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Mosiah 18
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And it came to pass
(18:1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 30, 32, 34)
(18:1-20) We met Alma last chapter, when he tried to convince King Noah not to kill Abinadi. It didn't go so
well... it ended with King Noah burning Abinadi at the stake, and ordering the death of Alma, too. Alma managed to escape, and after he
did he started preaching to the people in private."
(18:1) "Alma, who had fled from the servants of king Noah ... went about
privately among the people, and began to teach the words of Abinadi."
(18:3) "And many did believe his words."
Apparently he was a pretty good speaker, and he created quite the following. He took his followers
to a land called Mormon. It's called "Mormon" because it's infested with wild beasts. Makes sense.
(18:4) "As many as did believe him did go forth to a place which was called Mormon, having received its name from the king,
being in the borders of the land having been infested, by times or at seasons, by wild beasts."
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| 18:1 And now, it came to pass that
Alma, who had fled from the servants of king Noah,
repented of his sins and iniquities, and went about privately among the people, and began to teach the words of Abinadi --
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| 18:2 Yea, concerning that which was to come, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the
redemption of the people, which was to be brought to pass through the power, and sufferings, and death of Christ, and
his resurrection and ascension into heaven.
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| 18:3 And as many as would hear his word he did teach. And he taught them privately, that it might not come
to the knowledge of the king. And many did believe his words.
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| 18:4 And it came to pass that as many
as did believe him did go forth to a place
which was called Mormon, having received its name from the king, being in the borders of the land having been
infested, by times or at seasons, by wild beasts.
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| 18:5 Now, there was in Mormon a fountain of pure water, and Alma resorted thither, there being near the
water a thicket of small trees, where he did hide himself in the daytime from the searches of the king.
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| 18:6 And it came to pass that as many as believed him went thither to hear his
words.
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| 18:7 And it came to pass after many days there were a goodly number gathered
together at the place of Mormon, to hear the words of Alma. Yea, all were gathered together that believed on his
word, to hear him. And he did teach them, and did preach unto them repentance, and redemption, and faith on the
Lord. |
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| 18:8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of
Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his
people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light; |
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| 18:9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of
comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even
until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have
eternal life -- |
 (18:9)
"Mourn with those who mourn, and comfort those that need comfort."
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| 18:10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in
the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him
and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? |
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| 18:11 And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This
is the desire of our hearts. |
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| 18:12 And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam, he being one of the first, and went and stood forth
in the water, and cried, saying: O Lord, pour out thy Spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work with holiness
of heart. |
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| 18:13 And when he had said these words, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he said: Helam, I baptize
thee, having authority from the Almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until
you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you; and may he grant unto you
eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of the world. |
 (18:13) prepared for you from the foundation of the world. -- Matthew 25:34
(18:14-16) Alma takes his followers to the Waters of Mormon and baptizes them all. Then he ordains priests,
one for every 50 followers.
(18:14) "Alma and Helam were buried in the water; and they arose and came forth out of the water rejoicing, being filled with the Spirit."
(18:15) "Alma took another, and went forth a second time into the water, and baptized him according to the first,
only he did not bury himself again in the water."
(18:16) "And after this manner he did baptize every one that went forth to the place of Mormon; and they were in number about two hundred and four souls."
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| 18:14 And after Alma had said these words, both
Alma and Helam were buried in the water; and they arose and
came forth out of the water rejoicing, being filled with the Spirit.
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| 18:15 And again, Alma took another, and went forth a second time into the water, and baptized him according
to the first, only he did not bury himself again in the water.
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| 18:16 And after this manner he did baptize every one that went forth to the place of Mormon; and they were
in number about two hundred and four souls; yea, and they were baptized in the waters of Mormon, and were filled with the grace of God.
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| 18:17 And they were called the church of God, or the church of Christ, from that time
forward. And it came to pass that whosoever was baptized by the power and authority of God
was added to his church. |
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| 18:18 And it came to pass that Alma, having authority from God, ordained priests;
even one priest to every fifty of their number did he ordain to preach unto them, and to teach them concerning the
things pertaining to the kingdom of God. |
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| 18:19 And he commanded them that they should teach nothing save it were the things which he had taught,
and which had been spoken by the mouth of the holy prophets. |
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| 18:20 Yea, even he commanded them that
they should preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord, who had redeemed his people. |
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| 18:21 And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look
forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their
hearts knit together in unity and in love one
towards another. |
(18:21) one faith, one baptism -- Ephesians 4:5
That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love -- Colossians 2:2
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| 18:22 And thus he commanded them to preach. And thus they became the children of
God. |
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| 18:23 And he commanded them that they should observe the sabbath day, and keep it holy, and also
every day they should give thanks to the Lord their God. |
The priests were required to support themselves, though. Alma didn't want any spoiled priests like Noah had.
(18:24) "And he also commanded them that the priests whom he had ordained should labor with their own hands for their support."
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| 18:24 And he also commanded them that the priests whom he had ordained should labor with their own hands
for their support.
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| 18:25 And there was one day in every week that was set apart that they should gather themselves together
to teach the people, and to worship the Lord their God, and also, as often as it was in their power, to assemble
themselves together. |
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| 18:26 And the priests were not to depend upon the people for their support; but for their labor they were
to receive the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the Spirit, having the knowledge of God, that they might
teach with power and authority from God. |
 Alma seemed to favor progressive taxation and a welfare system. He demanded little of those with little,
and more from those with more to give, "and to him that had not should be given."
(18:27) "Alma commanded that the people of the church should impart of their substance, every one according to that which he had;
if he have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of him that had but little, but little should be required; and to him
that had not should be given."
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| 18:27 And again Alma commanded that the people of the church should impart of their substance, every one
according to that which he had; if he have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of him that had
but little, but little should be required; and to him that had not should be given.
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| 18:28 And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will and good desires towards God,
and to those priests that stood in need, yea, and to every needy, naked soul. |
Everything seemed to be going well in the land of Mormon. They didn't even mind the
word "Mormon" back then. They actually seem to use it an amazing amount. (Of course, nowadays
you are supposed to call Mormons
"Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." You could turn this verse into a whole page if you did that!)
(18:30) "All this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest
that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon."
(18:32-34) Everything was good until King Noah sends out spies and found out about them. Of course, Noah
sent his army out to destroy them, and they fled into the wilderness, as usual.
(18:32) "The king ... sent his servants to watch them.
Therefore on the day that they were assembling themselves together to hear the word of the Lord they were discovered unto the king."
(18:33) "The king ... sent his army to destroy them."
(18:34) "Alma and the people of the Lord were apprised of the coming of the king's army; therefore they took their
tents and their families and departed into the wilderness."
Earlier (v. 16) we learned that there were 200 followers of Alma, but 450 people flee from King Noah's army.
I guess they must ahve made lots of Mormon babies since then.
(18:35) "And they were in number about four hundred and fifty souls."
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| 18:29 And this he said unto them, having been commanded of God; and they did walk uprightly before God,
imparting to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants.
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| 18:30 And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest
that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful
are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they
shall sing to his praise forever.
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| 18:31 And these things were done in the borders of the land, that they might not come to the knowledge of
the king.
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| 18:32 But behold, it came to pass that
the king, having discovered a movement among the people,
sent his servants to watch them. Therefore on the day that they were assembling themselves together to hear the word
of the Lord they were discovered unto the king.
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| 18:33 And now the king said that Alma was stirring up the people to rebellion against him; therefore he
sent
his army to destroy them.
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| 18:34 And it came to pass that
Alma and the people of the Lord were apprised of the
coming of the king's army; therefore they took their tents and their families and departed into the wilderness.
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| 18:35 And they were in number about four hundred and fifty souls.
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