A few days
I posted about Grant Hardy's theory that Mormon set up intentional parallels between the description of Alma-2's missionary work in three Nephite cities and his instructions to each of his sons.
Today, I'll go into a little bit more depth about one of those pairs. This theory makes sense to me because earlier this year I noticed significant similarities between Alma 12/13 and Alma 42. Alma-2 gives very similar sermons in both chapters. Below is a table outlining just some of the connections I've found already:
| Similarities | Alma 12/13 | Alma 42 |
| Original chapter | Alma 12-13:10 | Alma 39-42 |
| fall | 12:22 | 42:6 |
| The plan would have been frustrated (making God a liar) if Adam had partaken from the tree of life after the fall (the word would have been void) | 12:23 | 42:5 |
| Cherubim | 12:22 | 42:3 |
| Probationary state/time | 12:24 | 42:4 |
| Plan of Redemption | 12:25, 26, 30, 33 | 42:13 |
| First Parents | 12:26 | 42:7 |
| Tree of Life | 12:26 | 42:6 |
| "men must die" / "soul could never die" | 12:27 | 42:9 |
| mercy | 12:34 | 42:15 |
| judgement / justice | 12:34 | 42:14 |
| law | 31 (commandments) | |
| resurrection | 12:8, 24, 25 | 42:23 |
| intercession / atonement | 13:5 | 42:15 |
| punishment /happiness contrasted | | 42:16 |
| law / sin / righteousness / happiness as links in a chain | 12:32 (sort of) | 42:16-17 |
| Angels to declare repentance | 12:29, 13:6 | 42:31 (sort of) |
| faith | 13:3,10 | |
| devil was an angel | | |
| before the foundation of the world | 12:30,13:3,5, 7 | 42:26 |
| eternal death / spiritual death | 12:16 | 42:9, 41 |
If this topic interests you, I highly recommend reading both chapters, laying them side by side, and finding these similarities for yourself. The sermons are not identical, and yet they overlap on numerous subjects.
More on these similarities to follow.
