Alma 35

Alma 35:1

1 Now it came to pass that after Amulek had made an end of these words, they withdrew themselves from the multitude and came over into the land of Jershon.

Alma 35:2

2 Yea, and the rest of the brethren, after they had preached the word unto the Zoramites, also came over into the land of Jershon.

Cultural: Mormon does not tells us whether there was a time frame allowed for the preaching to the Zoramites or if the various parties simply went to Jershon when they felt it was time. That they all arrive in Jershon instead of traveling back to Zarahemla is understandable because Jershon is closer. In the ancient world the missionary party would have to survive on the generosity of those whom they visited to feed and house them. While there were some sympathetic people such as those who came to Alma and Amulek, the majority of the Zoramites were completely unsympathetic (and worse, as we shall see in this chapter). After their time in the Antionum, it is not surprising that the missionary party would want to go to friendly territory where they might receive greater hospitality, and perhaps receive extra stores to bide them on the travel back to Zarahemla.

Textual: After the cited sermons, we now have Mormon’s text that will finish the story. This unit is a transition from the teachings of Alma and Amulek to the teachings of Alma to his sons. In addition to setting up the next major unit of cited text, Mormon must also set the scene for the following unit, which begins the most intensive discussion of wars in the Book of Mormon. Those chapters are also presaged by the events in this chapter.

Alma 35:3

3 And it came to pass that after the more popular part of the Zoramites had consulted together concerning the words which had been preached unto them, they were angry because of the word, for it did destroy their craft; therefore they would not hearken unto the words.

The “more popular part of the Zoramites” is perhaps the most difficult passage of this verse. In this context “popular” does not mean the ones that everyone likes, but rather the communal meaning of popular. This is the majority of the people, the same root meaning as we find in the word populace. It isn’t just the leadership of the Zoramites who become angry, but the majority of the people. We should remember that this is a people who had already believed in their “craft” and had willingly forsaken lands and social connections in some other place to move to a new location and begin a new life. They were had known of the Nephite religion before they left, and had actively rejected it. It is no surprise that they do not change their minds because of this missionary visit by Alma and his brethren.

The phrase that “they were angry because of the word, for it did destroy their craft,” is Mormon’s assessment. It is certainly true, though Mormon shows his bias in the situation by the use of the word “craft.” Mormon certainly doesn’t consider the Zoramites to be true religion, but rather a “craft.” What he means by the destruction of the craft is that the gospel would destroy something in the Zoramite culture, but what?

We must recall the tight connection between religion and politics in the ancient world. The religion was the formal underpinning and outward presentation of the political structure. In the Zoramite case, the religio-political structure was firmly rooted in the establishment and maintenance of a social hierarchy. The gospel was egalitarian, and completely opposed to the very organization that the Zoramites had elected in preference to Nephite egalitarianism. The gospel would have clearly destroyed not only the craft but the entire political organization. Had the Zoramites been converted, their entire way of life would have changed, their entire social and political structure would have changed along with their religion. Those things could not have been separated.

Alma 35:4

4 And they sent and gathered together throughout all the land all the people, and consulted with them concerning the words which had been spoken.

Alma 35:5

5 Now their rulers and their priests and their teachers did not let the people know concerning their desires; therefore they found out privily the minds of all the people.

Alma 35:6

6 And it came to pass that after they had found out the minds of all the people, those who were in favor of the words which had been spoken by Alma and his brethren were cast out of the land; and they were many; and they came over also into the land of Jershon.

The danger to the Zoramite way of life was still present after the departure of the missionary group if there were people in the land who did believe the words of these Nephtite missionaries. As noted above, the threat is not simply religious, but absolutely revolutionary. If there were “Nephite sympathizers” in the community, it threatened a source of rebellion and social disruption. There was a real danger to the social hierarchy on which the entire structure of Zoramite society was based.

One of the ways to understand the very real fear of the Zoramites is to recall the nature of the people who listened to Alma and Amulek. As we noted, they were people who were on the bottom of the social hierarchy, and combined with their location this is highly suggestive that these were farmers. The farming imagery that was used in both Alma and Amulek’s discourses would further support that hypothesis. What would happen to the social structure of the Zoramites if the religious underpinnings of that hierarchy were to be severed at the level of the farmers?

In a Mesoamerican economy the elite hold their position by rite of birth and rite of the gods. Their privileged position was defined by religion. The religious position defined the mutual obligations of various people, and the economic well-being of the elite depended upon their ability to absorb tribute goods – or taxes in a more understandable terminology. Since this was not a monetary economy, all such tribute was in the form of goods, and clearly a rather important commodity was food. The economic position of the elite depended upon the farmer’s willingness to give up a portion of their production to the elite.

With the removal of the religious structure that defined the will of the gods to supply the elite, the farmers might not have the same incentive to provide their goods to the elite. Were this idea (especially the Nephite idea of egalitarianism) to spread among the farmers, there could well be a farmer revolt and a withholding of food from the elite. This scenario is not simple speculation, but a microcosm of the forces that eventually led to the destruction of Maya society. Notice how the erosion of the delicate balance between food production and the elite led to the downfall of Copan:

“Thus during the second half of the eighth century the pressures mounted, on the community at large and upon the royal dynasty. The latter's power and authority reached its peak under 18 Rabbit. But after his capture and sacrifice at the hands of Quirigua in 738, doubts may already have begun to grow about how effective and useful kings actually were. The Hieroglyphic Stairway was completed and other building projects were to be undertaken as a public reassertion of royal authority. Stability was restored for a while. But Yax Pac, who succeeded in 763, appears to have inherited increasing political problems, surrounded by an aristocracy to whom he was obliged to concede more and more prerogatives and power in order to maintain his position. As the century came to its close, however, he may have been only too keen to distribute the blame as widely as possible. For with food in ever shorter supply, Copan was now an impoverished and sick society.9 Extensive bone studies for this period have revealed severe malnourishment and disease here, throughout the valley, affecting not just commoners but royalty as well. Whatever attempts were made at power-sharing or other ad hoc political arrangements, the stark reality was that little could be done to halt the slide. In the end it was the royal dynasty which became the inevitable target for retribution. That order and prosperity, the equilibrium between men and gods, between humans and the forces of nature, that kings were supposed to maintain had gone from the world. Their old claims of a special relationship with the divine were proven to be spurious and their very existence could no longer be justified.” (David Drew. The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings. University of California Press, 1999, p. 348-9)

With great reason the leadership of the Zoramites would fear a rebellion, particularly one located in the farmer base upon which they depended. With such a fear it makes sense that the solution was to expel all of those tainted with the egalitarian ideas. While that would at least temporarily reduce the agricultural base, it removed the threat of an eventual complete rebellion in the agricultural base if the dissatisfaction on that level of society were to increase and more and more of the farmers were to follow those who apparently did believe in the words of Alma and Amulek.

Alma 35:7

7 And it came to pass that Alma and his brethren did minister unto them.

Cultural: When Amulek warned the people of patience in their afflictions (Alma 34:40-41) he may have meant those that would inevitably come while they remained in Antionum. He may have also understood that their eventual expulsion was probable. What this verse tells us is that we must remember that the simple removal to Jershon did not completely end their afflictions. While they were among a people willing to accept them and to include them, they were still a people displaced. They had left their lands, and as landless farmers were in need of rather immediate assistance. We are not told what the “ministering” was that Alma and his brethren performed for these immigrants, but it is highly likely that the majority of it was related to temporal concerns rather than spiritual. These people had to be relocated, had to find arable land and begin the process of clearing it for planting. In the meantime, the community of Jershon would be required to assist in the feeding of this people who could no longer feed themselves as their entire means of production had remained behind them in Antionum. There would have been much ministering.

Alma 35:8

8 Now the people of the Zoramites were angry with the people of Ammon who were in Jershon, and the chief ruler of the Zoramites, being a very wicked man, sent over unto the people of Ammon desiring them that they should cast out of their land all those who came over from them into their land.

Cultural: The casting out was not intended to be a simple relocation, but a punishment. By removing the people from their lands they removed them from their direct ability to provide for themselves. To the degree that they were also removed from a kin structure that had retained their lands, they were also deprived from anyone who would have been expected to have helped them. What happened in their removal to Jershon is that they were accepted into a new type of kinship bond, one that relied upon the gospel rather than kinship. That new fictive kin relationship was the bond that provided the support for the newcomers than kin would have been expected to provide. This new fictive kin bond provided place and sustenance for the newcomers, which was clearly not the intent of those who had driven them out, therefore we read that the “Zoramites were angry with the people of Ammon who were in Jershon.” The Zoramites were angry because the people of Jershon had acted differently than expected, and had foiled the attempt to punish the dissenters from Zoramite religion with a banishment that might have been a death sentence for many. Therefore the Zoramite leader attempts to reinstate their punishment by having the people of Jershon expel the people so that the intended punishment could take effect.

Why would the leader of the Zoramites have assume that the people of Jershon might comply? The Zoramites were still part of the Nephite hegemony, even if a tenuous partner in it. A group of people had been expelled as social deviants, and for most ancient communities, those who threatened one city could be presumed to be a similar threat to other cities. The leader of the Zoramites was expecting the people Jershon to assume that those who were expelled were expelled for a reason that would also be threatening to the government of the land of Jershon. Of course the presence of Alma and his fellow missionaries allowed the leaders of the land of Jershon to know the nature of the dissention, and to understand that the very reason that they were expelled from the Zoramites would actually make them excellent members of the community in Jershon.

Alma 35:9

9 And he breathed out many threatenings against them. And now the people of Ammon did not fear their words; therefore they did not cast them out, but they did receive all the poor of the Zoramites that came over unto them; and they did nourish them, and did clothe them, and did give unto them lands for their inheritance; and they did administer unto them according to their wants.

As if we needed confirmation of the status of the newcomers, we have this statement that the people of Jershon accepted the immigrants. Notice the specifics of the way they were accepted: “they did nourish them;” “did clothe them;” “did give them lands;” did administer unto them.” In all cases, the people of Jershon supplied these newcomers with the same benefits that would have been provided by a kin group. They were provided a completely new life. Note that there was nothing required in return. Indeed, there was nothing that could be returned. However, saying that nothing was returned focuses only on the material exchanges. There was a return, and that was an acceptance of the new fictive kin relationship. This acceptance brings the newcomers into the society of mutual obligations. While they are currently on the receiving end, their participation in this community means that they will be required to similarly support needy kin in the future.

Alma 35:10

10 Now this did stir up the Zoramites to anger against the people of Ammon, and they began to mix with the Lamanites and to stir them up also to anger against them.

We were told in Alma 31:3 that the land of the Zoramites, Antionum, lay on the borders of the Nephite territory near a wilderness that “was full of the Lamanites.” The Lamanites are not far off, and the tenuous nature of the continuing Zoramite affiliation with the Nephites is apparently severed by the new and direct conflict with their nearest Nephite neighbor, the people of Jershon. In order to extract a military vengeance, the Zoramites could use allies, and they turn to the Lamanites to find them.

Alma 35:11

11 And thus the Zoramites and the Lamanites began to make preparations for war against the people of Ammon, and also against the Nephites.

Cultural: There is an undercurrent in the Book of Mormon that is so completely assumed that an essential question is never asked. Whenever we hear of war, it is almost certain that the Lamanites will get involved in it. Even here, where the initiators of the conflict are Nephites, we get Lamanites involved. Why is the conflict always with the Lamanites, and why are the Lamanites so easily stirred to war?

The first of the questions has a very subtle answer that goes back to one of the earliest definitions we have of “Lamanite:”

Jacob 1:13-14

13 Now the people which were not Lamanites were Nephites; nevertheless, they were called Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, Zoramites, Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites.

14 But I, Jacob, shall not hereafter distinguish them by these names, but I shall call them Lamanites that seek to destroy the people of Nephi, and those who are friendly to Nephi I shall call Nephites, or the people of Nephi, according to the reigns of the kings.

Lamanite is a convenient political collector that means those in opposition to the Nephites, which is more clearly defined as “us.” Regardless of the kin makeup of the various political alliances, the Nephite/Lamanite labels are consistently used in just the manner that Jacob described; allies are Nephites, enemies are Lamanites. The reason that Lamanites are always involved in military conflicts is therefore by definition. Wars occur against enemies, and enemies are Lamanite.

The second question is why the Lamanites are so easily stirred to battle. We have, for instance, a people who are ready to go to war, and the elicit the assistance of Lamanites in a neighboring wilderness. Why are they so eager to assist and participate in a battle where they have no political interest? The answer here lies in the cult of war previously described. The Mesoamerican culture was built upon concepts that exalted warfare to a religious rite, and glory in battle was an important aspect of life. In addition, the redistribution of the tribute lines made restructuring alliances attractive. If this Zoramite/Lamanite alliance were able to break the people of Jershons alliance and tribute lines to Zarahemla, then the tribute could be redirected to Antionum and to the Lamanites. Thus there were both religious and economic reasons for participation in warfare. The Lamanites are stirred to war because they were culturally predisposed to war, and benefited from it in both religious and economic ways.

Alma 35:12

12 And thus ended the seventeenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

Calendrical: The seventeenth year of the judges was approximately 77 BC.

Alma 35:13

13 And the people of Ammon departed out of the land of Jershon, and came over into the land of Melek, and gave place in the land of Jershon for the armies of the Nephites, that they might contend with the armies of the Lamanites and the armies of the Zoramites; and thus commenced a war betwixt the Lamanites and the Nephites, in the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges; and an account shall be given of their wars hereafter.

The people of Ammon had been given the land of Jershon as an inheritance because it was inside Nephite territory. That plan of geographic protection was now destroyed because of the defection of the Zoramites in Antionum. Lamanites in the wilderness may indicate that they were not beholding to a larger city, but when they were combined with the Zoramites there was now a greater threat. Now the buffer zone is removed, and the perhaps unorganized and therefore less threatening “wilderness” Lamanites are now associated with a city, and an organization. Jershon is no longer a haven, but in immeditate danger.

The result is that the people of Ammon leave the land of Jershon and come over to Melek. They leave the land of Jershon to the armies of the Nephites. There are two things that we should understand from this passage. The first is that the armies of the Nephites are going to require sustenance, and that sustenance comes from the land. In most wars, the people stay in place to support the army. In this case, we have the people of Ammon who have vowed to avoid taking up arms. For their safety and protection they are moved to a safer location.

The second thing that we must understand is that the land of Jershon would not have been abandoned entirely. Some peoples who had not take the vow of the people of Ammon would have remained to support the armies, and it is possible that some of the armies would be assigned to maintain the farmlands that were abandoned by the people of Ammon. The maintenance of the production capacity of those lands would be essential to support the armies.

Alma 35:14

14 And Alma, and Ammon, and their brethren, and also the two sons of Alma returned to the land of Zarahemla, after having been instruments in the hands of God of bringing many of the Zoramites to repentance; and as many as were brought to repentance were driven out of their land; but they have lands for their inheritance in the land of Jershon, and they have taken up arms to defend themselves, and their wives, and children, and their lands.

Textual: This verse should be understood in the context of the sentence that immediately precedes it: “… thus commenced a war betwixt the Lamanites and the Nephites, in the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges; and an account shall be given of their wars hereafter.” Mormon has a complex story to tell, and he needs to find ways to build simultaneous threads. As usual, his primary interest is in the gospel, but he is also building his story to an important phase where war will become the major theme of his narrative.

At this point, he is not ready to move to the war narratives, nevertheless this incident with the Zoramites is a key trigger. He begins this thread, and then tells us to hold it in memory, as it will not be continued. It is only after beginning and holding the war thread that he returns to his gospel story. That story will next include the directives of Alma to his sons, after which the war narrative will begin is remarkable detail.

Alma 35:15

15 Now Alma, being grieved for the iniquity of his people, yea for the wars, and the bloodsheds, and the contentions which were among them; and having been to declare the word, or sent to declare the word, among all the people in every city; and seeing that the hearts of the people began to wax hard, and that they began to be offended because of the strictness of the word, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.

Alma 35:16

16 Therefore, he caused that his sons should be gathered together, that he might give unto them every one his charge, separately, concerning the things pertaining unto righteousness. And we have an account of his commandments, which he gave unto them according to his own record.

Cultural: It is possible that Alma’s discourses to his sons may have been part of a Passover celebration. A Passover tradition has the father gathering his family an instructing his sons and answering their questions. Though this practice is most easily traced to the time of Christ is probably began earlier (Gordon C. Thomasson and John W. Welch. “The Sons of the Passover.” Reexploring the Book of Mormon. FARMS, 1992, p. 196). Not only the formality of the instruction period parallels Alma’s presentation, but some of the themes of the instruction deal with traditional Passover questions (Thomasson and Welch, pp. 196-7).

The ambiguous dating of the practice and the long separation of the Nephites urge caution in applying this type of analogy, but the possibility is intriguing.

Textual: Mormon’s conclusion to this chapter closes the door on the sermons to the Zoramites and the converts that were made. It will be an important transitional event to the war narrative to come, but Mormon has more text from Alma that he wants to include. Thus the end of this conceptual section sets the stage for the next unit, which will be the words of Alma to his sons. By placing this snippet of connecting material at the end of this chapter, Mormon may begin the next section with the citation proper of Alma’s words, with no introductory material.

This is the end of the chapter in the 1830 edition.