Talk:Mosiah 25:1-5

Does anyone have any ideas of what to make of the contrast between Mosiah's written messages and Alma's oral messages? I have a couple of ideas, but I am not sure that they work. For what they are worth, here they are:

* Mosiah is telling communal stories of exodus and redemption, while Alma calls for individual repentence and faith. The communal nature of Mosiah's narrative calls for the more lasting and public medium of writing, while the personal nature of Alma's narrative calls for the more intimate medium of speech. (Note this is problematic, because as we see in verse 17 conversion turns out to be a communal activity)

* The writing of the communal narrative allows Mosiah to relate the Nephite story back to the story of Moses and the Children of Israel, which is a written story. The writing confirms the link. Alma's message of personal conversion through preaching, however, is something new, so reducing it to writing doesn't have the same effect of recapitulating scripture.

* Mosiah's narrative is about memory and the past, while Alma's preaching is about action in the future. Writing is the medium of memory, while speech is the medium of future action.

* A written narrative is fixed and subject to the control of the author, while an oral narrative is not fixed and has a life of its own. Mosiah's writing is about poltiical control; while Alma's preaching is about spiritual life.

I'm not sure that any of these interpretations hold any water, but the contrast is striking to me. Thoughts? Reactions? --Nathan Oman 03:07, 8 May 2008 (CEST)