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MDC Contents
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 Alma
15:1
1 And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek were commanded to depart out of that city; and they departed, and came
out even into the land of Sidom; and behold, there they found all the people who had departed out of the land of
Ammonihah, who had been cast out and stoned, because they believed in the words of Alma.
Mormon now ties together
this episode with the one mentioned in Alma 14:7-8. Zeezrom and other men who had believed were driven from Ammonihah,
and it was their wives and children who were sacrificed while Alma and Amulek watched. At this point, we learn
that they headed toward the land of Sidom.
Geographic: Sidom is a "land" and not mentioned specifically as a city. It appears to be eastward
from Ammonihah. It is possible that Alma heads to this location because it was between Ammonihah and Aaron, the
city he was attempting to visit when the angel met him and had him return to Ammonihah (see Sorenson, John L. The
Geography of Book of Mormon Events. A Source Book. FARMS, 1990, p. 350).
Alma
15:2
2 And they related unto them all that had happened unto their wives and children, and also concerning themselves,
and of their power of deliverance.
Mormon does not give
us the reaction of the outcasts to the message that is delivered, but we can easily understand the tremendous sorrow
and anguish that met this recitation, even with the miraculous deliverance of Alma and Amulek.
Alma
15:3
3 And also Zeezrom lay sick at Sidom, with a burning fever, which was caused by the great tribulations of his mind
on account of his wickedness, for he supposed that Alma and Amulek were no more; and he supposed that they had
been slain because of his iniquity. And this great sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his mind until it
did become exceedingly sore, having no deliverance; therefore he began to be scorched with a burning heat.
We now return to the
story of Zeezrom. Zeezrom is among those who have been cast out of Ammonihah. When we find him in the land of Sidom,
he is burning up with fever. While this is a very physical manifestation, Mormon suggests that it is due to a spiritual
cause rather than a temporal one. In this case, whatever the cause of the physical fever, Mormon understands that
this fever is at least symbolic of the burning of the wicked, the lake of fire and brimstone of which Alma preached.
Zeezrom had seen his sins, and is now in a lake of fire an brimstone, and very physical one in which "he began
to be scorched with a burning heat."
Alma
15:4
4 Now, when he heard that Alma and Amulek were in the land of Sidom, his heart began to take courage; and he sent
a message immediately unto them, desiring them to come unto him.
When Alma the Younger
was in a way contrary to God, it took and angel to move him from his course, and the action of the angel did not
come of Alma's own volition. Alma did not call for assistance of God to change. Zeezrom, on the other hand, has
recognized his position, and recognized also that Alma and Amulek hold the power to "cure" him. While
he may have been scorched with a fever, it was the fever of the soul that he desired to be cured.
Alma
15:5
5 And it came to pass that they went immediately, obeying the message which he had sent unto them; and they went
in unto the house unto Zeezrom; and they found him upon his bed, sick, being very low with a burning fever; and
his mind also was exceedingly sore because of his iniquities; and when he saw them he stretched forth his hand,
and besought them that they would heal him.
Zeezrom has very physical
symptoms. He is weak from the fever, and the text continues to tell us that this is a fever that makes the body
hot. This is a real fever, with real effects upon the body. It is no wonder that Zeezrom desires to be healed.
However, from the words of Alma, we understand that there is more than the body to be healed, a fact doubtless
well understood by Zeezrom.
Alma
15:6
6 And it came to pass that Alma said unto him, taking him by the hand: Believest thou in the power of Christ unto
salvation?
The most important
question is whether or not Zeezrom believes in Christ. Not only believes in Christ, but believes in the "power
of Christ unto salvation." This is important because it requires a complete restructuring if Zeezrom's beliefs.
To believe in the power of Christ unto salvation requires that Zeezrom first see Christ as the Atoning Messiah,
a concept the Nehorites deny. He must secondly see that there are sins which will require this atonement, another
doctrine denied by the Nehorites. Alma is asking if Zeezrom has been completely converted.
Alma
15:7
7 And he answered and said: Yea, I believe all the words that thou hast taught.
Alma 15:8
8 And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed.
Alma 15:9
9 And he said: Yea, I believe according to thy words.
Alma 15:10
10 And then Alma cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, have mercy on this man, and heal him according to
his faith which is in Christ.
Zeezrom's belief allows
for him to be healed. We have an interesting juxtaposition of concepts that we consider to be different. We have
a physical ailment, and a spiritual sickness. When Alma "heals" the one, he also heals the other. What
have the physical and the spiritual to do with each other?
While they may not be causally linked, the faith required for the healing of the body is apparently also simultaneously
sufficient for the healing of the soul. We find in Matthew the following event:
Matt. 9:2-7
2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto
the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the
palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
7 And he arose, and departed to his house.
Jesus performs a healing that is similar in some ways to the healing of Zeezrom by Alma. There are physical symptoms,
and those physical symptoms are cured. However, there is also a forgiveness of sins, both for the man lying on
a bed in the land of Israel, and for Zeezrom lying on a bed in the land of Sidom.
Alma
15:11
11 And when Alma had said these words, Zeezrom leaped upon his feet, and began to walk; and this was done to the
great astonishment of all the people; and the knowledge of this went forth throughout all the land of Sidom.
Both the physical and
the spiritual are healed, and Zeezrom "leaps" to his feet. This tells us that the change is not gradual,
but that there is an immediate improvement. Of course this should rapidly be told through the land. In the ancient
world before modern medicines, there were many more sicknesses that resulted in death than in recovery. To be burning
with fever as was Zeezrom might have typically been a death sentence. In contrast to this dire expectation, Zeezrom
"leaps" to his feet. No wonder the story is told abroad.
Alma
15:12
12 And Alma baptized Zeezrom unto the Lord; and he began from that time forth to preach unto the people.
Alma 15:13
13 And Alma established a church in the land of Sidom, and consecrated priests and teachers in the land, to baptize
unto the Lord whosoever were desirous to be baptized.
Alma 15:14
14 And it came to pass that they were many; for they did flock in from all the region round about Sidom, and were
baptized.
The result of this
miraculous transformation is the establishment of the church in the land of Sidom, and the baptism of those who
would be members. This is the form of establishment of a church that both Alma the Younger and his father have
followed.
Alma
15:15
15 But as to the people that were in the land of Ammonihah, they yet remained a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked
people; and they repented not of their sins, ascribing all the power of Alma and Amulek to the devil; for they
were of the profession of Nehor, and did not believe in the repentance of their sins.
This is an intentional
contrast. It is to be made even more poignant by the present of Zeezrom, who did heed the call to repentance, even
though the had much to repent of. The people remaining in Ammonihah had been blinded by the profession of Nehor,
and were about to reap the early consequences.
Alma
15:16
16 And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek, Amulek having forsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious
things, which were in the land of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being rejected by those who were once his
friends and also by his father and his kindred;
Amulek's acceptance
of the gospel has cost him all he had. It not only cost him his gold (as a representative of his wealth) but also
his "father and his kindred." When we were first introduced to Amulek we learned that he probably lived
with his father and others who were considered kindred (see Alma 10:4, 11). Amulek has been cut off from everything,
including his kin. He has no home, nor family, no connections, no one who is obliged to watch out for him.
Alma
15:17
17 Therefore, after Alma having established the church at Sidom, seeing a great check, yea, seeing that the people
were checked as to the pride of their hearts, and began to humble themselves before God, and began to assemble
themselves together at their sanctuaries to worship God before the altar, watching and praying continually, that
they might be delivered from Satan, and from death, and from destruction-
Alma 15:18
18 Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla,
and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord.
Verse 18 is the logical
conclusion of verse 16. Amulek was cut off from everything, and had no home and no kin. Alma provides him with
that, taking him "to his own house." Mormon would have been particularly sensitive to this type of issue,
so he makes sure that we have the important conclusion to the story. This man who was bereft of his support network
nevertheless finds a new one in Alma and the gospel. So too do many modern saints find themselves bereft of their
former social supports, and find replacements for them in the Gospel.
Alma
15:19
19 And thus ended the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.
Textual: This
is the end of chapter. It is marked by the closing of a time record. One of the types of records that Mormon consulted
clearly recorded information by year counts, and it is from this type of record that Mormon has selected this information.
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