Sunday, November 3, 2019

Mosiah 18:27-35


27 And again Alma commanded that the people of the church 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.
28 And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will and good desires towards God, and to those priests that stood in need, yea, and to every needy, naked soul.
29 And this he said unto them, having been commanded of God; and they did walk uprightly before God, imparting to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants.
30 And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever.
31 And these things were done in the borders of the land, that they might not come to the knowledge of the king.
32 But behold, it came to pass that the king, having discovered a movement among the people, sent his servants to watch them.  Therefore on the day that they were assembling themselves together to hear the word of the Lord they were discovered unto the king.
33 And now the king said that Alma was stirring up the people to rebellion against him; therefore he sent his army to destroy them.
34 And it came to pass that Alma and the people of the Lord were apprised of the coming of the king’s army; therefore they took their tents and their families and departed into the wilderness.
35 And they were in number about four hundred and fifty souls.
Mosiah 18:27-35

The church has been established among those who accepted the teachings of Alma1.  Their religious leaders have been told they were to perform labors to support themselves.  Alma1 tells the people they are responsible for the poor.  Unknowingly, he echoed the words of King Benjamin informing the people they were to “impart of their substance, everyone according to that which he had.”  Those that were better off were expected to give abundantly.  Those who were poor were also expected to give what they could.

When they helped the poor, they were to do it freely.  They were to help all in need.

“The church led by Alma, however, continued to distinguish itself by serving and supporting one another specifically ‘without money’ (Alma 1:20). Preserving the tradition instituted by Alma the Elder at the Waters of Mormon, these covenant people supported one another by sharing their goods, ‘impart[ing] of their substance, every one according to that which he had’ (Mosiah 18:27).”[1] 

Once they received God’s commandments, they obeyed.  They imparted “to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and wants.”

“The Book of Mormon message is that the distribution of income is based on the level of caring and unity among the people. Among the righteous, income is evenly distributed as are opportunities to progress. The distribution of income is simply a reflection of their unity. The righteous were taught that their giving should be voluntary and result from their love of God and desires to serve him (Mosiah 18:28). By voluntarily redistributing their income to the poor, they were able to maintain an economic system that included incentives to work hard because of individual responsibility and rewards for efforts. Moreover, one of the reasons the caring work hard is that they desire to use the product of their work to bless the lives of others.”[2]

Describing the waters of Mormon, we see a different side of Mormon, a poetic side.

This was all done in Mormon,
yea, by the waters of Mormon
     in the forest that was
          near the waters of Mormon
     the place of Mormon,
          the forest of Mormon,
 how beautiful are they
     to the eyes of them
     who came to the knowledge
          of their Redeemer,
and how blessed are they,
    for they shall sing to his praise forever.

“Did you notice that each reference to place, waters, and forest is condensed and repeated? Truly, this is elevated poetic language, written by one very much alive both to the Spirit and to the sounds and rhythms of words and phrases. And note that all this poetry builds to the fact that here these blessed souls ‘came to the knowledge of their Redeemer,’ whose praises ‘they shall sing . . . forever.’ They became disciples, in the finest sense of the word.”[3]

The waters of Mormon was located within the borders of the land ruled by Noah; however, eventually they were discovered by the king.  He sent his servants to watch the people.  When they gathered “to hear the word of the Lord they were discovered unto the king.”

Noah claimed Alma1 was attempting to stir up the people to rebel against him.  An army was sent to destroy them.

Fortunately, Alma1 was warned about the army coming to destroy them.  The roughly 450 people were able to pack up their tents and take supplies and departed into the wilderness.

“The reader is led to see the contrasting lives, not just of Alma and Amulon, but of the people of Limhi and Alma and the people of Amulon. Both Alma and Amulon led colonies into the wilderness: Alma and his people, when Noah’s soldiers discovered their ‘movement,’ ‘took their tents and their families and departed into the wilderness’ (Mosiah 18:32, 34). Amulon and his followers also fled into the wilderness, but at Noah’s command they left their families behind (see Mosiah 19:11-23).”[4]


[1] Weighing and Measuring in the Worlds of the Book of Mormon, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute.
[2] Economic Insights from the Book of Mormon, Lindon J. Robison, Maxwell Institute.
[3] The Book of Mormon: Passport to Discipleship, Marilyn Arnold, Maxwell Institute.
[4] The Stealing of the Daughters of the Lamanites, Alan Goff, Maxwell Institute.

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