of names for all subsequent instances of names. In the case of Amlicites/Amalekites, there was no mention of either group by name between Alma 3:20 and 21:2.Thus when the printer came across the name again in what is now Alma 21:2, he likely supposed this was a new group and, rather than referring back to the spelling in what is now Alma 3:20, followed the spelling Amalekite rather than Amlicite.The Amalekite spelling may have seemed logical because there were biblical Amalekites (see Numbers 13:29) and there were earlier men in the Book of Mormon named Amaleki (see Omni 1:12; Mosiah 7:6).
It is clear that the spelling was rather loose and that many of the common letters, especially the c and the k, were interchanged freely.The fact that the words currently spelled Amalekites were often spelled with a c alone or with a ck adds additional support to the internal evidence previously noted. Using the earliest records we have (Cowdery’s handwritten manuscripts), there is little support that the Amlicites and Amalekites were two separate groups.”
“Alma knew that his teachings that the sources of evil are often internal was not always easy to hear. Indeed, he ended his ministry by delivering the flip side of the oft-quoted “Inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land” (Alma 36:30), with an equal but opposite “Thus saith the Lord God—Cursed shall be the land, yea, this land” (Alma 45:16). Alma’s entire nation, if not repentant, would become extinct (see Alma 45:11, 14).This was a prophecy so horrific that he commanded Helaman not to repeat it at the time (see Alma 45:9). Then, after blessing his sons, the earth, and the church,Alma departed out of the land for good (see Alma 45:8, 15–18).This is a decidedly different tone than the more positive side of Alma so often emphasized.While his testimony of the Savior is crucial, we should not overlook this other way that he organized his writings. By getting a clearer picture of how Alma began and ended his testament with the influence of Nehor and the Amlicite-led dissenters of Nephite origin, we gain deeper insight into Alma’s understanding of individual and societal evil. Alma places his greatest emphasis on internal evil.The battle is most often fought within ourselves.”
J. Christoher Conking, https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1399&index=12
THE NEXT MORMONS
“Millennials focus on prayer and the scriptures may reveal a hunger for depth. Through their religious practices, they seem to be hunting for a spirituality that is deep, authentic and demanding.They exhibit high rates of scriptural devotions, prayer, and relational grassroots interactions with other church members; we’ve seen elsewhere that they also have a strong belief and a particular emphasis on missionary service. However, they have a far less focus on religious behaviors they may see as superficial or less important, like avoiding tattoos, coffee, or mature entertainment.There is a sharp divide between their theoretical and actual church attendance.They are committed tithe-payers, but appear to accept “net” tithe paying more readily than older Mormons.What is particularly interesting is that their understanding of what it means to be “active” in the church may well be changing from the ways that older Mormons have traditionally understood that term; Millennials are not tying their identities as “active” Mormons as strictly to practices like attending church meetings or keeping the Word of Wisdom.”
Jana Riess,The Next Mormons: How Millennials are Changing the LDS Church
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Mosiah 25-28
APRIL/MAY READING
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)
MOSIAH
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/how-was-mosiah-a-type-of-christ
“While it is not possible to determine absolutely the origin of the name Mosiah, or whether Mosiah was the given name or title of these two Nephite leaders, it is not at all implausible to see it as deriving
from the Hebrew word môšiaʿ. In fact, in the absence of any better alternate propositions, this appears to be the strongest theory.
This is strengthened by the fact that the name Mosiah being derived
from môšiaʿ would have had significance for the Nephites.The two Book of Mormon Mosiahs share all of the characteristics common to those who bear this name or title.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/how-was-mosiah-a-type-of-christ
1.The môšiac is a victorious hero appointed by God.
2. He liberates a chosen people from oppression, controversy, and unjustice after they cry out for help.
3.Their deliverance is usually accomplished by means of a nonviolent escape or negotiation.
4.The immediate result of the coming of a môšiac was “escape from unjustice, and a return to a state of justice where each man possesses his rightful property.”
5. On a larger scale,“final victory means the coming of môšicim [plural, pronounced moe-shee-eem] to rule like Judges over Israel.”
“Thus, in several respects, the Book of Mormon usage of this term is quite remarkable, meaningful, and wholly consistent with Hebrew usage.”
What Was a “Mosiah?” John W.Welch, https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/
pub=1110&index=28
MULEK AND HIS PEOPLE
Omni 12-19
Helaman 8:21
Helaman 6:10
Mosiah 1:10
“NEXT MORMONS”
“We used to keep about 75 percent of members,” she said.“For millennials, it’s about 46 percent, or less than half.”
A healthy religion needs to be both “firm and elastic,” Riess said.“You want to stay apace of the times without compromising what you consider to be your vital integrity as a faith.”
Is she optimistic that Mormonism can manage that?
Yes, Riess said. On good days.
Jana Riess, https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2019/02/25/coffee-gay-issues/
ALMA THE YOUNGER
“Language is not limited to the words we use; it also entails signs, symbols, and bodily gestures that are imbued with meaning by the cultures that produced them. As with spoken language, symbolic and gestural languages are culturally specific and can be fully understood only by those entrenched within that particular culture.”
“The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi appears to have understood this concept and noted that the Lord “speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding” (2 Nephi 31:3).This is echoed in modern revelation, as Doctrine and Covenants 1:24 declares: “Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.” More recently, the late LDS apostle Marion G. Romney reaffirmed, “Revelation comes to men in an unlimited number of ways.”
“Lehi’s prophetic calling fits within the historical context of preexilic Israel.This is to be expected, as Lehi had his vision while he was yet at Jerusalem, which spurred his flight into the desert a decade prior to the Babylonian captivity.
Unlike Lehi, later prophets in the Book of Mormon–those grounded firmly in the New World–did not receive their commissions according to this ancient Near Eastern pattern; rather, their calls conform to a pattern that can be detected in ancient Mesoamerica. Elements of this pattern can be seen throughout the Book of Mormon in the accounts of individuals who are overcome by the Spirit to the point that they fall to the earth as if dead and ultimately recover and through that process become spiritually reborn and subsequently prophesy concerning Jesus Christ.This process may seem foreign to modern readers, and indeed it should, since it is not part of our “cultural language” and its deeper meaning is lost in translation. But to the Nephites, living in an ancient Mesoamerican setting, falling to the earth as if dead is pregnant with meaning. Modern Western culture would classify such episodes as near-death experiences, but an examination of the specific cultural context in which the Book of Mormon events likely took place provides a more nuanced understanding of this obscure practice.”
Ethnographic work among traditional societies has shown that holy men of various types commonly receive their calling [in] near-death experiences. Divine election occurs within a context of some physical or emotional crisis, such as a severe, chronic, or life-threatening sickness. While in this state they have a vivid dream where the individual is [taught] by a spirit being, such as an angel.The healing process is often aided by the prayers and ritual actions of [others] on behalf of the critically ill individuals. Once recovered, the newly called possess a power and authority that is recognized by the members of their community because of their shared cultural language. During the initiatory dream vision the individual may experience temporary insanity or unconsciousness,” and it is through this near-death experience that he or she is reborn as a person with power and knowledge.
The Book of Mormon similarly describes individuals who fall to the earth as if dead and then recover and become healers. Beyond the examples where physical infirmities are removed, the Book of Mormon also provides numerous examples of individuals who are spiritually healed. It would be a mistake to place physical and spiritual healing in separate categories; the two concepts are equated in LDS canon and in the ancient mind.
“The hierophanies (divine manifestations) recorded in LDS canon directly reflect the unique cultural background of the individuals who witnessed them. By examining the cultural context in which such manifestations occur, modern readers can obtain a greater understanding of the revelatory process recounted in these texts. Modern Latter-day Saints believe in continuing revelation, collectively and individually, and cultural context continues to influence the manner in which divine manifestations are received by individuals entrenched within the various cultures that comprise the worldwide church.”
Mark Alan Wright, ”According to Their Language, unto Their Understanding":
The Cultural Context of Hierophanies and Theophanies in Latter-day Saint Canon
https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1471&index=4
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)
MOSIAH
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/how-was-mosiah-a-type-of-christ
“While it is not possible to determine absolutely the origin of the name Mosiah, or whether Mosiah was the given name or title of these two Nephite leaders, it is not at all implausible to see it as deriving
from the Hebrew word môšiaʿ. In fact, in the absence of any better alternate propositions, this appears to be the strongest theory.
This is strengthened by the fact that the name Mosiah being derived
from môšiaʿ would have had significance for the Nephites.The two Book of Mormon Mosiahs share all of the characteristics common to those who bear this name or title.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/how-was-mosiah-a-type-of-christ
1.The môšiac is a victorious hero appointed by God.
2. He liberates a chosen people from oppression, controversy, and unjustice after they cry out for help.
3.Their deliverance is usually accomplished by means of a nonviolent escape or negotiation.
4.The immediate result of the coming of a môšiac was “escape from unjustice, and a return to a state of justice where each man possesses his rightful property.”
5. On a larger scale,“final victory means the coming of môšicim [plural, pronounced moe-shee-eem] to rule like Judges over Israel.”
“Thus, in several respects, the Book of Mormon usage of this term is quite remarkable, meaningful, and wholly consistent with Hebrew usage.”
What Was a “Mosiah?” John W.Welch, https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/
pub=1110&index=28
MULEK AND HIS PEOPLE
Omni 12-19
Helaman 8:21
Helaman 6:10
Mosiah 1:10
“NEXT MORMONS”
“We used to keep about 75 percent of members,” she said.“For millennials, it’s about 46 percent, or less than half.”
A healthy religion needs to be both “firm and elastic,” Riess said.“You want to stay apace of the times without compromising what you consider to be your vital integrity as a faith.”
Is she optimistic that Mormonism can manage that?
Yes, Riess said. On good days.
Jana Riess, https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2019/02/25/coffee-gay-issues/
ALMA THE YOUNGER
“Language is not limited to the words we use; it also entails signs, symbols, and bodily gestures that are imbued with meaning by the cultures that produced them. As with spoken language, symbolic and gestural languages are culturally specific and can be fully understood only by those entrenched within that particular culture.”
“The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi appears to have understood this concept and noted that the Lord “speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding” (2 Nephi 31:3).This is echoed in modern revelation, as Doctrine and Covenants 1:24 declares: “Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.” More recently, the late LDS apostle Marion G. Romney reaffirmed, “Revelation comes to men in an unlimited number of ways.”
“Lehi’s prophetic calling fits within the historical context of preexilic Israel.This is to be expected, as Lehi had his vision while he was yet at Jerusalem, which spurred his flight into the desert a decade prior to the Babylonian captivity.
Unlike Lehi, later prophets in the Book of Mormon–those grounded firmly in the New World–did not receive their commissions according to this ancient Near Eastern pattern; rather, their calls conform to a pattern that can be detected in ancient Mesoamerica. Elements of this pattern can be seen throughout the Book of Mormon in the accounts of individuals who are overcome by the Spirit to the point that they fall to the earth as if dead and ultimately recover and through that process become spiritually reborn and subsequently prophesy concerning Jesus Christ.This process may seem foreign to modern readers, and indeed it should, since it is not part of our “cultural language” and its deeper meaning is lost in translation. But to the Nephites, living in an ancient Mesoamerican setting, falling to the earth as if dead is pregnant with meaning. Modern Western culture would classify such episodes as near-death experiences, but an examination of the specific cultural context in which the Book of Mormon events likely took place provides a more nuanced understanding of this obscure practice.”
Ethnographic work among traditional societies has shown that holy men of various types commonly receive their calling [in] near-death experiences. Divine election occurs within a context of some physical or emotional crisis, such as a severe, chronic, or life-threatening sickness. While in this state they have a vivid dream where the individual is [taught] by a spirit being, such as an angel.The healing process is often aided by the prayers and ritual actions of [others] on behalf of the critically ill individuals. Once recovered, the newly called possess a power and authority that is recognized by the members of their community because of their shared cultural language. During the initiatory dream vision the individual may experience temporary insanity or unconsciousness,” and it is through this near-death experience that he or she is reborn as a person with power and knowledge.
The Book of Mormon similarly describes individuals who fall to the earth as if dead and then recover and become healers. Beyond the examples where physical infirmities are removed, the Book of Mormon also provides numerous examples of individuals who are spiritually healed. It would be a mistake to place physical and spiritual healing in separate categories; the two concepts are equated in LDS canon and in the ancient mind.
“The hierophanies (divine manifestations) recorded in LDS canon directly reflect the unique cultural background of the individuals who witnessed them. By examining the cultural context in which such manifestations occur, modern readers can obtain a greater understanding of the revelatory process recounted in these texts. Modern Latter-day Saints believe in continuing revelation, collectively and individually, and cultural context continues to influence the manner in which divine manifestations are received by individuals entrenched within the various cultures that comprise the worldwide church.”
Mark Alan Wright, ”According to Their Language, unto Their Understanding":
The Cultural Context of Hierophanies and Theophanies in Latter-day Saint Canon
https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1471&index=4
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)