15 And Alma did speak
unto them, when they were assembled together in large bodies, and he went from
one body to another, preaching unto the people repentance and faith on the
Lord.
16 And he did exhort
the people of Limhi and his brethren, all those that had been delivered out of
bondage, that they should remember that it was the Lord that did deliver them.
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.
19 And it came to pass
that king Mosiah granted unto Alma that he might establish churches throughout
all the land of Zarahemla; and gave him power to ordain priests and teachers
over every church.
20 Now this was done
because there were so many people that they could not all be governed by one
teacher; neither could they all hear the word of God in one assembly;
21 Therefore they did assemble
themselves together in different bodies, being called churches; every church
having their priests and their teachers, and every priest preaching the word
according as it was delivered to him by the mouth of Alma.
22 And thus,
notwithstanding there being many churches they were all one church, yea, even
the church of God; for there was nothing preached in all the churches except it
were repentance and faith in God.
23 And now there were
seven churches in the land of Zarahemla.
And it came to pass that whosoever were desirous to take upon them the name
of Christ, or of God, they did join the churches of God;
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.
Mosiah 25:15-24
After Mosiah spoke, he had Alma speak to the body. The record tells us he went from on group to
another, preaching gospel basics – repentance and faith in the Lord.
When speaking to the people of Limhi, Alma reminds them “they should remember that it was the Lord
that did deliver them.” This is an
interesting statement. Reading Mormon’s
account, it is easy to conclude they were released from bondage without help
from the Lord. Grant Hardy explains,
[C]onsider the single thing Mormon
chooses to tell us out of Alma’s exhortation (which probably lasted for hours)
to the people of Limhi in Zarahemla after their arrival there. He features
Alma’s statement that they "should remember that it was the Lord" that
delivered them (Mosiah 25:16). When we read the account of Limhi’s escape
(Mosiah 22), we see that freedom came through a cunning scheme by which they
got the Lamanite guards drunk. Yet Mormon provides a spiritual interpretation
of this escape to emphasize that, despite what may seem to be men’s own
cleverness, planning, and apparent luck, God is really the one making things
happen. Mormon's frequent "and thus we see" comments reveal this
view.[1]
After Alma taught the people of
Limhi, they wanted to be baptized. “Mormon
spoke in Mosiah 21:35 of Limhi's people, saying that ‘an account of their
baptism shall be given hereafter.’ Almost a hundred verses followed before he
told in Mosiah 25:17-18 about that ordinance being performed.”[2]
Alma baptized them after the manner he baptized at the
waters of Mormon. That is, he baptized
those who believe in Christ in His name.
When the Nephite religion was
reorganized in 121 BC, specific mention is made of baptism. Moreover, it
is Alma who conducts those baptisms, which are specifically described:
"yea, he did baptize them after the manner he did his brethren in the
waters of Mormon" (Mosiah 25:18).
Mosiah 25:18 records that
"as many as he did baptize did belong to the church of God." Since
Alma is described at Mosiah 29:47 as the founder of the church, this would
suggest that all those who came to consider themselves to be members of the
church of God were baptized at this time, including King Mosiah and those who
had taken upon themselves the name of Christ three years earlier at his
coronation. Furthermore, the members are described as undertaking the rite of
baptism, not because of their preexisting belief in Christ, but "because
of their belief on the words of Alma" (Mosiah 25:18). All of this points
very strongly to Alma's having introduced the rite of baptism among the Nephite
peoples[3].
Having taught the people, King Mosiah placed Alma over the
church. He was to establish the church
throughout the land, ordaining priests and teachers as needed.
The population was too large for one teacher. The congregation was too large for one
edifice. To deal with this, Alma
established churches throughout the land, appointing priests and teachers, the
priests having been taught by Alma.
He was presumably quite happy to divest
himself of some of them.) Priests in the church at Zarahemla taught the people
what they received from Alma to teach (Mosiah 25:21), he having received it in
his turn from God, whom he represented. Thus, the pyramidal hierarchy of
heavenly king, earthly king, priests, teachers, and people, so characteristic
of earlier Nephite thought and practice, survived under the new order, albeit
in somewhat different form.[4]
This became a sort of renaissance of the church among the people
of Zarahemla. John Welch explains the
situation as Alma found it.
By the end of Benjamin's reign, the
role of these prophets or holy men seems to have diminished; they are never
mentioned in any of Benjamin's words, nor do they reemerge as part of the
church in Zarahemla during the subsequent reign of Mosiah2. Perhaps
the need to fill the vacuum caused by the reduction in the role of these
prophets, preachers, and teachers contributed to Mosiah2's eagerness
to embrace Alma1 and his group and to grant him very broad
powers to establish Nephite churches shortly after he arrived in Zarahemla (Mosiah
25:19) only a few years after the commencement of Mosiah's reign.[5]
Even though several churches were established, they were one
church. In today’s church, we would look
on these churches as branches or wards, all part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The principles taught were faith in God and
repentance.
As I have suggested, this first
Alma was divinely called to reestablish and lead the Lord's church, first among
his exiled followers and then in the larger nation after he and his people
arrived safely in Zarahemla. There are several references later on to his being
the appointed leader of that church. The record states that although "many
churches" were established, "they were all one church, yea, even the
church of God" (Mosiah 25:22). Clearly, Alma was to head them all, for
"king Mosiah had given Alma the authority over the church" (26:8; see
25:19). Of course, the higher, ecclesiastical authority had to come from God
himself, and it did.[6]
There were a total of seven churches throughout the land of
Zarahemla. Anyone desiring to take upon
themselves the name of Christ joined one of the seven churches. They were the people of God and they prospered
in the land.
[1] Mormon's
Agenda, Grant R. Hardy, Maxwell Institute, accessed December 9, 2014.
[2] Mormon's
Editorial Promises, John A. Tvedtnes, Maxwell Institute, accessed December
9, 2014.
[3] The
Book of Mosiah: Thoughts about Its Structure, Purposes, Themes, and Authorship,
Gary L. Sturgess, Maxwell Institute, accessed December 9, 2014.
[4] Authority
in the Book of Mosiah, Daniel C. Peterson, Maxwell Institute, accessed December
9, 2014.
[5] Benjamin,
the Man: His Place in Nephite History, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute,
accessed December 9, 2014.
[6] The
Book of Mormon: Passport to Discipleship, Marilyn Arnold, Maxwell
Institute, accessed December 9, 2014.
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