Alma's Skill as an Editor

Hugh Nibley: “The Book of Mormon goes to great lengths to describe just what a wicked society looks like and how it operates, with enough examples to type it beyond question; and with clinical precision it describes the hysteria that leads to its end. It also tells us how to recognize a righteous society, usually presenting the two types to us in close proximity. With these two images firmly in mind we are told why this presentation is being given, for whose benefit, and why it is so singularly important. The authors do not ask us to make comparisons and see ourselves in the picture, because that would be futile: the wicked-er the people are, the more they balk at facing their real image and the more skillful they become in evading, altering, faking, and justifying. So the book does not tell us to make the comparison—it does it for us, frankly and brutally.”

I shared this quote earlier and found my notes from my Gospel Doctrine class. I wanted to post them before I lost them again. Mormon tells us over and over that he is passing on only a hundredth part of what records he had available to condense. Giving the difficulty in transcribing the records, we need to ask why he included the stories he did. We need to ask what we can learn from those stories. He chose them for us.

So in looking through our reading assignments so far I found these comparisons (in close proximity).
King Benjamin's rule compared to King Noah's.

Alma's reaction to Abinadi's message compared to the other judges of King Noah.

Ammon's missionary experiences compared to his brothers' (they ended up in prison).

Abinadi's devotion to teach the gospel compared to the priests of King Noah.

Abinadi's knowledge of the scriptures compared to the priests of King Noah.

The behavior of the people following Alma and the trials they encountered compared to the people who followed Limhi.

The Church of God compared to the Order of Nehor.

Alma's missionary successes in Zarahemla, Gideon and Melek compared to his experiences in Ammonihah.

What do you find?