Alma's Mission to Pull Down Pride

Book of Mormon Notes - Friday, August 11, 2023, Alma 5

This is one of the greatest chapters in the Book of Mormon and in all of scripture, and it begins with a heading that, if I’m not mistaken, must have been written by Mormon:

The words which Alma, the High Priest according to the holy order of God, delivered to the people in their cities and villages throughout the land.

Alma the Younger was the first chief judge of the Nephites according to the system of government that was established by King Mosiah before his death. This means that Alma the Younger had been entrusted with immense political power and authority, as well as with immense ecclesiastical power and authority. He had also been entrusted with the sacred relics or the holy Nephite objects. Alma the Younger was not a person who sough after power, and for this reason he was worthy to be entrusted with it.

As we’ve mentioned previously, most human beings cannot withstand the test of being blessed with riches. Too often the increase in riches leads to an increase of peace and prosperity which leads to an increase in pride. Similarly, most human beings cannot withstand the test of power. As Lord Acton so aptly observed:

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

But Alma the Younger was different. His mighty change of heart was so thorough and so complete that perhaps only he could be entrusted with the aforementioned power, authority, and responsibility. He was that rare man, like George Washington, who only used whatever power and authority he was given to bless others:

There have been in all history few men who possessed unassailable power who used that power so gently and self-effacingly for what their best instincts told them was the welfare of their neighbors and all mankind.

Alma was also like the sons of Mosiah in this way, and like Captain Moroni after him. Mormon will later expatiate on the characters of each of these great men and draw an important lesson from them.

One of the great testimonies of Alma’s integrity, sense of duty, and love of God is that he relinquished great political power in order to more fully engage in his first priority, namely to preach the word of God. Alma delegated his political authority as the first chief judge to Nephihah:

And he selected a wise man who was among the ^aelders of the church, and gave him power according to the ^bvoice of the people, that he might have power to enact ^claws according to the laws which had been given, and to put them in force according to the wickedness and the crimes of the people.

Now this man’s name was ^aNephihah, and he was appointed ^bchief judge; and he sat in the judgment-seat to judge and to govern the people.

Now Alma did not grant unto him the office of being ^ahigh priest over the church, but he retained the office of high priest unto himself; but he delivered the judgment-seat unto ^bNephihah. (Alma 4:16-18)

Nephihah was a wise man among the elders of the Church. He was also man with whom it was safe to entrust power and authority. By delegating his political power and authority to Nephihah it is clear that Alma was more interested in serving and blessing his people than he was in ruling over them. But Alma didn’t just abandon his political post. He made sure to choose a wise man to follow in his footsteps and to take his place. Alma probably trained Nephihah sufficiently before embarking upon his missionary efforts among his own people.

Why did Alma do this? Because he loved God and his people. Because he was concerned for the salvation of souls more than he was about his own position, prominence, power, and prestige. Oh, that there were more men like Alma! He was a man who understood what the Prophet Joseph Smith learned by hard experience. He understood and had power in the priesthood:

Behold, there are many ^acalled, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

Because their ^ahearts are set so much upon the things of this ^bworld, and ^caspire to the ^dhonors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—

That the ^arights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be ^bcontrolled nor handled only upon the ^cprinciples of righteousness.

That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to ^acover our ^bsins, or to gratify our ^cpride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or ^ddominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens ^ewithdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.

Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to ^akick against the pricks, to ^bpersecute the saints, and to ^cfight against God.

We have learned by sad experience that it is the ^anature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little ^bauthority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise ^cunrighteous dominion.

Hence many are called, but ^afew are chosen.

No ^apower or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the ^bpriesthood, only by ^cpersuasion, by ^dlong-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

By ^akindness, and pure ^bknowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the ^csoul without ^dhypocrisy, and without ^eguile—

^aReproving betimes with ^bsharpness, when ^cmoved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of ^dlove toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of ^adeath.

Let thy ^abowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let ^bvirtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy ^cconfidence wax strong in the ^dpresence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the ^edews from heaven.

The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant ^acompanion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of ^brighteousness and truth; and thy ^cdominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever. (D&C 121:34-46)

Alma delegated his political post to Nephihah and sought by persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned, and pure knowledge to reclaim his people. He was moved upon by the Holy Ghost to reprove his people immediately and with precision, and also to show forth an increase of love toward them. His bowels were full of charity towards all men, and virtue garnished his thoughts unceasingly. With priesthood power, and the authority that had been bestowed upon him by his father, Alma embarked upon a new mission:

And this he did that he ^ahimself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might ^bpreach the ^cword of God unto them, to ^dstir them up in ^eremembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure ^ftestimony against them.

And thus in the commencement of the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, Alma delivered up the judgment-seat to ^aNephihah, and confined himself wholly to the ^bhigh priesthood of the holy order of God, to the ^ctestimony of the word, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy. (Alma 4:19-20)

I just noticed something interesting in Mormon’s description of Alma’s new mission. These things foreshadow Alma’s other future missions, and Mormon seems to draw directly from Captain Moroni’s own words when he describes how Alma, armed with the word of God, will “pull down” pride. This suggests to me that Mormon had already studied Nephite history in its entirety before writing this portion of his abridgment, or at least that he had already studied the portion of the records that deals with Captain Moroni’s courage. Thus Mormon may have drawn his description of Alma’s new mission directly from one of Captain Moroni’s epistles:

Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I ^aseek not for power, but to pull it down. I ^bseek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country. And thus I close mine epistle. (Alma 60:36)

Mormon clearly loved Captain Moroni, and he must have even named his son after him. No wonder that Mormon later praised Alma and many others because they were like Captain Moroni:

And Moroni was a ^astrong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect ^bunderstanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the ^awelfare and safety of his people.

Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had ^asworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught ^anever to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives.

And this was their ^afaith, that by so doing God would ^bprosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger;

And also, that God would make it known unto them ^awhither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them; and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; ^bnot in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity.

Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto ^aMoroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the ^bdevil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

Behold, he was a man like unto ^aAmmon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God. (Alma 48:11-18)

To be continued…