The covenant context of Mosiah 25

I have learned that covenants permeate all scriptures, more than we tend to think, because a lot of the covenant language is not obvious to us. Some is hidden in symbolism, some is lost in translation both in terms of language and culture. This post introduces key terms associated with the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants. Another term that is often related to the Abrahamic covenant is "blessed". For an Israelite, being Abraham's seed meant everything because of the promises he received.

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. (Abraham 2:11)

"They were blessed"

We think of the term, blessed, as something nice happening to us. That can be a general meaning in the scriptures too, but it is often written as an allusion to the Abrahamic covenant. One such example is in Mosiah 25. The people of Limhi had escaped Lamanite bondage and joined the people in Zarahemla. While in the Land of Nephi, they wanted to be baptized but there was no one worthy and with authority among them, so they had to postpone it. In Zarahemla, Alma the high priest had the Priesthood, and they were finally able to be baptized. Then he went on to ordain priests and teachers proclaiming "repentance and faith" (Mosiah 25:22). Mormon's final comment in this chapter reads

24 And they were called the people of God. And the Lord did pour out his Spirit upon them, and they were blessed, and prospered in the land.

In this context, "they were blessed" is an obvious reference to the Abrahamic covenant. What about the red colored text? These are allusions to the Mosaic covenant. I think that the Nephites placed particular emphasis on these two covenants for the following reasons:

1. They were "wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem" (Jacob 7:26). It was really important to them to emphasize that through their lineage to Joseph, they were Abraham's descendants, even though they were not with the main body of the Israelites any longer. The blessings promised to Abraham applied to them.
2. Their exodus from Jerusalem to a promised land was a similar journey to that of their forefathers. The same conditions and promises given to their forefathers were given to them. This is summed up in "the Book of Mormon proverb" that is repeated consistently in  the Book of Mormon.

"They were called the people of God"

This statement is related to the Mosaic covenant. For example:

5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 19)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6)

Again, I think the Nephites want to emphasize that they were not merely outcasts. They remembered what had happened to their forefathers and insisted that the covenant terms still applied to them. As long as they were faithful, they could rightly call themselves God's chosen people.

"[They] prospered in the land"

Having already linked to "the Book of Mormon proverb", this one should be obvious. "If you keep my commandments you shall prosper in the land" is the abbreviated code for the Mosaic covenant. The earlier part of the chapter, explains how they kept the commandments: They were baptized, organized the church and preached repentance and faith. The promise that they would prosper in the land was therefore fulfilled. 

We even read that Alma established seven churches. Among ancient Israelites, numbers had more meaning than just their numerical value. In Judaism, seven is one of the most important numbers, representing creation, perfection, good fortune, and blessing. Talking about how they were blessed, the mention of seven churches was perhaps intentional to underscore this point.

The children of Amulon and his brethren

I don't like to link to anti-church literature here, but suffice it to say that I read an article on one of the more well-known anti-church websites claiming that the Book of Mormon "text is filled with inconsistencies". Having written so much about the numerous examples of internal consistency, I become curious when such a claim is made. Not unexpectedly, the article fails completely to give these examples and it is tempting to write a full rebuttal, but I will not waste my time. But I just want to give one example of the failed critical argument here, because it demonstrates the complexity of the Book of Mormon and provides an example of an apparent weakness turning into a strength.

The article quotes Mosiah 25:12

those who were the children of Amulon and his brethren, who had taken to wife the daughters of the Lamanites, were displeased with the conduct of their fathers, and they would no longer be called by the names of their fathers, therefore they took upon themselves the name of Nephi, that they might be called the children of Nephi and be numbered among those who were called Nephites.

For those who don't remember, Amulon was the leader of the wicked priests of King Noah. They fled the land at King Noah's death and ruled over the people of Alma in the land Helam for a while. Like the verse says, they also kidnapped and married some of the daughters of the Lamanites.

The article comments:

The text does not say that the priests [Amulon and his brethren] had any children when they journeyed to Helam, but by the time Alma escaped, the priests not only had children, but they were apparently mature enough to decide that they wanted to join Alma's group in fleeing to Zarahemla

It also argues that the prophecies of Abinadi about the seed of the priests could not possibly be fulfilled since their children had joined the Nephites in Zarahemla as explained in Mosiah 25:12.

On the surface, it seems that the author has a valid point. But it is based on lack of detailed knowledge of the Book of Mormon text. The author assumes that the children of Amulon and his brethren that we read about in Mosiah 25:12, are children from the marriage with the daughters of the Lamanites. This is not the case. King Noah's priests already had wives and children (and concubines) before they fled the land and captured the Lamanite women. In Mosiah 19:11, we learn that when the Lamanites attacked, King Noah "commanded them that all the men should leave their wives and their children, and flee before the Lamanites". In verse 21 we learn that his priests were among them that had left their families and fled. 

Consequently, the children of Amulon and his brethren were among the people of Limhi, Noahs son, separated from their fathers. They were among the people who were slaves to the Lamanites and finally managed to escape and get back to Zarahemla. In the meantime, Amulon and his brethren, took the Lamanite's daughters as wives and presumably had new children. Abinadi's prophecies about the seed of the priests of Noah was of course directed at them.

Confused yet? Let's try to make an overview:

1. King Noah and his priests rule in wickedness
2. The Lamanites attack and the king and his priests leave their families and flee
3. King Noah's son, Limhi, rules as a tributary monarch in Lamanite captivity
4. The priests (Amulon and his brethren) kidnap some of the daughters of the Lamanites, marry them and probably have kids
5. Not long after, they find the people of Alma in the land of Helam and bring them into bondage
6. The people of Limhi manage to escape and flee to Zarahemla
7. Alma and his people manage to escape and flee to Zarahemla
8. In Zarahemla, the children of Amulon and his brethren want to be Nephites and not Amulonites

The critic misses the detail in #2 and assumes the kids from #4 end up in Zarahemla (#8), which admittedly would be strange, but certainly is not the case.

Conclusion: The Book of Mormon is complex! There are numerous such details in the text and it's hard to get a grip on those before you have read it a few dozen times and paid attention. This critic (who seems to be an ex-member) probably spent his youth in Sunday School, Seminary and Institute and had read the Book of Mormon multiple times, but still missed this detail. I don't think that is uncommon. What is uncommon, even remarkable, is that the 23 year old farmer with very little education dictated this text with all these details in essentially one draft without notes or manuscript. He apparently had full control over the details that the critic struggled with, even though the critic had the luxury of actually having the Book of Mormon text in front of them. Of course, I don't believe that Joseph Smith knew these details, I think the text was revealed to him and that the original author, Mormon, in this case, knew the details. But for the critics, this was Joseph Smith's invention, and the criticism backfires when it turns out that the ridiculed young farmer dictates a text so complex that the critics cannot keep track of the details.

An editorial promise about Alma's missionary work

The Book of Mosiah is complicated. Several editorial promises can be found within this book.  An editorial promise is when the author promises to give an account at a later time.  There are many examples of these throughout the Book of Mormon. Here is one:

In Mosiah 21:35, Mormon mentions that when king Limhi and his people joined the Nephites in Zarahemla, they wanted to be baptized:

35 They were desirous to be baptized as a witness and a testimony that they were willing to serve God with all their hearts; nevertheless they did prolong the time; and an account of their baptism shall be given hereafter.

 This account is found in Mosiah 25:17-18

17 And it came to pass that after Alma had taught the people many things, and had made an end of speaking to them, that king Limhi was desirous that he might be baptized; and all his people were desirous that they might be baptized also.
18 Therefore, Alma did go forth into the water and did baptize them; yea, he did baptize them after the manner he did his brethren in the waters of Mormon; yea, and as many as he did baptize did belong to the church of God; and this because of their belief on the words of Alma.