In 2024, I began research on Alma 5:3–62, a speech that the Book of Mormon attributes to a first-century BC Israelite prophet in the Americas named Alma. This research investigates proposed evidence for and against the speech’s antiquity. I’m pleased to announce a series of four new papers resulting from this research. Two of the papers respond to arguments for the ancient origin of the speech. The other two papers present evidence for its modern origin. You can find all four papers in the LDS/Mormonism section of my Academia.edu page. Here are the titles and brief descriptions of the papers:
The New Testament in Alma 5
As the title indicates, this paper examines the use of the New Testament (specifically from the KJV) in the speech. I uncover some three dozen allusions in this one passage. They come from the Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation, especially Matthew 3 and Revelation 19–22.
Alma 5 as a Nineteenth-Century Revivalist Sermon
The title pretty much tells all here as well. The paper documents over two dozen different expressions in the speech that derive distinctively from Protestant religious discourse. Revivalist preachers made notable use of these expressions in the two Great Awakenings. The paper shows that this revivalist language appears throughout a speech that in form, substance, and purpose corresponds with standard revivalist preaching from that era.
Five Supposed Examples of Chiasmus in Alma 5
This paper looks at five passages in Alma 5 that LDS scholars have identified as chiasms. Chiasmus is a rhetorical form using reverse parallelism (A-B-B-A) characteristic of biblical literature. The Book of Mormon is extremely repetitive. For that reason, I argue that we should find short passages exhibiting simple chiasmus (perhaps just four lines in reverse parallelism). On the other hand, we should probably find few if any long, complex chiasms. This study of Alma 5 confirms that working hypothesis. In addition to being part of this project focused on Alma 5, this paper is part of a years-long research project on chiasmus in the Book of Mormon.
Egyptian “Ritual Embrace” Imagery for Atonement in the Book of Mormon
Mormon apologists beginning with Hugh Nibley have argued that the Hebrew term for atonement alludes to a ritual embrace in Egyptian religion. Furthermore, they argue that at least three Book of Mormon texts, including Alma 5:33, referring to the Lord putting his arms around the redeemed use this imagery as an expression of divine acceptance. In this paper, I refute Nibley’s argument for associating atonement with ritual embrace. I then show that the Book of Mormon imagery of the Lord embracing believers in his arms was a commonplace in early nineteenth-century English and American evangelical preaching and writing.
While not exhausting all possible perspectives on Alma 5, these four papers make a strong cumulative case for viewing the entire speech as a modern composition.