Why does Helaman (the book, or the person) focus so little on Priesthood or regulating the affairs of the church, etc.?
What about the timing of Amalickiah’s revolt? Did he wait until Alma was dead (the first non-king ruler) to make his move? And what is the connection between wanting to be a king and gathering against Helaman and his brethren? They weren’t the government rulers at the time, so why are they gathering against Helaman and not the chief judge?
What about the baptism and church of Mosiah/Alma is so different from that in 3rd Nephi/Moroni?
What does 4th Ne show us about the new order established by Christ?
Is there a connection between the chapters of Malachi quoted and the resulting 4th Nephi life?
Are the disciples in and after 3rd Nephi ever called priests?
What does Nephi think about priesthood itself?
Was Nephi a high priest and Jacob and Joseph were priests under him, like Alma and Alma the younger had priests under them? Or was Nephi the king without any spiritual, consecrated office?
Abinadi seems to be a prophet but not a priest. Was Nephi the same?
Is there really a change at all these steps: Nephi, Alma, Christ, Joseph Smith?
Is Alma in borrowing the language of the “holy order” from the small plates? Is he rethinking his own priesthood in Alma 5-15 and that’s why we get the sermon in chapter 13?
How is it possible to create a Zion city with so much internal political problems?
But, as Joe pointed out, all of those problems seem to stem from priesthood.
Alma’s smart. Very smart. I don’t think we should, as is sometimes done, take Alma’s argument as somehow proof we can use to convince someone. It is a specific argument with a specific person. I think what he does is to un-do what Korihor has said, so that the possibility of faith still remains.
So, it’s cool when I realize that something we often teach without the scriptures is actually talked about in the scriptures, and with greater force and clarity than our normal way of teaching it.
The more I thought about what I had said, the more I realized that this was actually not a bad usage of Alma’s words and his talk to his son in general. Corianton had “risked to commit sin.” And specifically, he had risked this, “upon those points of doctrine” (Alma 41:10). It begins to sound like Corianton is sinning by justifying his actions with a particular way of looking at some points of doctrine. He is rationalizing, just like we do. I love this line here, from Alma 42:1 “for ye do try to suppose that it is injustice that the sinner should be consigned to a state of misery.” Ye do try to suppose. In other words, Corianton didn’t really believe it, but he tried to believe that the sinner shouldn’t be punished. He lied to himself just enough to get by.
What he was lying to himself about, from looking at 41 and 42, is that because of restoration, there wasn’t any need for repentance, really. If Christ suffered for everyone and everyone was brought back to God, then how could God punish anyone? Thus Alma clarifies that “the word restoration more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all” (Alma 41:15).
Anyway, the point for this YW lesson is that here we have Alma talking about rationalization and self-justification, something we’ll likely talk about during this YW lesson without ever thinking to go to the scriptures to talk about it. I love finding passages that are thinking something I want to think through. The work’s been half done for me and from a very interesting perspective! And it’s scripture, which is a fantastic common ground.
” Yea, she did steal away the hearts of many; but this was no excuse for thee, my son. Thou shouldst have tended to the ministry wherewith thou wast entrusted” (Alma 39:4). This was no excuse, says Alma. Whether or not Mormon culture agrees with their point, the Book of Mormon does. And I wonder how many other times this might happen.
Alma 12-13 lay out a very simple (too simple?) view of the story of Adam and Eve and the connection with us.
2. Alma relates that Adam and Eve broke first commandments, therefore must die.
3. Didn’t eat tree of life in order to have a space of time to repent. But they are outside the garden.
6. This comes up in chapter 13, where Alma says that high priests were on the “same standing” as others, but they chose good. In other words, they lived up to the commandment of the angel. And now their job is to teach others, just as the angels did at first. Now high priests will teach as well.