The Book of Alma: The Son of Alma (), usually referred to as the Book of Alma, is one of the books that make up the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...

. The title refers to

Alma the Younger According to the Book of Mormon, Alma, the son of Alma () was a Nephite prophet often referred to as Alma the Younger to distinguish him from his father, who is often referred to as Alma the Elder. These appellations, "the Younger" and "the Elde ...

, a prophet and "chief judge" of the Nephites. Alma is the longest book in the Book of Mormon and consists of sixty-three chapters, taking up almost a third of the volume.

Narrative

Historical outline

The Book of Alma is the longest of all the books of the Book of Mormon, consisting of 63 chapters. The book records the first 39 years of what the

Nephite According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, p ...

s termed "the reign of the judges", a period in which the Nephite nation adopted a constitutional theocratic government in which the judicial and executive branches of the government were combined. The history of the book is outlined as follows:

Challenges to the beginning of the republic

The first four chapters describe the rebellions of followers of

Nehor Nehor ()"Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide"

Amlici. Contrary to the dominant lay ministry that existed in the Nephite culture, Nehor established a church that taught

universal salvation In Christian theology, universal reconciliation (also called universal salvation, Christian universalism, or in context simply universalism) is the doctrine that all sinful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy—will ult ...

in which priests were given separate social status and were paid for their ministry. After killing a religious leader during a theological argument, Nehor was tried and executed for his crimes. The followers of Amlici resented the dominant political and religious parties and sought to reestablish the monarchy that the reign of the judges had replaced. Alma, who was chief judge, governor, and high priest over the people of Nephi, led an army against Amlici and his followers and drove the rebellion out of the land.

Ministry of Alma among the Nephites

Towards the end of chapter four, Alma realizes that the affairs of the Church require his entire concentration. He resigns from his political office and appoints Nephihah as chief judge and governor of the land. Chapters 5–16 record sermons and missionary travels of Alma between 83 and 78 BC. Alma and one of his converted followers, Amulek, provide important teachings about the atonement of Christ, overcoming pride and the natural man, retaining conversion, the resurrection of all men, and judgment day. Later, their teachings about faith and worship in Alma 32-34 are important sources of instruction and insight.

Ministry of the sons of Mosiah among the Lamanites

Chapters 17 to 27 describe the missionary labors of the sons of

King Mosiah II According to the Book of Mormon, Mosiah II (), King Benjamin's son and Mosiah I's grandson, was king of the Nephite nation from about 124 BC to 91 BC. The Book of Mosiah is named after Mosiah II. Mosiah was also a prophet and is described by Ammo ...

who was the last king over the people of Nephi before the peaceful transition of the nation from a monarchy to a republican form of government. The sons of Mosiah, named

Ammon Ammon ( Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; he, עַמּוֹן ''ʻAmmōn''; ar, عمّون, ʻAmmūn) was an ancient Semitic-speaking nation occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Arnon and Jabbok, in ...

, Aaron,

Omner According to the Book of Mormon, Omner () was a Nephite missionary and one of the sons of King Mosiah II. He was also brother to the prophet Ammon. As related in the Book of Mormon narrative, Omner and his three brothers (Ammon, Aaron, and Himn ...

and

Himni In religion, according to the Book of Mormon Himni () was a Nephite missionary and one of the sons of King Mosiah, and brother to the prophet Ammon. According to the Book, Himni and his three brothers Ammon, Omner, and Aaron left their father, an ...

, chose to devote themselves to missionary labors preaching to the people of the

Lamanite The Lamanites () are one of the four ancient peoples (along with the Jaredites, the Mulekites, and the Nephites) described as having settled in the ancient Americas in the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. The Lamani ...

nation, which periodically went to war against the Nephite nation. They lived and taught among the Lamanites between the years 91 and 77 BC.

Ministry of Alma among the Zoramites

Chapters 28 to 35 relate the account of a rebellion of a subgroup of the Nephite nation, who called themselves

Zoramites In the Book of Mormon, the Zoramites () were one of three major Nephite sects, existing during the administration of Alma the Younger as the High Priest over the Church of God (). Zoram, the leader of this group, is first mentioned in as being th ...

. The Zoramites believed in a form of

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby G ...

and taught that all others except their people would be damned. Their

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that ...

from the Church was conspiring against the plans to rebel against the Nephite government. Alma took two of his sons, the sons of Mosiah, Amulek, and

Zeezrom According to the Book of Mormon, Zeezrom () was an ancient American lawyer (one who is expert in the Hebrew Law, or the Law of Moses) who sought to destroy the liberty of the Nephites via his legal practice. He was converted to the gospel by Alma t ...

on a mission among the Zoramites in an attempt to restore their loyalty to both the Church and the state. Alma and his companions had some success among the poor class of Zoramites who were then exiled from the Zoramite community by the governing rich class of Zoramites. The wealthier Zoramites eventually defected and united with the Lamanites.

Commandments of Alma to his children

Chapters 36 to 42 record the teachings of Alma to his sons,

Helaman The Book of Mormon mentions three men named Helaman ( ). The first was the son of King Benjamin, king of the united Nephite-Zarahemla kingdom who lived in the 2nd century BC. Besides his genealogy, information about the first Helaman is limite ...

, Shiblon, and Corianton. These teachings discuss the ministry and atonement of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, the laws of justice and mercy, the need for repentance, and the resurrection and judgment of all people.

Period of war

Chapters 43 to 62 record the struggles of the Nephite people during a war against the attacking Lamanite nation between the years of 74 and 57 BC. The Chief Captain (senior military commander) of the Nephites during this time was

Captain Moroni According to the Book of Mormon, Captain Moroni was an important Nephite military commander who lived during the first century BC. He is first mentioned in the Book of Alma as "the chief captain over the Nephites." Captain Moroni is presented ...

. The Nephites were ultimately successful in their defense against the Lamanites.

Conclusion

Chapter 63 includes concluding historical notes covering the years 56 to 53 BC. This is largely a period of post-war reconstruction and exploration in the Nephite nation.

Simple outline

This outline is based on main sections and antagonist characters in the Book of Alma. There are two main features in this history, chapters 1 - 42 deal with Missionary Work, and chapters 43 - 63 contain the Wars. The history of the Zoramites provides a transition from Missionary Work to the War chapters of the Book of Alma. The two main sections also mirror the first two antagonist characters, Nehor (religious agenda) and Amlici (political agenda). *Mission chapters () **

Nehor Nehor ()"Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide"

Amlici: rebels against the Republic () **

Korihor Korihor () is an anti-christ described in in the Book of Mormon. Life Korihor is directly referred to in the Book of Mormon as Anti-Christ, because he claimed there will be no Christ. Korihor was able to preach his views to the people becaus ...

: the

antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...

() *Zoramites () **

Zoram Zoram (), IPA-ified from «zō´rum», is the name of three individuals in the Book of Mormon, indexed in the LDS edition as Zoram1, Zoram2, and Zoram3. Zoram1 Zoram1 was the servant of Laban, a wealthy inhabitant of Jerusalem. According to ...

: the Apostate Nephites religious () **

Zerahemnah This list is intended as a quick reference for individuals mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Notation Names with superscripts (e.g., Nephi1) are numbered according to the index in the LDS scripture, the Book of Mormon. Missing indices indica ...

: the war leader of the Zoramites political () *War chapters () **

Amalickiah In the Book of Mormon, Amalickiah (; Ameleckiah as a frequent scribal variant in the original manuscript) was a Nephite leader of a movement to reestablish a king, specifically himself, as the king of the Nephites. When he failed to gain power ...

: the man who wants to be king () **

Ammoron :''Ammoron should not be confused with Amaron, Ammaron, Amoron, or Moron (Book of Mormon) three other Book of Mormon figures with similar names.'' According to the Book of Mormon, Ammoron ()Alma the Younger According to the Book of Mormon, Alma, the son of Alma () was a Nephite prophet often referred to as Alma the Younger to distinguish him from his father, who is often referred to as Alma the Elder. These appellations, "the Younger" and "the Elde ...

* Gideon * Nephihah * Sons of Mosiah **

** Aaron³ **

* Amulek * Zoram² *

*Melek *

Lehonti This list is intended as a quick reference for individuals mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Notation Names with superscripts (e.g., Nephi1) are numbered according to the index in the LDS scripture, the Book of Mormon. Missing indices indica ...

* Shiblon * Corianton *

Two thousand stripling warriors The two thousand stripling warriors, also known as The Army of Helaman, are an army of young men in the Book of Mormon, first mentioned in the Book of Alma.''The Book of Mormon''. . " Stripling" is an archaic word meaning adolescent youth. They a ...

* Teancum * Laman⁴ * Gid *

Teomner This list is intended as a quick reference for individuals mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Notation Names with superscripts (e.g., Nephi1) are numbered according to the index in the LDS scripture, the Book of Mormon. Missing indices indica ...

Pahoran Pahoran (), in the Book of Mormon, was the third chief judge of the Nephites, who inherited the position from his father Nephihah in about 67 BC, in the 24th year of the judges (). Soon after his appointment, he was opposed by the king-men, wh ...

Hagoth According to the Book of Mormon, Hagoth () was a Nephite ship builder who lived in or around 55 BCE. At least two of the ships he built were lost. The occupants of one ship were presumed drowned. Hagoth and his shipbuilding accomplishments are brief ...

* Moronihah

Antagonist

Nehor Nehor ()"Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide"

Amlici *

* Morianton *

Ammoron :''Ammoron should not be confused with Amaron, Ammaron, Amoron, or Moron (Book of Mormon) three other Book of Mormon figures with similar names.'' According to the Book of Mormon, Ammoron ()King-men Pahoran (), in the Book of Mormon, was the third chief judge of the Nephites, who inherited the position from his father Nephihah in about 67 BC, in the 24th year of the judges (). Soon after his appointment, he was opposed by the king-men, who ...

* Gidoni

Converts

* Lamoni *

Anti-Nephi-Lehi According to the Book of Mormon, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies () were an ethnic group of Lamanites formed around 90 BC, after a significant religious conversion. They made a covenant that they would not participate in war, and buried their weapons. Event ...

Doctrine

50 questions of Alma

In , Alma the Younger speaks to the people of Zarahemla in which he asks 50 rhetorical questions, which are widely cited in the LDS church.

Faith as a seed

Alma's sermon on faith to the Zoramites in is widely used to explain the process of developing faith. Investigators are invited to try a similar experiment of faith in order to come to develop a testimony. It is worth noting that Alma doesn't compare faith to a seed, he compares the word to a seed (), although this is a common misconception.

Nephite temple ceremony

According to John W. Welch, based on the appearance of the following elements in Alma 12–13, the Nephite temple ceremony utilized familiar temple motifs, including: # Abundant creation imagery regarding the fall of Adam and Eve () # The redemption () # The issuance of commandments () # One's calling () # Clothing () # The facing of judgment () # Symbolic entrance into the presence of God (; )

Notes

External links

*
Story of the Book of Mormon - Alma
An educational summary of this book {{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Alma Alma

Narrative

Historical outline

Challenges to the beginning of the republic

Ministry of Alma among the Nephites

Ministry of the sons of Mosiah among the Lamanites

Ministry of Alma among the Zoramites

Commandments of Alma to his children

Period of war

Conclusion

Simple outline

Antagonist

Converts

Doctrine

50 questions of Alma

Faith as a seed

Nephite temple ceremony

Notes

Further reading

External links