Alma 14:14-29

14 Now it came to pass that when the bodies of those who had been cast into the fire were consumed, and also the records which were cast in with them, the chief judge of the land came and stood before Alma and Amulek, as they were bound; and he smote them with his hand upon their cheeks, and said unto them: After what ye have seen, will ye preach again unto this people, that they shall be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone?

15 Behold, ye see that ye had not power to save those who had been cast into the fire; neither has God saved them because they were of thy faith.  And the judge smote them again upon their cheeks, and asked: What say ye for yourselves?

16 Now this judge was after the order and faith of Nehor, who slew Gideon.

17 And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek answered him nothing; and he smote them again, and delivered them to the officers to be cast into prison.

18 And when they had been cast into prison three days, there came many lawyers, and judges, and priests, and teachers, who were of the profession of Nehor; and they came in unto the prison to see them, and they questioned them about many words; but they answered them nothing.

19 And it came to pass that the judge stood before them, and said: Why do ye not answer the words of this people?  Know ye not that I have power to deliver you up unto the flames?  And he commanded them to speak; but they answered nothing.

20 And it came to pass that they departed and went their ways, but came again on the morrow; and the judge also smote them again on their cheeks.  And many came forth also, and smote them, saying: Will ye stand again and judge this people, and condemn our law?  If ye have such great power why do ye not deliver yourselves?

21 And many such things did they say unto them, gnashing their teeth upon them, and spitting upon them, and saying: How shall we look when we are damned?

22 And many such things, yea, all manner of such things did they say unto them; and thus they did mock them for many days.  And they did withhold food from them that they might hunger, and water that they might thirst; and they also did take from them their clothes that they were naked; and thus they were bound with strong cords, and confined in prison.

23 And it came to pass after they had thus suffered for many days, (and it was on the twelfth day, in the tenth month, ^*in the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi) that the chief judge over the land of Ammonihah and many of their teachers and their lawyers went in unto the prison where Alma and Amulek were bound with cords.

24 And the chief judge stood before them, and smote them again, and said unto them: If ye have the power of God deliver yourselves from these bands, and then we will believe that the Lord will destroy this people according to your words.

25 And it came to pass that they all went forth and smote them, saying the same words, even until the last; and when the last had spoken unto them the power of God was upon Alma and Amulek, and they rose and stood upon their feet.

26 And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord?  O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance.  And they broke the cords with which they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them.

27 And it came to pass that so great was their fear that they fell to the earth, and did not obtain the outer door of the prison; and the earth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that they fell to the earth; and the chief judge, and the lawyers, and priests, and teachers, who smote upon Alma and Amulek, were slain by the fall thereof.

28 And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; for the Lord had granted unto them power, according to their faith which was in Christ.  And they straightway came forth out of the prison; and they were loosed from their bands; and the prison had fallen to the earth, and every soul within the walls thereof, save it were Alma and Amulek, was slain; and they straightway came forth into the city.

29 Now the people having heard a great noise came running together by multitudes to know the cause of it; and when they saw Alma and Amulek coming forth out of the prison, and the walls thereof had fallen to the earth, they were struck with great fear, and fled from the presence of Alma and Amulek even as a goat fleeth with her young from two lions; and thus they did flee from the presence of Alma and Amulek.

Alma 14:14-29

After the evil, vile work was done, the chief judge had Alma and Amulek bound and brought before him.  He struck them on their cheeks.  He then mocked their words.^[1]  Will they, he asked, continue to preach to this people they will be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone?  They had no power to save those murdered by flame, he continued, ridiculing Alma and Amulek.  God did not save them because of their faith.  The judge struck them again.

Hitting poor people on the cheek may well be a euphemism for turning them aside from the judicial process, not granting them a hearing, or even accusing them wrongly of having transgressed the law, because elsewhere in the Book of Mormon we see people being smitten upon the cheek precisely in a judicial context of accusation and humiliation (Alma 14:15).^[2]

The chief judge was a follower of Nehor, as were, it would appear, the Ammonihahites as a whole.  Why?

The judges, lawyers, priests, and teachers (those of the upper classes) of the city of Ammonihah were of the order of Nehor (see Alma 14:16-18; 15:15; 16:11). lf they were Mulekites, this would explain why Amulek, who lived in that city, took pains to specify that he was a Nephite (see Alma 8:20; 10:2-3).^[3]

Nehorism had taken so firm a hold in Ammonihah that one wonders if it might not have once been Nehor's home or primary region. Not only was the chief judge in that city a leader “after the order and faith of Nehor” (Alma 14:16), but the general population there subscribed to Nehorism and refused to acknowledge Alma's priesthood, all of which is evident from their words and deeds, the popularity of Zeezrom's arguments, and the fierce hostility harbored by the people against Alma (8:12–13). Moreover, when Ammonihah was destroyed, it was called the “Desolation of Nehors” (16:11).^[4]

Alma and Amulek responded with contempt.  They refused to answer him.  He struck them yet again and had them thrown into prison.

Three days later,^[5] many of the important people came to see Alma and Amulek.  Included were lawyers, judges, priests, and teachers, all of whom followed Nehor.  They all questioned them.  Once again, they were met with silence. They were not happy with the contempt they were being shown.  They were reminded they had the power to burn them as well.  They were commanded to speak but again they refused.^[6]

They continued, spitting on them, and asking, mockingly, “How shall we look when we are damned?”^[7] This continued for many days.  During this time, they refused to feed them or give them water.  They took their clothes and kept them bound in prison.

Having received no answer, they left for the day.  The next day, they returned and continued the process.  They struck them and mocked them.  If you have such great power, they asked, why haven’t they delivered themselves from captivity.^[8] After beating Alma and Amulek, the chief judge went so far as to demand a sign.  Deliver themselves from the bands and prison, and they will believe them.[9]

It would seem that something formulaic was occurring here. Every judge and witness did and said exactly the same thing, one at a time. Although there is no precedent that absolutely confirms this practice in the ancient world, it appears that the slap on the cheek was used in Ammonihah as a form of ritual indictment. Alma and Amulek were slapped on the face and challenged to a legal duel … Like throwing down the gauntlet, the slap on the face appears to have been the equivalent of the modern notion of “service of process,” a legal step in giving notice and obtaining jurisdiction over a defendant. No text displays this more vividly than this incident in Alma 14.^[10]

Finally, they were about to get their response.  The power of God[11] came over Alma and Amulek.  They stood on their feet. How much longer, Alma cried, we will have to suffer this?  Give us strength, based on our faith in Christ, he prayed.  They broke the cords which had bound them.

Instead of believing their power (see vs. 24), they were so fearful of what was to happen, they feel to earth.  They were not able to get out of the prison in time.  All, except Alma and Amulek perished when the prison collapsed. 

Obviously, this was not a “quiet” occurrence.  Many came to see what caused the ruckus.  They saw the prison had collapsed and Alma and Amulek were the only ones standing.

They were struck with fear and ran away from Alma and Amulek.

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[1] “And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness. Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will” (Alma 12:16-17).

[2] The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon – The Ideal of Righteous Judgment, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 3, 2015.

[3] Warfare in the Book of Mormon – Book of Mormon Tribal Affiliation and Military Castes, John A. Tvedtnes, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 3, 2015.

[4] The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon – The Trial of Alma and Amulek, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 3, 2015.

[5]The two prophets of God, Alma and Amulek, were kept in prison three days.  This might be interpreted as being a form of representation of the three days the Savior spent in the tomb.

[6] This treatment was very similar to the treatment the Savior received when in front of Pilate.  “When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou?  But Jesus gave him no answer. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me?  knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?” (John 19:8-10).

[7] The Savior suffered such mocking and abuse while He was on the cross.  “And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself.  If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save.  If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God” (Matthew 27:39-43).

[8] As we will see, this becomes the classic case of “Beware what you ask for.  You may get it.”

[9] This group represented “[a]n evil and adulterous generation [who] seeketh after a sign.”

[10] The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon – The Trial of Alma and Amulek, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 3, 2015.

[11] “And they had power given unto them, insomuch that they could not be confined in dungeons; neither was it possible that any man could slay them; nevertheless they did not exercise their power until they were bound in bands and cast into prison.  Now, this was done that the Lord might show forth his power in them” (Alma 8:31).