Chapter 8
Alma preaches and
baptizes in Melek—He is rejected in Ammonihah and leaves—An angel commands him
to return and cry repentance unto the people—He is received by Amulek, and the
two of them preach in Ammonihah. About 82 B.C.
1 AND now it came to
pass that Alma returned from the land of Gideon, after having taught the people
of Gideon many things which cannot be written, having established the order of
the church, according as he had before done in the land of Zarahemla, yea, he
returned to his own house at Zarahemla to rest himself from the labors which he
had performed.
2 And thus ended the
ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.
3 And it came to pass
in the commencement of the tenth year of the reign of the judges [82 B.C.] over
the people of Nephi, that Alma departed from thence and took his journey over
into the land of Melek, on the west of the river Sidon, on the west by the
borders of the wilderness.
4 And he began to
teach the people in the land of Melek according to the holy order of God, by
which he had been called; and he began to teach the people throughout all the
land of Melek.
5 And it came to pass
that the people came to him throughout all the borders of the land which was by
the wilderness side. And they were
baptized throughout all the land;
6 So that when he had
finished his work at Melek he departed thence, and traveled three days' journey
on the north of the land of Melek; and he came to a city which was called Ammonihah.
7 Now it was the
custom of the people of Nephi to call their lands, and their cities, and their
villages, yea, even all their small villages, after the name of him who first
possessed them; and thus it was with the land of Ammonihah.
8 And it came to pass
that when Alma had come to the city of Ammonihah he began to preach the word of
God unto them.
9 Now Satan had gotten
great hold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore
they would not hearken unto the words of Alma.
10 Nevertheless Alma labored
much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out
his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that
he might baptize them unto repentance.
11 Nevertheless, they
hardened their hearts, saying unto him: Behold, we know that thou art Alma; and
we know that thou art high priest over the church which thou hast established
in many parts of the land, according to your tradition; and we are not of thy
church, and we do not believe in such foolish traditions.
12 And now we know
that because we are not of thy church we know that thou hast no power over us;
and thou hast delivered up the judgment–seat unto Nephihah; therefore thou art
not the chief judge over us.
13 Now when the people
had said this, and withstood all his words, and reviled him, and spit upon him,
and caused that he should be cast out of their city, he departed thence and
took his journey towards the city which was called Aaron.
Alma 8:1-13
Having finished his visit to Gideon, Alma returned home to
take a break for a short time.
After he was rested, Alma left to preach to the people in
the land of Melek. “Following a period
of rest in Zarahemla (see Alma 8:1), Alma went to Melek (see Alma 8:3-5).
The name means ‘king,’ suggesting that it may have been a Mulekite settlement.”[1]
Mormon gives us some directions that help us better
understand Nephite geography.
“Alma left the city of Zarahemla
"and took his journey over into the land of Melek, on the west of the
river Sidon, on the west by the borders of the wilderness" (Alma 8:3). Melek
lay west of the city of Zarahemla and near the eastern edge of the western
wilderness. The route from Melek went "over" higher ground, probably
a large hill or range of hills. Melek was probably at a higher elevation than
the city of Zarahemla.[2]
Alma began teaching the people of Melek. Here, Mormon tells us by what authority Alma
taught. He taught “according to the holy
order of God by which he had been called.”
“Why the first is called the Melchizedek Priesthood is because Melchizedek
was such a great high priest. Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood,
after the Order of the Son of God. But out of respect or reverence to the name
of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they,
the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the
Melchizedek Priesthood” (D&C 107:2-4).
People came throughout all the land and were baptized by
Alma. Again, we get some hint of Nephite
geography.
People came to Alma
"throughout all the borders of the land which was by the wilderness side.
And they were baptized throughout all the land" (Alma 8:5). Melek was the
major settlement in this area of the "wilderness side." As other data
in the Book of Mormon indicate that Alma baptized by immersion (Mosiah
18:14-15), there may have been a good water source near Melek. Given its
location at the edge of an upland wilderness, the water source was probably a
river that ran past Melek eastward towards the Sidon.[3]
Having finished his visit to Melek, “Alma's next stop was
Ammonihah, where the people would not hear his message (see Alma 8:6, 9).
This was because they were not members of Alma's church, as were the people in
Zarahemla, Gideon, and Melek (see Alma 8:11). As we have noted above, they were
of the order of Nehor, and may have been Mulekites.”[4]
Mormon tell us it was Nephite custom to name their lands as
well as cities and villages after the first person who settled them. This tells us that someone named Ammonihah
settled this land.
Once again, we have information about Nephite geography.
Alma departed Melek and traveled
"three days' journey on the north of the land of Melek; and he came to a
city which was called Ammonihah" (Alma 8:6). As both of these cities
appear to be in the Sidon Basin, the land was probably relatively flat; Alma's
three days' travel can be considered as 3 USD. (I have converted all travel
times into "units of standard distance" (USD), analogous to our
"miles" or "kilometers." The USD is based upon one
day's normal travel over flat land. Travel through mountainous or hilly
"wilderness" is considered to be half of the normal standard in terms
of actual linear distance covered.) Ammonihah
was north of Melek.[5]
Arriving in Ammonihah, he began to
preach the gospel to the people; unfortunately, Satan arrived first. He had a firm hold of the people of
Ammonihah.
The Lord expects us to pray to him mightily when we want
answers to our prayers. We have to humble ourselves to the point where we will
be spiritually ready for His answers. The
scriptures tell us of many who wrestled in prayer. The classic Book of Mormon example is Enos. “And I will tell you of the wrestle which I
had before God, before I received a remission of my sins” (Enos 1:2).
The Nephite apostles, during the mission, met and fasted and
prayed before the Lord appeared to them.
“And it came to pass that as the
disciples of Jesus were journeying and were preaching the things which they had
both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass
that the disciples were gathered together and were united in mighty prayer and fasting”
(3 Nephi 27:1).
The Lord told Martin Harris, “Behold, I say unto him, he exalts himself and does not humble himself
sufficiently before me; but if he will bow down before me, and humble himself
in mighty prayer and faith, in the sincerity of his heart, then will I grant
unto him a view of the things which he desires to see” (D&C 5:24).
To some six elders in the Church, the Lord told them, “Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your
Redeemer, the Great I AM, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins; Who
will gather his people even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,
even as many as will hearken to my voice and humble themselves before me, and
call upon me in mighty prayer” (D&C 29:1-2).
Alma prepared to do all he could to release the people of
Ammonihah from the hold the devil had on them.
To do this, he wrestled mightily in prayer, asking God to pour His
spirit on the people so they would repent and be baptized.
In spite of his best efforts, the Ammonihahites rejected his
message. The rejected the foolish
traditions of the Nephites. They reminded
him they were not of his church, and he was no longer chief judge, so he had no
power over them and they didn’t have to listen to his words.[6]
He exercised faith and prayed,
pleading with the Lord to pour out his Spirit upon the people, but "Satan
had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people" (v. 9), and they
would not listen. Raising a serious jurisdictional objection both as text and
pretext, the people of Ammonihah argued that "because we are not of thy
church we know that thou hast no power over us" (v. 12). They resisted
Alma's words and treated him rudely and disrespectfully: they reviled him, spat
on him, and cast him out of the city (v. 13).[7]
[1] Warfare
in the Book of Mormon – Book of Mormon Tribal Affiliation and Military Castes,
Maxwell Institute, accessed March 8, 2015.
[2] Review
of Books on the Book of Mormon 1/1 (1989) – A Key for Evaluating Nephite
Geographies, Reviewed by John E. Clark, Maxwell Institute, accessed March
8, 2015.
[4] Warfare
in the Book of Mormon – Book of Mormon Tribal Affiliation and Military Castes,
Maxwell Institute, accessed March 8, 2015.
[5] Review
of Books on the Book of Mormon 1/1 (1989) – A Key for Evaluating Nephite
Geographies, Reviewed by John E. Clark, Maxwell Institute, accessed March
8, 2015.
[6] As
we know, Alma will return to the city and meet with a Nephite, Amulek. He and Amulek will preach to the
Ammonihahites. Those chapters contain
some of Alma’s most powerful gospel teachings.
Even though Alma’s words were rejected, we are blessed to have them today
and benefit from these powerful truths.
[7] The
Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon – The Trial of Alma and Amulek, Maxwell
Institute, accessed March 8, 2015.
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