- people of God
- priests and teachers
Had the church existed in the greater land of Zarahemla before Alma1 arrived ca. 120 B.C.? Yes. King Benjamin called priests to teach the gospel Mosiah 6:3 and Ammon at the court of King Limhi knew he held priesthood authority to baptize although he felt personally unworthy to exercise it Mosiah 21:33. But, Alma1 was such a towering spiritual figure that King Mosiah2 entrusted him with ecclesiastical affairs Mosiah 26:8 as the senior high priest Mosiah 26:7 throughout the greater land of Zarahemla.
How large were the church congregations Alma1 established? The text does not say, but we have some parameters to consider:
- As a young church leader in the land of Mormon, Alma1 consecrated one priest for every fifty congregants Mosiah 18:18. Multiple priests and teachers were ordained for each church unit Mosiah 25:19 in Zarahemla. So, a few hundred believers was probably the minimum number required to plant a new church.
- Another name for churches was "bodies" Mosiah 25:21. The text explicitly says the church bodies in Alma's day were large Mosiah 25:15.
- One criterion for dividing people into a new church body was simply the number of people who could gather in one place and listen to a speaker together Mosiah 25:20. This implies an upper limit of several thousand members per congregation.
- In the great awakening that followed the Amlicite war, about 3,500 people joined the church throughout the greater land of Zarahemla in one year Alma 4:5.
Fortunately, Alma2 was one of the principal Nephite record keepers and we have detailed information about his life and ministry. Soon after Alma2 was ordained high priest by his father and given charge over all the affairs of the church, he was also appointed chief judge by the voice of the people Mosiah 29:42. He occupied this dual role for approximately eight years from ca. 91 B.C. to ca. 83 B.C. Alma 4:18. During those years, he presided over capital cases Alma 1:14, led the Nephite armies in battle Alma 2:16, and baptized many in the waters of Sidon Alma 4:4. Then, in the ninth year of the reign of the judges, Alma2 turned the chief judgeship over to Nephihah Alma 4:20 and began his famous missionary journeys bearing pure testimony Alma 4:19.
Alma2 taught and ordained priests and teachers to preside and watch over the church that was previously established in the city of Zarahemla Alma 6:1. So, we know that one of the seven churches founded by Alma1 was in the capital city of Zarahemla. Alma 5:1-2 implies that there were other churches in the local land of Zarahemla in addition to the one in the principal city. Analyzing ancient settlement pattern data in our proposed local land of Zarahemla, three densely populated regions stand out - the Emiliano Zapata area which we correlate with the city of Zarahemla, the Balancan area, and the Palenque area. These regions are shown as white circles (average radius 12.5 kilometers) in the map below.
|3 areas with large populations anciently in our proposed|
local land of Zarahemla
Alma2 then crossed the river and taught and established the order of the church in the land of Gideon as he had previously done in Zarahemla Alma 8:1. The church in Gideon, though, was already established before Alma's arrival Alma 6:8. In fact, Alma2 apologized to the good people of Gideon - since becoming high priest over eight years ago, he had never before communicated with them face to face Alma 7:1. From this we learn that one of the seven churches founded by Alma1 was in the land of Gideon.
|One of Alma's seven churches was in Gideon|
|Proposed land of Melek west of Sidon, another of|
Alma's original seven churches
- Nehor's preaching, particularly successful in Ammonihah, disparaged the true church Alma 1:3
- Nehor preached against the prevailing order of lay ministry among priests & teachers Alma 1:3
- Alma's original intent in Ammonihah was to teach and baptize just as he had done in Zarahemla and Melek Alma 8:8-10
- Amulek was a Nephite living in predominantly Amlicite Ammonihah Alma 8:20. Discussing events five years earlier, Mormon emphasized the contemporary meaning of the term "Nephite" in the post-Amlicite war era Alma 3:11. Thus, Amulek was a believer, a member of the church of God, albeit one who had backslid during much of his adult life Alma 10:5-6. Alma2 did not have to baptize or ordain his missionary companion.
- Even though the Amlicites held a deep-seated aversion to the Nephite scriptures Alma 14:8, copies were widely available among the people of Ammonihah Alma 14:1.
|Proposed land of Ammonihah where the true church once existed|
|Proposed seven churches in the greater land of Zarahemla|
|Seven churches in the land round about Zarahemla|
|Proposed journey from the city of Zarahemla to the land of Melek|
The text evidences an all too human pattern of societal upheaval followed by resurgent interest in religion. Some examples:
- In Mosiah 25, ca. 120 B.C., Nephite society in the greater land of Zarahemla was fundamentally transformed with the influx of Alma's and King Limhi's peoples. King Mosiah2 authorized Alma1 to establish churches throughout all the land Mosiah 25:19.
- In Alma 4, ca. 86 B.C., the Nephites were suffering because of the severe devastation brought on by the Amlicite war Alma 4:2-3. They began to establish the church more fully and many were baptized Alma 4:4.
- In Alma 45, ca. 73 B.C., the war with Zerahemnah caused massive casualties Alma 44:21 and major disruptions in the church Alma 45:21. Helaman led a nationwide renewal throughout the church organization Alma 45:22.
- In Alma 62, ca. 57 B.C., following the lengthy war with Amalickiah/Ammoron, the church was in disarray. Once again, Helaman led a resurgence throughout all the land Alma 62:44-46.