Alma 4:1-9

Chapter 4

Alma baptizes thousands of converts—Iniquity enters the Church, and the Church’s progress is hindered—Nephihah is appointed chief judge—Alma, as high priest, devotes himself to the ministry. About 86–83 B.C.

1 Now it came to pass in the sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there were no contentions nor wars in the land of Zarahemla;

2 But the people were afflicted, yea, greatly afflicted for the loss of their brethren, and also for the loss of their flocks and herds, and also for the loss of their fields of grain, which were trodden under foot and destroyed by the Lamanites.

3 And so great were their afflictions that every soul had cause to mourn; and they believed that it was the judgments of God sent upon them because of their wickedness and their abominations; therefore they were awakened to a remembrance of their duty.

4 And they began to establish the church more fully; yea, and many were baptized in the waters of Sidon and were joined to the church of God; yea, they were baptized by the hand of Alma, who had been consecrated the high priest over the people of the church, by the hand of his father Alma.

5 And it came to pass in the seventh year of the reign of the judges there were about three thousand five hundred souls that united themselves to the church of God and were baptized. And thus ended the seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and there was continual peace in all that time.

6 And it came to pass in the eighth year of the reign of the judges, that the people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding riches, and their fine silks, and their fine-twined linen, and because of their many flocks and herds, and their gold and their silver, and all manner of precious things, which they had obtained by their industry; and in all these things were they lifted up in the pride of their eyes, for they began to wear very costly apparel.

7 Now this was the cause of much affliction to Alma, yea, and to many of the people whom Alma had consecrated to be teachers, and priests, and elders over the church; yea, many of them were sorely grieved for the wickedness which they saw had begun to be among their people.

8 For they saw and beheld with great sorrow that the people of the church began to be lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and to set their hearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, that they began to be scornful, one towards another, and they began to persecute those that did not believe according to their own will and pleasure.

9 And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there began to be great contentions among the people of the church; yea, there were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God. (Alma 4:1-).

After all the wars, the Nephites enjoyed peace. Still, they mourned those who died during the wars. “And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one” (Alma 3:26).

They also had to deal with the loss of flocks and grains.

The people believed their loses in the war were the judgments of God because of their wickedness. “The principle of obedience to divine commandments also provides a consistent explanation for the success or failure of Nephite military, political, and social initiatives, and it is regularly the focus of Mormon’s extended editorials.”[1] This reminded them of their duties.

“Be not deceived: evil communications [GR conversations, associations] corrupt good manners.

“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34).

They began to strengthen the church throughout the land. Many joined the church and were baptized by Alma, the high priest over the church. “And it came to pass that Alma was appointed to be the first chief judge, he being also the high priest, his father having conferred the office upon him, and having given him the charge concerning all the affairs of the church” (Mosiah 29:42).

During the 7^th year of the reign of the judges, around 3,500 united themselves with the church. “And they who were baptized in the name of Jesus were called the church of Christ” (3 Nephi 26:21). Peace continued throughout the year.

The next year, the Nephites fell into their familiar pattern. Pride spread throughout the church. They began to suffer the Nephite disease – pride. “[T]hey began to wear very costly apparel” (Alma 5:6). We see this phrase throughout Mormon’s abridgment. Whenever he writes about “costly apparel,” it is always a sign the Nephites had turned away from God and returned to their sinful ways.

“History repeatedly confirms that the abundance of earthly possessions can be both a blessing and a curse, depending upon the way these things are viewed and used. When we consume them on our own lust, we invoke tragedy.”[2]

“[T]he Book of Mormon is explicit about clothing serving at times as social insignia. He cites an example from Alma’s day in which divisions among ‘the people of the church’ were signaled by the wearing of ‘very costly apparel’ (Alma 4:6; see 4:7). He discusses the prophet Samuel and his condemnation of the Nephites because they considered ‘costly apparel’ a key to a man’s status as a prophet (Helaman 13:28; see 13:27).”[3]

“How you play the game of politics is important, but the game you are playing is also important. It is important to work, but what you work for is all-important. The Nephites, ‘by their industry’ (Alma 4:6), obtained riches–which then destroyed them; ‘[for] the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish’ (2 Nephi 26:31) … [T]he Lord told Samuel the Lamanite that when a people ‘have set their hearts upon riches … cursed be they and also their treasures’ (Helaman 13:20).”[4]

Alma was “sorely grieved for the wickedness which [he] saw had begun to be among their people” (Alma 4:7). He appointed teachers, priests, and elders to minister to the people.

“[W]hen king Benjamin had made an end of all these things, and had consecrated his son Mosiah to be a ruler and a king over his people, and had given him all the charges concerning the kingdom, and also had appointed priests to teach the people, that thereby they might hear and know the commandments of God, and to stir them up in remembrance of the oath which they had made, he dismissed the multitude, and they returned, every one, according to their families, to their own houses” (Mosiah 6:3).

“And [Alma] 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 laws according to the laws which had been given, and to put them in force according to the wickedness and the crimes of the people” (Alma 4:16).

The church leaders were saddened by the wickedness and pride of the people. They also saw these people persecuted those who did not believe as they did.

“As a person’s fallen condition becomes apparent to him through the influence of the Holy Spirit, a person can get stuck in a kind of spiritual twilight between spiritual darkness and that full light available in Christ … [T]his spiritual twilight can be an unnecessarily prolonged experience. This twilight zone is a transition state between having recognized one’s fallenness but not yet reaching to the solution. It is an attempt to accommodate the world with the gospel. This is a state of hunger and bondage–not total darkness, but hunger for something indefinable. We can recognize it in ourselves when our souls cry out, ‘Is this all there is to the gospel? Can’t I feel a richer inner experience?’ We can get stuck in this twilight because we are doing some things right, we are going through some motions, we are feeling occasional Spirit, we seem to be on the path; but still, there’s that nagging hunger in the heart that doesn’t know what it wants. People try lots of things to assuage the hunger. Alma preaches against the pursuit of the vain things of the world (see Alma 4:8): riches, power, gain, mocking one’s brother, costly apparel (see Alma 4:6; 5:53), elevating oneself above others–perhaps all in the attempt to fill the hunger inside, but counterproductive where happiness and being born again are concerned…

“Acknowledging this hunger of aspiring disciples—who get stuck in the spiritual twilight–the Lord said, ‘Blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost’ (3 Nephi 12:6, italics added), with that power that conveys the inner presence, love, and nourishing will of the Lord Jesus Christ.”[5]

“And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there began to be great contentions among the people of the church; yea, there were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God” (Alma 4:9).

“By the eighth year of the reign of the judges, persecution had begun again, this time instigated by members of the church. The reasons for this persecution are outlined in Alma 4:6–9 with the increase in the overall prosperity of the church as one of the major contributing factors.”[6]

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[1] Prospering in the Land of Promise, Steven L. Olsen, Maxwell Institute website.

[2] “Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord,” Elder Dean L. Larsen, April 1991 General Conference.

[3] Insights: An Ancient Window, The Newsletter of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, April, 1998, Images of Ancient America Connects Mesoamerican Peoples and Lands to the Book of Mormon.

[4] Beyond Politics, Hugh Nibley, Mormon Studies Review 23/1 (2011): 151.

[5] Alma the Younger (Part 2) Man's Descent, M. Catherine Thomas, Maxwell Institute website.

[6] “And it came to pass . . .”: The Sociopolitical Events in the Book of Mormon Leading to the Eighteenth Year of the Reign of the Judges, Dan Belnap. Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 23 (2014): 113.