The Joyful Reunion: Mosiah, Alma and Limhi Forge a People of God - Book of Mosiah, Chapter Twenty-Five (Mosiah 25)

You can read the entire chapter at the following link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/25?lang=eng.

Most of us can relate to the awkwardness that sometimes comes when close family members or friends come back together after not having seen each other for a long period of time. The first five minutes provide a rush of positive emotion as you smile, embrace and rejoice in each other’s presence. Then you realize that you don’t really know what to do next. Because you’ve been apart for so long, your routines have been reprogrammed to focus on life without each other.

The clear fallback option when you don’t know what to do in this case is to ask what has happened to everyone since they last saw one another. The good part about this is in catching up, you can relate to each other’s experiences and remember much of the reason for the bonds that you share. The challenging part is often that there is a lot of pain to share when recounting the past. It can be hard to want to share that when you’re just reconnecting. We tend to want to put as positive a face as possible on our lives in general. But in finding the courage to share, we’re able to reestablish those bonds and often make them stronger than before.

With the Nephites in the land of Zarahemla, getting the people of Limhi and Alma to share their experiences—good, bad, and in between—provides an opportunity to reforge the ties of brotherhood and sisterhood through shared faith and covenants with God. Unity among the Nephites and the people of Zarahemla who also live among them is crucial because they need their combined strength to keep the fire of their faith going strong when facing challenges from the nearby Lamanites, who are embittered and inclined toward vengeful action against them—and outnumber them by more than two to one (verses 1-4, 13).

So King Mosiah receives the records of the people of Limhi and Alma, and reads them to all the people who have been called together (verses 5-6). It’s basically recounting what we as readers have already learned about in Mosiah 9-24. This is not only a reunion. It is also gripping human drama. At a time long before movies, television or other technological marvels, reading the record of a people, and learning about their triumphs and tribulations, is the most exciting form of diversion available to this civilization. It’s like telling family stories at the dinner table or around the fireplace.

In his account, Mormon shares that the primary reaction of the Nephites to what Mosiah reads is wonder and amazement. Maybe there were so many ups and downs and such a range of different emotions from the experiences of those who left with Zeniff and their families that the Nephites are having trouble processing the complexity of it all (verses 7-9).

What comes through is the Nephites’ recognition of the goodness of God in blessing the people of Limhi and Alma, and the pain they feel from hearing about the wickedness of the Lamanites (verses 10-11). It is also interesting and impressive to note that the children of the wicked priests of Noah do not shrink from an honest appraisal of their fathers’ wrongful deeds. In fact, they make it a point to distance themselves from their fathers by taking on the name of Nephi (verse 12).

King Mosiah then asks Alma to speak to and teach the people (verse 14). Alma reestablishes the doctrine of Christ among them—faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring within the covenant. Alma has the authority to perform the ordinances of salvation (baptism is the main one described here) and to ordain others to join him in teaching and administering these same ordinances. There is one Church, but because so many people want to follow Alma’s teachings of Christ, they meet in seven separate groups throughout the land of Zarahemla as they experience great blessings and prosperity through unity in the Lord (verses 15-24).