Alma's New Grief
Book of Mormon Notes - Thursday, August 10, 2023, Alma 4
In about eight more decades from this time in the reign of the judges, the Savior will be born.
I forgot to mention that there is a difference between the Land of Zarahemla and the City of Zarahemla. The Land of Zarahemla, now the land of the Nephites, consists of many cities, among which the City of Zarahemla is the capital city.
During this time, the people of Zarahemla were greatly afflicted and believed that their afflictions came upon them because of the judgments of God. As is often the case for us human beings, the Nephites were awakened to a remembrance of their duty because of their afflictions. These afflictions and the resultant awakening led to the greater establishment of the Church and the baptism of many converts. Alma the Younger, the high priest and first chief judge, did the baptizing. And it was a lot of baptizing. About 3,500 souls united themselves to the achurch of God and were baptized.
But as is also often the case with us mortals, the members of the Church in Zarahemla who enjoyed some peace and prosperity began to forget what the Lord had done for them, and pride crept in. The pride cycle began again quite quickly. The afflictions that had recently awakened them to a remembrance of their duty did not awaken them enough, or at least their awakening did not last very long:
And it came to pass in the eighth year of the reign of the judges, that the people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding ariches, and their bfine silks, and their fine-twined linen, and because of their many flocks and herds, and their gold and their silver, and all manner of precious things, which they had obtained by their cindustry; and in all these things were they lifted up in the pride of their eyes, for they began to wear very costly dapparel. (Alma 4:6)
Why did these Nephites begin to wax proud? What does Mormon want his latter-day audience to understand from this account? Certainly Mormon saw the affluence and materialism of modern America. He knew exactly what had caused the destruction of the Jaredite civilization and his own Nephite civilization. Mormon saw our day, and I don’t think that it is a coincidence that he used the word “pride” to describe what had caused the downfall of the two great American civilizations that preceded our own.
These Nephites had worked hard. They were industrious. They obtained riches and many precious things by their industry. But as Mormon reminds us, we human beings have a hard time with materialism. Because of the Nephite prosperity, even prosperity that came because of hard work and industry, they began to be lifted up in pride. What is it about riches, costly apparel, and prosperity that becomes such a temptation for us mortals? The obvious answer is that when we humans are blessed materially in these ways, we often begin to forget God and our absolute dependence upon God for everything. We forget the things that King Benjamin so clearly taught. We begin to think that it is our own power that prospers us, and we begin to forget God because we trust in our own material possessions and power.
It is interesting that Mormon often notes how pride causes people to wear costly apparel. Remember the great and spacious building? Remember the great and abominable church? Nephi described the kind of clothing that he saw in his vision:
And I also saw agold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined blinen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots.
And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the adesires of this great and abominable church. (1 Nephi 13:7-8)
Mormon contrasts the attitude of the Nephites in the eighth year of the reign of the judges with the humble attitude of the Nephites during the first year of the reign of the judges. During the first year of the reign of the judges, even though Nehor and his followers were wrecking havoc, the members of the Church in Zarahemla were relatively humble:
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. (Alma 1:27)
But now Alma had a new problem to deal with. The Church was growing in numbers, but it was also growing in pride and materialism. Why would Mormon include these specific insights about the Nephite civilization in Zarahemla, and specifically the growth of the Church in numbers and in pride? Is there a parallel in our day? I think so.
Think of how the Church has grown since its establishment in 1830. Think of the affluence, and the peace and the prosperity that many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, particularly in the United States, have enjoyed, especially in recent years. Remember Brigham Young’s keen observation and lamentation about peace and prosperity? President Benson quoted Brigham Young on this matter:
Every generation has its tests and its chance to stand and prove itself. Would you like to know of one of our toughest tests? Hear the warning words of President Brigham Young: "The worst fear I have about this people is that they will get rich in this country, forget God and His people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty and all manner of persecution and be true. But my greatest fear is that they cannot stand wealth." . . . Do you know what peace and prosperity can do to a people- it can put them to sleep.
Here is the full quotation with citation references:
“The worst fear that I have about this people is that they will get rich in this
country, forget God and his people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty, and all manner of persecution, and be true. But my greater fear for them is that they cannot stand wealth; and yet they have to be tried with riches, for they will become the richest people on this earth” (Quoted by Gordon B. Hinckley in his address, “These Noble Pioneers.” See also Salt Lake City, George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1900; New York: AMS Press, 1971, pp. 11923, cited by Preston Nibley in Brigham Young: The Man and His Work, Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1936, pp. 12628).
What is it about riches that causes us to forget God? In my estimation, it is that riches become a kind of god in themselves, an idol that we worship in place of God. We can’t worship riches and God at the same time. We can’t serve God and mammon.
The pride and the iniquity that began to enter the Church at this time in Nephite history was a great affliction to Alma the Younger and his associates. Mormon informs us that they were “sorely grieved for the wickedness which they saw had begun to be among their people.” The grief that Alma and his associates experienced is not foreign to us today, and in fact, Mormon must have included this account specifically for us:
For they saw and beheld with great sorrow that the people of the church began to be lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and to set their ahearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, that they began to be scornful, one towards another, and they began to persecute those that did bnot believe according to their own will and pleasure. (Alma 4:8)
Honestly, I don’t know if there has ever been a time in the Church when there was so much pride, hearts set upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, scornfulness, persecution, and sleepy materialism as there is today. Brigham Young was right. This people has gotten rich, forgotten God and his people, and waxed fat. They cannot stand wealth. We are being tried with riches, and as far as I can tell, we’re not doing to well.
There are exceptions to this problem. But in general I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much complacency and spiritual sleepiness because of peace and prosperity as I see today. In terms of competition for the most prideful civilization, we are giving these ancient Nephites in Zarahemla a real run for their money. President Benson discerned this problem in his time, and Elder Uchtdorf more recently reiterated his message.
What is the outgrowth of the pride that so often follows in the wake of too much peace and prosperity?
And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there began to be great acontentions among the people of the church; yea, there were benvyings, and cstrife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God. (Alma 4:9)
From pride comes contention, envyings, strife, malice, and persecution. No wonder one of the main themes in our last general conference was peacemaking.
This pride, as Alma mentioned, and as President Benson also mentioned, became a great stumbling block to the progress of the Church, as well as to those who did not belong to the Church. What did Alma see?
And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the aexample of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people.
Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the aneedy and the naked and those who were bhungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted. (Alma 4:11-12)
Alma saw the wickedness of the Church and the effect of bad examples upon the unbelievers. He saw great inequality and pride. There were others who abased themselves and continued to succor the poor and the needy in the ways that King Benjamin had taught. But Alma also saw the afflictions of the humble followers of God, and the persecutions which were heaped upon them by the remainder of his people. This is such a perfect description of much of what I see in the Church today.
Alma saw all this ainequality. He became very sorrowful because of it, but the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him. What was to be done? Alma had a plan:
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.
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 4:16-20)