1 And now it came to pass that the persecutions which were inflicted on the church by the unbelievers became so great that the church began to murmur, and complain to their leaders concerning the matter; and they did complain to Alma. And Alma laid the case before their king, Mosiah. And Mosiah consulted with his priests.
Trivia:
CHAPTER 27
The unbelievers increase their persecution of believers--King Mosiah sends out a proclamation that no unbeliever should persecute any member of the church--There is peace in the land and the people prosper--Alma Jr. and Mosiah's sons convince many believers to become unbelievers--An angel visits Alma Jr.--The angel's voice sounds like thunder and causes earthquakes--Alma Jr. is completely paralyzed and is unable to speak--The priests pray and fast for two days and two nights, and ask God to undo the damage that he did to Alma Jr.--God undoes the damage he did to Alma Jr.--Alma Jr. and Mosiah's sons repent and begin to preach throughout the land. (100-92 BCE)
27:1-7
The unbelievers persecuted the church, so the church members began to murmur and complain to Alma.
Alma asked the King Mosiah what to do, and the king asked the priests.
2 And it came to pass that king Mosiah sent a proclamation throughout the land round about that there should not any unbeliever persecute any of those who belonged to the church of God.
King Mosiah sent out a proclamation saying that unbelievers were not to persecute church members.
3 And there was a strict command throughout all the churches that there should be no persecutions among them, that there should be an equality among all men;
A command also went out saying that no one should be persecuted and everyone should be treated equally.
4 That they should let no pride nor haughtiness disturb their peace; that every man should esteem his neighbor as himself, laboring with their own hands for their support.
5 Yea, and all their priests and teachers should labor with their own hands for their support, in all cases save it were in sickness, or in much want; and doing these things, they did abound in the grace of God.
And that no one should be proud or hughty,
everyone should treat their neighbors as themselves,
and work with their hands to support themselves (including priests) unless they are sick.
6 And there began to be much peace again in the land; and the people began to be very numerous, and began to scatter abroad upon the face of the earth, yea, on the north and on the south, on the east and on the west, building large cities and villages in all quarters of the land.
7 And the Lord did visit them and prosper them, and they became a large and wealthy people.
After the proclamation, there was peace again and the people became very numerous, spreading to the north, south, east, and west. They built many large cities and the Lord visited them, making them a large, prosperous, and wealthy people.
27:8-9
8 Now the sons of Mosiah were numbered among the unbelievers; and also one of the sons of Alma was numbered among them, he being called Alma, after his father; nevertheless, he became a very wicked and an idolatrous man. And he was a man of many words, and did speak much flattery to the people; therefore he led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities.
9 And he became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church of God; stealing away the hearts of the people; causing much dissension among the people; giving a chance for the enemy of God to exercise his power over them.
The sons of Mosiah and one of the sons of Alma were unbelievers.
The unbelieving son of Alma was named Alma after his father, and he was a wicked and idolatrous man.
He was also a man of many words who led many people astray.
27:10-22
10 And now it came to pass that while he was going about to destroy the church of God, for he did go about secretly with the sons of Mosiah seeking to destroy the church, and to lead astray the people of the Lord, contrary to the commandments of God, or even the king --
While Alma Jr. and the sons of Mosiah were trying to destroy the church, an angel of God appeared.
11 And as I said unto you, as they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood;
He came down in a cloud and he made the earth shake when he talked with a voice of thunder.
12 And so great was their astonishment, that they fell to the earth, and understood not the words which he spake unto them.
The people were so astonished that they fell to the earth. [1]
13 Nevertheless he cried again, saying: Alma, arise and stand forth, for why persecutest thou the church of God? For the Lord hath said: This is my church, and I will establish it; and nothing shall overthrow it, save it is the transgression of my people.
14 And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith.
The angel said,
Alma, why are you persecuting the church of God?
15 And now behold, can ye dispute the power of God? For behold, doth not my voice shake the earth? And can ye not also behold me before you? And I am sent from God.
Didn't my voice make the earth shake?
16 Now I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam, and in the land of Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in bondage, and he has delivered them. And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy way, and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be answered, and this even if thou wilt of thyself be cast off.
17 And now it came to pass that these were the last words which the angel spake unto Alma, and he departed.
Go away and don't try to destroy the church anymore.
18 And now Alma and those that were with him fell again to the earth, for great was their astonishment; for with their own eyes they had beheld an angel of the Lord; and his voice was as thunder, which shook the earth; and they knew that there was nothing save the power of God that could shake the earth and cause it to tremble as though it would part asunder.
After seeing the angel, Alma and his companions fell to the earth.
The angel's voice was like thunder, so they knew it must be the power of God since nothing else could shake the earth.
19 And now the astonishment of Alma was so great that he became dumb, that he could not open his mouth; yea, and he became weak, even that he could not move his hands; therefore he was taken by those that were with him, and carried helpless, even until he was laid before his father.
Alma Jr. became weak and was unable to speak or move his hands.
20 And they rehearsed unto his father all that had happened unto them; and his father rejoiced, for he knew that it was the power of God.
21 And he caused that a multitude should be gathered together that they might witness what the Lord had done for his son, and also for those that were with him.
22 And he caused that the priests should assemble themselves together; and they began to fast, and to pray to the Lord their God that he would open the mouth of Alma, that he might speak, and also that his limbs might receive their strength -- that the eyes of the people might be opened to see and know of the goodness and glory of God.
When his father, Alma Sr., heard about it, he rejoiced, and gathered everyone to see what God did to his son. [2]
27:23-39
23 And it came to pass after they had fasted and prayed for the space of two days and two nights, the limbs of Alma received their strength, and he stood up and began to speak unto them, bidding them to be of good comfort:
After the people fasted and prayed for two days, Alma Jr. stood up and began to speak again, [3] and said,
24 For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit.
I've repented, am redeemed by the Lord, and am born of the Spirit. [4]
25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;
26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
27 I say unto you, unless this be the case, they must be cast off; and this I know, because I was like to be cast off.
All nations, kindreds, tongues, and people must be born again.
28 Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulations, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God.
29 My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more.
30 I rejected my Redeemer, and denied that which had been spoken of by our fathers; but now that they may foresee that he will come, and that he remembereth every creature of his creating, he will make himself manifest unto all.
31 Yea, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him. Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess that he is God; then shall they confess, who live without God in the world, that the judgment of an everlasting punishment is just upon them; and they shall quake, and tremble, and shrink beneath the glance of his all-searching eye.
32 And now it came to pass that Alma began from this time forward to teach the people, and those who were with Alma at the time the angel appeared unto them, traveling round about through all the land, publishing to all the people the things which they had heard and seen, and preaching the word of God in much tribulation, being greatly persecuted by those who were unbelievers, being smitten by many of them.
33 But notwithstanding all this, they did impart much consolation to the church, confirming their faith, and exhorting them with long-suffering and much travail to keep the commandments of God.
If you're not born again, you'll be burned forever in eternal torment.
34 And four of them were the sons of Mosiah; and their names were Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni; these were the names of the sons of Mosiah.
35 And they traveled throughout all the lands of Zarahemla, and among all the people who were under the reign of king Mosiah, zealously striving to repair all the injuries which they had done to the church, confessing all their sins, and publishing all the things which they had seen, and explaining the prophecies and the scriptures to all who desired to hear them.
36 And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer.
37 And how blessed are they! For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth.
And the four sons of Mosiah (Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni) who were unbelievers were converted, and traveled throughout the land of Zarahemla preaching to the people.
Notes
- They fell to the earth. (vv.12, 18)
People who fell to the earth in the Book of Mormon
Notice how similar Alma's conversion is to that of Paul's in the New Testament. (Acts 9:1-7)
- What the Lord had done for his son (v.21)
When Alma Sr. found out that God had paralyzed his son and made him unable to speak, he rejoiced and gathered everyone together to witness what the Lord had done for his son. (Book of Mormon Family Values at its best.)
- After they had fasted and prayed for the space of two days and two nights, the limbs of Alma received their strength,and he stood up and began to speak unto them. (v.23)
- Behold I am born of the Spirit (v.24)
After the priests prayed and fasted for two days and two nights, Alma Jr. was back to normal again. He told everyone to be of good cheer. He said that he had repented of his sins, been redeemed by the Lord, and born of the Spirit. He said that God had spoken to him while he was paralyzed, telling him that everyone must become born again and become new creatures, or else be cast off.
Then he launched out into a typical Book of Mormon speech, repeating things that he'd already said, and saying things that have been said by every Book of Mormon prophet since Lehi. He quoted from the New Testament King of James Version of the Bible 1700 years before it existed. And ended by saying that whoever rejects his Redeemer (the as yet unborn Jesus) would suffer an everlasting punishment, quaking and trembling beneath the glance of an all-seeing eye.
And it came to pass: 271:, 2, 10, 17, 23, 32
Behold: 27:11, 14, 15(2), 24, 29
Yea: 27:5, 6, 19, 25(2), 31(2), 36
27:25 every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people -- Revelation 14:6
27:29 the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity -- Acts 8:23
27:31 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.... And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. -- Philippians 2:10-11