11 And it came to pass
in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church,
and he saw also that the example of the church began to lead those who were
unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction
of the people.
12 Yea, he saw great
inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride,
despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those
who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and
afflicted.
13 Now this was a
great cause for lamentations among the people, while others were abasing
themselves, succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as
imparting their substance to the poor and the needy, feeding the hungry, and
suffering all manner of afflictions, for Christ's sake, who should come
according to the spirit of prophecy;
14 Looking forward to
that day, thus retaining a remission of their sins; being filled with great joy
because of the resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and
deliverance of Jesus Christ from the bands of death.
15 And now it came to
pass that Alma, having seen the afflictions of the humble followers of God, and
the persecutions which were heaped upon them by the remainder of his people,
and seeing all their inequality, began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the
Spirit of the Lord did not fail him.
16 And he selected a
wise man who was among the elders of the church, and gave him power according
to the voice of the people, that he might have power to enact claws
according to the laws which had been given, and to put them in force according
to the wickedness and the crimes of the people.
17 Now this man's name
was Nephihah, and he was appointed chief judge; and he sat in the judgment–seat
to judge and to govern the people.
18 Now Alma did not
grant unto him the office of being high priest over the church, but he retained
the office of high priest unto himself; but he delivered the judgment–seat unto
Nephihah.
19 And this he did
that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi,
that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance
of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride
and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no
way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony
against them.
20 And thus in the
commencement of the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of
Nephi, Alma delivered up the judgment–seat to Nephihah, and confined himself
wholly to the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to the testimony of the
word, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy.
Alma 4:11-20
The wickedness of the Nephites continued. Alma saw a major problem. The wickedness of church members began to
influence the nonmembers. Their
iniquities increased as well.
Members setting bad examples for others has always been a problem
For example, we see David. “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned
against the LORD. And Nathan said unto
David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die [HEB hath caused
to pass; i.e., he was not punished
immediately by death; but he did not
escape punishment.; See D&C
132:39.; JST 2 Sam. 12:13 ... hath not put away thy sin that thou shalt not die.; 2 Ne. 9:35].
Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the
enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall
surely die” (2 Samuel 12:13-14).
Alma would have to deal with this problem with Corianton
during his mission to the Zoramites. “Suffer not yourself to be led away by any
vain or foolish thing; suffer not the devil to lead away your heart again after
those wicked harlots. Behold, O my son,
how great iniquity ye brought upon the Zoramites; for when they saw your
conduct they would not believe in my words” (Alma 39:11).
As we have read, inequality was at the root of the
problem. “… Alma sees iniquity bringing
on the destruction of the people (see, e.g., Alma 4:11). Shown time and
again is the relationship between the degree of spiritual righteousness and the
vulnerability of the people to warfare. Indeed, in several places success or
failure in battle is directly attributed to righteousness or wickedness.”[1] General Moroni would also see this. “… [B]oth Alma and Moroni had pointed
out to the people on occasion that the worst danger their society had to fear
was inequality. It was inequality that had broken up the church…”[2]
The Nephites had been warned. During his great sermon, King Benjamin, as he
ended his sermon, felt inequality would be such he problem, he emphasized it as
he concluded his sermon. “And now, for
the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of
retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless
before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every
man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked,
visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and
temporally, according to their wants” (Mosiah 4:26).
There were many who were still faithful. These people continued to “impart their substance to the poor and the
needy, feeding the hungry.”
While staying faithful, they suffered persecution from the
wicked for their faith in Christ. Paul
faced the same challenge. “Therefore I
take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions,
in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2
Corinthians 12:10).
Reading this part of the Book of Mormon brought Christ’s Sermon
on the Mount to mind. Two verses from
the Sermon came to mind. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness'
sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall
say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake’’ (Matthew 5:10-11).
I have been reading The
Life and Teachings of Christ, Vol. I, from Bethlehem to the Sermon on the Mount. One essay in particular stood out. Andrew C. Skinner wrote an essay, “A Reading of the Sermon on the Mount: A Restoration Perspective.”
As a part of his essay, he addressed the verse quoted
above. He explain the Greek word for “righteousness” could also be translated
as “Righteous One.” As Skinner points out, there is only one
Righteous One – Christ. With that
perspective, the scripture could be read as, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for [the Righteous One’s] sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
In effect, Christ is teaching those that suffer persecutions
are suffering persecution for their faith in Him. It is not simply being righteous. It is suffering for being a committed
follower of Christ.
For me, this changes the whole meaning of Matthew 5:10 as
well as Alma 4:13. We are now specifically
talking about Christ. This means Nephite
members of the Church being persecuted were not simply being persecuted for
what they do. They were persecuted for
accepting Christ, the Righteous One.
Alma was saddened by the persecutions faced by the members
of the church. Inequality increased
among the people. He decided the time
had come to relinquish the office of Chief Judge.
He selected Nephihah, one of the elders of the church. He was given all powers attached to that
office through the voice of the people.
… [W]hen he gave up that political
role in order to go about reinvigorating the church, his replacement was
"a wise man who was among the elders of the church" (Alma 4:16). (It
seems likely that this relationship between church and power would become a
source of irritation to those not of the church. At the same time, the linking
of secular power with the church leadership must also have been an attraction
that aided the evangelizing efforts of the two Almas.)[3]
When Nephihah became Chief Judge, that was all he
became. Alma kept the position of high
priest. As to the military leadership, “[n]either
Nephihah nor any subsequent chief judge is ever mentioned as leading the
Nephite military.”[4]
Alma came to the realization the only way he could help the
Nephites was to serve a lifetime mission among the Nephites. They needed to be reminded of their duty
through the preaching of the word of God.
Enos’s description of the Nephites in his day would be similar to the
challenges faced by Alma. “And there was
nothing save it was exceeding harshness, preaching and prophesying of wars, and
contentions, and destructions, and continually reminding them of death, and the
duration of eternity, and the judgments and the power of God, and all these
things—stirring them up continually to keep them in the fear of the Lord. I say there was nothing short of these
things, and exceedingly great plainness of speech, would keep them from going
down speedily to destruction…” (Enos
1:23). “With all his vast experience Alma was convinced that he could do more
good and actually have more influence as a simple missionary than as head of
the state, head of the army, or head of the church!”[5]
Marilyn Arnold explains Alma’s main purpose was to teach
through pure testimony. “It was Alma's
conviction of the word's capacity to change people that prompted him to leave
the Nephite judgment seat and go forth to "preach the word of God … bearing
down in pure testimony" in an effort to "stir [his people] up in
remembrance of their duty" (Alma 4:19).”[6]
Elder David Bednar further examines pure testimony. “The power of pure testimony (see Alma 4:19)
does not come from sophisticated language or effective presentation; rather, it
is the result of revelation conveyed by the third member of the Godhead, even
the Holy Ghost.”[7]
Nephihah takes over and Alma begins his mission to redeem
the Nephites.
The apparent attempt of the Nephite
people to circumvent their king's rejection of kingship did not succeed,
however. After only about five years, Alma2 gave up his
position as chief judge (presumably the least effective of his two offices) in
order to concentrate his attention upon the high priesthood as the solution for
the urgent problems that faced the Nephites (Alma 4:15–20). Never again would a
Nephite king serve as both religious and temporal leader of his people.[8]
[1] Purpose
of the War Chapters in the Book of Mormon – "We are as the army of Helaman
…”, Richard Dilworth Rust, Maxwell Institute, accessed January 31, 2015.
[2] Since
Cumorah – Good People and Bad People, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute,
accessed January 31, 2015.
[3] Religious
Groups and Movements among the Nephites, 200-1 B.C., John L. Sorenson,
Maxwell Institute, accessed January 31, 2015.
[5] The
Prophetic Book of Mormon, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed January
31, 2015.
[6] The
Book of Mormon: Passport to Discipleship, Marilyn Arnold, Maxwell
Institute, accessed January 31, 2015.
[7] “More
Diligent and Concerned at Home,” Elder David Bednar, October 2009 General Conference.
[8] Authority
in the Book of Mosiah, Daniel C. Peterson, Maxwell Institute, accessed
January 31, 2015.
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