The Holy Order of God—Part III

In the spirit of comparing and contrasting, let’s move on to Alma 5. Well, sort of.

Alma, chapter 5, contains one of the most well-known sermons in the Book of Mormon. It is the first sermon that Alma preaches after leaving the judgment-seat, and in it, Alma delivers a beautiful call to repentance to the people of the “church” in Zarahemla. This call to repentance is very important because, whether you recognize it or not, Alma is giving us information about yet another “order,” though it isn’t explicitly identified until chapter 6:

1 And now it came to pass that after Alma had made an end of speaking unto the people of the church, which was established in the city of Zarahemla, he ordained priests and elders, by laying on his hands according to the order of God, to preside and watch over the church.

2 And it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to the church who repented of their sins were baptized unto repentance, and were received into the church.

3 And it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to the church that did not repent of their wickedness and humble themselves before God—I mean those who were lifted up in the pride of their hearts—the same were rejected, and their names were blotted out, that their names were not numbered among those of the righteous.

4 And thus they began to establish the order of the church in the city of Zarahemla. (Alma 6)

Now, one could argue that, in receiving repentant individuals into the church and in blotting out the names of those who are unrepentant, Alma makes a distinction between two “orders.” However, I will just briefly share my opinion that the latter group of people do not constitute a true “order” and leave it at that. I’ll have to make a case for that another day.

People who repent belong to “the order of God”—not “the holy order of God,” but an order, nonetheless—and, so, it is important to understand what repentance is and what it entails, because it is what determines whether you are in any “order of God” or not. Repentance is foundational, and an understanding of the similarities and differences between “the order of God” and “the holy order of God” (to say nothing of membership in either of those two orders or any other higher order) cannot be obtained without it.

So, in the next post, I’m going to take a short intermission from the immediate topic of “the holy order of God” to discuss some things about repentance in the language of Alma the Younger. 

The Holy Order of God—Part II

Being able to compare and contrast two or more things is a very important skill to develop. Many things are obviously similar; many things are less so. Many things are obviously different; many things, less so. Without taking the time and effort to compare and contrast things, we would probably miss a lot of less-than-obvious-but-extremely-valuable pieces of information.

By the end of chapter 4 of the book of Alma, Mormon has introduced us to two “orders”—“the order of Nehor” and “the holy order of God.” I’m not going to compare and contrast these two orders in detail—at least, not in this blogpost, but I highly recommend it! There is a great deal of valuable information to be gained in that bit of extra credit. I will, however, point out some things about “the holy order of God” (in this and subsequent blogposts) and leave the detailed comparing and contrasting of those two “orders” to the reader. 

In my last blogpost, I quoted Alma 4:20 because, in it, Mormon gives a small mention to some big concepts, to which we should pay close attention:

And thus in the commencement of the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, Alma delivered up the judgment-seat to Nephihah, and confined himself wholly to the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to the testimony of the word, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy. (Alma 4:20)

Now, I don’t know if Mormon had the ability to italicize or underline words on the plates, but if he did, I imagine the above verse looking a lot like what I typed above, albeit in a different language, right?

Or maybe not. Maybe Mormon purposefully chose to very casually mention these three things—the testimony of the word, the spirit of revelation, and the spirit of prophecy, but somehow I doubt that. They are repeated so often throughout Mormon’s writings that have to do with Alma the Younger, both explicitly in the text and implicitly in the narrative, that it is difficult to believe the latter possibility. If you pay attention, it becomes quite apparent that Mormon is trying to highlight these things as defining characteristics of those who belong to “the holy order of God.” There are other characteristics, too, and I will discuss some of those, but these are a good start.

And all of this information is so important for those with ears to hear.

We’ll start out with “the testimony of the word.” There’s a lot that could be said about this topic alone, but I’ll just focus on one aspect here—its effectiveness in bringing people to repentance.

Let’s go back a few verses in chapter 4:

15 And now it came to pass that Alma, having seen the afflictions of the humble followers of God, and the persecutions which were heaped upon them by the remainder of his people, and seeing all their inequality, began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him.

I love this verse for what is happening to Alma in it. There is so much strength and determination in it—all towards outcomes that are eternal in nature and all rooted in faith born of “the Spirit of the Lord.” That “Spirit” motivates Alma to give up the office of chief judge to another: 

16 And he selected a wise man who was among the elders of the church, and gave him power according to the voice of the people, that he might have power to enact laws according to the laws which had been given, and to put them in force according to the wickedness and the crimes of the people.

17 Now this man’s name was Nephihah, and he was appointed chief judge; and he sat in the judgment-seat to judge and to govern the people.

18 Now Alma did not grant unto him the office of being high priest over the church, but he retained the office of high priest unto himself; but he delivered the judgment-seat unto Nephihah.

This was, obviously, no small thing. Evil people later vied for the judgment-seat through bloodshed because it was a position of such great influence. It’s not like Alma was unaware of that fact, Mormon noting that Alma “selected a wise man who was among the elders of the church.” He didn’t just give the office to someone else without vetting the person. But, still—why give the seat up at all? And, as a follow-up question, why retain the office of high priest? Knowing the disaster that could come of putting the “wrong person” in the position of chief judge, why would Alma do such a thing?

19 And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.

This is one of those verses that I start to bold, or italicize, or underline, and then I think, “why bother?” because the whole verse is so amazing!!

Isn’t it nice when Mormon gives us the answers to questions we should already be asking?

There’s one of those words, right there in the last line—“testimony.” Alma is a man on a mission. What is he trying to do? He is trying to “reclaim his people.” How is he going to do that? By “bearing down in pure testimony against them.” What does the “word of God” do? It pulls down “all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which [are] among [the] people” and “stir[s] them up in remembrance of their duty.” Does he leave this mission to others? No, “he himself…[goes] forth among his people.”

How does he bear testimony of the word of God? “…according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy.” (v. 20)

The Holy Order of God—Part I

You know, Mormon is such a great narrator! His voice in the Book of Mormon is so easily overlooked—and I’m not just talking about things he says in the form of words on a page. I’m also talking about his craft. Being an instrument in God’s hands, he masterfully weaves concepts and ideas into the backdrop of the book’s narrative, and that is such a beautiful thing to me—both the being and the weaving.

Mormon starts the book of Alma by telling us about Nehor, a man whose works in mortality take up less than a chapter in the entire Book of Mormon, but whose works end up affecting the rest of Nephite and Lamanite history.

His story comes on the heels of Mormon’s account of the establishment of God’s church in the land, the establishment of a system of laws and judges instead of kings, and the appointment of Alma the Younger as both high priest and chief judge. Nehor’s arrival in the narrative is not surprising in the least. It follows a pattern, actually. Tares are necessarily sown around the time that wheat is sown in order for the two to grow up indistinguishable from one another, and there is no time wasted in the attempt to plant, in the minds of the Nephites, the concept of priestcraft and the flattering ideologies that come with it. The idea that “all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life” is a very tempting one to believe (Alma 1:4), and it’s no wonder that the people, according to Nehor’s teaching, began to “believe on his words, even so many that they began to support him and give him money.” (v. 5) Nehor himself “becomes popular” in the eyes of the people (v. 3) and begins “to be lifted up in the pride of his heart, and to wear very costly apparel, yea, and even [begins] to establish a church after the manner of his preaching.” (v. 6)

Alma is very aware of the perniciousness of the practice of priestcraft. After defending the practice by bloodshed, Nehor is brought before Alma to be judged according to his crime, and Alma tells Nehor that “thou art not only guilty of priestcraft, but hast endeavored to enforce it by the sword; and were priestcraft to be enforced among this people it would prove their entire destruction.” (v. 12) He quickly sentences Nehor to death for slaying Gideon, but Nehor’s ideas had already taken hold in the hearts of many of the people:

Nevertheless, this did not put an end to the spreading of priestcraft through the land; for there were many who loved the vain things of the world, and they went forth preaching false doctrines; and this they did for the sake of riches and honor. (Alma 1:16)

Persecutions and contentions arise, and notable distinctions become apparent between those who were numbered among the people of God and those who were not (see verses 16-33).

In chapter 2 of Alma, we learn that Nehor’s corruption of religious practices spreads, like a cancer, to the political scene. Verse one of that chapter informs us that Amlici is “…after the order of the man that slew Gideon by the sword…”—an order that not only creates immediate political upheaval, but also later plays a part in the wickedness and destruction of the people in Ammonihah (see Alma 14-16). Amlici also creates an alliance with the Lamanites, leading those who follow him to separate themselves from the Nephites and “to set a mark upon themselves” signifying that separation. We are also later told that “many of the Amalekites and the Amulonites were after the order of the Nehors” (Alma 21:4), their hearts being so hardened that Mormon makes particular mention of the fact that, when Mosiah’s sons preach God’s word both to them and to the Lamanites, only one of the Amalekites is converted, none of the Amulonites are converted, and they harden the hearts of many of the Lamanites as well (see Alma 23:14).

It is in trying to recover from the immediate religious and political fallout of Nehor’s teachings that Alma the Younger makes the decision to relinquish the position of chief judge and to devote himself, whole-heartedly, to the preaching of the word of God (see Alma 3-4).

And thus in the commencement of the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, Alma delivered up the judgment-seat to Nephihah, and confined himself wholly to the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to the testimony of the word, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy. (Alma 4:20)

The Holy Order of God—Introduction

Recently, I’ve been taking some deep dives into long passages of scripture. It’s funny how studying scripture is kind of like taking a hike through the mountains. There’s a lot of variety to it—the ups and downs, the ability to take in the general scenery as you walk and the ability to slow down and pay attention to the otherwise unnoticeable details of things around you, the opportunity you have to let thoughts swirl around in your head and the opportunity you have to let God take your breath away by leading you to high places and lookout points.

One of the places where I have been focusing my study time is the book of Alma. There are recurring themes and phrases that Alma uses, and it has been nice to step away from the jumping around in scripture that often characterizes my study time to just settle into that book for an extended period of time. Very much a “yin” energy, and that has been very nice.

One of the phrases that pops up throughout the book of Alma is “the holy order of God,” and it isn’t found in many other places—not that exact phrase, anyway. It gets a mention in the book of Ether, and it is also found once in the Doctrine and Covenants:

Q. What are we to understand by sealing the one hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel—twelve thousand out of every tribe? 

A. We are to understand that those who are sealed are high priests, ordained unto the holy order of God, to administer the everlasting gospel; for they are they who are ordained out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, by the angels to whom is given power over the nations of the earth, to bring as many as will come to the church of the Firstborn. (D&C 77)

Alma gives us some amazing insights into this “order,” and I’ll say from the start that I won’t cover all of them. There is a lot of extra credit when it comes to this subject, and I hope that a short series of blogposts, as both a teaser and a primer, entices people to study and meditate upon the subject further.