One of the main teachings of Nehor was that his priests should "become popular" and "ought not to labor with their hands" but "be supported by the people" (Alma 1:3). Alma the Elder and other Nephite leaders saw it otherwise: "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" (Mosiah 18:26). Alma’s understanding of the holy order of priesthood stood in sharp contrast to the Nehorite program.
Alma began his exposition on the priesthood where he had left off at the end of chapter 12. He said: "I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children" (13:1, emphasis added). What does Alma mean by "these commandments"? This continues the discussion at the end of chapter 12, starting in verse 33: "But God did call on men, in the name of his Son … saying: If ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son." So, the commandments to which Alma refers here include to the need for these people in Ammonihah to "repent" and to "harden not [their] hearts." Since followers of Nehor believed that God "had redeemed all men," they stood resolutely against the idea of needing to obey God’s commandments, let alone to repent for breaking them, in order to "have eternal life" (Alma 1:4).
Interestingly, here Alma added another point. We often think of man calling upon God in the name of God’s Son; but in this verse, God calls upon man "in the name of his Son"—emphasizing the role of the Savior as a mediator and intercessor going between God and mankind. The use and power of the Savior as mediator works both ways.
In addition, in Alma 13:2 Alma taught that God not only calls upon man in the name of his Son, but he ordains priests after the "order of his Son," to function similarly, marking the way between God and man. The very nature of priesthood ordinations somehow symbolically demonstrated "in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption" (Alma 13:2). Both Jesus and the priests use and model the way of conciliation and atonement. Of course, the Nehorites also denied that redemption required any particular action on the part of mankind (Alma 1:4). So, Alma provided a more detailed explanation, as follows.
First, men were called, and then some kind of initiatory preparation was given. This happened "from the foundation of the world, according to the foreknowledge of God" (13:3). After establishing the nature of these priesthood callings, Alma mentions that men were also "ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest" through their repentance (13:6, emphasis added).
In verse 11, we learn that this Nephite ordinance included some manner of sanctification. Men were made holy and were "sanctified," and "their garments were washed white." So, we know that this ordination made some use of important garments, and that they were cleansed through the blood of the Lamb. On the Day of Atonement every year, the ancient Israelites sacrificed lambs and other animals, and Nephites used that blood as a symbol of the blood of the Savior that would eventually be shed. That blood would then be used ritually and symbolically to sanctify the people and purify their garments.
Ritual sanctification is also closely tied to temple worship. We know that the Nephites built a temple after the manner of the Temple of Solomon, only not so grand (2 Nephi 5:16). We also know that the Temple of Solomon had three chambers: (1) the court of the priests, where the altar of sacrifice stood, then (2) the main inner room of the temple, and then, separated by the veil from that room, was (3) the Holy of Holies. From the outer court, the priests would go up a step into the second room, and then only the High Priest could step up again, this time through that final veil, into the third room. They were symbolically ascending, in a ritual model of the cosmos, as they progressed through the three levels within the Temple. Entering into the Holy of Holies represented entering into God’s rest, or entering into his presence.
The inner hall, the hekal in Solomon’s Temple, represented the days of creation as God worked through the veil, which represented the divider between heaven and earth. In the hall they had the menorah, which was the light—"let there be light"—on that day. There was, on the table, vegetables which represented the creation of organic elements. Animals were also represented. The different parts of the creation were all there.
This is typical of temples in the ancient world, which often tend to portray the Creation with symbols. In Egypt, all the temples had to do with the emergence of the first lotus, and the first bit of ground out of the primordial waters. All the Creation-related rituals that brought people like Horus back from the dead are answering the question, "How can we be raised again to life and never die again?" That is why the Egyptians mummified people. It was all connected with their understanding of the holy order of the priesthood, and eternal blessings and promises. In the Book of the Dead, people were being given certain things that they needed to say in order to pass by the angels and the sentinels that guard the way to eternal life. People who were not supposed to enter into the afterlife did not know how to do that if they had not had that blessing.
If you did not see hints of all of this in Alma chapters 12 and 13 the first time through, you now have a little orientation. Go back and read Alma’s words with some temple lenses on, and see what you make of it. Of course, reading these two chapters with priesthood and temple lenses on are not the only ways to read this richly rewarding text. I encourage you to read the two chapters several times in the next few days. Each time you read these chapters and verses, approach them from a different vantage point and look for something different:
1. Read these two chapters from Alma’s personal perspective. Why was he personally motivated to mention these particular things? How do these words relate to Alma’s conversion, previous speeches, needs, or experiences? What emotions and feelings does he communicate to you in these words? What does he hope will happen to all listeners as a result of this speech?
2. Then read these two chapters again and outline Alma’s main subjects and most emphatic words. How was this speech organized? Do all of its pieces work together logically, structurally, developmentally, and persuasively? Which words and phrases stand out most prominently to you?
3. What would it mean to hear these words through the ears of the people in Ammonihah? Which words might have stood out most prominently to that audience, especially if they were hearing some of this for the first time?
4. Then read these two chapters from Zeezrom’s perspective. Did Alma answer all the questions that Zeezrom had raised in Alma 12:7–8? How did these words contribute to Zeezrom’s further conversion and permanent change of heart?
5. And next, read these two chapters from Amulek’s perspective. Being a recent convert with a wicked background, Amulek might have taken special note of certain words and explanations that he would have heard with new and important meanings to him.
6. Then read this speech for yourself. Can you imagine yourself hearing Alma deliver this speech? What lessons might you learn personally from this text? What does it tell you about how you may know the mysteries of God, or about the purposes of this life, or about the Savior, or on what basis will we all be judged?
Book of Mormon Central, "How a Tangent About Foreordination Helps Explain Repentance (Alma 13:3)," KnoWhy 398 (January 11, 2018).
Book of Mormon Central, "What Did the Book of Mormon Teach Early Church Leaders about the Order and Offices of the Priesthood? (Alma 13:8)," KnoWhy 330 (June 23, 2017).