10 Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth. 11 Nevertheless, in this I do not glory, for I am unworthy to glory of myself.
Mosiah 23:10-11 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(1) teaches us an important truth. He told us he repented of his sins and received forgiveness. But, it wasn’t a simple thing. He told us that “after much tribulation” (emphasis mine) he received forgiveness and became and “instrument in the hands” of the Lord. He brought “… about four hundred and fifty souls” to the gospel. (Mosiah 18:35).
When we don’t live the gospel properly, we have to repent. Saying a few words does not bring us repentance. We have to struggle and convince the Lord we are sincere. The struggle is worth it. The Lord has told us that “…after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand.” (D&C 58:4).
We also learn that, to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord, we must be prepared to serve the Lord. Alma(1)’s son would show us how. When he and his brethren went to preach to the Lamanites, Mormon tells us that “…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 17:9).
Being an instrument in the hand of the Lord is a common phrase found in the Book of Mormon. David Seely writes:
“This phrase occurs twelve times in the Book of Mormon but not at all in the Old Testament. It refers to servants of the Lord who help bring souls to Christ, often through missionary work. Among these are Nephi, who brought his people across the sea to the promised land (see 2 Nephi 1:24), Joseph Smith in the last days (see 2 Nephi 3:24), and Alma the elder and his converts (see Mosiah 23:10). The phrase appears several times for the younger Alma and the sons of Mosiah (see Mosiah 27:36; Alma 2:30; 17:9, 11; 26:3, 15; 29:9; 35:14). The sense of this expression is perfectly logical in relation to other biblical hand-of-God expressions.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
12 And now I say unto you, ye have been oppressed by king Noah, and have been in bondage to him and his priests, and have been brought into iniquity by them; therefore ye were bound with the bands of iniquity. 13 And now as ye have been delivered by the power of God out of these bonds; yea, even out of the hands of king Noah and his people, and also from the bonds of iniquity, even so I desire that ye should stand fast in this liberty wherewith ye have been made free, and that ye trust no man to be a king over you. 14 And also trust no one to be your teacher nor your minister, except he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments.
Mosiah 23:12-14 (Emphasis mine)
Noah oppressed his people and they were in bondage to the King and his priests. The people were brought to sin because they were “bound with the bands of iniquity.”
How did this happen? We are told that King Noah “he did not walk in the ways of his father. For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness.” (Mosiah 11:1-2).
When leaders are wicked, it spills down to the people. It’s a step-by-step process. Mormon tells us that the people “will harden their hearts … and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction.” (Alma 12:11).
They were delivered by the power of God. (“And it came to pass that Alma and the people of the Lord were apprised of the coming of the king's army; therefore they took their tents and their families and departed into the wilderness.” [Mosiah 18:34}.) Alma(1) called on them to “stand fast in this liberty wherewith you have been made free.” This is why they should not have a king.
He taught them that only someone who is a servant of the Lord should be there teacher. Alma(1) had set the example. Alma(1) “having authority from God, ordained priests; even one priest to every fifty of their number did he ordain to preach unto them, and to teach them concerning the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” (Mosiah 18:18).
15 Thus did Alma teach his people, that every man should love his neighbor as himself, that there should be no contention among them. 16 And now, Alma was their high priest, he being the founder of their church. 17 And it came to pass that none received authority to preach or to teach except it were by him from God. Therefore he consecrated all their priests and all their teachers; and none were consecrated except they were just men. 18 Therefore they did watch over their people, and did nourish them with things pertaining to righteousness.
Mosiah 23:15-18 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(1) continued to teach his people the basics of the gospel. He emphasized that there should be no contentions among them. This reiterated his past teachings where "he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another.” (Mosiah 18:21).
During Christ’s ministry in the New World, he commanded that “there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been. For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.” (3 Nephi 11:28-29).
He also followed the Nephite pattern of consecrating priests to teach the people. This practice began shortly after the arrival of Lehi’s party in the New World. Nephi(1) tells us that he “did consecrate Jacob and Joseph, that they should be priests and teachers over the land of my people.” (2 Nephi 5:26).
Those consecrated took care of the people and taught them correct gospel principles. They practiced what Paul would later write to Timothy: “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” (1 Timothy 4:6).
One of my favorite LDS scholars and writers, Daniel Peterson, describes this church.
“It is Alma who founded the church among the Nephites (Mosiah 23:16), in the sense of a separately existing organization within the larger society. It is easy to see why this was so. The king, Noah, had abdicated his traditional responsibilities in the hierarchical social system of the Nephites, and Alma had taken his place as the spiritual leader and fount of priesthood authority for those who dissented from Noah's leadership. Alma's colony thus became a secessionist group much like the almost precisely contemporary community of Qumran on the shore of the Dead Sea. Birth as a Nephite was no longer enough to make a man or woman one of God's people, as it was emphatically no longer sufficient for the Qumran sectaries. Instead, a conscious and personal decision, a covenant, was required of anyone who wished to be numbered among the people of God.” [2] (Emphasis mine)
[1] The Image of the Hand of God in the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament, David R. Seely, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 14, 2012.
[2] Authority in the Book of Mosiah, Daniel C. Peterson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 14, 2012.
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