Alma 4

Peace After War

In the sixth year of the judges' rule over the Nephites, there were no conflicts or wars in Zarahemla. But the people were grieving deeply—they’d lost family members in battle, their livestock had been scattered, and their grain fields had been trampled and destroyed by the Lamanites. The loss was so crushing that everyone had reason to mourn. They believed God’s judgment had fallen on them because of their sins and wickedness, and this woke them up to their responsibilities.

They began strengthening the church. Many were baptized in the waters of Sidon and joined God’s church. Alma baptized them—he was the high priest over the church, consecrated by his father. In the seventh year of the judges' rule, about thirty-five hundred people joined the church and were baptized. That ended the seventh year of the judges over the Nephites, and there was continual peace the whole time.

Pride Creeps Into the Church

But in the eighth year, church members started becoming proud. They’d grown wealthy with fine silks, expensive linen, large herds and flocks, gold, silver, and all kinds of valuable things they’d earned through hard work. All this wealth went to their heads, and they started wearing very expensive clothes.

This caused Alma great pain, along with many of the teachers, priests, and elders he’d appointed over the church. They were deeply troubled by the wickedness spreading among their people. They watched with breaking hearts as church members became arrogant, setting their hearts on wealth and worthless things. People grew scornful toward one another and started persecuting anyone who didn’t believe the way they wanted them to. So in this eighth year, serious conflicts erupted within the church. There was jealousy, fighting, hatred, persecution, and pride—even worse than the pride of those outside the church. That ended the eighth year of the judges' rule. The wickedness in the church became a major obstacle for those who weren’t believers, and the church’s growth stalled.

Alma’s Heartbreak and Decision

At the start of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness spreading in the church. He also saw that the church’s bad example was leading unbelievers deeper into sin, bringing destruction on everyone. He saw terrible inequality—some people lifting themselves up with pride, looking down on others, turning their backs on the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, and the suffering. This was heartbreaking to many. But others were humbling themselves, helping those in need—sharing what they had with the poor, feeding the hungry, and enduring all kinds of hardship for Christ’s sake, trusting the prophecies about his coming. They looked forward to that day, keeping their sins forgiven and filled with joy because of the resurrection of the dead—made possible by Jesus Christ’s power to break the chains of death.

When Alma saw the suffering of God’s humble followers and the persecution heaped on them by the rest of the people, and saw all this inequality, he grew deeply troubled. But the Spirit of the Lord stayed with him. He chose a wise man from among the church elders and gave him authority—approved by the people—to make and enforce laws according to what had already been established, dealing with the people’s crimes and wickedness. This man’s name was Nephihah. He was appointed chief judge and took his seat to judge and govern the people. Alma didn’t give him the office of high priest over the church—he kept that position for himself. But he did hand over the judgment seat to Nephihah.

He did this so he could go out among the Nephites and preach God’s word, reminding them of their duties. He wanted to tear down all the pride, deception, and conflict among his people through God’s word—he saw no other way to bring them back except by confronting them directly with the truth. So at the start of the ninth year of the judges' rule over the Nephites, Alma gave the judgment seat to Nephihah and devoted himself entirely to the high priesthood of God’s holy order—to bearing witness of the word through the Spirit of revelation and prophecy.