Alma 30 All

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 30

Questions

Alma 30:2

• Why didn't the Nephites number their dead?
• Why was fasting and prayer necessary to the establishment of peace?

Alma 30:3

• What ordinances of God are referred to here as being "according to the law of Moses"?
• How does the Nephite understanding of the Law of Moses differ from that which you find in the Old Testament?
• How does the Nephite understanding of the Law of Moses affect our understanding of doctrines in the church today that appear to be temporary?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Related links

• Brant Gardner's Commentary on Alma 30.
• Ben Spackman's page on Alma.
• User:Amberdawnwp comments on questions about Alma 30:1-5 here.
• Post and comments on Korihor at the Alma 32 Experimental e-Seminary in Mormon Theology.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 30

Questions

Verse 6

• Apparently Korihor is not from the land of Zarahemla, as here he is described as coming "into the land". Where did Korihor come from?
• What is the exact meaning of the term "Anti"? We also see this term used in describing the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's who later became the people of Ammon.

Lexical notes

Verse 10

• This verse seems to be making a distinction between "stealing" and "robbery." Some have argued that this tracks a distinction in ancient Hebrew law between merely taking the property of someone else ("stealing") and attacking them on the highway and extracting property by threats of violence ("robbery").

Exegesis

Verses 7-10

Because these verses are the only place in the Book of Mormon where a specific legal rule is derived from a particular scriptural text they are an interesting place to gain insight into Nephite legal reasoning. In this case, the scriptural text is Josh 24:15, and the legal rule is that "if he [i.e. a man] did not believe in him [i.e. God] there was no law to punish him." This rule is contrasted with the prohibitions on murder, robbery, and adultery, all of which could be punished. (Note: The fact that adultery was punished gives lie to those who have attempted to interpret this as a libertarian proof text.)

Joshua 24 is sometimes referred to as the Shechem Covenant. It recounts how at the end of his life, Joshua gathered the Children of Israel at Shechem and rehearsed to them the history of God's dealing with them, how he brought them to the Promised Land and gave it to them. In Josh 24:15 (the verse relied on by the Nephite jurists), Joshua then asks the Children of Israel whether or not they will serve God. They reply in the affirmative, and Joshua then draws up an elaborate contract -- complete with legal formalities -- to make their promise binding.

The Shechem passage is interesting because it is one of the few places in the Old Testament where the Children of Israel are offered a choice of whether or not they will serve Yahweh rather than other gods. Elsewhere, the Children of Israel are chosen by God rather than vice versa. Hence, the passage is perhaps uniquely suited for providing a voluntarist justification for religious practice.

What is also interesting is that the Shechem passage contains explicitly legal materials, namely the covenant by Israel to follow God. Because of this, a more natural legal reading of the passage would be to construe the terms of this covenant as being binding upon all Israelites including, presumably, the Nephites. In that case, it would make sense to carefully analyze the terms of this contract to understand the resulting Nephite obligations. Instead however, the Nephites define their legal rule in reference to the Joshua passage as if they are themselves within the story having the same choice the Israelites there had.

Related links

• "Nephite Legal Reasoning" (post at Times & Seasons by Nate Oman)
• Post and comments on Korihor at the Alma 32 Experimental e-Seminary in Mormon Theology.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 30

Questions

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions

Lexical notes

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes

Exegesis

Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis

Related links

• Post and comments on Korihor at the Alma 32 Experimental e-Seminary in Mormon Theology.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 30

Questions

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions

Lexical notes

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes

Exegesis

Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis

Related links

• Post and comments on Korihor at the Alma 32 Experimental e-Seminary in Mormon Theology.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 30

Questions

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions

Lexical notes

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes

Exegesis

Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis

Related links

• Post and comments on Korihor at the Alma 32 Experimental e-Seminary in Mormon Theology.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 30

Questions

Verses 27-28

• Alma states in verse 32 that Korihor is wrong and knows he's wrong about church officials glutting themselves with the labors of the people. Why would Korihor make such a claim?
• Are similar arguments used to today to criticize religious teachings? If so, by whom?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

Verse 27

Related links

• Verse 27: Elder Eyring explains this verse in his General Conference Address Finding Safety in Counsel (Ensign, May 1997, 24).
• Post and comments on Korihor at the Alma 32 Experimental e-Seminary in Mormon Theology.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 30

Questions

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions

Lexical notes

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes

Exegesis

Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis

Related links

• Post and comments on Korihor at the Alma 32 Experimental e-Seminary in Mormon Theology.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 30

Questions

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions

Lexical notes

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes

Exegesis

Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis

Related links

• Post and comments on Korihor at the Alma 32 Experimental e-Seminary in Mormon Theology.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 30

Questions

Verse 44

• "Tempt." What does Alma mean by using the word "tempt" here? Where else in LDS scripture is this term used, and what are the connotations? How does this word differ from the related (at least in Hebrew) words prove and try? How are these words used in similarly and differently in LDS scripture, and the Book of Mormon in particular? (Cf. lexical note for James 1:13.)

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

We see over and over in the Book of Mormon that signs do not convert. Take Laman and Lemuel for instance. Over and over they experienced physical signs (i.e. visitations from angels, hearing the voice of the Lord, etc), however, they never became truly converted, and in the end they fell away from the truth.

In verses 41-42 Alma states that he knows these things are true, and that he knows that Korihor also knows the truth. One can picture Alma looking Korihor in the eye, feeling the Spirit witness the truth of what Alma has been teaching, and knowing that Korihor is also feeling the Spirit. Then in verse 44 Alma says 'Thou hast had signs enough...', listing all the various physical evidences, and in verse 46 he says '..that ye will still resist the spirit of the truth...' refering to the witness of the Spirit that Korihor is denying.

Related links

• See User:Brettferre/Alma 30:41-45 for quotes by George A. Smith and Michael Parson.
• Post and comments on Korihor at the Alma 32 Experimental e-Seminary in Mormon Theology.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 30

Questions

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions

Lexical notes

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes

Exegesis

Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis

Related links

• Post and comments on Korihor at the Alma 32 Experimental e-Seminary in Mormon Theology.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 30

Questions

Verse 51

• Why did the chief judge "write" to Korihor? Was Korihor struck deaf as well as dumb (v. 50)?

Verse 53

• How is it possible for "the devil" to appear "in the form of an angel"? Was this devil Satan or some other evil spirit?
• Why would Korihor believe an angel that said there was no God?
• What is meant here by "an unknown God"?
• How does this appearance of the devil as an angel compare with the appearance of an angel to Alma? What can we learn from this parallelism?
• Korihor stated that the words of the devil "were pleasing unto the carnal mind". What does this teach us about how the devil works?
• Korihor states that he "verily believed that [the words of the devil] were true" because he had "much success" teaching them. How does this compare with what Alma teaches about knowing that the word of God is true?

Lexical notes

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes

Exegesis

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis

Related links

• Post and comments on Korihor at the Alma 32 Experimental e-Seminary in Mormon Theology.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 30

Questions

Verse 59

• What does it mean that Korihor was "run upon and trodden down...until he was dead?" Does this mean that he was trampled, as if by British soccer fans? Or is this a reference to something else? In Mesoamerica, imagery shows that war captives were frequently stepped on by their captors before being sacrificed to their gods. Is this verse reference to a similar practice of human sacrifice among the Zoramites?

Verse 60

• Why are Korihor's actions referred to as a perversion of the ways of the Lord, rather than an apostasy or turning away from those ways?

Lexical notes

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes

Exegesis

Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis

Related links

• See User:Brettferre/Alma 30:56-60 for quote by Janette C Hales.
• Post and comments on Korihor at the Alma 32 Experimental e-Seminary in Mormon Theology.