13 And Alma and Amulek
went forth preaching repentance to the people in their temples, and in their sanctuaries,
and also in their synagogues, which were built after the manner of the Jews.
14 And as many as
would hear their words, unto them they did impart the word of God, without any respect
of persons, continually.
15 And thus did Alma
and Amulek go forth, and also many more who had been chosen for the work, to
preach the word throughout all the land.
And the establishment of the church became general throughout the land,
in all the region round about, among all the people of the Nephites.
16 And there was no
inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the
land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to
receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming—
17 That they might not
be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to
destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be
grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord
their God.
18 Now those priests
who did go forth among the people did preach against all lyings, and deceivings,
and envyings, and strifes, and malice, and revilings, and stealing, robbing,
plundering, murdering, committing adultery, and all manner of lasciviousness,
crying that these things ought not so to be—
19 Holding forth
things which must shortly come; yea, holding forth the coming of the Son of
God, his sufferings and death, and also the resurrection of the dead.
20 And many of the
people did inquire concerning the place where the Son of God should come; and
they were taught that he would appear unto them after his resurrection; and
this the people did hear with great joy and gladness.
21 And now after the
church had been established throughout all the land—having got the victory over
the devil, and the word of God being preached in its purity in all the land,
and the Lord pouring out his blessings upon the people—thus ended the
fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.
Alma 16:13-21
After the war, Alma and Amulek went throughout the land to
preach to the people. Their message was
repentance. The preached in the temples,
sanctuaries, and synagogues.[1]
Temples were an important part of Nephite religious
worship. After the family split, one of
the first things Nephi did after settling in a different part of the Promised
Land was build a temple. “And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct
it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious
things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be
built like unto Solomon's temple. But
the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the
workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine” (2 Nephi 5:16).[2]
We learn about the importance of the temple to the
Nephites.
It would not have surprised the
Nephites that the Lord would choose to teach them at the temple. From what we
know about their temples in the cities of Nephi and Zarahemla, these sacred
places were obviously important religious and political centers for teaching
(see Jacob 1:17; 2:2; people were routinely taught within its walls, see Mosiah
2:7); for preaching (see Alma 16:13); for imparting the mysteries (see
Mosiah 2:9; Alma 12:9; 13:3, 16); for gathering for ceremonies, coronations, obligatory
annual festivals, ordinances, and covenant renewals (see 2 Nephi 6—10;
Jacob 2—3; Mosiah 1—6); for making royal proclamations (see Mosiah 2:30; 7:17);
and for sacrificing “according to the law of Moses” (Mosiah 2:3). Nephite
temples were patterned after the temple of Solomon (see 2 Nephi 5:16) and
were built “after the manner of the Jews” (Alma 16:13) in layout and in many of
their functions…[3]
Alma and Amulek did not work alone. Many had been called to work throughout the
land. Through these efforts, the church
became well established among the Nephites.
When Alma’s father established his church after fleeing King
Noah, he commanded the people they “should impart of their substance, every one
according to that which he had; if he have more abundantly he should impart
more abundantly; and of him that had but little, but little should be required;
and to him that had not should be given” (Mosiah 18:27). After the Savior’s ministry among the
Nephites, we read this about the Nephites, “And they had all things common
among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they
were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift” (4 Nephi 1:3).
The Lord was generous with His Spirit on the people. He prepared them to receive His word. They desired to hear the word of God. The Savior promised the Nephites “they who do
hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy
Ghost” (3 Nephi 12:6). Nephites accepted
the word and were baptized like those who accepted the word after Christ’s
resurrection. “Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized…” (Acts 2:41).
Those who accepted the gospel would be grafted into the true
vine. Referring back to Jacob’s allegory
of the Tame and Wild Olive Trees, we read, “the Lord of the vineyard said again
unto his servant: Look hither, and behold another branch also, which I have
planted; behold that I have nourished it also, and it hath brought forth fruit.
And he said unto the servant: Look hither and behold the last. Behold, this have I planted in a good spot of
ground; and I have nourished it this long time, and only a part of the tree
hath brought forth tame fruit, and the other part of the tree hath brought
forth wild fruit; behold, I have nourished this tree like unto the others” (Jacob
5:24-25).
Priests[4] in
the church went among the people and preached against all sin. Among those
listed include lying, deceiving, envy, strife, cruelty, insults, stealing, robbery,
murder, adultery, and being vulgar.[5]
The people looked forward to the coming of Christ. The understood he would suffer, die, and be
resurrected. They also looked forward to
His appearance to them after His resurrection.
Some key scriptures in the Book of Mormon tells us about His
coming to the Nephites.
“And it came to pass that I saw a mist
of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I
heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I
saw the earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into
pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw
many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with
fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of the quaking
thereof. And it came to pass after I saw these things, I saw the vapor of
darkness, that it passed from off the face of the earth; and behold, I saw
multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of
the Lord. And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of
heaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them” (1 Nephi 12:4-6).
“But the Son of righteousness shall
appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with him…” (2
Nephi 26:9).
“Behold, I do not say that he will
come among us at the time of his dwelling in his mortal tabernacle; for behold,
the Spirit hath not said unto me that this should be the case. Now as to this thing I do not know; but this
much I do know, that the Lord God hath power to do all things which are
according to his word” (Alma 7:8).
“And it came to pass, as they
understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a
Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came
down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were
turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and
wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto
them. And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the
people, saying: Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall
come into the world” (3 Nephi 11:8-10).
Alma established the church in Sidon. “Therefore, after Alma having established the
church at Sidom, seeing a great check, yea, seeing that the people were checked
as to the pride of their hearts, and began to humble themselves before God, and
began to assemble themselves together at their sanctuaries to worship God
before the altar, watching and praying continually, that they might be
delivered from Satan, and from death, and from destruction—” (Alma 15:17).
As we see, they were successful in their efforts.
On the human plane, for instance,
in Alma 16 the Nephites win a physical victory over the desolating Lamanites
who have made incursions into the land of the Nephites. But there is another
battle as well—the battle of righteousness. First, the wicked people of
Ammonihah, who had imprisoned Alma and Amulek and burned the wives and children
of their followers, are destroyed at the hands of the Lamanites; second, Alma
and Amulek go forth to preach the word throughout all the land and get "the
victory over the devil" (Alma 16:21).[6]
[1]
The sons of Mosiah would build synagogues among the Lamanites who accepted
Christ. About Aaron we read, “But he caused that there should be synagogues
built in the land of Ishmael; and he caused that his people, or the people who
were under his reign, should assemble themselves together” (Alma 21:20).
[2] Mormon
later refers to the building of synagogues, temples, and sanctuaries. “But
behold, a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of
the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and
dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and their shipping and
their building of ships, and their building of temples, and of synagogues and
their sanctuaries…” (Helaman 3:14).
[3] The
Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount – The Temple Context and Unity
of the Sermon at the Temple, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 9, 2015.
[4] “And
Alma established a church in the land of Sidom, and consecrated priests and teachers
in the land, to baptize unto the Lord whosoever were desirous to be baptized” (Alma
15:13).
[5] “The
breaking of three commandments of the ten—murder, stealing, and adultery—is
often cited as the reason for the destruction of the covenant people in the
Book of Mormon…” Glimpses
of Lehi's Jerusalem – Sacred History, Covenants, and the Messiah: The Religious
Background of the World of Lehi, David Rolph Seely, Maxwell Institute,
accessed May 9, 2015.
[6] Feasting
on the Word – "Great Things the Lord Hath Done" – Epic Elements,
Maxwell Institute, accessed May 9, 2015.
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