18 Now it came to pass
that Alma and his people in the night–time gathered their flocks together, and
also of their grain; yea, even all the night–time were they gathering the
flocks together.
19 And in the morning
the Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon the Lamanites, yea, and all their
task–masters were in a profound sleep.
20 And Alma and his
people departed into the wilderness; and when they had traveled all day they
pitched their tents in a valley, and they called the valley Alma, because he
led their way in the wilderness.
21 Yea, and in the
valley of Alma they poured out their thanks to God because he had been merciful
unto them, and eased their burdens, and had delivered them out of bondage; for
they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it were the Lord their
God.
22 And they gave thanks
to God, yea, all their men and all their women and all their children that
could speak lifted their voices in the praises of their God.
23 And now the Lord
said unto Alma: Haste thee and get thou and this people out of this land, for
the Lamanites have awakened and do pursue thee; therefore get thee out of this
land, and I will stop the Lamanites in this valley that they come no further in
pursuit of this people.
24 And it came to pass
that they departed out of the valley, and took their journey into the wilderness.
25 And after they had
been in the wilderness twelve days they arrived in the land of
Zarahemla; and king Mosiah did also receive them with joy.
Mosiah 24:18-25
The time had come.
The people are preparing at night, getting their possessions
together. They Lord is about to lead
them out of their bondage. A deep sleep
came over the Lamanites, allowing them to make their bid for freedom.
While this has similarities to the Zeniffite’s escape, there
is one major difference. It was Ammon’s
idea to get the guards so drunk they would pass out. The Lamanite guards willingly (though
unknowingly) went along with plan. They
drank so much the passed out, allowing them to flee the Lamanites.
In this case, the sleep was a miracle of the Lord. There is no mention of the hand of man in
this process. Mormon tells us “the Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon
the Lamanites.” This was a miracle
performed for the benefit of Alma’s people.
In several crucial encounters
between the Nephites and the numerically superior Lamanites, the Lamanites
simply fall asleep. Alma the Elder and his people are able to escape during the
day because "the Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon the Lamanites"
(Mosiah 24:19) … Physical sleep also symbolizes a type of spiritual darkness … Hugh
Nibley in The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri (Salt Lake
City: Deseret Book, 1976), 147, says, "Sleep, like water, is one of those
things in which reality and symbol meet and fuse. It is both the rest of the
body and the freeing of the spirit." Nibley quotes A. Altmann on "the
Gnostic idea that sleep represents spiritual death, the 'Forgetfulness of man's
divine origin.'"[1]
They went into the wilderness and traveled for one day. At the end of the day, they came to a valley,
which they called the valley of Alma.
Once they got settled, “they
poured out their thanks to God.” He
had eased their burdens.
5
This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land
of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
6
I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
Psalms 81:5-6
There was only one way their deliverance could have occurred. That was through the power of God. All praised God for what He had done for them.
Bondage is often considered in the
Book of Mormon to be a necessary condition as preparation for conversion or
salvation … [T]he bondage suffered by peoples such as Alma's group was beyond
what humans could do to solve it, requiring the power of God to be shown
directly: "They were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it
were the Lord their God" (Mosiah 24:21).[2]
Not long after they arrived in the valley of Alma, the Lord
told him the Lamanites had recovered and were in pursuit. Alma was told to leave the valley and the
Lord would stop the Lamanites in the valley.
They followed the Lord’s commands and continued their
journey. They traveled for twelves day
and arrived in the land of Zarahemla. “[K]in Mosiah did also receive them with
joy.”
Once again, in Moses-like fashion,
Alma guided his people out of bondage, and led them during a twelve-day journey
to a new land—the Land of Zarahemla—where they joined with the people of
Zarahemla and exiled Nephites to form a new and stronger Nephite nation (Mosiah
24:24—25).[3]
[1] "Not
Cast Off Forever" – Imagery, Maxwell Institute, accessed December 5,
2014.
[2] Book
of Mormon Imagery, Richard Dilworth Rust, Maxwell Institute, accessed December
5, 2014.
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