pgs. 210 and 211...they were all equal and they did all labor, every man according to his strength.

26 And when the priests left their ^alabor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man ^baccording to his strength.

27 And they did ^aimpart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the ^bpoor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly ^capparel, yet they were neat and comely.

28 And thus they did establish the affairs of the church; and thus they began to have continual peace again, notwithstanding all their persecutions.

29 And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly ^arich, having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood in need—an abundance of flocks and herds, and fatlings of every kind, and also abundance of grain, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and abundance of ^bsilk and fine-twined linen, and all manner of good homely ^ccloth.

30 And thus, in their ^aprosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were ^bnaked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon ^criches; therefore they were ^dliberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no ^erespect to persons as to those who stood in need.

31 And thus they did ^aprosper and become far more wealthy than those who did not belong to their church.

32 For those who did not belong to their church did indulge themselves in ^asorceries, and in ^bidolatry or ^cidleness, and in ^dbabblings, and in ^eenvyings and ^fstrife; wearing costly apparel; being ^glifted 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.

33 And it came to pass that by thus exercising the law upon them, every man suffering according to that which he had done, they became more still, and durst not commit any wickedness if it were known; therefore, there was much peace among the people of Nephi until the fifth year of the reign of the judges.

THE BOOK OF ALMA

THE SON OF ALMA

CHAPTER 2

Amlici seeks to be king and is rejected by the voice of the people—His followers make him king—The Amlicites make war on the Nephites and are defeated—The Lamanites and Amlicites join forces and are defeated—Alma slays Amlici. 87 B.C.

1 And it came to pass in the commencement of the *fifth year of their reign there began to be a contention among the people; for a certain ^aman, being called Amlici, he being a very cunning man, yea, a wise man as to the wisdom of the world, he being after the order of the man that slew ^bGideon by the sword, who was executed according to the law—

2 Now this Amlici had, by his cunning, ^adrawn away much people after him; even so much that they began to be very powerful; and they began to endeavor to establish Amlici to be a king over the people.

3 Now this was alarming to the people of the church, and also to all those who had not been drawn away after the persuasions of Amlici; for they knew that according to their law that such things must be established by the ^avoice of the people.

4 Therefore, if it were possible that Amlici should gain the voice of the people, he, being a wicked man, would ^adeprive them of their rights and privileges of the church; for it was his intent to destroy the church of God.

5 And it came to pass that the people assembled themselves together throughout all the land, every man according to his mind, whether it were for or against Amlici, in separate bodies, having much dispute and wonderful ^acontentions one with another.

6 And thus they did assemble themselves together to cast in their ^avoices concerning the matter; and they were laid before the judges.

7 And it came to pass that the ^avoice of the people came against Amlici, that he was not made king over the people.

8 Now this did cause much joy in the hearts of those who were against him; but Amlici did stir up those who were in his favor to anger against those who were not in his favor.

9 And it came to pass that they gathered themselves together, and did ^aconsecrate Amlici to be their king.

10 Now when Amlici was made king over them he commanded them that they should take up arms against their brethren; and this he did that he might subject them to him.

11 Now the people of Amlici were distinguished by the name of Amlici, being called ^aAmlicites; and the remainder were ^bcalled Nephites, or the people of God.

12 Therefore the people of the Nephites were aware of the intent of the Amlicites, and therefore they did prepare to meet them; yea, they did arm themselves with swords, and with cimeters, and with bows, and with arrows, and with stones, and with slings, and with all manner of ^aweapons of war, of every kind.

13 And thus they were prepared to meet the Amlicites at the time of their coming. And there were appointed ^acaptains, and higher captains, and chief captains, according to their numbers.

14 And it came to pass that Amlici did arm his men with all manner of weapons of war of every kind; and he also appointed rulers and leaders over his people, to lead them to war against their brethren.

15 And it came to pass that the Amlicites came upon the hill Amnihu, which was east of the ^ariver Sidon, which ran by the ^bland of Zarahemla, and there they began to make war with the Nephites.

In these pages we see a continuation of the political unrest confronting Alma and the church. Those who are in the church and living what is similar to the law of consecration are flourishing while those who are not are suffering. Soon a wicked man named Amlici decides that he wants to be king and as king he promises to destroy the privileges of the church of God. This leads to a war and the church is forced to defend itself. This teaches us so much about the Lord's way of running a society. I like this thought provoking entry from the Institute Manual referring to this chapter:

Amlici’s attempt to reinstate a monarchical government and become king was a second test and the first major challenge for the new system of judges. How was this test different from the one posed by Nehor in the first chapter of Alma?

The story of Amlici is another example of how wicked men sometimes seek governmental power in order to enforce their will on others. It also teaches that there are times when righteous people must take up arms to defend their laws and liberty. The Nephites were wise enough to rely on the strength of the Lord to help them maintain the voice of the people, the only sure way of combating attempts against it (see Alma 2:18, 28, 30–31).

pgs. 208 and 209...there were many who loved the vain things of the world, and they went forth preaching false doctrines...for riches and honor.

THE BOOK OF ALMA

THE SON OF ALMA

The account of Alma, who was the son of Alma, the first and chief judge over the people of Nephi, and also the high priest over the Church. An account of the reign of the judges, and the wars and contentions among the people. And also an account of a war between the Nephites and the Lamanites, according to the record of Alma, the first and chief judge.

CHAPTER 1

Nehor teaches false doctrines, establishes a church, introduces priestcraft, and slays Gideon—He is executed for his crimes—Priestcrafts and persecutions spread among the people—The priests support themselves, the people care for the poor, and the Church prospers. About 91—90 B.C.

1 Now it came to pass that in the first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, from this time forward, king Mosiah having ^agone the way of all the earth, having warred a good warfare, walking uprightly before God, leaving none to reign in his stead; nevertheless he had established ^blaws, and they were acknowledged by the people; therefore they were obliged to abide by the ^claws which he had made.

2 And it came to pass that in the first year of the reign of Alma in the judgment-seat, there was a ^aman brought before him to be judged, a man who was large, and was noted for his much strength.

3 And he had gone about among the people, preaching to them that which he ^atermed to be the word of God, bearing down ^bagainst the church; declaring unto the people that every priest and teacher ought to become ^cpopular; and they ought ^dnot to labor with their hands, but that they ought to be supported by the people.

4 And he also testified unto the people that ^aall mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they ^bneed not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had ^ccreated all men, and had also ^dredeemed ^eall men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life.

5 And it came to pass that he did teach these things so much that many did believe on his words, even so many that they began to support him and give him ^amoney.

6 And he began to be lifted up in the pride of his heart, and to wear very costly ^aapparel, yea, and even began to ^bestablish a ^cchurch after the manner of his preaching.

7 And it came to pass as he was going, to preach to those who believed on his word, he met a man who belonged to the church of God, yea, even one of their ^ateachers; and he began to contend with him sharply, that he might lead away the people of the church; but the man withstood him, admonishing him with the ^bwords of God.

8 Now the name of the man was ^aGideon; and it was he who was an instrument in the hands of God in delivering the people of Limhi out of bondage.

9 Now, because Gideon withstood him with the words of God he was wroth with Gideon, and drew his sword and began to smite him. Now Gideon being ^astricken with many years, therefore he was not able to withstand his blows, therefore he was ^bslain by the sword.

10 And the man who slew him was taken by the people of the church, and was brought before Alma, to be ^ajudged according to the crimes which he had committed.

11 And it came to pass that he stood before Alma and pleaded for himself with much boldness.

12 But Alma said unto him: Behold, this is the first time that ^apriestcraft has been introduced among this people. And behold, thou art not only guilty of priestcraft, but hast endeavored to enforce it by the sword; and were ^bpriestcraft to be enforced among this people it would prove their entire destruction.

13 And thou hast shed the ^ablood of a righteous man, yea, a man who has done much good among this people; and were we to spare thee his blood would come upon us for ^bvengeance.

14 Therefore thou art condemned to ^adie, according to the ^blaw which has been given us by Mosiah, our last king; and it has been ^cacknowledged by this people; therefore this people must ^dabide by the law.

15 And it came to pass that they took him; and his name was ^aNehor; and they carried him upon the top of the hill Manti, and there he was caused, or rather did acknowledge, between the heavens and the earth, that what he had taught to the people was contrary to the word of God; and there he suffered an ignominious ^bdeath.

16 Nevertheless, this did not put an end to the spreading of priestcraft through the land; for there were many who loved the vain things of the world, and they went forth preaching ^afalse doctrines; and this they did for the sake of ^briches and honor.

17 Nevertheless, they durst not ^alie, if it were known, for fear of the law, for liars were punished; therefore they pretended to preach according to their belief; and now the law could have no power on any man for ^bhis belief.

18 And they durst not ^asteal, for fear of the law, for such were punished; neither durst they rob, nor murder, for he that ^bmurdered was punished unto ^cdeath.

19 But it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to the church of God began to persecute those that did belong to the church of God, and had taken upon them the name of Christ.

20 Yea, they did persecute them, and afflict them with all manner of words, and this because of their humility; because they were not proud in their own eyes, and because they did impart the word of God, one with another, without ^amoney and without price.

21 Now there was a strict law among the people of the church, that there should ^anot any man, belonging to the church, arise and persecute those that did not belong to the church, and that there should be no persecution among themselves.

22 Nevertheless, there were many among them who began to be proud, and began to contend warmly with their adversaries, even unto blows; yea, they would smite one another with their ^afists.

23 Now this was in the *second year of the reign of Alma, and it was a cause of much affliction to the church; yea, it was the cause of much trial with the church.

24 For the hearts of many were hardened, and their names were ^ablotted out, that they were remembered no more among the people of God. And also many ^bwithdrew themselves from among them.

25 Now this was a great trial to those that did stand fast in the faith; nevertheless, they were ^asteadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of God, and they bore with ^bpatience the persecution which was heaped upon them.

Wow. Alma is only one year into his time as chief judge and there is already a lot of political unrest among his people. First Nehor decides to use the new freedom that has been established (now that there is no king) to promote his own "priestcraft." He fights for his beliefs and ends up killing Gideon (who was well loved among the people because he is the one who proposed the way for King Limhi's people to escape the bondage of the Lamanites.) So Alma had to decide how he should be punished and in the end Gideon is put to death. It seems this helped feed the fire of his followers and there was a lot of contention among the people as a result.

The lesson that I learn from this is that in a democratic society evil ways are as free to express themselves as righteous ways.

pgs. 206 and 207...I desire that this land be a land of liberty, and every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike.

27 And ^aif the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.

28 And now if ye have judges, and they do not ^ajudge you according to the law which has been given, ye can cause that they may be judged of a higher judge.

29 If your higher judges do not judge righteous judgments, ye shall cause that a small number of your lower judges should be gathered together, and they shall judge your higher judges, according to the voice of the people.

30 And I command you to do these things in the fear of the Lord; and I command you to do these things, and that ye have no king; that if these people commit sins and iniquities they shall be answered upon their own heads.

31 For behold I say unto you, the sins of many people have been ^acaused by the iniquities of their kings; therefore their iniquities are answered upon the heads of their kings.

32 And now I desire that this ^ainequality should be no more in this land, especially among this my people; but I desire that this land be a land of ^bliberty, and ^cevery man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the land, yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon the face of the land.

33 And many more things did king Mosiah write unto them, unfolding unto them all the trials and ^atroubles of a righteous king, yea, all the travails of soul for their people, and also all the murmurings of the people to their king; and he explained it all unto them.

34 And he told them that these things ought not to be; but that the burden should come upon all the people, that every man might ^abear his part.

35 And he also unfolded unto them all the disadvantages they labored under, by having an unrighteous ^aking to rule over them;

36 Yea, all ^ahis iniquities and abominations, and all the wars, and contentions, and bloodshed, and the stealing, and the plundering, and the committing of whoredoms, and all manner of iniquities which cannot be enumerated—telling them that these things ought not to be, that they were expressly repugnant to the commandments of God.

37 And now it came to pass, after king Mosiah had sent these things forth among the people they were ^aconvinced of the truth of his words.

38 Therefore they relinquished their desires for a king, and became exceedingly anxious that every man should have an equal ^achance throughout all the land; yea, and every man expressed a willingness to answer for his own sins.

39 Therefore, it came to pass that they assembled themselves together in bodies throughout the land, to cast in their ^avoices concerning who should be their ^bjudges, to judge them according to the ^claw which had been given them; and they were exceedingly rejoiced because of the ^dliberty which had been granted unto them.

40 And they did wax strong in love towards Mosiah; yea, they did esteem him more than any other man; for they did not look upon him as a ^atyrant who was seeking for gain, yea, for that ^blucre which doth ^ccorrupt the soul; for he had not exacted riches of them, neither had he delighted in the shedding of blood; but he had established ^dpeace in the land, and he had granted unto his people that they should be delivered from all manner of bondage; therefore they did esteem him, yea, exceedingly, beyond measure.

41 And it came to pass that they did ^aappoint ^bjudges to rule over them, or to judge them according to the law; and this they did throughout all the land.

42 And it came to pass that Alma was appointed to be the first ^achief judge, he being also the ^bhigh priest, his father having conferred the office upon him, and having given him the charge concerning all the affairs of the church.

43 And now it came to pass that Alma did ^awalk in the ways of the Lord, and he did keep his commandments, and he did judge righteous judgments; and there was continual peace through the land.

44 And thus *commenced the ^areign of the judges throughout all the land of Zarahemla, among all the people who were called the Nephites; and Alma was the first and chief judge.

45 And now it came to pass that his father died, being eighty and two years old, having lived to fulfil the commandments of God.

46 And it came to pass that Mosiah ^adied also, in the thirty and third year of his reign, being ^bsixty and three years old; making in the whole, five hundred and nine years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem.

47 And thus ended the reign of the kings over the people of Nephi; and thus ended the days of Alma, who was the founder of their church.

* VERSE 44 (91 B.C.).


This reading ends the Book of Mosiah and tomorrow we will start on Alma. As we just read both King Mosiah and Alma have passed away and the people have chosen Alma the Younger to be their chief judge. I have to admit that the book of Alma intimidates me. With over 150 pages covering 63 chapters it is about one third of the Book of Mormon. I am mostly afraid of the "war chapters" but we will just take them 2 pages at a time like we have taken everything else so far. Line upon line, right?

pgs. 204 and 205...now it is better that a man should be judged of God than of man, for the judgments of God are always just...

THE BOOK OF MOSIAH

CHAPTER 29

Mosiah proposes that judges be chosen in place of a king—Unrighteous kings lead their people into sin—Alma the younger is chosen chief judge by the voice of the people—He is also the high priest over the Church—Alma the elder and Mosiah die. About 92—91 B.C.

1 Now when Mosiah had done this he sent out throughout all the land, among all the people, desiring to know their will concerning who should be their king.

2 And it came to pass that the voice of the people came, saying: We are desirous that Aaron thy son should be our king and our ruler.

3 Now Aaron had gone up to the land of Nephi, therefore the king could not confer the kingdom upon him; ^aneither would Aaron take upon him the kingdom; neither were any of the ^bsons of Mosiah ^cwilling to take upon them the kingdom.

4 Therefore king Mosiah sent again among the people; yea, even a written word sent he among the people. And these were the words that were written, saying:

5 Behold, O ye my people, or my brethren, for I esteem you as such, I desire that ye should consider the cause which ye are called to ^aconsider—for ye are desirous to have a king.

6 Now I declare unto you that he to whom the kingdom doth rightly belong has declined, and will not take upon him the kingdom.

7 And now if there should be another appointed in his stead, behold I fear there would rise ^acontentions among you. And who knoweth but what my son, to whom the kingdom doth belong, should turn to be angry and ^bdraw away a part of this people after him, which would cause wars and contentions among you, which would be the cause of shedding much blood and perverting the way of the Lord, yea, and destroy the souls of many people.

8 Now I say unto you let us be wise and consider these things, for we have no right to destroy my son, neither should we have any right to destroy another if he should be appointed in his stead.

9 And if my son should turn again to his pride and vain things he would recall the things which he had said, and claim his right to the kingdom, which would cause him and also this people to commit much sin.

10 And now let us be wise and look forward to these things, and do that which will make for the peace of this people.

11 Therefore I will be your king the remainder of my days; nevertheless, let ^aus appoint ^bjudges, to judge this people according to our law; and we will newly arrange the affairs of this people, for we will appoint wise men to be judges, that will judge this people according to the commandments of God.

12 Now it is better that a man should be ^ajudged of God than of man, for the judgments of God are always just, but the judgments of man are not always just.

13 Therefore, ^aif it were possible that you could have ^bjust men to be your kings, who would establish the ^claws of God, and judge this people according to his commandments, yea, if ye could have men for your kings who would do even as my father ^dBenjamin did for this people—I say unto you, if this could always be the case then it would be expedient that ye should always have kings to rule over you.

14 And even I myself have labored with all the power and faculties which I have possessed, to teach you the commandments of God, and to establish peace throughout the land, that there should be no wars nor contentions, no stealing, nor plundering, nor murdering, nor any manner of iniquity;

15 And whosoever has committed iniquity, him have I ^apunished according to the crime which he has committed, according to the law which has been given to us by our fathers.

16 Now I say unto you, that because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye should have a ^aking or kings to rule over you.

17 For behold, how much ^ainiquity doth one ^bwicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!

18 Yea, remember king Noah, his ^awickedness and his abominations, and also the wickedness and abominations of his people. Behold what great destruction did come upon them; and also because of their iniquities they were brought into ^bbondage.

19 And were it not for the interposition of their all-wise Creator, and this because of their sincere repentance, they must unavoidably remain in bondage until now.

20 But behold, he did deliver them because they did ^ahumble themselves before him; and because they ^bcried mightily unto him he did deliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the Lord work with his power in all cases among the children of men, extending the arm of ^cmercy towards them that put their ^dtrust in him.

21 And behold, now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous ^aking save it be through much contention, and the shedding of much blood.

22 For behold, he has his ^afriends in iniquity, and he keepeth his guards about him; and he teareth up the laws of those who have reigned in righteousness before him; and he trampleth under his feet the commandments of God;

23 And he enacteth laws, and sendeth them forth among his people, yea, laws after the manner of his own wickedness; and whosoever doth not obey his laws he ^acauseth to be destroyed; and whosoever doth rebel against him he will send his armies against them to war, and if he can he will destroy them; and thus an unrighteous ^bking doth pervert the ways of all righteousness.

24 And now behold I say unto you, it is not expedient that such abominations should come upon you.

25 Therefore, choose you by the ^avoice of this people, judges, that ye may be ^bjudged according to the ^claws which have been given you by our fathers, which are correct, and which were given them by the hand of the Lord.

26 Now it is not common that the ^avoice of the people desireth anything ^bcontrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the ^cpeople to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.

This entire reading is the voice of Mosiah explaining why the people should not have a king. Instead he is suggesting judges who are voted in by the people. He tells all of the reasons why. It is interesting to compare his political suggestions to our system and others throughout the world today. Here is a great quote that expands on Mosiah's logic.

“I have a complete confidence in the aggregate wisdom of the . . . people if they are given and made to understand the facts. The wisdom of the mass is always greater than the wisdom of the individual or of the group. The few may be more subtle, more agile-minded, more resourceful; they may for a time push to the front and scamper ahead in the march; they may on occasion and for a time entice us down the wrong highway at the crossroads. But the great slow-moving, deliberate-thinking mass plods along over the years down the Divinely appointed way. Led astray, they slowly, cumberously swing back to the right road, no matter what the toil or the sacrifice may be, and when they start the return, they crush whatever lies in their path. So has humanity come up through the ages” (J. Reuben Clark, Jr., in Jerreld L. Newquist, comp., Prophets, Principles, and National Survival, p. 110).

pgs. 202 and 203...they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish.

33 But notwithstanding all this, they did impart much consolation to the church, confirming their faith, and exhorting them with long-suffering and much travail to keep the commandments of God.

34 And four of them were the ^asons of Mosiah; and their names were Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni; these were the names of the sons of Mosiah.

35 And they traveled throughout all the land of Zarahemla, and among all the ^apeople who were under the reign of king Mosiah, ^bzealously striving to repair all the injuries which they had done to the church, ^cconfessing all their sins, and publishing all the things which they had seen, and explaining the prophecies and the scriptures to all who desired to hear them.

36 And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer.

37 And how blessed are they! For they did ^apublish ^bpeace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth.

THE BOOK OF MOSIAH

CHAPTER 28

The sons of Mosiah shall have eternal life—They go to preach to the Lamanites—Mosiah translates the Jaredite plates with the two seer stones. About 92 B.C.

1 Now it came to pass that after the ^asons of Mosiah had done all these things, *they took a small number with them and returned to their father, the king, and desired of him that he would grant unto them that they might, with these whom they had ^bselected, go up to the land of ^cNephi that they might preach the things which they had heard, and that they might impart the word of God to their brethren, the Lamanites—

2 ^aThat perhaps they might bring them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and convince them of the iniquity of their fathers; and that perhaps they might cure them of their ^bhatred towards the Nephites, that they might also be brought to rejoice in the Lord their God, that they might become friendly to one another, and that there should be no more contentions in all the land which the Lord their God had given them.

3 Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not ^abear that any human ^bsoul should ^cperish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure ^dendless torment did cause them to quake and ^etremble.

4 And thus did the Spirit of the Lord work upon them, for they were the very ^avilest of sinners. And the Lord saw fit in his infinite ^bmercy to spare them; nevertheless they suffered much anguish of soul because of their iniquities, suffering much and fearing that they should be cast off forever.

5 And it came to pass that they did plead with their father many days that they might go up to the land of Nephi.

6 And king Mosiah went and ^ainquired of the Lord if he should let his sons go up among the Lamanites to preach the word.

7 And the Lord said unto Mosiah: Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will ^adeliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites.

8 And it came to pass that Mosiah granted that they might go and do according to their request.

9 And they ^atook their journey into the wilderness to go up to preach the word among the Lamanites; and I shall give an ^baccount of their proceedings hereafter.

10 Now king Mosiah had no one to confer the kingdom upon, for there was not any of his sons who ^awould accept of the kingdom.

11 Therefore he took the records which were engraven on the plates of ^abrass, and also the plates of ^bNephi, and all the things which he had kept and preserved according to the commandments of God, after having translated and caused to be written the records which were on the ^cplates of gold which had been found by the people of Limhi, which were delivered to him by the hand of Limhi;

12 And this he did because of the great anxiety of his people; for they were desirous beyond measure to know concerning those people ^awho had been destroyed.

13 And now he translated them by the means of those two ^astones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow.

14 Now these things were prepared from the beginning, and were handed down from generation to generation, for the purpose of interpreting languages;

15 And they have been kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he should discover to every creature who should possess the land the iniquities and abominations of his people;

16 And whosoever has these things is called ^aseer, after the manner of old times.

17 Now after Mosiah had finished ^atranslating these ^brecords, behold, it gave an account of the people who were ^cdestroyed, from the time that they were destroyed back to the building of the ^dgreat tower, at the time the Lord ^econfounded the language of the people and they were scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth, yea, and even from that time back until the creation of Adam.

18 Now this account did cause the people of Mosiah to mourn exceedingly, yea, they were filled with sorrow; nevertheless it gave them much knowledge, in the which they did rejoice.

19 And this account shall be ^awritten hereafter; for behold, it is expedient that all people should know the things which are written in this account.

20 And now, as I said unto you, that after king Mosiah had done these things, he took the plates of ^abrass, and all the things which he had kept, and ^bconferred them upon Alma, who was the son of Alma; yea, all the records, and also the ^cinterpreters, and conferred them upon him, and commanded him that he should keep and ^dpreserve them, and also keep a record of the people, handing them down from one generation to another, even as they had been handed down from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.

* VERSE 1 (ABOUT 92 B.C.).

Every missionary finds inspiration in these actions of Alma and the sons of Mosiah. Their desire to leave their homeland, where they could have had an easy life, and go to their enemies to preach the gospel shows incredible courage, faith, and commitment to their conversion.

The writing in chapter 28 verses 11-20 regarding the "interpreters" is very interesting. I found this fascinating quote that taught me a lot about the importance of timing in the way the Lord reveals His word.

“The people of Limhi brought to Mosiah a record, ‘. . . engraven on plates of ore,’ which record Mosiah translated by the aid of ‘two stones which were fastened into the two rims of a bow,’ and which gave an account of the Jaredites. In translating this record Mosiah kept from going forth to the people that particular part forbidden of the Lord to be revealed until after he was lifted up upon the cross. These sacred revelations given to the brother of Jared were kept from the Nephite people, as well as many other things, until after the resurrection of Christ [see Alma 63:12]. After the appearing of the Savior to the Nephites, the vision of the brother of Jared was revealed to the Nephites. When Moroni made his abridgment of the record of Ether, he copied on his record the vision of the brother of Jared. At the command of the Lord, however, Moroni also sealed up the greater things in this vision and the ‘interpreters’—which were the same ‘two stones’ had by the brother of Jared, so that this vision should not be made known even in our day among the Gentiles, in the day of their wickedness [see 2 Nephi 27:8]; ‘. . . until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.’ So we today do not have the fulness of the account written and sealed up by the brother of Jared and again sealed by Moroni. This part of the record the Prophet Joseph Smith was forbidden to translate. We have, then, received but the ‘lesser part.’

“Joseph Smith received with the ‘breastplate’ and the plates of the Book of Mormon, the Urim and Thummim, which were hid up by Moroni to come forth in the last days as a means by which the ancient record might be translated, which Urim and Thummim were given to the brother of Jared” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 1:161–62).

pgs. 200 and 201...the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder.

11 And as I said unto you, as they were going about ^arebelling against God, behold, the ^bangel of the Lord ^cappeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a ^dcloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood;

12 And so great was their astonishment, that they fell to the earth, and understood not the words which he spake unto them.

13 Nevertheless he cried again, saying: Alma, arise and stand forth, for why persecutest thou the church of God? For the Lord hath said: ^aThis is my church, and I will establish it; and nothing shall ^boverthrow it, save it is the transgression of my people.

14 And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath ^aheard the prayers of his people, and also the ^bprayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has ^cprayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the ^dknowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to ^econvince thee of the power and authority of God, that the ^fprayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith.

15 And now behold, can ye dispute the power of God? For behold, doth not my voice shake the earth? And can ye not also ^abehold me before you? And I am sent from God.

16 Now I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of ^aHelam, and in the land of Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in ^bbondage, and he has ^cdelivered them. And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy way, and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be answered, and this even if thou wilt of ^dthyself be ^ecast off.

17 And now it came to pass that these were the last words which the angel spake unto Alma, and he departed.

18 And now Alma and those that were with him fell again to the earth, for great was their astonishment; for with their own eyes they had beheld an ^aangel of the Lord; and his voice was as thunder, which ^bshook the earth; and they knew that there was nothing save the power of God that could shake the earth and cause it to tremble as though it would part asunder.

19 And now the astonishment of Alma was so great that he became ^adumb, that he could not open his mouth; yea, and he became weak, even that he could not move his hands; therefore he was taken by those that were with him, and carried helpless, even until he was laid before his father.

20 And they rehearsed unto his father all that had happened unto them; and his father rejoiced, for he knew that it was the power of God.

21 And he caused that a multitude should be gathered together that they might witness what the Lord had done for his son, and also for those that were with him.

22 And he caused that the priests should assemble themselves together; and they began to fast, and to pray to the Lord their God that he would open the mouth of Alma, that he might speak, and also that his limbs might receive their strength—that the eyes of the people might be opened to see and know of the goodness and glory of God.

23 And it came to pass after they had fasted and prayed for the space of ^atwo days and two nights, the limbs of Alma received their strength, and he stood up and began to speak unto them, bidding them to be of good comfort:

24 For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and have been ^aredeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit.

25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be ^aborn again; yea, ^bborn of God, ^cchanged from their carnal and ^dfallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his ^esons and daughters;

26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in ^anowise inherit the kingdom of God.

27 I say unto you, unless this be the case, they must be cast off; and this I know, because I was like to be cast off.

28 Nevertheless, after ^awading through much ^btribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an ^ceverlasting burning, and I am born of God.

29 My soul hath been ^aredeemed from the gall of bitterness and ^bbonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was ^cracked with eternal torment; but I am ^dsnatched, and my soul is ^epained no more.

30 I rejected my Redeemer, and denied that which had been spoken of by our fathers; but now that they may foresee that he will come, and that he remembereth every creature of his creating, he will make himself manifest unto ^aall.

31 Yea, ^aevery knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him. Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be ^bjudged of him, then shall they confess that he is ^cGod; then shall they confess, who live ^dwithout God in the world, that the judgment of an everlasting punishment is just upon them; and they shall quake, and tremble, and shrink beneath the glance of his ^eall-searching eye.

32 And now it came to pass that Alma began from this time forward to teach the people, and those who were with Alma at the time the angel appeared unto them, traveling round about through all the land, publishing to all the people the things which they had heard and seen, and preaching the word of God in much tribulation, being greatly persecuted by those who were unbelievers, being smitten by many of them.

This is probably one of the most famous chapters in the Book of Mormon. Everyone takes notice when an angel is involved! Something that stood out to me this time that I hadn't thought about before is in verse 21. Alma gathers the people to see what the Lord had done "for" his son instead of "to" his son. This is meaningful because it shows that even though his son was suffering physically Alma was happy because his son was changing spiritually.

I like this quote about the ministering of angels by Wilford Woodruff. It was spoke to a man who said he had prayed for the visitation of angels.

“I said to him that if he were to pray a thousand years to the God of Israel for that gift, it would not be granted, unless the Lord had a motive in sending an angel to him. I told him that the Lord never did nor never will send an angel to anybody merely to gratify the desire of the individual to see an angel. If the Lord sends an angel to anyone, He sends him to perform a work that cannot be performed only by the administration of an angel. I said to him that those were my views. The Lord had sent angels to men from the creation of the world, at different times, but always with a message or with something to perform that could not be performed without. I rehearsed to him different times when angels appeared to men. Of course, I referred to the angel visiting Joseph Smith. The Revelator John said that in the last days an angel would fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwelt on the earth. The reason it required an angel to do this work was, the Gospel was not on the earth. The Gospel and the Priesthood had been taken from among men. Hence God had to restore it again.

“Now, I have always said, and I want to say it to you, that the Holy Ghost is what every Saint of God needs. It is far more important that a man should have that gift than he should have the ministration of an angel, unless it is necessary for an angel to teach him something that he has not been taught” (“Discourse Delivered at the Weber Stake Conference,” Deseret Weekly, 7 Nov. 1896, p. 1).