Difference between revisions of "Alma 31:16-20"

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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 closely link 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 elected the Zoramites: 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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