A Study of the Book of Mormon

Alma 6 After Alma's pivotal discourse at Zarahemla, the record states that "he ordained priests and elders, by laying on his hands according to the order of God, to preside and watch over the church."( vs.1 ) Those who would repent became a part of the Church of God; those who would not repent and already belonged to the Church of God, had their names "blotted out, that their names were not numbered among those of the righteous." ( vs.3 ) Thus is the work of the kingdom, to organize according to covenants, the righteous from the wicked, that the righteous might have a support structure in which to strengthen their faith and to perform greater works than they would otherwise be able to do for themselves. In the fifth verse of this chapter, after explaining this sorting of church members between the wicked and the righteous on conditions of their repentance, the author explains that everyone was permitted to come to church, regardless of their willingness to repen...

Alma 5:50-62 In the first three verses of this grouping, Alma testifies of things which he has heard of the Holy Spirit. All of these verses suggest that there is a literal division between the righteous and the wicked. The Kingdom of God is coming quickly, wherein the righteous will dwell. Therefore, one ought to repent of his sins and bring forth works of righteousness if he desires to be a part of this kingdom. How will the righteous be distinguished from the wicked? Or in other words, what type of person will inherit the kingdom of heaven. Also I ask myself, amongst what type of people do I want to enjoy of their friendship and company? In the kingdom of heaven, there are the penitent. They are they who desire to follow the voice of the Good Shepherd. ( vs. 57 ) They are they whose names are written in the book of life. ( vs. 58 ) And it will be God who will separate the wicked from among the righteous. ( vs. 59 ) I am impressed by this thought: that in the kingdom of God, there wi...

Alma 5:43-49 It was just yesterday morning that I found myself contemplating what was the difference between the spirits of prophecy and revelation. Now I'm very familiar with these verses for their doctrines on testimony, and fasting and praying as a source of testimony. In reviewing it this morning, Alma clearly gives a distinction between the spirit of revelation and the spirit of prophecy. For my own part, the spirit of revelation as referenced in verse 46 could then be defined as knowledge obtained by Holy Ghost (that Holy Spirit of God). Revelation is enhanced and clarified through fasting and prayer. Then in verse 47 , Alma points to the words of their fathers, testifying to their truthfulness according to the spirit of prophecy which was in him. If there is a distinction to be found between prophecy and revelation, it would appear to be this: prophecy has to do with the truth of events past, present, and future, while revelation has more to do with the attainment of eterna...

Alma 5:26-42 I am surprised as I read in this particular part of the chapter to notice how much Alma's words sounded like those of the Savior himself. I don't know why it should have surprised me, given the clarification found in Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 , "Whether by my own voice or the by the voice of my servants, it is the same ," (emphasis added). However, it is striking how much Alma's words sound like the Savior's own words, using phrases such as: "Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life." ( vs. 28 ) Compare with Matthew 4:17 - "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." "Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely;" ( vs. 34 ) Compare to John 6:58 - "This is that bread which came down from heave...

Alma 5:20-25 In a more serious tone, Alma reminds his brethren of the need to be saved and the requirements of salvation. These verses pick up with the topic of purity and its necessity to enter into God's kingdom: ...For there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white ; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins. ( vs. 21 , emphasis added) Alma in verse 22 poses a question that causes me to consider my own personal worthiness. "How will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness?"   Alma then goes on to accuse them of having blood stained garments, calling them murderers and being guilty of all manner of wickedness. On the one hand, this seems like an extreme accusation.  Where these people of Zarahemla actually guilty ...

Alma 5:15-19 Picking up where we left off yesterday, Alma goes through another set of probing questions designed to till the ground, turn over the dirt that had grown hard to allow for increased growth among the people. Of course, I speak figuratively, drawing a parallel to gardening. The reality that Alma is illustrating in the minds of the people is the eventual judgment before the tribunal of God. He reminds the people of their resurrected and perfected state in which they will have a perfect knowledge of all their guilt. But he doesn't start into this group of questions that way. In verses 15 and 16 , the questions that Alma poses are actually optimistic and upbeat. Yet that almost has the effect of being more condemning and of greater cause for self-interrogation. Consider these questions: " Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you?" "Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corrupti...

Alma 5:14 After completing a brief review of the terms of salvation that were extended to the previous generation of Saints, Alma goes on to ask three very direct questions in succession : Have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Now the first and the third questions, I can find references to elsewhere in the scriptures to broaden my understanding of what Alma is asking. For example, the first question ("Have ye spiritually been born of God?") sounds very similar to the Savior's conversation with Nicodemus. "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?" ( John 3:4 ) The third question ("Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?") also has meaning elsewhere. King Benjamin's people exclaimed that "because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change...