Alma chapter 4 sets the stage for Alma's great oration to the people of Zarahemla. The people have come through a tremendous civil war - a battle between Amlici and those who wanted him to be their king versus those who wanted to have the freedoms of a elected government. The battle was very costly to the Nephite nation. Alma 3 indicates "...now the number of the slain were not numbered, because of the greatness of their number..." (Alma 3:1). The Lamanite and Amlicite dead was also great although not mentioned in this reference.
I compare this costly war to the battle of Gettysburg of the American Civil War. What happened at the three-day battle at Gettysburg?
-- Union Forces Engaged: 82,289
-- Confederate Forces Engaged: 75,000
-- Casualties: 51,112 (23,049 Union and 28,063 Confederate). This constitues almost 1/3 of the troops engaged in the battle!
(source: http://www.civilwarhome.com/Battles.htm)
Alma chapter 3 gives further indication of how many were lost: "...And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world..." (Alma 3:26). In addition to warrior casualties, there were other losses: "Now many women and children had been slain with the sword..." (Alma 3:2). War is always costly to the armies and to the population as well. The Nephite nations suffered greatly as a result of one man who wanted power.
The aftermath of this catastrophe rested on the leaders of the Nephite nation, most notably Alma, who was both Chief Judge of the nation as well as the high priest over the church. I can imagine what challenges this dual role brought to Alma. Over the next 3 years, his duties of chief judge kept him busy. He saw that many of the people in and out of the church were becoming less and less aligned with the things that Alma's father had taught. Alma, in his frustration, determined that one of his responsibilities had to go. He decided to leave the chief judgeship and devote himself to the needs of the church. By the voice of the people, Nephihah was chosen to be the new chief judge of the land.
And so it was that Alma began to focus on the people of the church to stir them to become true to their faith. Alma starts with the church at Zarahemla; Chapter 5 contains his passionate plea to the people to be righteous. Here are some of the highlites that meant much to me.
Authority: Alma cites the authority that he holds by which he admonishes the people of Zarahemla. "I, Alma, having been consecrated by my father, Alma, to be a high priest over the church of God, he having power and authority from God to do these things..." (Alma 5:3). When speaking on someone else's behalf, one must be authorized to do so. I can't speak for the Queen of England, for instance, because I don't have the right to do so.... I haven't been given that authority. I can't spend Donald Trump's money, I don't have the authorization for it. Is it so hard to believe that an education doesn't give authority and that God would want to choose who speaks for him?
History: I liked how Alma reminded the people he addressed of the history of their people and the roots of the church. Given that they had just gone through political upheaval, it is fitting that Alma reminds them of the state that king Noah left his people in. Alma probably feels like the people have moved close to this state themselves.
Delivery of the message: I like the poetic way that Alma delivers his points home: "Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them. And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not." (Alma 5:7-8). Alma first teaches them a truth - God changed our fathers' hearts (and by logic, can and will change our hearts). He then uses similes then to emphasize this point. I see this as nothing less than poetry.
Content of the message: The theme of Alma's entire address can be summed up in verses 11-13, which is this: through faith we gain a change of heart. Through this change we become humble. Through humility we begin to trust in the Lord and his offerings. This trust enables us to be valient and to endure to the end. What a great message!
To me, parts of this address seemed like giving the people of Zarahemla a temple recommend-style interview. "...have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption braised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?" (Alma 5:14-15). Some of the things Alma then asked were more of a negative nature, geared to what they were doing wrong (like being called on the carpet) - see Verses 17 to 25. I may be making judgments from this portion, but I think it's significant that Alma had to devote more time to chastising the Zarahemla church members than teaching them about spiritual things. What do we learn from this? I think that they needed to change their ways. Perhaps we need to take our spiritual temperature... If we use Alma's questions, are we ready to stand before God?
Alma gives the Zarahemlites the keys to getting on track in verses 27 through 33.
-- Keep yourselves blameless before God
-- Humble yourselves
-- Strip yourselves of pride
-- Remove envy from your life
-- Avoid things that would drag you down (he specifically mentions mockery; it sounds like this problem was pervasive in the church).
There are many things in this address that I have not discussed, but the entire message to the people of Zarahemla is worth understanding and applying to ourselves. May we read this chapter with a spiritual mirror. May we each benefit from the things we read in these chapters and elsewhere in the Book of Mormon. May we each rejoice with one another in the presence of the Lord.
Don
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