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)