We’ve studied the missionary work of the sons of Mosiah. I would like to return to the works of Alma(2).
Chapter 8
Alma preaches and baptizes in Melek—He is rejected in Ammonihah and leaves—An angel commands him to return and cry repentance unto the people—He is received by Amulek, and the two of them preach in Ammonihah. About 82 B.C.
1 AND now it came to pass that Alma returned from the land of Gideon, after having taught the people of Gideon many things which cannot be written, having established the order of the church, according as he had before done in the land of Zarahemla, yea, he returned to his own house at Zarahemla to rest himself from the labors which he had performed.
2 And thus ended the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.
3 And it came to pass in the commencement of the tenth year [82 B.C.] of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Alma departed from thence and took his journey over into the land of Melek, on the west of the river Sidon, on the west by the borders of the wilderness.
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.
Alma 8:1-4 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(2) had been preaching to the church. In Chapters 5 and 6, he was preaching to the church in the Zarahemla area. There were problems that had to be addressed.
After he finished preaching, he went to Gideon. There, he found the church strong and the members faithful. He went home for a time after preaching in Gideon.
He was home for about a year. Then, he went to the land of Melek to preaching to the people there. John Tvedtnes suggests, “[t]he name [Melek] means "king," suggesting that it may have been a Mulekite settlement.”[1]
Hugh Nibley points out that he went to Melek to organize an order of the church.
“Next he went to the city of Melek. This was a very interesting mission he had in the city of Melek. What he was doing was going around establishing the order of the church in all these places. It says here [Alma 8:1]: ‘having established the order of the church, according as he had before done in the land of Zarahemla.’ Zarahemla is the model; it is just like the center stake of Zion. They're all organized on the pattern of Zarahemla here.” [2] (Emphasis mine)
5 And it came to pass that the people came to him throughout all the borders of the land which was by the wilderness side. And they were baptized throughout all the land;
6 So that when he had finished his work at Melek he departed thence, and traveled three days' journey on the north of the land of Melek; and he came to a city which was called Ammonihah.
Alma 8:5-6 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(2) found success in Melek. Many were baptized. His next stop was the city of Ammonihah.
7 Now it was the custom of the people of Nephi to call their lands, and their cities, and their villages, yea, even all their small villages, after the name of him who first possessed them; and thus it was with the land of Ammonihah.
8 And it came to pass that when Alma had come to the city of Ammonihah he began to preach the word of God unto them.
9 Now Satan had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma.
10 Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance.
Alma 8:7-10 (Emphasis mine)
Mormon shares with us a Nephite custom. The lands, cities, and villages were named after the person who first possessed them. In this case, the city was named after Ammonihah.
The people of Ammonihah rejected Alma(2)’s message. They refused to listen.
Alma(2) continued preaching, relying on the Spirit to guide him after having wrestled with the Lord. This is an interesting term, wrestling with the Lord. What exactly does the mean? Hugh Nibley explains:
“Wrestling with God? Does God resist you? Do you have to resist him? No, you have to put yourself into position, in the right state of mind … In the world we operate on a different level. It takes great mental effort to confront the Lord in all seriousness. We do it at various shallow levels, by routine. We have a prayer here because we feel we should. If we're going to make it really serious, we have to work on it harder. We couldn't do it cold. In other words, you can't just come in cold … if it comes to confronting the Lord, you have to be very serious about that sort of thing. It's quite a preliminary exercise, which is called wrestling with the Lord, wrestling with yourself.” [3] (Emphasis mine)
Why did they reject Alma(2). Hugh Nibley briefly explains their history.
“But [the people of Ammonihah] wouldn't have anything to do with him. These weren't dissenters. See, these were people who had been living alone by themselves. They broke off at an early time, and they'd had their own religion for a long time.” [4] (Emphasis mine)
[1] Book of Mormon Tribal Affiliation and Military Castes, John A. Tvedtnes, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 8, 2011.
[2] Lecture 47: Alma 5-10, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 8, 2011.
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