The Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon makes the case that, although Alma leads a renewal of faith among King Noah's people, he already held the priesthood at the time of the moving scene by the waters of Mormon.
But while the church existed, the power and authority from God did not, which explains why the terms "power and authority" are used so often in the chapters of Abinadi's and Alma's teachings.
This changes the way I read the verses that follow the (re?)baptism of 204 souls by the waters of Mormon. These verses lay down the guidelines Alma enforced to ensure the renewal of faith in the church and a restoration of the power and authority among the people.
Briefly, they are broken down into commandments for church leaders and commandments for the general membership.
For church leaders:
1. Teach only scripture
2. Connect everything back to faith and repentance
3. Allow no contention among the leadership
For all church members:
1. Observe the sabbath
2. Keep the leaders honest and hard-working by ensuring they remain self-sufficient
3. Be generous and give to all those in need
The simplicity and cohesion of these commandments fascinates me (and pondering it has prevented me from writing this post for at least a week).
The members' commandments ensure that they live with compassion (#3) so that when they meet together (#1), they are in tune with the Holy Spirit and can learn from leaders whose integrity cannot be questioned (#2).
The leaders' commandments ensure that the messages they preach to the membership are not tainted with pride and self-service, but rather focused on the simple steps of discipleship.
While Christ cut the commandments down to two in his ministry, I think Alma's application of the two great commandments to real life exigencies deserves further study, thought, and application in my life.
But while the church existed, the power and authority from God did not, which explains why the terms "power and authority" are used so often in the chapters of Abinadi's and Alma's teachings.
This changes the way I read the verses that follow the (re?)baptism of 204 souls by the waters of Mormon. These verses lay down the guidelines Alma enforced to ensure the renewal of faith in the church and a restoration of the power and authority among the people.
Briefly, they are broken down into commandments for church leaders and commandments for the general membership.
For church leaders:
1. Teach only scripture
2. Connect everything back to faith and repentance
3. Allow no contention among the leadership
For all church members:
1. Observe the sabbath
2. Keep the leaders honest and hard-working by ensuring they remain self-sufficient
3. Be generous and give to all those in need
The simplicity and cohesion of these commandments fascinates me (and pondering it has prevented me from writing this post for at least a week).
The members' commandments ensure that they live with compassion (#3) so that when they meet together (#1), they are in tune with the Holy Spirit and can learn from leaders whose integrity cannot be questioned (#2).
The leaders' commandments ensure that the messages they preach to the membership are not tainted with pride and self-service, but rather focused on the simple steps of discipleship.
While Christ cut the commandments down to two in his ministry, I think Alma's application of the two great commandments to real life exigencies deserves further study, thought, and application in my life.
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