Mormon's references to Alma 5

Alma 6 is a short transitional chapter between sermons in Alma 5 and 7, where Mormon moves from quoting Alma's words on the plates of Nephi directly back to his narrative style. Having learned in recent years to pay close attention to words and phrases in the Book of Mormon, I discover things I never would see before. This is not a big thing and perhaps not interesting to everybody, but what I found in Alma 6 are just small signs of Mormon's work of abridgment shining through. I just like to envision the people in the Book of Mormon as individuals with distinct personalities, talents and writing styles. I see Mormon as a careful historian, with an eye for detail and concern for his future readers to learn important lessons from the Book of Mormon. Analyzing his words directly and reading between the lines, can not only help learn these lessons, but also get to know Mormon as a person. 

In a post about Mosiah 5, written more than a year ago, we see that after King Benjamin's talk, several key words and phrases are quoted in the aftermath. The same thing is going on in the first three verses of Alma 6.

1 And now it came to pass that after Alma had made an end of speaking unto the people of the church, which was established in the city of Zarahemla, he ordained priests and elders, by laying on his hands according to the order of God, to preside and watch over the church.

2 And it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to the church who repented of their sins were baptized unto repentance, and were received into the church.

3 And it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to the church that did not repent of their wickedness and humble themselves before God—I mean those who were lifted up in the pride of their hearts—the same were rejected, and their names were blotted out, that their names were not numbered among those of the righteous.

Consider how Mormon's narration refers back to Alma's talk in Alma 5.

For I am called to speak after this manner, according to the holy order of God (Alma 5:44. Note: this is only one of several examples, including the chapter ingress which is part of the original text on the plates)

For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not watch over them (Alma 5:59)

I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance (Alma 5:62)

And now my beloved brethren, I say unto you, can ye withstand these sayings; yea, can ye lay aside these things, and trample the Holy One under your feet; yea, can ye be puffed up in the pride of your hearts; yea, will ye still persist in the wearing of costly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your riches? Yea, will ye persist in supposing that ye are better one than another; yea, will ye persist in the persecution of your brethren, who humble themselves and do walk after the holy order of God (Alma 5:53-54)

And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous to follow the voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things; and behold, their names shall be blotted out, that the names of the wicked shall not be numbered among the names of the righteous (Alma 5:57)

What does this say about Mormon? First of all, it is a strong indicator, evidence if you will, that there was a person called Mormon who was engaged in the abridgment of the Nephite records. The alternative explanation of Joseph Smith just making it up as he dictated it to a scribe with his face in a hat is problematic, because it implies that Joseph had to remember specific phrases to later bring them up. Doing so at this level of detail when you don't sit with notes or a manuscript is very difficult. It is easier for me to see a historian here, who has just spent time carefully engraving characters from one set of plates to another, who has the words of Alma before his eyes as he goes on to explain the proceedings of the church in Zarahemla. 

This is where we see the careful historian. He has studied the words of Alma well as he has engraved them. He wants to demonstrate to his readers that Alma was not just giving a great sermon. He spoke the truth and he meant what he said. What he said actually had consequences and was implemented among the people that he had spoken to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Redeem his people" as another example of internal consistency and "doctrinal mentors" in the Book of Mormon

Stisa's recent post about the concepts of "redeemer" and "kinsman" mentions that Abinadi is responsible for 5 of the 12 uses of the phrase "redeem his people" in the Book of Mormon.

When I read that, I remembered a post I made way back about the concept of Abinadi playing the role of doctrinal mentor to Alma-1, and Alma-1 playing the role of doctrinal mentor to Alma-2.  That was after I noticed that these three men were the only ones in the entire Book of Mormon to specifically teach about the "first resurrection."

So when I read Stisa's post, I decided to look up where the other 7 uses of "redeem his people" occur in the Book of Mormon.  The results surprised me, even though they confirm my hypothesis. Below you'll find an index of every occurrence of "redeem/redeemed his people, followed by the name of the person who is speaking:

Twelve Examples by Speaker

1. Mosiah 13:33, Abinadi 
2. Mosiah 15:1, Abinadi
3. Mosiah 15:11, Abinadi
4. Mosiah 15:18, Abinadi
5. Mosiah 16:4, Abinadi
6. Mosiah 18:20, Alma-1
7. Alma 5:21, Alma-2
8. Alma 5:27, Alma-2
9. Alma 6:8, Mormon (about Alma-2...see below)
10. Alma 11:40, Amulek
11. Alma 33:22, Alma-2
12. Helaman 5:10, Helaman-2 (quoting Amulek's words to Zeezrom...see below)

More about the Example from Alma 6

Mormon wrote these words, clearly documenting what Alma-2 was teaching:

8 And Alma went and began to declare the word of God unto the church which was established in the valley of Gideon, according to the revelation of the truth of the word which had been spoken by his fathers, and according to the spirit of prophecy which was in him, according to the testimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who should come to redeem his people from their sins, and the holy order by which he was called. And thus it is written. Amen. (Alma 6)

More about the Example from Helaman 5

It is true that Helaman wrote these words, but he is very specifically referencing Amulek in Alma 11:

10 And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in the city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins. (Helaman 5)

Conclusions

Once again, we see a high degree of internal consistency.  If you had asked me prior to reading Stisa's post referenced above how many times the words "redeem/redeemed his people" showed up in the Book of Mormon, I would have guessed a few dozen or maybe more.  I would have guessed that many authors used this phrase.  Not so.  It seems that there is a chain of possession, so to speak, of the use of this phrase.

What to make about the "outlier" in Alma 11, when Amulek uses the phrase?  I don't consider it an outlier at all. Rather, it seems natural from the narrative of the Book of Alma that Amulek would have considered Alma-2 his doctrinal mentor.

In a similar vein, it seems that Helaman-2 was a careful student of the words of many figures on the large and small plates of Nephi, including Amulek. This makes sense, since he was a keeper of those records. See Helaman 5 for additional examples.

Sometimes I find a pattern in the Book of Mormon and the underlying deeper meaning is immediately apparent to me. (See this series of posts, for example.) Other times, including this example, I notice a pattern but I don't really understand what the deeper meaning is.  I clearly have much more to learn.  One thing I can definitely say is that the text of the Book of Mormon has been carefully prepared by someone with a lot of time and a lot of notes, and it deserves our careful attention.

Fasting in the Book of Mormon -- Part 5

This is the last part of the series where I look into fasting in the Book of Mormon and compare it with fasting in the Old Testament. Here are the links to the previous four parts of this series.

• Part 1: Introduction and fasting as a sign of grief or mourning
• Part 2: Fasting as a sign of repentance and seeking forgiveness for sin
• Part 3: Fasting as an aid in prayer
• Part 4: Fasting as an experience of the presence of God and endorsement of his messenger

In this post we will look at

• Fasting as an act of ceremonial public worship

This one is quite familiar to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Fasting is often a collective, congregational event, not just personal. We see the same in the Book of Mormon.

Nevertheless the children of God were commanded that they should gather themselves together oft, and join in fasting and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God. (Alma 6:6)

Behold, now it came to pass that the people of Nephi were exceedingly rejoiced, because the Lord had again delivered them out of the hands of their enemies; therefore they gave thanks unto the Lord their God; yea, and they did fast much and pray much, and they did worship God with exceedingly great joy. (Alma 45:1)

And it came to pass that as the disciples of Jesus were journeying and were preaching the things which they had both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass that the disciples were gathered together and were united in mighty prayer and fasting (3 Nephi 27:1)

And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls. (Moroni 6:5)

Another aspect of the ceremonial worship is fasting as part of the Jewish calendar or required by the law of Moses. While studying this subject, I came across this article exploring the same subject. The following paragraph gives interesting insight:

The only periodic fast prescribed for the Israelites in the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses) occurs on the Day of Atonement, “the tenth day of the seventh month” of the ancient Jewish calendar (the first month of the current Jewish calendar), when the Lord commanded the Israelites to meet together to “afflict [their] souls” (i.e., to fast) and to “offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord” (Leviticus 23:27ff.; see also 16:29, 31; Numbers 29:7–10). There are no references to this festival in the Old Testament outside of the books of Moses, although Isaiah 58:3–7 may refer to abuses of the fast associated with the Day of Atonement.

The observance of the Day of Atonement fast is never explicitly mentioned in the Book of Mormon. However, its observance may be implied in Alma 30:2, where fasting, mourning, and prayer are referred to, and in Alma 45:1, where fasting, rejoicing, and prayer are mentioned as taking place at the beginning of the year, at the time when the Day of Atonement rites were probably observed among the Nephites. This presumption that these two fasts reflect observances associated with the Pentateuch is, I think, strengthened by the observation in Alma 30:3 (following the mention of fasting and associated rites) that “the people did observe to keep the commandments of the Lord; and they were strict in observing the ordinances of God, according to the law of Moses; for they were taught to keep the law of Moses until it should be fulfilled.”

That concludes the series on fasting in the Book of Mormon and how it compares with Old Testament practice. As we have seen, there are many parallels and a few differences. Fasting in general is also mentioned or described more frequently in the Old Testament compared to the Book of Mormon. Still, there is enough in the Book of Mormon to show that this was definitely part of the Nephite culture and religious tradition, which was inherited from ancient Israelite tradition.

Fasting in the Book of Mormon -- Part 2

The introduction to this series was given in the first part. Another common reason for fasting in the Old Testament is

• as a sign of repentance and seeking forgiveness for sin 

The examples from the Old Testament are plenty. Sometimes it is the repentant sinner fasting, sometimes it is someone else, typically a righteous king or prophet, fasting for his sinful people. There are not many examples of the repentant sinner fasting in the Book of Mormon. I am quite sure Zeezrom, Alma the Elder, Alma the Younger, the Sons of Mosiah, etc. were fasting as part of the repentance process, but the Book of Mormon does not explicitly state so.

Alma the Younger does say in Alma 5:46

Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself.

I believe he refers to the days of his repentance after seeing an angel. After this event, he immediately starts proclaiming the gospel (see Mosiah 27:32), and it wouldn't makes sense if he waited yet a long time before he obtained a testimony. But if the purpose of his fasting was to receive a remission of his sins, it was not the main purpose or only purpose since the one he states is obtaining a spiritual witness.

In the Old Testament, repentance, fasting and sackcloth often go together. For instance, in Jonah 3:5

The people of Nineveh believed in God, and they declared a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them

In Helaman 11:9

And it came to pass that when Nephi saw that the people had repented and did humble themselves in sackcloth, he cried again unto the Lord

It is a similar setting with repentance and sackcloth included, but the fasting omitted. Again, even though not explicitly stated, I think there is reason to believe that fasting was part of it.

Even though fasting for your own sins is not mentioned much in the Book of Mormon, fasting on behalf of other sinners is something we read about more frequently. Alma 10:7

As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a chosen man of God; for he has fasted many days because of the sins of this people

Alma 17:9

And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.

Alma 6:6

Nevertheless the children of God were commanded that they should gather themselves together oft, and join in fasting and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God.

In the first example, Alma has fasted for the people in Ammonihah, Nephites who had been taught the gospel but rejected it. This is what we typically see in the Bible. Fasting on behalf of someone who needs to repent is almost exclusively done for the people of Israel, those who had been taught the commandments of God. In the other two examples from Alma, the fasting is done for people who "knew not God". Apparently, fasting was used in both of these cases in the Book of Mormon. In Alma 6:6, God had even commanded it. Fasting for someone who "knew not God" is not something I know of in the Bible. This one seems rather unique for the Book of Mormon.

Intentional parallels between Alma 5-13 and Alma 36-42

Grant Hardy has a very interesting theory about the layout of Alma.  You can watch his entire presentation here.

In short, he finds numerous parallels between the chapters describing Alma's missionary efforts among three Nephite cities (found in Alma 5-13) and his instructions to his sons (found in Alma 36-42).  He offers several lines of evidence to support his reasoning:

1. In each case, there is a header which was part of the revealed text documenting the account (see headers to chapters 5, 7, 9, 36, 38, 39).
2. We know Alma preached in more cities than just the three, but only three get specifically detailed.
3. The relative length of each son/city pairing is similar.
4. Unique language is found each pairing of accounts, including phrases that are not found very often or at all in other scriptures. See below and future posts for more details about this.

Below is an overview of the big picture, which will be followed later this week with three more detailed posts demonstrating each son/city pairing, which I will link here for future reference.

• Zarahemla (5-6) / Helaman (36-37): "Remember captivity" "Put trust in God" "Born of God"
• Gideon (7-8) / Shiblon (38): "Trust that I shall have joy over/in you"
• Ammonihah (9-13) / Corianton (39-42): "Except ye repent/do this, ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God"

Hardy also suggests that the underlying purpose of these pairings might be an attempt by Mormon at creating a chiastic message in the first 44 chapters of the book of Alma.  I'm not sure I completely follow/agree with this idea, but it is definitely intriguing.  I'll post more about this later this week as well. 

Did the Nephites have the Melchizedek Priesthood?

Considering the temple themes I've pointed out in the last two posts (here and here), a relevant question comes up: Did the Nephites have the Melchizedek Priesthood? 

Temple rites and the gift of the Holy Ghost are administered by the higher priesthood.

A lot has been written on this subject. In this post, I'm going to try to stick to what the Book of Mormon text says on the subject. For reasons I outline in this post, I believe we can very clearly conclude that Alma the Younger had the Melchizedek priesthood, and by extension I believe it is safe to conclude that the other record-keeping prophets also held the higher priesthood.

Alma 13 is our starting point.  The majority of the chapter is about the Melchizedek priesthood.  For example, we read:

10 Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish;
11 Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb.
12 Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.

This certainly sounds a lot like endowed Melchizedek priesthood holders, doesn't it? Much of this sounds similar to passages in the Doctrine and Covenants which we find in revelations to Joseph Smith years after the Book of Mormon text. I will explore those similarities in future posts.

For now, let's stay focused on the phrase "the holy order," which is one of Alma-2's descriptor's of the higher priesthood and/or temple rites.

In these verses, Alma is talking about other men, not himself.  However, he makes it very clear in other sermons that he has been called to this holy order.  Here are a few examples:

Alma 5:

44 For I am called to speak after this manner, according to the holy order of God, which is in Christ Jesus;

Alma 6:

8 And Alma went and began to declare the word of God unto the church which was established in the valley of Gideon, according to the revelation of the truth of the word which had been spoken by his fathers, and according to the spirit of prophecy which was in him, according to the testimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who should come to redeem his people from their sins, and the holy order by which he was called.

Alma 8:

4 And he began to teach the people in the land of Melek according to the holy order of God, by which he had been called; and he began to teach the people throughout all the land of Melek.

Other prophets and leaders were ordained to this "holy order" too.  See Jacob's words in 2 Nephi 6:2, or  Alma 49:30, or Ether 12:10.

Gideon, another example of internal consistency (and possibly Hebrew wordplay) in the Book of Mormon

If we simply compare all the mentions of the name Gideon in the Book of Mormon, we quickly discover that the name can either refer to a place or a person.  In this post, we'll compare these references to see if they are internally consistent. We'll also explore the meaning of the name, since it seems that Mormon enjoyed inserting Hebrew wordplay into the text of the Book of Mormon, particularly when first mentioning a new figure.

Gideon the Man

We first notice this name in the context of the wicked king Noah in the land of Nephi, in Mosiah 19:

4 And now there was a man among them whose name was Gideon, and he being a strong man and an enemy to the king, therefore he drew his sword, and swore in his wrath that he would slay the king.

It is remarkable to me that the first mention of the name Gideon introduces him in a way that fits the meaning of his name so well--Gideon means "hewer, feller, he that cuts down."

Gideon is instrumental in helping the Nephites who follow King Limhi escape from bondage. That plan is introduced by Gideon in Mosiah 22:3-9. They trick their guards into getting drunk and then sneak away in the night.

We don't encounter the name again for awhile, after that group has escaped bondage and returned to the land of Zarahemla. This time, he is older and is a teacher for the newly established church of God, but still bold and aggressive (from Alma 1):

7 And it came to pass as he was going, to preach to those who believed on his word, he met a man who belonged to the church of God, yea, even one of their teachers; and he began to contend with him sharply, that he might lead away the people of the church; but the man withstood him, admonishing him with the words of God.
8 Now the name of the man was Gideon; and it was he who was an instrument in the hands of God in delivering the people of Limhi out of bondage.
9 Now, because Gideon withstood him with the words of God he was wroth with Gideon, and drew his sword and began to smite him. Now Gideon being stricken with many years, therefore he was not able to withstand his blows, therefore he was slain by the sword.

Live by the sword die by the sword, I guess.  Gideon as hewer and hewee?

Gideon the Place

In Alma 2:20, we first encounter Gideon as a place-name:

20 And it came to pass that when Alma could pursue the Amlicites no longer he caused that his people should pitch their tents in the valley of Gideon, the valley being called after that Gideon who was slain by the hand of Nehor with the sword; and in this valley the Nephites did pitch their tents for the night.

We learn in verse 17 that these battles are taking place on a hill east of the river Sidon. Keep that in mind.

Alma-2's highly successful mission to Gideon

Four chapters (and four years) later, Alma-2 has given up the judgment seat and devoted his time to the ministry.  He gives a masterful sermon (found in Alma chapter 5) to the people of Zarahemla, and then (in Alma 6) he continues his travels:

7 And now it came to pass that when Alma had made these regulations he departed from them, yea, from the church which was in the city of Zarahemla, and went over upon the east of the river Sidon, into the valley of Gideon, there having been a city built, which was called the city of Gideon, which was in the valley that was called Gideon, being called after the man who was slain by the hand of Nehor with the sword.

So by this time there is a city called Gideon in the valley called Gideon, and it is still east of the river Sidon. Of note, Alma establishes an "order of the church" for the people there (see Alma 8:1) and blesses them for their righteous choices (see Alma 7).

Korihor's highly unsuccessful mission to Gideon

The next significant mention of Gideon comes about 6 years later when we read about the anti-Christ preacher named Korihor (Alma 30).  He gets expelled out of the land of the people of Ammon and decides to try his luck in Gideon (from verse 21):

And he came over into the land of Gideon, and began to preach unto them also; and here he did not have much success, for he was taken and bound and carried before the high priest, and also the chief judge over the land.

He blasphemes in front of Giddonah, who delivers him to Zarahemla to meet with Alma.  It is worth noting that Zarahemla and Gideon are like twin cities, frequently mentioned in close proximity to each other.

Gideon in the war chapters

More than a decade (and 30 chapters) later, in the midst of a brutal war with the Lamanites, the chief judge Pahoran is ousted from Zarahemla by those Nephites who have allied with the Lamanites and re-established a king. (See this post for more details about that.) Where did Pahoran manage to flee?  Gideon. (See Alma 61:5.)

Moroni comes to the rescue in Alma 62. It is interesting to note that he is coming from the battle zones in the east and unites his armies with those of Pahoran in the valley of Gideon. Then the powerful combined army marches to Zarahemla and reclaims it. This fits the geography previously described--Gideon lies to the east of the river Sidon.

So what can we learn from all of this?  I see a few points worth mentioning.

1. The text of the Book of Mormon is complicated, intricate, and internally consistent. 
2. The author must have had notes. I do not believe the author of this text could have tracked all of these details across thousands of words and hundreds of unrelated names and details without notes.  There is no claim by witness to the translation process (friend or foe) that Joseph dictated from notes, made revisions to the text, or even had details read back to him.
3. Mormon was a fan of Hebrew wordplay.
4. Gideon was a real man and is presented in the text as faithful but aggressive/hot-tempered.
5. The valley named after him became an important city in the Nephite lands, and the text describes it consistently.

"thus it is. Amen"

This phrase just caught my attention. We find 6 of them in the Book of Mormon in total (also counting "thus it is written. Amen" in Alma 6. They are very unique (we don't find them in the Bible for instance) and they always mark the end of a chapter, i.e. the original chapters/sections which seem to have been on the plates, not the modern BoM chapters.

I learned from Hugh Nibley that the "iw-f-pw" in Egyptian, which typically marks the end of ancient Egyptian literature, can be translated to "thus it is". Perhaps this was common on the brass plates which were written with Egyptian script (Mosiah 1:4)?

According to a Jewish Rabbi, the "Amen" afterwards means "truly" or "verily" but is also acrostic for the phrase, "El Melech Ne'eman", which means "God is a faithful king". The phrase fits very well in these passages when reading the context. For instance in Alma 13:9, the righteous people become high priests but God is the king. Also, the last word before this phrase is "truth", which is related to the word, "amen" in Hebrew.

"...and thus it is. Amen" seems to be a formal way for the Nephite record keepers to end a section, combining the Egyptian and the Hebrew phrases.

A list of these end-note phrases:

• 1st Nephi 9. Nephi ending his comments of the plates and possibly the abbreviation of Lehi's record
• 1st Nephi 14. Nephi ending the description of his vision
• 1st Nephi 22. End of 1st Nephi
• Alma 6. Conclusion of Alma's preaching in Zarahemla and introduction to his preaching in Gideon.
• Alma 13. This one is interesting. Mormon seems to copy directly from Alma's record. "I" in verse 1 would be Alma. So Alma is making this section break in the middle of his sermon to the people in Ammonihah. I don't know why...
• Helaman 12. The whole chapter is a "thus we see..." commentary by Mormon. He uses this phrase to conclude his remarks before he continues the narrative.