Chapter 26
Many members of the
Church are led into sin by unbelievers—Alma is promised eternal life—Those who
repent and are baptized gain forgiveness—Church members in sin who repent and
confess to Alma and to the Lord shall be forgiven; otherwise they shall be
excommunicated. About 120–100 B.C.
1 NOW it came to pass
that there were many of the rising generation that could not understand the words
of king Benjamin, being little children at the time he spake unto his people;
and they did not believe the tradition of their fathers.
2 They did not believe
what had been said concerning the resurrection of the dead, neither did they
believe concerning the coming of Christ.
3 And now because of
their unbelief they could not understand the word of God; and their hearts were
hardened.
4 And they would not
be baptized; neither would they join the church. And they were a separate people as to their
faith, and remained so ever after, even in their carnal and sinful state; for
they would not call upon the Lord their God.
5 And now in the reign
of Mosiah they were not half so numerous as the people of God; but because of
the dissensions among the brethren they became more numerous.
6 For it came to pass
that they did deceive many with their flattering words, who were in the church,
and did cause them to commit many sins; therefore it became expedient that
those who committed sin, that were in the church, should be admonished by the
church.
7 And it came to pass
that they were brought before the priests, and delivered up unto the priests by
the teachers; and the priests brought them before Alma, who was the high
priest.
8 Now king Mosiah had
given Alma the authority over the church.
9 And it came to pass
that Alma did not know concerning them; but there were many witnesses against
them; yea, the people stood and testified of their iniquity in abundance.
10 Now there had not
any such thing happened before in the church; therefore Alma was troubled in
his spirit, and he caused that they should be brought before the king.
11 And he said unto
the king: Behold, here are many whom we have brought before thee, who are
accused of their brethren; yea, and they have been taken in divers iniquities. And they do not repent of their iniquities;
therefore we have brought them before thee, that thou mayest judge them
according to their crimes.
12 But king Mosiah
said unto Alma: Behold, I judge them not; therefore I deliver them into thy
hands to be judged.
Mosiah 26:1-12
Problems were developing in Nephi society. The younger generation were too young to
understand King Benjamin’s words. They
grew to reject “the tradition of their
fathers.” They rejected Christ and
the resurrection of the dead.
Not surprisingly, because of their unbelief, they were
unable to understand the word of God. In
this, they were similar to Laman and Lemuel.
They were unable to understand the teaching of Nephi and the word of the
Lord. Nephi would tell them,
6
And it came to pass that after I had received strength I spake unto my
brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations.
7
And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath
spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive-tree, and also concerning
the Gentiles.
8
And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?
9
And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known
unto us.
10
Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the
Lord? How is it that ye will perish,
because of the hardness of your hearts?
1 Nephi 15:6-10
Too bad the younger generation ignored the words of Nephi.
Wise King Benjamin knew personally
of the importance of sacred records. Just a few years before Benjamin's reign,
some of the people of Zarahemla ended up denying "the being of their
Creator" (Omni 1:17). Why? Because they had no sacred record. Within one
generation of Benjamin's great sermon, it was reported that: “there were many
of the rising generation that could not understand the words of king Benjamin,
being little children at the time he spake unto his people; and they did not
believe the tradition of their fathers…”
How ironic that the last words of King Benjamin were lost on
"many" of the first generation after him![1]
The refused to be baptized.
They refused to join the church.
They were “a separate people … and
remained so ever after.”
A possible religious influence from
the "Mulekites" appears as a distinct organizational element in the
mixture constituting Nephite religion. Shortly after the start of the reign of
the judges, toward the end of the second century B.C., a group of young adults
in the land of Zarahemla refused to "believe the tradition of their
fathers” … They would not join the church recently introduced by Alma1 but
"were a separate people as to their faith, and remained so ever
after" (Mosiah 26:4). "A separate people as to their faith"
clearly indicates the presence of a cult if not a church. The expression ever
after may have been a comment from Mormon, more than four centuries
later.[2]
At the beginning of Mosiah’s reign, they were less than half
the people. Eventually, they became the
majority. Those that followed them were
deceived by flattering words. We see
this today. People using glib words draw
people away from the gospel and onto their paths. They ignore God’s word and turn to a life of
sin. Any who were in the church were
admonished by the church concerning their sin.
The teachers brought the apostates to the priests; the
priests brought them to Alma, the high priest.
The numbers of dissenters grew, due
to criticism within the Church. There were dissensions among the brethren,
while the outsiders kept working on the members to accept the new moral
emancipation (Mosiah 26:1—6). What was to be done? Members of the Church who
had begun to make trouble were brought by local members before local priests
and teachers; but those officers didn't know what to do, except to send the
culprits on to Alma, since Mosiah recognized Alma as the head of the Church,
the high priest (Mosiah 26:7).[3]
King Mosiah had given Alma authority over the church. As he dealt with them he learned about their
wickedness from witnesses against them.
Nothing like this occurred in the church in the past. Not knowing how to deal with them, he had the
people brought before the king. He
explained the situation. They were
sinners who refused to repent. Alma
wanted Mosiah to judge them according to the crimes.
“Mosiah championed religious freedom among his people and
refused to judge those who dissented or criticized his religion (Mosiah 26:12).
The Lord gave Alma authority, only in specific cases, to number such
individuals in the church no longer (Mosiah 26:32–36).”[4] Mosiah returned them to Alma to be judged by
him.
[1] King
Benjamin's Sermon: A Manual for Discipleship, Elder Neal A. Maxwell,
Maxwell Institute, accessed December 11, 2014.
[2] Religious
Groups and Movements among the Nephites, 200-1 B.C., John L. Sorenson,
Maxwell Institute, accessed December 11, 2014.
[3] Brother
Brigham Challenges the Saints – Criticizing the Brethren, Maxwell
Institute, accessed December 11, 2014.
[4] Mosiah:
The Complex Symbolism and Symbolic Complex of Kingship in the Book of Mormon,
Gordon C. Thomasson, Maxwell Institute, accessed December 11, 2014.
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