Latter-day Saint Seminar Volume 4, Number 26 June 28, 2000 ________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents ________________________________________________________________________ GD26 - Alma 23-29 Article 1 - Comments by S. Kurt Neumiller kurtn@cybcon.com Article 2 - Structure by D. Lynn Johnson dlj5@voyager.net ________________________________________________________________________ Comments, by S. Kurt Neumiller ________________________________________________________________________ Comments on Alma 25 v1 "those Lamanites", i.e., the group from 24:28 which is composed mostly of apostate Nephites. v2 The events of this verse coincide with those of 16:1-3. Ironically, these apostate Nephites attack and kill another group of apostate Nephites, those at Ammonihah. According to 16:1 this occurs in 81 B.C. v3 Verse 16:12 says there was about 3 years of peace in between the sack of Ammonihah and the subsequent wars. The next big wars between the Lamanites and Nephites are in 27:1-2 and 28:1-9. In between those the events of v. 5-9 and v. 13-14 are what give the Nephites some 3 years of peace. v4-12 Mormon now takes some time out to editorialize the destruction of the descendants of Amulon according to the prediction of Abinadi. The descendants of the wicked priests of Noah, called Amulonites, are largely destroyed in the conflict over Ammonihah and the subsequent retributive attack by the Nephites (v. 4). Those Amulonites who are not killed in the battle flee to the east and usurp power over the Lamanites there. Once they do they cause the believers among the Lamanites to die by fire (v. 5). Mormon then inserts a parenthesis explaining that the tribulations suffered has caused many of the Lamanites to repent and believe the words which they had previously rejected, which words were those the sons of Mosiah had preached among them. They were thus converted to the Lord and rejected the traditions of their fathers (v. 6). These are the believers in v. 5 whom the Amulonites martyr by fire (v. 7). This martyrdom causes many of the Lamanites to be angry with the Amulonites and hunt them down and kill them (v. 8). And they are hunted even to that present time. Thus is the prediction by Abiniadi fulfilled concerning the children of the wicked priests of Noah (v. 9), because he said whatever the wicked priests do to him will be a type of things to come (v. 10, cp. Mosiah 13:10). Even as Abinadi died from fire, so did many other believers die by fire (v. 11) at the hands of the children of these wicked priests. Then, the children of these wicked priests would be scattered, driven, and smitten (v. 12, cp. Mosiah 12:2). v4 The annihilation of your lineage is a classic OT covenant curse, Ps. 109:13-15. It is precisely the opposite of the blessings offered to Abraham and Lehi and all the patriarchs. v8 "many of their brethren", i.e., the relatives of those who were martyred by the Amulonites. v12 Mormon's recounting of Abinadi's curses is similar to the earlier account in Mosiah 12, but in the Mosiah 12 account there are no references to being like sheep. Either Mormon is interpolating the curses from the latter half of Mosiah 12:2 or there is material Mormon had access to which we do not have. It is probably the latter as it is noted in the last line of Mosiah 12:8 that many more things were spoken which were not documented in this particular record. v13-16 Having expunged the apostate Nephites from amongst themselves, some of the Lamanites join the people of Anti-Nephi- Lehi (v. 13) following their example of burying their weapons and keeping the commandments (v. 14). All of these converted Lamanites keep the Law of Moses and understand it is a type of Christ (v. 15). They understand the purpose of the Law is to strengthen their faith and teach them by the Spirit (v. 16). v13 As the apostate Nephites were instigators of hatred among the Lamanites (cf. 21:3, 23:14, 24:1-2), once the groups separate and polarize the Lamanites change for the better. v15-16 can be arrange in an antithetical inverted parallelism, as follows: A - 15 Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses; for it was expedient that they should keep the law of Moses as yet, for it was not all fulfilled. B - But notwithstanding the law of Moses, they did look forward to the coming of Christ, considering that the law of Moses was a type of his coming, C - and believing that they must keep those outward performances until the time that he should be revealed unto them. C - 16 Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; B - but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation, A - relying upon the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to come. The A's indicate they kept the physical performances of the Law of Moses because it was not yet fulfilled, but they relied upon the Spirit and not the works because it taught them about the things which should come. The B's indicate they recognized the Law of Moses was a type of Christ, and so it strengthened their faith in him. And, the C's indicate they knew they need to do these outward performances to be obedient, but that salvation did not come by doing them alone. Overall, v. 15 addresses the physical performances of the Law and v. 16 address the spiritual intent of the Law. v17 The sons of Mosiah are very pleased with the second wave of Lamanites repenting and abandoning the false traditions of their fathers. It is obvious why they would be so pleased about it since initially a number of the sons of Mosiah had been rejected by these very same people, cf. 20:30 and 21:10-13. Comments on Alma 29 This chapter is a lengthy quotation of Alma both lamenting (v. 1-8) and rejoicing over (v. 9-17) his missionary efforts. Mormon gives us no background on why Alma wrote this or if it was intended for publicly presentation or privately composed for catharsis. The lack of any opening or closing address suggests it was a private composition. We would assume its placement in the text dictates it's chronology as far as when it was composed, but this isn't necessarily the case. The text of Alma's composition can be arranged in two parts, the lament (v. 1-8) and the rejoicing (v. 9-17) each with its own structure, as follows: Note Alma's statements in v. 9-17 are quite similar to those of Ammon in ch. 26. However, where Ammon's comments are pure praise over their success with the Lamanites, Alma's statements are mixed. The difference is Ammon is rejoicing over the repentance of many of the Lamanites, while Alma is lamenting over the apostasy among the Nephites. Alma has labored diligently to keep the Nephites in line with the Lord, and yet they still rebel. The result is both Nephites and Lamanites suffer as the apostate Nephites (e.g., the Amulonites, Amalekites, Zoramites) incite the Lamanites to attack the Nephites. Lament (v. 1-7) A - 1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, B - and cry repentance unto every people! C - 2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, D - that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. E - 3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; F - for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me. E - 4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires, D - the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction. C - 5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience. B - 6 Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called? A - 7 Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth? Lament Conclusion (v. 8) 8 For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true. Rejoicing (v. 9-16) A - 9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy. B - 10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me. C - 11 Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the Lord did deliver them out of bondage, and by this did establish his church; D - yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of bondage. C - 12 Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same God who delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians did deliver them out of bondage. A - 13 Yea, and that same God did establish his church among them; yea, and that same God hath called me by a holy calling, to preach the word unto this people, and hath given me much success, in the which my joy is full. B - 14 But I do not joy in my own success alone, but my joy is more full because of the success of my brethren, who have been up to the land of Nephi. 15 Behold, they have labored exceedingly, and have brought forth much fruit; and how great shall be their reward! 16 Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were, so great is my joy. Rejoicing Conclusion (v. 17) 17 And now may God grant unto these, my brethren, that they may sit down in the kingdom of God; yea, and also all those who are the fruit of their labors that they may go no more out, but that they may praise him forever. And may God grant that it may be done according to my words, even as I have spoken. Amen. In reviewing the two sections it is interesting to note the source of Alma's lament is his own failure to acknowledge what he wants is not according to the Lord's plans. Thus, what is making him unhappy is not the Lord's fault for not making him an angel, but his own fault for wanting something that isn't wise, just, and true. Then in the rejoicing Alma is careful to shift the focus away from his personal successes in the ministry. Instead, he notes he acted according to his calling, and it is the repentance of the people in which he rejoices. And, beyond this, he acknowledges it was the sons of Mosiah who did an even greater work in preaching to the Lamanites, which causes him even greater joy than anything he accomplished. v1 The only angel Alma appears to have come into contact with, or at least the text makes any reference to, is the one who called him to repentance (cf. Mosiah 27:11). This is the same angel who later visits him and tells him to return to Ammonihah (cf. 8:15). Alma wishes he could bring the message of repentance to people as powerfully as did this angel bring it to him and the sons of Mosiah. Alma has had to deal with a lot of unrepentant Nephites and he is wishing he could have brought about their repentance even as the angel brought about his. The problem with this is the messenger doesn't force the message on people, its still up to the people to decide to accept or reject what the messenger says. Laman and Lemuel saw an angel (cf. 1 Ne. 3:29) and they later rationalized it away (cf. 1 Ne. 16:38), and so would others as well. The people at Ammonihah were murderous, as was Laman and Lemuel, so chances are even if an angel did appear to them they would respond in the same way as did Laman and Lemuel. Alma and the sons of Mosiah chose to repent when confronted by the angel, they didn't have to. They could have ended up like Nehor, Sherem, or Korihor. v2 "the voice of thunder", cp. Mosiah 27:9 where it says "and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder". v8 The conclusion to the lamentation section is the answer to the two questions Alma asks in v. 6-7. Alma knows he shouldn't be asking these questions (v. 3) because the Lord has decided in His wisdom and justice to grant His word to each nation in their own tongue. v9 Notice Alma sidesteps vanity in the same manner Ammon does in 26:10-15. v11 "I also remember the captivity of my fathers", cp. 5:6, Mosiah 27:16. v12 Alma is drawing a parallel between the Lord's deliverance of ancient Israel and His delivery of present Israel to show the consistency of the Abrahamic Covenant. v16 "my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body", it isn't clear what Alma is referring to. Given the qualifying statement "as it were" we would have to assume he is speaking poetically and not literally. I would assume he is referring to wishing he could flee mortality to enter into the kingdom of God to praise Him as is spoken of in the next verse. v17 Alma hopes the sons of Mosiah and those among the Lamanites who were converted through their preaching will all land themselves in the kingdom of heaven. Alma, being the high priest, was to make intercession on behalf of his people, and he does so here. ________________________________________________________________________ Structure, by D. Lynn Johnson ________________________________________________________________________ Well, they packed a lot of good stuff into one lesson. I can only hit some highlights. As usual, the full reformatted text can be found on the LDSS Archive website, http://www.cybcon.com/~kurtn/exegesis.html The introductory and concluding remarks about the king’s speech fit nicely into the pattern of that speech. 24:1-20 Inverted A1 Lamanites make preparation for war. // The Lamanites made preparations for war. A2 They began to rebel against their king, insomuch that they would not that he should be their king. // For the purpose of destroying the king, and to place another in his stead. A3 They took up arms against the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. // And also destroying the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi out of the land. B None of the converts would take up arms against their brethren. // Weapons of war were buried. C These are the words which he said unto the people. // When the king had made an end of these sayings. D Gratitude for being forgiven. // We will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them...as a testimony that we have never used them. E Since God hath taken away our stains. // Since he has imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby. F Our swords have become bright. // And our swords are made bright. G If we should stain our swords again. // To get our stains taken away from us. H They can no more be washed bright through the blood of the Son. // Since it has been as much as we could do. I And the great God. // Is our God! J Has had mercy on us. // Oh, how merciful. K Made these things known unto us that we might not perish. // He doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us. L Because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children. Discussion The structure of Alma 26 is four levels deep in one place--an overall inverted pattern, smaller inverted systems and a nice climax (indicated by capital guide letters) and, a direct parallel system within the point of emphasis of the climax (lower case guide letters), and a complex inverted system within this (Roman numeral guide letters). Here is a synopsis of the overall system. 26:1-37 Inverted AA (Ammon rejoices in their success.) Blessed by the name of our God. // Blessed is the name of my God. This is my joy, and my great thanksgiving. BB I fear that thy joy doth carry thee away unto boasting. // Even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power... Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast. CC I will rejoice in my God...I will boast of my God. // Now have we not reason to rejoice? ...my joy is carried away. DD1 How many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell? // We can look forth and see the fruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they are many. DD2 He is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the chains of hell. They were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love. // They had rather sacrifice their lives than even to take the life of their enemy. EE We have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work. // (Description of the scepticism of the Nephites, and the work and success of the missionaries.) FF Who would have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and polluted state? Discussion The first DD2 enumerates the consequences of the actions described in the second. Finally, a quick look at part of chapter 29, which is different from Kurt's findings. One of the interesting aspects of structure in scripture is the fact that some passages can possess more than one pattern, and each opens up unique windows for gaining insights into the meaning. 29:1-8 Inverted A1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people. // Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth? A2 I would declare with the voice of thunder. // The Lord doth grant according to that which is just and true. B The things the Lord hath allotted unto me. // The work to which I have been called. C I ought not to harrow up in my desires. // Why should I desire more. D I know that. // I know these things. E1 He granteth unto men according to their desire. // To him it is given according to his desires. E2 Whether it be unto death or unto life. // Whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience. F1 Yea, I know that he allotteth unto men. // Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men. F2 According to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction. // He that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil. And much, much more. ________________________________________________________________________ Next Assignment: Alma 30-31 ________________________________________________________________________ A note to readers: LDS Seminar Digest [LDSS-D] is a summary of posts made to LDS Seminar, an open forum for discussion on upcoming Gospel Doctrine lessons. LDS Seminar [LDSS] posts are open to exegesis, textual analysis, historical issues, and life applications. Submissions to LDSS will not be edited for content, but not all submissions will be automatically included in LDSS-D. LDSS-D is a one way list, subscribers cannot post to LDSS-D. If you wish to post you must join LDSS. 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