Alma 13

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Alma 13 is the Book of Mormon's master priesthood chapter and the foundational text of Latter-day Saint priesthood theology. It is the only sustained pre-Christian Nephite text on the High Priesthood after the order of the Son of God, the only sustained text on foreordination from before the foundation of the world, and the only Book of Mormon chapter that develops the doctrine of Melchizedek as the master Old Testament priestly type. By the time the chapter closes it has anticipated almost every major passage of Hebrews 7, named the Pauline triad of faith, hope, and charity, and rehearsed the discipline that Christ would later urge in Gethsemane: watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.

The chapter is also one of the strongest scriptural texts on the doctrine of foreordination by pre-mortal merit. The high priests are called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil. The doctrine that emerges is not Calvinist arbitrary election but the opposite: every pre-mortal soul had equal standing, and the differentiation came by their own choices made in the first estate. Alma 13 is therefore one of the load-bearing texts for Latter-day Saint pre-mortal doctrine.

It is also the master Book of Mormon text on Melchizedek. The chapter preserves details that the Masoretic Genesis does not — the wickedness of Melchizedek's people, the establishment of peace by his preaching, and a tantalizing aside that he did reign under his father. The Brass Plates evidently carried a fuller Melchizedek tradition than the present biblical canon retains, and Alma 13 is the chapter that opens a window onto it.

The chapter has five movements:

1. The foreordination of the high priests from before the foundation of the world (vv. 1–9).
2. The doctrine of entering into the rest of the Lord (vv. 10–12).
3. The Melchizedek discourse (vv. 13–19).
4. The warning against wresting the scriptures (vv. 20–23).
5. Angels making known the coming of Christ and the closing humility-and-prayer exhortation (vv. 24–31).

Seven verses carry most of the weight:

1. v. 3 — being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil. The foreordination verse.
2. v. 6 — 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.
3. v. 9 — thus they become high priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of grace, equity, and truth.
4. v. 12 — being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.
5. vv. 17–18 — Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith… did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem.
6. v. 28 — humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear.
7. v. 29 — having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest.

The foreordination of the high priests (verses 1–9)

And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people. — Alma 13:1

The phrase cite your minds forward is doing careful work. Alma is not pointing the people back to Aaron and the Levitical line; he is pointing them forward — in thought rather than in time — to the priesthood that preceded Aaron and was already operating when the Lord gave His commandments. The doctrine is one that Hebrews 7 will state explicitly: the Melchizedek priesthood is older and greater than the Levitical, because Abraham himself paid tithes to Melchizedek and Levi… paid tithes in Abraham (Heb. 7:9–10). Alma 13 is the Nephite version of the same doctrine, eighty-some years in advance.

And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption. — Alma 13:2

The priesthood is itself a Christological pedagogy. The very pattern of ordination — the manner of conferral, the office of the priest — was designed to teach the people how to look forward to the Son. Hebrews will state the principle the same way: the priests serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things (Heb. 8:5). The Nephite chapter teaches that the priesthood is not a bureaucratic office but a living symbol of the Christ to come.

And this is the manner after which they were ordained — being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. — Alma 13:3

The chapter's master verse on foreordination. The doctrine is precise and important: the high priests were called on account of their exceeding faith and good works, choices made in the first place. That is, in their pre-mortal existence. Foreordination, on this account, is not arbitrary election but the Lord's acknowledgment of choices the soul had already made before mortality began.

Jeremiah heard the same call: before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations (Jer. 1:5). Paul writes the same doctrine to the Ephesians: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). The Book of Abraham will state it most fully: these I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good (Abr. 3:23). Alma 13 is the Book of Mormon's clearest articulation of the same teaching.

The phrase preparatory redemption is also doing remarkable work. A preparatory redemption was already in effect for the faithful pre-mortal spirits, prior to the mortal Atonement. The Atonement is therefore not merely a historical event; it is an eternal reality whose effects reach back to the foundation of the world and forward to the end of time.

And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren. — Alma 13:4

A crucial verse against any Calvinist reading. They might have had as great privilege as their brethren. The pre-mortal souls were not destined unequally. Every soul could have had the same calling; the difference was the soul's own response. The chapter is one of the strongest scriptural texts against the doctrine of arbitrary election. The Lord chooses by foreknowledge, but His foreknowledge is foreknowledge of choices the soul itself made.

Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren; thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son, who was prepared. — Alma 13:5

The principle stated again, more compactly. All pre-mortal spirits began on the same standing. The chapter is one of the foundational texts on the fundamental equality of all souls before God, with differentiation made by choice rather than by decree.

And thus being called by this holy calling, and 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. — Alma 13:6

The purpose of the priesthood is named cleanly: that they also might enter into his rest. Not the priest's glory. The people's entrance into the Lord's rest. The Latter-day Saint tradition will state the same principle in D&C 121:36–46 — no power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness. The priesthood is for others.

This high priesthood being after the order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the world; or in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity, according to his foreknowledge of all things. — Alma 13:7

The phrase without beginning of days or end of years is almost word-for-word what Hebrews 7:3 will say of Melchizedek: without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life. The Nephite text states it first. The priesthood is co-eternal with the Son because the Son Himself is the Eternal. The Latter-day Saint doctrine that the Melchizedek priesthood is the same priesthood Christ Himself holds finds its anchor here.

Now they were ordained after this manner — being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, which calling, and ordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end— — Alma 13:8

Three movements in priesthood investiture: the call, the ordinance, and the personal taking-upon. Each is needed. A call without an ordinance is incomplete; an ordinance without personal acceptance is empty. The phrase taking upon them is the chapter's precise language for the personal yielding to the yoke of the office.

Thus they become high priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of grace, equity, and truth. And thus it is. Amen. — Alma 13:9

The closing of the foreordination panel, and one of the cleanest pre-Hebrews verses in the Book of Mormon. Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec (Heb. 7:17) is the same doctrine in the same construction, almost a century later. The phrase full of grace, equity, and truth echoes John 1:14 (full of grace and truth) with the addition of equity — the same expansion Alma 9:26 already made.

The doctrine of entering into the rest of the Lord (verses 10–12)

Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish. — Alma 13:10

The principle of v. 3 applied in mortal terms. The priesthood is conferred on account of faith and repentance, not as the cause of them. Priesthood ordination acknowledges the soul's prior choice to repent and work righteousness; it does not create that choice. The Latter-day Saint doctrine of the oath and covenant of the priesthood (D&C 84:33–44) will state the same principle: the ordination is one act, and the magnification of the calling is the lifelong response.

Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb. — Alma 13:11

The phrase garments… washed white through the blood of the Lamb is John's vocabulary almost exactly. They which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14). The Nephite text places the doctrine in pre-Christian mouths and connects it directly to the priesthood. The high priests are not white-robed by their own labor; they are white-robed by the Atonement of the One whose order they hold.

Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God. — Alma 13:12

The chapter's most pastorally encouraging verse. There were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God. The rest of the Lord is not only an eschatological promise; it is a state attainable in mortality. The Latter-day Saint tradition will inherit the doctrine and apply it in D&C 84:23–25.

The phrase could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence names the inner mark of the sanctified. The sanctified soul is not merely forgiven of sin; the sanctified soul has been remade in its desires. Where sin was once attractive, it is now repugnant — not by suppression, but by the transformation of the heart's affections. The chapter is one of the Book of Mormon's clearest texts on the doctrine that sanctification is the changing of the disposition itself.

The Melchizedek discourse (verses 13–19)

And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, that ye may also enter into that rest. — Alma 13:13

The phrase bring forth fruit meet for repentance is John the Baptist's exact vocabulary at the Jordan: bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance (Mt. 3:8). Alma uses the same phrase to call the Ammonihahites to the same standard, a generation in advance. Repentance is not a verbal act; it must produce fruit that proves the conversion.

Yea, humble yourselves even as the people in the days of Melchizedek, who was also a high priest after this same order which I have spoken, who also took upon him the high priesthood forever. — Alma 13:14

Alma now turns to the master historical example. The people in Melchizedek's day were precisely the kind of city Ammonihah is — wicked and turning, ripe for destruction — and Melchizedek's priesthood preaching turned them back. The parallel is exact, and Alma is offering Ammonihah a precedent that should be open to it.

And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he possessed. — Alma 13:15

The Genesis 14:18–20 episode. This Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all (Heb. 7:1–2). The Nephite chapter is one of the strongest pre-Christian witnesses that the tithe of a tenth is older than Moses. The Latter-day Saint doctrine of tithing as eternal — not merely Mosaic — has its scriptural anchor here.

Now these ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby the people might look forward on the Son of God, it being a type of his order, or it being his order, and this that they might look forward to him for a remission of their sins, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord. — Alma 13:16

The Melchizedek ordinances were themselves Christological signs. The chapter teaches a doctrine that will become a foundation of Latter-day Saint temple theology: ordinances are not merely commemorative; they are typological. They point forward to Christ, and through that pointing they bring the worshipper into the rest of God.

Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem; and his people had waxed strong in iniquity and abomination; yea, they had all gone astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness. — Alma 13:17

A detail not preserved in the Masoretic Genesis. Genesis 14 names Melchizedek but says nothing about the state of his people. Alma 13:17 tells us they had gone astray and were full of wickedness. The Brass Plates evidently preserved a fuller Melchizedek tradition than the present biblical canon retains. The chapter is one of the windows the Book of Mormon opens onto a pre-exilic Israelite tradition the Hebrew Bible no longer carries.

But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he did reign under his father. — Alma 13:18

The chapter's master Melchizedek verse, and one of the most striking texts in the Book of Mormon. Melchizedek preached, the people repented, peace was established, and Melchizedek was called the prince of peace. The etymology runs through the verse: Salem is shalom — peace; the king of Salem is therefore the prince of peace; the title belongs to him because his people responded to his preaching. Hebrews 7:2 names the same etymology: King of Salem, which is, King of peace. The title Prince of Peace will later belong to the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6, and Hebrews will treat Melchizedek as His type.

The aside he did reign under his father is one of the most tantalizing details in the chapter. Genesis 14 does not name Melchizedek's father. The Nephite tradition evidently preserved more. The pre-Christian Melchizedek had a father under whom he reigned — a detail that the Apocrypha will pick up in the legendary tradition that 2 Enoch 71–72 will eventually carry.

Now, there were many before him, and also there were many afterwards, but none were greater; therefore, of him they have more particularly made mention. — Alma 13:19

Alma's editorial conclusion: the canon preserves the greatest examples, and Melchizedek is the greatest priestly example. Hebrews will state the same: the less is blessed of the better (Heb. 7:7). The chapter teaches a discipline of canonical reading: when scripture lingers on a figure, it is because that figure has been chosen to carry the type, and the reader should pay particular attention.

The warning against wresting the scriptures (verses 20–23)

Now I need not rehearse the matter; what I have said may suffice. Behold, the scriptures are before you; if ye will wrest them it shall be to your own destruction. — Alma 13:20

Peter will say the same thing later about Paul's letters: the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction (2 Pet. 3:16). The Nephite chapter places the warning in pre-Christian mouths. The Ammonihahites are being warned not to misinterpret the very Genesis 14 Melchizedek passage Alma has just expounded. The scripture is sufficient; misreading it is the soul's choice and the soul's loss.

Angels making known the coming of Christ (verses 24–31)

For it is given unto us to know what these things are; for behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory. — Alma 13:24

A striking aside. Angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land. The Nephite landscape of Alma's day was full of angelic ministrations — not only to the prophets but to many. The pattern will continue: Helaman 5:38–50 will record an angelic encircling of Nephi and Lehi; 3 Nephi 1 will record an angelic announcement to Nephi. The chapter teaches that the preparation for Christ's coming included a widespread angelic ministry, in much the same way Luke 1–2 will record angelic ministry — Gabriel to Mary, Gabriel to Zacharias, the angel to the shepherds — in the Old World.

But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering. — Alma 13:28

Paul will write the same comfort to Corinth: there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able (1 Cor. 10:13). Christ will give the same counsel in Gethsemane: watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation (Mt. 26:41). Alma binds the two doctrines in a single verse: watch and pray, and the Lord will not suffer the temptation to exceed the soul's capacity. The chapter is one of the strongest pre-Christian parallels in the Book of Mormon to two of the New Testament's most beloved verses.

Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest. — Alma 13:29

The Pauline triad — faith, hope, charity, these three (1 Cor. 13:13) — appears here in the Nephite chapter, eighty-some years before Paul writes it to Corinth. Alma binds the triad to the chapter's master vocabulary of the rest of the Lord: faith, hope, and love produce the soul that enters into the rest. The chapter is the foundational text for the Latter-day Saint doctrine that the fruits of priesthood life are exactly the Pauline triad.

And may the Lord grant unto you repentance, that ye may not bring down his wrath upon you, that ye may not be bound down by the chains of hell, that ye may not suffer the second death. — Alma 13:30

A pleading blessing. Three deliverances are named — from wrath, from the chains of hell, from the second death — and the chapter ends not in denunciation but in petition. The man who has just delivered the most rigorous priesthood discourse in the Book of Mormon closes by asking the Lord to grant his accusers the very repentance that would save them. Paul will plead the same prayer for Israel: I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren (Rom. 9:3). The pastoral note is the chapter's last and tenderest.

And Alma spake many more words unto the people, which are not written in this book. — Alma 13:31

Mormon's editorial sigh. The chapter we have is only a fragment of what Alma actually said. The Book of Mormon is honest about its abridgment, and the chapter is one of many texts that signal there is more in the original record than the redactor had room to include. The canon is sufficient, but the canon is not complete.

The chapter's architecture

The chapter has five panels. Verses 1–9 give the foreordination of the high priests from before the foundation of the world. Verses 10–12 give the doctrine of entering into the rest of the Lord. Verses 13–19 give the Melchizedek discourse. Verses 20–23 give the warning against wresting the scriptures. Verses 24–31 give the angelic ministry and the closing exhortation.

The theological center sits in v. 3: being called and prepared from the foundation of the world… on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil. Foreordination by pre-mortal merit, not by arbitrary decree. The chapter is one of the foundational texts of Latter-day Saint pre-mortal doctrine and one of the strongest scriptural anchors against any Calvinist reading of election.

The chapter operates as the Book of Mormon's only sustained pre-Christian text on the High Priesthood after the order of the Son of God. Hebrews 7's full Christological articulation of the Melchizedek priesthood will appear later in the New Testament; Alma 13 has already said most of it. The chapter is one of the strongest scriptural witnesses to a continuous Israelite-Nephite priesthood tradition that runs from Adam through Melchizedek to Christ and into the Restoration.

The chapter is also the Book of Mormon's clearest text on the rest of the Lord as attainable in mortality. The sanctified, with garments made white, entered into the rest of the Lord their God. Many of them. The chapter teaches that the rest is not only eschatological; it is also a state available now to the soul whose desires have been remade.

The chapter is also the master Book of Mormon witness to the deep Melchizedek tradition. Details that the Masoretic Genesis does not preserve — the wickedness of Melchizedek's people, the peace established by his preaching, the fact that he did reign under his father — are carried here. The Brass Plates evidently held more of the pre-exilic Melchizedek material than the Hebrew Bible we now have, and the chapter is one of the windows the Book of Mormon opens onto that older tradition. The Apocrypha texts (11Q13, 2 Enoch 71–72, the Genesis Apocryphon) preserve fragments of the same stream.

The chapter is also a remarkable echo chamber of pre-Christian textual parallels. The faith-hope-love triad of 1 Corinthians 13:13, the watch and pray of Matthew 26:41, the tempted above that ye can bear of 1 Corinthians 10:13, the fruit meet for repentance of Matthew 3:8, the without beginning of days or end of years of Hebrews 7:3, the priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec of Hebrews 7:17, the wrest the scriptures to their own destruction of 2 Peter 3:16 — all appear here in pre-Christian Nephite form. The chapter is one of the strongest witnesses that the Book of Mormon and the New Testament are not two unrelated streams but two channels carrying the same water from the same source.

Finally, the chapter is the doctrinal foundation that makes Alma 14 narratively comprehensible. Alma 13 has taught that the priesthood holds power prepared from eternity to all eternity. Alma 14 will show the prison walls falling, the bound prophets walking out unharmed, the city of Ammonihah falling in a single day. The miracle that closes the next chapter is the visible fruit of the doctrine this chapter has just laid down.