Alma 16:5 Zoram…desired of him to know whither the Lord would that
they should go
This Zoram
should not be confused with the leader of the Zoramites described in Alma
30:59. All we know of this man’s life and military career is that he had the
wisdom to ask the prophet Alma for guidance. Zoram hereby demonstrates
possession of what is an unusual quality among military commanders—humility.
If, by his pride, he had ventured out with his own plan for recovering the
prisoners, there is no way that his mission would have been as successful.
Because he inquired of the Lord through Alma, they recovered all the prisoners
and not one soul of them
had been lost (v. 8).
Alma 16:9 the people of Ammonihah were destroyed;
yea, every living soul…and also their great city
Because of the chronology of
the Book of Mormon can be confusing, it is hard to remember what events had led
up to this vicious attack on Ammonihah. The background of the story is told in
Alma 24. The people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi were Lamanites who had made a covenant
that they would no longer participate in wars or shed any man’s blood (Alma
24:17). Incited by the Nephite dissident leaders among them (who ironically
were also of the order of the Nehors), a Lamanite army attacked the people of
Anti-Nephi-Lehi who had prostrated themselves before
them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord (Alma
24:21). The Lamanite army killed 1005 helpless, unarmed believers. This had a
remarkable effect on them. They were disgusted that they had taken the lives of
their fellow Lamanites and vowed from that time that they would take vengeance upon the Nephites (Alma 25:1). This
vengeance was fully exacted upon the people of Ammonihah (Alma 25:2).
It should be evident from
the preceding chapters that the Ammonihahites deserved the punishment they
received. In case you’ve forgotten, let’s review what they had done to deserve
this fate:
1) They reviled, spat upon, and cast out Alma when he
first came to them (Alma 8:13).
2) They tried bribery to get Amulek to reject the Lord
(Alma 11:22)
3) They had rejected warnings and cries of repentance
from both Alma and Amulek (Alma 9:15,18; 10:19).
4) They spat upon and cast out the repentant Zeezrom
(Alma 14:7).
5) They stoned and cast out the male believers (Alma
15:1).
6) They burned the wives and children of the believers
in order to mock the power of Alma and Amulek (Alma 14:8-10).
7) They mocked, bound, and tortured Alma and Amulek
(Alma 14:14-24).
In spite of all this
wickedness, they retained an attitude of rebellion which is best encapsulated
in their defiance of Alma when they said, We will
not believe thy words if thou shouldst prophesy that this great city should be
destroyed in one day (Alma 9:4). But behold,
in one day it was left desolate; and the carcases were mangled by dogs and the
wild beasts (v. 10).
Alma 16:11 Desolation of Nehors
The term, Desolation of Nehors, uses the word, “desolation,”
in the same sense as it is used in the term “Desolation of Abomination.” A
desolation is a punishment from God for wickedness. Millet and McConkie
explain:
“The
desolation of the city of Ammonihah is an important part of the message of the
Book of Mormon. Ammonihah and Nehor are
symbols-history as prophecy. Ammonihah
and Nehor were to the nation of the Nephites what the Book of Mormon is to us-a
warning voice! They were types casting
shadows upon the cities of Zarahemla, Moroni, Moronihah, Gilgal, Onihah, Mocum,
Jerusalem, Gadiandi, Gadiomnah, Jacob, Gimgimno, Jacobugath, Laman, Josh, Gad,
and Kishkumen, all of which, like Nehor, had the blood of the prophets and the
Saints upon their hands, and all of which were destroyed before the coming of
Christ to the Nephites in the meridian dispensation (see 3 Nephi 8, 9).
“How
perfect the type-Ammonihah, a city pretending religion, a religion perfectly
tolerant of any action save it be the preaching of the gospel of
repentance! To preach repentance, to
testify of Christ, to speak of the necessity of good works-these were sins too
grievous to be borne. Their effect was
to unite in wrath and bitterness the diversified factions within the
congregations of this ever-tolerant religion.
These missionaries of righteousness must be mocked, ridiculed, beaten,
and imprisoned. Their adherents must be
stoned, driven from the community, or burned at the stake. Such were the seeds they planted and such
was the harvest they reaped in the desolation of Nehors. We are left to wonder to what extent
Ammonihah is a prophetic foreshadowing of that which the scriptures denominate
as the ‘desolation of abomination’ (D&C
84:114, 117; D&C 88:85), events that will precede and attend the coming of
our Lord and Master that will bring again that peace once known to the faithful
of the Nephite nation.” (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book
of Mormon, vol. 3, p.119)
The Desolation of
Abomination is prophesied to occur twice. The first occurrence took place when
the Romans sieged Jerusalem in AD 70. The second Desolation of Abomination will
occur prior to the Second Coming when Jerusalem is again taken siege by her
enemies. The ensuing battle will be so great that the dead will leave a great
odor on the land, just as occurred with the Desolation of Nehors. Ezekiel
describes it as follows, I will give unto Gog a
place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of
the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall
they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley
of Hamon-gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them,
that they may cleanse the land (Ez 39:11-12).
Alma 16:13 temples,
sanctuaries, and synagogues
The Nephites used many words
to describe their meeting places. The word, “church,” is not one of them. In
the Book of Mormon, the word, “church,” is used to describe the organization
but not the building. Thus, members of the church met not in churches, but in
sanctuaries and synagogues. We know little of the difference between Nephite
sanctuaries and synagogues. Both were apparently places of common worship. In this
verse, we learn that they were built after the
manner of the Jews, and in the last chapter, we learned that they had
altars in their sanctuaries which were used for worship (Alma 15:17).
Alma 16:16 there was no inequality among them
When it comes to inequality,
the latter-day saints could learn lessons from the Book of Mormon saints. As
part of the dispensation of the fullness of times, the Lord restored every
righteous principle, but not all of these principles are still practiced in the
Church. One of these principles is the United Order. Through Joseph Smith, the
Lord revealed, it is not given that one man should
possess that which is above another (DC 49:20), That
you may be equal in the bonds of heavenly things, yea, and earthly things also,
for the obtaining of heavenly things. For if ye are not equal in earthly things
ye cannot be equal in obtaining heavenly things; For if you will that I give
unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing
the things which I have commanded you and required of you (DC 78:5-7).
Although the reasons for the
temporary rescinding of the United Order are beyond the scope of this
discussion, it is useful to note that the Book of Mormon saints had no
inequality among them. Whether this means that Alma’s people had all things in
common or not is debatable, but the point is that they were living the essence
of celestial law of consecration. Apparently, they were less attached to their
material possessions than we are today.
It is no coincidence that
the Lord responded to their equanimity by pouring
out his Spirit on all the face of the land. The Lord has revealed that
the converse is also true—from those who are not equal in earthly things, the
Spirit is withheld, In your temporal things you
shall be equal, and this not grudgingly, otherwise the abundance of the
manifestations of the Spirit shall be withheld (DC 70:14).
Alma 16:20 they were taught that he would appear unto them after his
resurrection
It is not hard to imagine
that this teaching originated with Alma. Yet, five years prior, Alma was not
quite sure how or when the Lord would manifest himself unto his people. At that
time, he said, the time is not far distant that the
Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people. Behold, I do not say that he will
come among us at the time of his dwelling in his mortal tabernacle; for behold,
the Spirit hath not said unto me that this should be the case. Now as to this
thing I do not know (Alma 7:7-8). Apparently, Alma subsequently learned
through the Spirit that he would appear after his resurrection.
This time among the Nephites
was a time to prepare their hearts to receive the
word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming (v.
16). The doctrine of His impending visit seems to be essential to that
preparation. Appropriately, this the people did hear
with great joy and gladness.