Alma

From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10

Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20

Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30

Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40

Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50

Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60

Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63

Contents 1 Original chapter breaks 2 Mormon and His Sources 2.1 Alma 1-29 3 Related Links

[edit] Original chapter breaks

The "original" chapter breaks are as follows:

I. 1–3 II. 4 III. 5 IV. 6 V. 7

VI. 8 VII. 9 VIII. 10–11 IX. 12:1–13:9 X. 13:10–15:19

XI. 16 XII. 17–20 XIII. 21–22 XIV. 23–26 XV. 27–29

XVI. 30–35 XVII. 36–37 XVIII. 38 XIX. 39–42 XX. 43–44

XXI. 45–49 XXII. 50 XXIII. 51 XXIV. 52–53 XXV. 54–55

XXVI. 56–58 XXVII. 59–60 XXVIII. 61 XXIX. 62 XXX. 63

[edit] Mormon and His Sources

The superscription to the Book of Alma—the italicized paragraph found immediately following "The Book of Alma, the Son of Alma" in the current edition of the Book of Mormon—is, like many superscriptions in the Book of Mormon, original text. This superscription not only offers a summary of the material to be found in the Book of Alma; it also tells the reader something about Mormon's relationship to his sources. Most important in this regard is the following phrase: "according to the record of Alma, the first and chief judge."

What this phrase implies, though, is difficult to know. In order to sort out its implications, it is necessary to look at other clues about Mormon's editorial procedure, clues that are scattered throughout the Book of Alma.

[edit] Alma 1-29

Occasional lengthy quotations from "the record of Alma" make clear that the source Mormon was working with was—or at least purported to be—originally written and/or compiled by Alma (the Younger) himself. Alma was, according to Mosiah 28:20 and Alma 37:1, the keeper of the large plates of Nephi for twenty years or more (from before the inauguration of the reign of the judges to the eighteenth year of the judges' reign. Usually, it is clear that Mormon is the "author" of the text, since Alma appears in the narrative as a character, but at times—for instance, in Alma 9 and Alma 28-29—it is clear that Alma's own words from the original record are quoted at length, since Alma appears as narrator, speaks of himself in the first person, and describes events in the present (rather than past) tense. Of course, even where it is clear that Mormon is the authorial voice, much (most?) of what he says can be presumed to be copied directly over from his sources, but it is much more difficult in these cases to determine what is Mormon's contribution and what comes directly from Mormon's sources.

Addressing these issues somewhat naively, one might divide up the first half of the Book of Alma as follows:

  Alma 1:1 - 5:1 — Mormon as author/editor
  Alma 5:2 - 5:62 — Alma's original words
  Alma 6:1 - 6:8 — Mormon as author/editor
  Alma 7:1 - 7:27 — Alma's original words
  Alma 8:1 - 8:32 — Mormon as author/editor
  Alma 9:1 - 9:33 — Alma's original words
  Alma 9:34 - 28:6 — Mormon as author/editor
  Alma 28:7 - 29:17 — Alma's original words

(Parts of this interpretation can be called into question and are based on what at times is somewhat problematic evidence. See, in particular, the commentary for the superscription to Alma 9, for Alma 9:34, for Alma 10:12, for Alma 11:20, for Alma 11:46, for Alma 13:31, and for Alma 28:7.)

[edit] Related Links

• See here for an overview of the structure of Alma (by Joe Spencer).