Waters of Mormon

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Waters of Mormon
Alma at the Waters of Mormon.png
Alma at the Waters of Mormon (c.1924)
First appearance Mosiah18
Last appearance Alma5
TypeBody of water
LocationLand of Lehi-Nephi
SignificanceSite of baptisms

In the Book of Mormon, the waters of Mormon is a body of water where about two hundred Nephites are baptized.

Contents

Summary

In Mosiah18, Nephites living in King Noah's territory who want to listen to Alma's secret preaching gather to a place called the waters of Mormon. [1] In the process of this preaching, Alma proceeds to invite the listeners to be baptized. [2] Two hundred and four people are baptized, and Alma establishes a church. [1]

Later in the Book of Mormon, Mosiah5, Alma's son, also named Alma, gives a sermon in which he recapitulates the history of the Nephite church and tells his audience the baptisms in the waters of Mormon. [3]

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The Book of Mosiah is one of the books which make up the Book of Mormon. The title refers to Mosiah II, a king of the Nephites at Zarahemla. The book covers the time period between ca 130 BC and 91 BC, except for when the book has a flashback into the Record of Zeniff, which starts at ca 200 BC, according to footnotes. Aside from stating that it was abridged by Mormon, the text says nothing about its authorship. Mosiah is twenty-nine chapters long.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helaman</span> Figure in the Book of Mormon

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In the Book of Mormon, Alma, the son of Alma is a Nephite prophet often referred to as Alma the Younger to distinguish him from his father, who is often referred to as Alma the Elder. These appellations, "the Younger" and "the Elder," are not used in the Book of Mormon; they are distinctions made by scholars, useful because both individuals were prominent during the same time period in the Book of Mormon's story and filled a similar cultural and religious role. Alma is the namesake of the Book of Alma.

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Ammonihah is a city mentioned in the Book of Mormon described as governed by lawyers and judges. When the Book of Mormon prophet Alma visits Ammonihah as part of a preaching tour, the city becomes the setting of "one of the most disturbing episodes" of the text in which Ammonihah's governing elite imprison him, exile any men converted by his preaching, and kill women and children associated with his mission by fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehor</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeezrom</span> Character in The Book of Mormon

In the Book of Mormon, Zeezrom is a Nephite lawyer who, through deceit and money, seeks to gain power among the Nephites through his vocation. Alma the Younger and his missionary companion Amulek teach Zeezrom in Ammonihah. At first he resists, but is ultimately converted to the Nephite religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zenos</span>

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In the Book of Mormon, Zenock is a prophet who predates the events of the book's main plot and whose prophecies and statements are recorded upon brass plates possessed by the Nephites. Nephite prophets quote or paraphrase Zenock several times in the course of the narrative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book of Mormon monetary system</span> The appearance of money throughout the Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon monetary system is part of the setting of the Book of Mormon. It is the system of economic exchange used by the narrative's Nephites. Mormon, the internal narrator of the Book of Mormon, first introduces the system in the internal book of Alma. When Nephite missionaries Alma and Amulek preach in Ammonihah, the lawyer Zeezrom attempts to bribe Amulek, wanting him to deny the existence of God. Zeezrom offers Amulek six onties, worth about 42 days' of wages for a judge in Ammonihah. Uninfluenced, Amulek rejects the money. Setting forth the system as a background for this account, Mormon, the narrator, outlines the value relationship between precious metals and grains. This is an example of one of the many anachronisms in the Book of Mormon since there is no evidence for this sort of system in the Pre-Columbian era Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morianton's maidservant</span> Book of Mormon woman spy

Morianton's maidservant is an unnamed woman mentioned in the Book of Mormon, a religious text of the Latter Day Saint Movement. In the Book of Mormon narrative, Morianton is a Nephite insurrectionist. After he cruelly beats his maidservant, she escapes his camp and discloses Morianton's plans to Nephite military leader Captain Moroni. The maidservant's information becomes vital to Moroni's military success against Morianton. A commentary called her becoming a spy as a domestic violence survivor "one of the bravest actions in all of the Book of Mormon".

References

  1. 1 2 Thomas (2016 , pp. 79–80).
  2. Bolton, Andrew (2004). "Anabaptism, the Book of Mormon, and the Peace Church Option". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 37 (1): 83. doi:10.2307/45227045. JSTOR   45227045 . Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  3. Thomas (2016 , p. 90).

Sources