Chapter 4
Alma baptizes
thousands of converts—Iniquity enters the Church, and the Church's progress is
hindered—Nephihah is appointed chief judge—Alma, as high priest, devotes
himself to the ministry. About 86–83 B.C.
1 NOW it came to pass in the sixth year of the reign
of the judges [86 B.C.] over the people of Nephi, there were no contentions nor
wars in the land of Zarahemla; 2 But the
people were afflicted, yea, greatly afflicted for the loss of their brethren,
and also for the loss of their flocks and herds, and also for the loss of their
fields of grain, which were trodden under foot and destroyed by the Lamanites.
3 And so great were their afflictions that every
soul had cause to mourn; and they believed that it was the judgments of God
sent upon them because of their wickedness and their abominations;
therefore they were awakened to a remembrance of their duty.
Alma 4:1-3 (Emphasis mine)
The war ended, but now the people had to pick up the
pieces. There were also sorts of
problems.
The people were “greatly afflicted for the loss of their
brethren.” Over 6,000 Nephites died in
one war. More were lost in the second war
that happened “not many days after the battle which was fought in the land of
Zarahemla” (Alma 3:20).
They also had to deal with the consequences of “the loss of
their flocks and herds, and also for the loss of their fields of grain.” How do they make up for the loss of
food? How are the people going to be
fed? How will they survive?
They knew why this had come upon them. “[T]hey believed that is was the judgments of
God sent upon them because of their wickedness” (verse 3). Hugh Nibley expands on this.
“And yet how did the Nephites, under Alma's instruction,
view this particular showdown? ‘They believed that it was the judgments of God
sent upon them because of their wickedness and their abominations; therefore
they were awakened to a remembrance of their duty’ (Alma 4:3). It
was not a case of right against wrong at all, but of two wrongs teaching a grim
lesson of mutual destruction; for what kind of a victory was it for the
Nephites? ‘The people were … greatly afflicted for the loss of their brethren; …
their flocks and herds [and] … their fields of grain … were trodden under foot
and destroyed by the Lamanites. And so great were their afflictions that every
soul had cause to mourn’ (Alma 4:2–3).” [1]
(Emphasis mine)
4 And they began to establish the church more
fully; yea, and many were baptized in the waters of Sidon and were joined to
the church of God; yea, they were baptized by the hand of Alma, who had
been consecrated the high priest over the people of the church, by the hand of
his father Alma. 5 And it came
to pass in the *seventh year of the reign of the judges [85 B.C.] there
were about three thousand five hundred souls that united themselves to the church
of God and were baptized. And
thus ended the seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of
Nephi; and there was continual peace in all that time.
Alma 4:4-5 (Emphasis mine)
They began to “establish the church more fully.” They went out and sought new converts. These converts “were joined to the church of
God.” These converts “united themselves
to the church of God and were baptized.”
First, the “united themselves to the church” and then they were
baptized. Around 3,500 people “united”
then baptized.
We will see how quickly things can change.
[1] Freemen
and King-men in the Book of Mormon, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute, accessed February 28, 2012.
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