24 Now when Alma saw
this his heart was grieved; for he saw that they were a wicked and a perverse
people; yea, he saw that their hearts were set upon gold, and upon silver, and
upon all manner of fine goods.
25 Yea, and he also
saw that their hearts were lifted up unto great boasting, in their pride.
26 And he lifted up
his voice to heaven, and cried, saying: O, how long, O Lord, wilt thou suffer
that thy servants shall dwell here below in the flesh, to behold such gross
wickedness among the children of men?
27 Behold, O God, they
cry unto thee, and yet their hearts are swallowed up in their pride. Behold, O
God, they cry unto thee with their mouths, while they are puffed up, even to
greatness, with the vain things of the world.
28 Behold, O my God,
their costly apparel, and their ringlets, and their bracelets, and their
ornaments of gold, and all their precious things which they are ornamented with;
and behold, their hearts are set upon them, and yet they cry unto thee and
say—We thank thee, O God, for we are a chosen people unto thee, while others
shall perish.
29 Yea, and they say
that thou hast made it known unto them that there shall be no Christ.
30 O Lord God, how
long wilt thou suffer that such wickedness and infidelity shall be among this
people? O Lord, wilt thou give me strength, that I may bear with mine
infirmities. For I am infirm, and such wickedness among this people doth pain
my soul. (Alma 31:24-30)
Alma was saddened by what he saw. The Zoramites were a
wicked people. They desired precious metals and all types of fine goods. They were
also a prideful people.
Jacob could have been speaking to the Zoramites. “And the
hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that you have obtained
many riches; and because some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of
your brethren ye are lifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wear stiff
necks and high heads because of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute
your brethren because ye suppose that ye are better than they” (Jacob 2:13).
“For those who did not belong to their church did indulge
themselves in sorceries, and in idolatry or idleness, and in babblings, and in
envyings and strife; wearing costly apparel; being lifted up in the pride of
their own eyes; persecuting, lying, thieving, robbing, committing whoredoms,
and murdering, and all manner of wickedness; nevertheless, the law was put in
force upon all those who did transgress it, inasmuch as it was possible” (Alma
1:32).
“In particular, [the Zoramites] rejected the redemption by
the Messiah as naive and unnecessary (Alma 31:16—18, 29), for they considered
themselves very advanced, very superior as they strutted amidst the almost
comically exaggerated splendor of their Mesoamerican dress and architecture
(Alma 31:25—27).”[1]
Seeing this, Alma cried to the Lord.
How long, he asked the Lord, would they have to dwell in the
flesh and “behold such gross wickedness” (Alma 31:26). They cry to the Lord,
but they are filled with pride. They pray words while being a puffed up and
vain people.
“They profess that they know God; but in works they deny
him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate [GR
unfit, worthless]” (Titus 1:16).
We see the term costly apparel being a sign of apostacy. They
are also adorned with jewelry made with precious things. While their hearts are
set upon their precious worldly possessions, they pray,
thanking God they are his chosen people.
“In contrast to the equality of income and benefits among
the righteous Nephites was the concentration of income among the wicked
Lamanites and apostate Nephites. On his mission to the Zoramites, Alma was
distressed to find among them a wealthy class whose hearts were upon their
riches, their costly apparel, ringlets, and ornaments of gold. They tried to
justify such ostentatious living by ascending their prayer tower to thank God
for saving them, the chosen people, while all the others would perish (Alma
31:28). Earlier, Alma saw that inequality among the Zoramites and among the
wicked in general was a result of sin and transgression (Alma 28:13).”[2]
They also claim God had told them there would be no Christ.
He asked God how long he would allow this wickedness to
continue among the people.
Like, Moses, he felt he could not bear this alone. “I am not
able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me” (Numbers
11:14). He asked for strength to bear his infirmities.
“What amazes Alma is not the denial of Christ—everywhere
Nephite intellectuals were teaching that—but the strange actions these people
were up to, having departed from the ‘performances of the church’ (Alma 3l:10).
The change had been abrupt and spectacular—Alma and his brethren were
astonished by it ‘beyond measure’ (Alma 31:12, 19). The brethren were horribly
depressed by what they found; they could hardly stand it (Alma 31:30—33).”[3]
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