Chapter 27
Mosiah forbids
persecution and enjoins equality—Alma the younger and the four sons of Mosiah
seek to destroy the Church—An angel appears and commands them to cease their
evil course—Alma is struck dumb—All mankind must be born again to gain
salvation—Alma and the sons of Mosiah declare glad tidings. About 100–92 B.C.
1 AND now it came to
pass that the persecutions which were inflicted on the church by the
unbelievers became so great that the church began to murmur, and complain to
their leaders concerning the matter; and they did complain to Alma. And Alma laid the case before their king,
Mosiah. And Mosiah consulted with his
priests.
2 And it came to pass
that king Mosiah sent a proclamation throughout the land round about that there
should not any unbeliever persecute any of those who belonged to the church of
God.
3 And there was a
strict command throughout all the churches that there should be no persecutions
among them, that there should be an equality among all men;
4 That they should let
no pride nor haughtiness disturb their peace; that every man should esteem his neighbor
as himself, laboring with their own hands for their support.
5 Yea, and all their
priests and teachers should labor with their own hands for their support, in
all cases save it were in sickness, or in much want; and doing these things,
they did abound in the grace of God.
6 And there began to
be much peace again in the land; and the people began to be very numerous, and
began to scatter abroad upon the face of the earth, yea, on the north and on
the south, on the east and on the west, building large cities and villages in
all quarters of the land.
7 And the Lord did visit
them and prosper them, and they became a large and wealthy people.
8 Now the sons of
Mosiah were numbered among the unbelievers; and also one of the sons of Alma
was numbered among them, he being called Alma, after his father; nevertheless,
he became a very wicked and an idolatrous man.
And he was a man of many words, and did speak much flattery to the
people; therefore he led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities.
9 And he became a
great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; stealing away the
hearts of the people; causing much dissension among the people; giving a chance
for the enemy of God to exercise his power over them.
10 And now it came to
pass that while he was going about to destroy the church of God, for he did go
about secretly with the sons of Mosiah seeking to destroy the church, and to
lead astray the people of the Lord, contrary to the commandments of God, or even
the king—
The persecution faced by the members of the church
continued, becoming even more intense. Not
surprisingly the people complained to their leaders about what they faced. The leaders turned to Alma.
Alma meet with Mosiah, presenting his case. Mosiah turned to his priests and consulted
with them. Who were these priests of
Mosiah? John Sorenson explains:
They would have been the priests in
charge of the (in effect, the king's) temple and who saw that its rituals were
carried out on schedule. (The need for scheduling naturally would have placed
responsibility for keeping up the calendar in priestly hands, as had been the
case at Jerusalem; compare 3 Nephi 8:1—2.) The refusal by Mosiah's priests to
enter into the particular issue of moral and political behavior
("persecution") that Alma1had raised is consistent with
the definition of their role as largely ceremonial, focused on what went on at
the temple itself rather than dealing much with ethical issues among the public
at large.[1]
To deal with the problem, Mosiah proclaimed religious
freedom throughout the land. Unbelievers
were not to persecute believers.
Believers were not to persecute unbelievers. All would stand equal among each other.
The priests and teachers who served in the church worked for
their own support. This is a
continuation of Alma’s practice in the wilderness (see Mosiah 18:24). By doing so, “they did abound in the grace of God.”
Peace spread throughout the land. Population increased and they filled the land
around Zarahemla. They did prosper and
become a wealthy people.
Things were not all well for Alma. While Alma was trying to build the church,
his son was going about attempting to destroy the church. Alma2 is described as being an
idolatrous man. Apparently he was charismatic
as well. He was an effective speaker. He was successful in his efforts. Aiding him in his efforts were four of Mosiah’s
sons.
We see how the behavior of the children of leaders are used
against the church. We have all seen a
son or daughter of a Bishop or Stake President go astray. People see the unrighteous behavior and criticize
the leader because of their child’s choice, ignoring that we all have our free
agency. No matter what our children are
taught, they still have the free agency to choose the path of righteousness or
wander from that path. I have no doubt
Church leaders in this situation empathize with Alma and Mosiah.
We see this in the Bible with the sons of Eli. “For I
have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he
knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not”
(1 Samuel 3:13). Lehi had to deal with
his two eldest sons. “And thus Laman and
Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmur because they knew not the
dealings of that God who had created them” (1 Nephi 2:12).
John Sorenson gives us insight into the actions of Alma2.
The source of this idolatrous cult
is suggested by the fact that Alma2 named two of his sons, who
were born before his conversion (judging by their probable ages and the
chronology of their father's career) with Jaredite names—Corianton and Shiblon.
It is a reasonable presumption that those names for his sons were derived and
conferred when Alma2 maintained an avid connection with the
idolatrous cult of his younger days.[2]
Sadly, their efforts were successful. They led many people into a life of sin. The growth of the church was also hindered by
their efforts.
Despite the variety of forms of
dissent, some mild and seemingly innocuous, dissent is never described or
linked with anything good or positive in the Book of Mormon. Every reference to
dissent portrays it as a problem, an evil condition, and a harbinger of even
greater problems and evils. For example, Alma2 was "a
great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God" because he
"[caused] much dissension among the people" (Mosiah 27:9)…[3]
[1] Religious
Groups and Movements among the Nephites, 200-1 B.C., John L. Sorenson,
Maxwell Institute, accessed December 17, 2014.
[3] Dissent:
Perspectives from the Book of Mormon, Lynn D. Wardle, Maxwell Institute,
accessed December 17, 2014.
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