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The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 31

Questions

Verse 1

• Why are we told that the Zoramites were "perverting" the ways of the Lord? In the last verse of chapter 30, we are told that Korihor had perverted the ways of the Lord. What connections are there between Korihor and the Zoramites? How were their perversions similar? How were they different?
• Who is this Zoram that is the leader of the Zoramites? Is it the same military leader Zoram that we read about in Alma 16? If so, is there a connection between his military success and the pride of his followers?
• Idols. Idols are mentioned here, but are not mentioned again in relation to the Zoramites. Why not? What is the point in mentioning the idols here?
• What does it mean to "bow down" to idols?
• Why are the idols referred to as "dumb"? Is there a connection between the "dumb" idols and Korihor who was stricken dumb?

Verse 2

• Separation: cause or result? Was the Zoramites' separation a cause of their subsequent pride and apostacy, the result, or both? Why is Alma sorrowful about this separation? (Cf. the word dissenters in verse 8.)

Verse 3

• What is the land Antionum? Is this land named after an original settler, as was mentioned previously as traditional Nephite practice? Or does the name have some other significance?
• What is the significance of the geographical location of the Zoramites? What is important about their position between Lamanite lands and the Lamanite converts in the land of Jershon?

Verse 4

• Double standard on correspondence/separation? Here the Nephites "feared that the Zoramites would enter into correspondence with the Lamanites." Why would this be a bad thing? In chapter 31 we read about the Zoramite rich separating themselves from the poor. It seems that implicitly the Nephites are doing the right thing in remaining separate from the Lamanites but the Zoramite rich are doing the wrong thing by separating themselves from the Zoramite poor. When is separation a good thing and when is it a bad thing?

Verse 5

• The sword. What does the reference here to "the sword" mean here? Is it related to the "correspondence with the Lamanites" referred to in verse 4? How? What effect can the sword have "upon the minds of the people"? Are there episodes in Nephite history that illustrate this?
• If these Zoramites are followers of the military hero Zoram mentioned in Alma 16, what would that say about how they might perceive the sword? Could the sword have had a tendency to lead them away from that which was just, as opposed to the word, which leads to righteousness? Is this whole episode with the Zoramites a warning of a potential pitfall of pride that comes from military success--of taking that success as a sign of choseness?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Related links

• See User:Brettferre/Alma 31:1-5 for quotes by Elder Packer and Ezra Taft Benson.

• See also Chapter 10 in Teaching, No Greater Call

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 31

Questions

Verse 6

• Here we have the formation of a missionary "dream team" to go to the Zoramites. Is there any significance to the number (eight) of missionaries selected?
• Why do we never hear about the missionary work of Omner?
• Why was Himni left in Zarahemla? Why do we never hear any more about him?
• Why pull in the former Ammonihah residents Amulek and Zeezrom from the land of Melek?

Verse 7

• Heleman later becomes the leader of the Church. Why didn't Alma take him on this big mission to the Zoramites?
• What significance does the name Helaman have? Any connection to the Helaman who was the son of King Benjamin and uncle to the sons of Mosiah? Does this indicate that Alma may have married a daughter of that Helaman?

Verse 8

• "Therefore." If the Zoramites had not been dissenters, would the word of God not need to be preached? Is the focus here on the need that dissenters have for preaching or for the word of God?

Verse 9

• "But." The use of the contrasting word but seems a bit curious here since the previous verse has just described the Nephites as "dissenters," which seems a parallel idea to falling into error, not a contrasting idea. So it seems that the contrast is with the phrase in verse 8 "they had the word of God preached unto them." If this is correct, then the but here seems to underscore a separation between these two clauses in verse 8. Does this imply that the errors being described here occurred after the word of God was preached unto them? If not, what is going on here?
• "Observe to keep." In today's parlance, we typically talk of "observing the commandments" or "keeping the commandments," so this phrase incorporating both terms seems somewhat odd. What is the meaning and significance of this phrase?
• Why might the Zoramites reject the law of Moses?

Verse 10

• Why might the Zoramites reject the practice of daily prayer?
• What is the importance of daily prayer? How can daily prayer help avoid temptation?
• What does it mean to "enter into" temptation?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 31

Questions

Verse 11

• What doest it mean to "pervert the ways of the Lord"? What is meant by "the ways of the Lord"? Does that just mean the teachings of how we are to relate to God? The gospel? Or something else?

Verse 12

• What exactly did Alma and the others find so astonishing? The synagogues? Their prayers? The towers?
• There seem to be more than one synagogue indicated here. How big was the land? How many Zoramites were there? Who exactly were these people who had followed Zoram?
• What is meant here by synagogue? Why would that word be used in our English translation of the Book of Alma?

Verse 13

• What is the nature of this prayer stand? Why would it be elevated "high above the head"? Why only room for one person on the top of the stand?
• What did this synagogue look like, with a stand in the center? Where were the other worshipers during the prayers. Were they surrounding the stand in the middle? How did this work?
• Did these synagogues have a ceiling? If so, how high was the ceiling? How big were these synagogues? Where did the labor and materials come from to build such apparently large buildings with tall ceilings?

Verse 14

• Is there something wrong with raising the hands to heaven and addressing God in a loud voice?

Verse 15

• Unlike Korihor, the Zoramites believe in God. What do they mean when they say they believe that God is holy?
• What is the significance of the Zoramites believing God to be a spirit, and that he will "be a spirit forever"? Why would they emphasize this?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 31

Questions

Verse 16

• Why would the Zoramites believe that God had separated them from their "brethren"? Who do they mean by brethren--the other Nephites?
• What do they mean by being separated? Geographically? Theologically?
• What do the Zoramites mean when they claim that the tradition of their brethren "was handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers"? Why the term "childishness"?
• What do the Zoramites mean by their doctrine of election? What do they mean by "holy children" of God? Where did this doctrine come from? Is this a misreading of King Benjamin's sermon?
• How could these people believe that God had manifested unto them that there should be no Christ?

Verse 17

• Why would the Zoramites use a doctrine of unchangeableness to discount a doctrine of a Christ?
• Where would the Zoramites get a doctrine of election to damnation in hell?
• Why would the Zoramites consider belief in Christ to "bind them down" or to lead their hearts away from God?

Verse 18

• Why don't the Zoramite prayers include any pleas, but only offerings of thanks? Is this a manifestation of their pride, that they don't think they need God in their daily lives?

Verse 19

• For Alma and the others to hear these prayers, they would presumably have to be in a Zoramite worship service in a synagogue. Why might they attend such a service before trying to teach the people?
• Why would these prayers astonish the missionaries "beyond all measure"? What is so astonishing about them?

Verse 20

• Was it merely the rote nature of these prayers that caused the missionaries such astonishment?
• When we are told that "every man" did offer the same prayers, is this deliberately gender specific? Were only men allowed on the prayer stand?

Lexical notes

Verse 16

• "Elected." Interestingly, this is the only passage in the Book of Mormon that uses any form of the word elect. The word chosen is used many times in the Book of Mormon in a way that seems very similar to the meaning of the word elected (cf. bachiyr in Hebrew and eklectos in Greek). The reason this word is used here, and only here in the Book of Mormon, might be related to the theological connotations the word had to Joseph Smith's ears at the time of translation when, for example, a Pauline doctrine of election might have been heavily discussed, though more research on this would have to be done to give this idea anything more than a purely speculative basis.

Exegesis

Verse 17

"The same yesterday, today, and forever." It seems this is a true teaching that the Zoramites were familiar with (cf. 1 Ne 10:18; 2 Ne 2:4; 2 Ne 27:23), but had perhaps twisted to mean that, strictly and technically speaking, if God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then he would remain without a physical, bodily presence in this world. So this phrase seems to more closelyl lnk the idea in verse 15 that God is a spirit, and "wilt be forever," to their conclusion that there would be no Christ. However, this seems a bit inconsistent with the idea that God electing the Zoramaties: if God is literally and technically taken to be the same yesterday, today, and forever, how can God elect a people who were split off from the Nephites? Is this election of a new people a new action on the part of God?

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The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 31

Questions

Verse 21

• Rameumptom. Why bother giving us the name of this prayer stand? Why is it called holy? Is this some twisted doctrine of standing in holy places?

Verse 22

• Why would they consider their hearts "stolen away" by a doctrine of a future Christ?
• Why would they deny the spirit of prophecy?

Verse 23

• Why are we told that the Zoramites only spoke of God when gathered together to give thanks to him from their holy stand? Why is that important to know? What is there about this practice that might be considered "wicked" and "perverse" (v.24)?

Verse 24

• Why was Alma's heart grieved? What does it mean for him to grieve in his heart?
• Here it seems like Alma is more upset with what he saw--the orientation of the hearts of the people--than with what he heard from their prayers. What is more wicked--their prayers or their focus on material goods?

Verse 25

• What does it mean for a heart to be "lifted up unto great boasting"?
• What is the connection between the pride, desire for riches, and prayers of the people?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Related links

• See User:Brettferre/Alma 31:21-25 for a quote by Elaine Sorensen.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 31

Questions

Verse 26

• Why are we told that Alma "lifted up his voice to heaven"? Does that just mean he prayed, or is this a specific type of prayer?
• Why are the works of the Zoramites considered "gross wickedness"?

Verse 27

• What does it mean to "cry" unto the Lord?
• What is the problem with crying unto God while having pride or being "puffed up"?
• What does it mean to be "puffed up, even to greatness"?

Verse 28

• What is so wrong about wearing finery to call upon God?
• What is the bigger problem--the "costly apparel" or the claim to being a "chosen people"? What is the connection between the two?
• Where did this idea of being chosen, while others perish come from? Is this related to all of the destruction that happened in Alma 28? Were the Zoramites perhaps spared from destruction, while Nephites in other lands were slaughtered?

Verse 29

• Why would the Zoramites claim revelation saying that there shall be no Christ?

Verse 30

• What does Alma mean by "infidelity"?
• Why should the Zoramites practices pain Alma's soul? Are they really all that different from various religious teachings we see in our modern day? Are we too accepting of religious differences?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Related links

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The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 31

Questions

• Verse 35: Why are only "many of them ...our brethren" and not "all" of them?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Related links

• See User:Brettferre/Alma 31:31-35 for quotes by Brigham Young and Elder Maxwell.

The Book of Mormon > Alma > Chapter 31

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

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Related links

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