Alma finished his sermon on
faith. He was next questioned by the
group. First, they asked, should we
believe in one God? The Book of Mormon makes it clear the answer is yes. Nephi wrote, “And now, behold, my beloved
brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under
heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of
Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end.
Amen” (2 Nephi 31:21). Abinadi
taught, “would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among
the children of men, and shall redeem his people. And because he dwelleth in
flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the
will of the Father, being the Father and the Son—The Father, because he was
conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming
the Father and Son—And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven
and of earth” (Mosiah 15:1-4).
They also questioned how they
might obtain he fruit of which he spoke.
How should they plant the seed?
How should they exercise their faith?
These were all very good and important questions and they needed
guidance.
Alma responded by reminding
them they said they could not worship[1]
in their synagogues. But, if they
believed they could only worship in a synagogue, they were wrong. They should search the scriptures an
understand them. “I say unto you, that there are not any among you, except it
be your little children that have not been taught concerning these things, but
what knoweth that ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly Father, to render
to him all that you have and are; and also have been taught concerning the
records which contain the prophecies which have been spoken by the holy
prophets, even down to the time our father, Lehi, left Jerusalem” (Mosiah 2:34).
“It is interesting to note
that usually education and ability play a part in class discrimination.
However, when Alma addressed the Zoramite poor, he assumed they could read (see
Alma 33:2–3, 12, 14). This is a revealing insight into both Zoramite and
Nephite culture. Despite the fact that these people were poor and of the lowest
social class, they were literate.”[2]
Alma then quotes Zenos. We first learned of Zenos in 1 Nephi
19:10. Nephi quotes Zenos as prophesying
about events in Christ’s life.[3] We have been promised the day will come when
we will be given a translation of the brass plates. “[T]he plates of brass will serve as a third
witness to the Bible and also will testify that the Book of Mormon is a witness
to the Bible. They will make known many of the plain and precious parts that
had been lost from the Bible up to the time of Jeremiah (see 1 Nephi 13:26–29).”[4]
For
he said:
Thou
art merciful, O God,
for
thou hast heard my prayer,
even when I was in the wilderness;
yea,
thou wast merciful when I prayed
concerning those who were mine enemies,[5]
and
thou didst turn them to me.
Yea,
O God,
and
thou wast merciful unto me
when I did cry unto thee
in my afield;[6]
when I did cry unto thee
in my prayer,
and
thou didst hear me.
And
again, O God,
when
I did
turn to my house
thou didst hear me
in my prayer.
And
when I did turn
unto
my closet,[7]
O Lord,
and prayed unto thee,
thou didst hear me.
Yea,
thou art merciful
unto thy children
when they cry unto thee,
to be heard of thee
and not of men,
and thou wilt hear them.
Yea,
O God,
thou
hast been merciful unto me,
and heard my cries in the midst
of thy congregations.
Yea,
and thou hast also heard me
when
I have been cast out[8]
and have been despised
by mine enemies;
yea,
thou didst hear
my cries,
and
wast angry
with mine enemies,
and
thou didst visit[9]
them
in thine anger
with speedy destruction.
And
thou didst hear me
because of mine afflictions
and my sincerity;
and
it is because
of thy Son
that thou hast been
thus merciful unto me,
therefore
I will cry unto thee
in all mine afflictions,
for
in thee is my joy;
for thou hast turned thy judgments
away from me,
because of thy Son.
Alma 33:4-11
“Alma explained to the poor
Zoramites that though their outward appearance excluded them from worshipping
inside the Zoramite synagogues, their inner humility allowed them to worship
outside the confines of the synagogues they helped to build. He taught the poor
that they could pray with great effectiveness in their fields, in their
closets, in the midst of their congregations (i.e., in their synagogues), and
when they were ‘cast out and [had] been despised by [their] enemies’ (Alma
33:10), as they had been because of their coarse apparel.”[10]
In researching for this post,
I came across a story that was reminiscent of the Zoramites. I share with you a short quote from the
article, but I strongly recommend reading the entire article. It’s seeing the Book of Mormon teachings in
action.
During
that time, I devoured the Book of Mormon as never before. As often as I could,
I went home and read from the Book of Mormon with my family and partook of the
sacrament in the comfort and safety of our home. We identified with the poorer
class of the Zoramites who had been cast out of their synagogues “because of
[their] exceeding poverty; and [they had] no place to worship [their] God”
(Alma 32:5). We were comforted by the Spirit of the Lord and knew that, though
we were cast out and despised by our enemies, the Lord heard our sincere cries
in our afflictions (see Alma 33:10–11).[11]
[1] “And
they came unto Alma; and the one who was the foremost among them said unto him:
Behold, what shall these my brethren do, for they are despised of all men
because of their poverty, yea, and more especially by our priests; for they
have cast us out of our synagogues which we have labored abundantly to build
with our own hands; and they have cast us out because of our exceeding poverty;
and we have no place to worship our God; and behold, what shall we do?” (Alma
32:5).
[2] The
Zoramite Separation: A Sociological Perspective, Sherrie Mills Johnson,
Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14/1 (2005): 79.
[3] “And
the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also
were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as
a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of
Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried
in a sepulchre, according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the
three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those
who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who
are of the house of Israel” (1 Nephi 19:10).
[4] Other
Ancient American Records Yet to Come Forth, Monte S. Nyman, Journal of Book
of Mormon Studies 10/1 (2001): 56.
[5] “But
I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”
(Matthew 5:44).
[6] “Cry
unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks” (Alma 34:20).
[7] “And
when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the
corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their
reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut
thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:5-6).
-------------------------
“But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in
your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness” (Alma 34:26).
[8] “And
they came unto Alma; and the one who was the foremost among them said unto him:
Behold, what shall these my brethren do, for they are despised of all men
because of their poverty, yea, and more especially by our priests; for they
have cast us out of our synagogues which we have labored abundantly to build
with our own hands; and they have cast us out because of our exceeding poverty;
and we have no place to worship our God; and behold, what shall we do?” (Alma 32:5).
[9] “Arise,
O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken
the teeth of the ungodly” (Psalms 3:7).
-------------------------
“He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them
which hated me: for they were too strong for me” (Psalms 18:17).
[10] The
Zoramites and Costly Apparel: Symbolism and Irony, Parrish Brady and Shon
Hopkin, Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 22/1
(2013): 45.
[11] With
Real Intent: A Priceless Gem, Andrew E. Dadson, Journal of Book of Mormon
Studies 12/1 (2003): 102.
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