Book of Mormon Commentary CofC - Odessa, Missouri Community ...

Book of Mormon Commentary
Alma Chapter 12
ALMA MEETS THE SONS OF MOSIAH, VER. 1-19
Alma 12:2 Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him;
therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly, to see his brethren;
The names of the four sons were Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni (Mosiah 11:203). The
occasion of the visit of the angel came when these four and Alma II were "going about to destroy
the church of God" (Mosiah 11:162). What made the situation of their rebellion so desperate was
that these five were men of influence, because Mosiah was king of the Nephites, and Alma I was
the founder of the church of God. Their conduct was watched and patterned after by their
associates.
In this situation there was only one recourse. Alma I and the church people prayed earnestly. The
angel told the five: "Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of
his servant Alma, who is thy father" (Mosiah 11:167).
If sometimes "preachers' sons are the worst sinners” it may develop as a reaction to social pressure
which expects too much of them, or from their resistance to conformity. Adolescents feel
rebellious against the strict control of childhood. They declare independence in order to establish
personhood. With good heredity and environment, it is expected they will follow a life of
righteousness. But to establish agency some persons react contrary to these expectations.
In the revelation given in 1913, we read: "The Spirit saith further: That the church has been
warned heretofore [D. and C. 124:7] that the sons of the leading officers of the church are called
and may be chosen to the respective offices to which the Spirit may direct" (130:9 a). It was
pointed out in the revelation of 1897 that these sons “are called to engage in a great work, which
shall bring them honor and glory, or shame, contempt and final great loss and destruction”,
(124:7b), depending oh the nature of their response.
Alma 12:3 And what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had
waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth;
John said, “1 have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (III John 1:4). Alma,
who had received his first angel message in the presence of the sons of Mosiah, had recently been
commended by an angel for his faithfulness in keeping the commandments from that time (Alma
6:18,19). Great was their mutual joy now that they had been faithful and highly successful.
Alma 12:5 But this is not all: they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting, therefore they had
the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and
authority, even as with the power and authority of God.
Alma rejoiced to find that "they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong
in the knowledge of the truth”, (3) ”'They had been teaching the word of God for the space of
fourteen years, among the Lamanites" (6) with "much success." They had converted many
thousands of Lamanites (14:104; 17:38), and it is of interest to note that from then on, the
converted Lamanites were more steadfast and faithful than the Nephites (14:11,46; 15:31;
Helaman 2:118).