Theological Background by Kristen
When the priests of King Noah discover Abinadi teaching, they are offended by his evisceration of their morality and his prophecies of God’s judgements:
And now, O king, what great evil hast thou done, or what great sins have thy people committed, that we should be condemned of God or judged of this man?
And now, O king, behold, we are guiltless, and thou, O king, hast not sinned; therefore, this man has lied concerning you, and he has prophesied in vain.
And behold, we are strong, we shall not come into bondage, or be taken captive by our enemies; yea, and thou hast prospered in the land, and thou shalt also prosper.
Behold, here is the man, we deliver him into thy hands; thou mayest do with him as seemeth thee good.
(Mosiah 12:13-16)
There is a lot going on here, and I wonder about the meticulous record left from which Mormon is editing. The ruling class is eager to exonerate their virtue, their performative theological adherence, using a sort of power-ethos whereby their prosperity is a signal of their righteousness, a common strategy in the Book of Mormon. Roughly, their logic seems to be: we are powerful, therefore we are entitled to our interpretation of law and morality.
Abinadi’s teachings unflinchingly excoriate the paradigms of justification these powerful men use. He criticizes their use of the law of Moses as a performative religious ruler by which they dispense of any real morality. He relates the 10 commandments, which he says their supposed adherence violates, and he insists that they fail to understand the prophecies concerning Jesus, the real source of salvation. Abinadi quotes large portions of Isaiah and his language is consistently vehement in its criticism and censure. Yet from this, Alma develops the following rallying cry for a new community:
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;
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—
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?
(Mosiah 18:8-10)
It strikes me that there is actually very little obvious symmetry between Abinadi’s and Alma’s preaching. What Alma heard, in other words, appears to be different than what his offended compatriots heard. While they heard unjust criticism (don’t you know we honor all our traditions?) and pious nonsense, Alma heard love, Jesus, and healing. While his coworkers felt misunderstood, Alma realized he had never before been understood or understood his fellow human. What Alma heard was a call to vulnerability, to the softness that knows our need for each other, to the practice of care for the hurting even when we’d rather look away. This paradigm shapes the fledgling community he founds. In contrast, the paradigm of the remaining priests of Noah shapes their ease in kidnapping unattached women, who apparently felt safe to gather together without the burden of male eyes:
Now there was a place in Shemlon where the daughters of the Lamanites did gather themselves together to sing, and to dance, and to make themselves merry.
And it came to pass that there was one day a small number of them gathered together to sing and to dance.
And now the priests of king Noah, being ashamed to return to the city of Nephi, yea, and also fearing that the people would slay them, therefore they durst not return to their wives and their children.
And having tarried in the wilderness, and having discovered the daughters of the Lamanites, they laid and watched them;
And when there were but few of them gathered together to dance, they came forth out of their secret places and took them and carried them into the wilderness; yea, twenty and four of the daughters of the Lamanites they carried into the wilderness.
(Mosiah 20:1-5)
The power-ethos of these priests gives life to a sense of entitlement and possession. They help themselves to what they want. The other-ethos of Alma operates in clear contrast. There is no thing to which we are entitled, no possession we deserve. All possessions, rather, are resources to be shared. Our common inheritance is not land or gold or people, it is love. What ethos do we find at play in our theological resources and practices? What Abinadi’s help us to hear again that call to vulnerability, to innate connectedness? How do we return to a posture of humility, hands open and heart ready to be knit with yours? How do we drink in that original blessing, the ground of our imago-dei, the waters of God’s outpouring love? There she is, steadily thundering through the mountain pass and winding Her way to the sea.
Ideas for Play
Contributed by Kristen
- Read the Book of Mormon storybook!
- Act out the waters of Mormon story!
- Watch the Book of Mormon video
- Waters of Mormon coloring page
- Waters of Mormon cantata
- How do we mourn with and comfort each other?
This video about helping others
- This video – love one another
- Brainstorm ideas as a family:
- What does it mean to have our hearts knit together?
- When has someone mourned with or comforted you?
- What helped?
- What didn’t help?
- How have you tried to mourn with and comfort others?
- What has worked?
- What hasn’t?
- Read some books about loving one another
Music
Compiled by Caroline
- Waters of Mormon cantata
Poetry
Compiled by Caroline
Tavern
By Edna St. Vincent Millay
I’ll keep a little tavern
Below the high hill’s crest,
Wherein all grey-eyed people
May set them down and rest.
There shall be plates a-plenty,
And mugs to melt the chill
Of all the grey-eyed people
Who happen up the hill.
There sound will sleep the traveller,
And dream his journey’s end,
But I will rouse at midnight
The falling fire to tend.
Aye, ’tis a curious fancy–
But all the good I know
Was taught me out of two grey eyes
A long time ago.
Artwork
Compiled by Caroline
milk & honey mamas 
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