In almost every single discussion, in Mormonism, there is an implicit idea of Priesthood as a fundamental requirement. It is through this Priesthood, and the associated Keys, that the work of God is administered. It is also only through this Priesthood, and the Keys, that it can be administered. However, Priesthood and the Keys, are one of the most misunderstood aspects in all of Mormonism.
Priesthood
It is not my intention here to go into a discussion of the Priesthood or Keys. I have already discussed that previously which you are free to consider. Very simply though, Keys as understood by the LDS church seem to be a completely false concept. There is nothing in the Bible or Book of Mormon, which supports the LDS understanding of Priesthood Keys. Often cited scriptures like Matthew 16:19, don’t mean what the LDS church says they do. It seems the concept of keys can however be directly linked to knowledge and not a divine right of control, as the LDS church currently claims keys represent. Naturally though an organization would claim keys represents control since it directly benefits themselves.
Authority on the other hand, is the other side of the Priesthood concept and is also a very involved discussion. Scripturally, there does seem to be a valid concept of authority. However, this is incredibly murky at best, since we have numerous cases, in the scriptures, of people with no authority at all being given a directive by God, which implies authority. In this way, Priesthood seems to be a very general concept with a hefty amount of grace mixed in. If random people like Mormon, who was simply a “sober child”, are called to great works, then Priesthood has to be a vastly different concept then taught in the LDS church.
Alma
In focusing on Alma though, it becomes evident that the entire Priesthood concept, as taught in the LDS church, has to be incorrect. Of course, the story of Alma could be an exception to the rule. We really don’t know. However, if it is an exception then it shows the rigidity of the Priesthood is not nearly as strict as we would like to claim it is.
In the Book of Mosiah, the story of Alma is a little complicated and it is helpful to be familiar with that. However, we can summarize it by saying that Alma was a priest of King Noah, that heard the teachings of the prophet Abinadi, repented, and then lead a group of people away from King Noah into the wilderness. These people then formed a distinct church, with Alma as their leader.
The question at hand though, is where did Alma get his Priesthood authority since this would be required for him to start a church, baptize, or even to consecrate others for service in the church. These are all Priesthood functions according to the modern LDS church. The Book of Mormon itself doesn’t give any kind of hint in this regard. However, apologists have come up with numerous explanations to bridge the gap between current LDS doctrine and the story of Alma. These explanations all however have issues individually which we will see. The simplest answer is that Priesthood, as taught by the LDS church, is simply not correct.
Zeniff
The first, and most compelling argument about Alma, is that he received his priesthood from Noah who received it from his father Zeniff, who was part of the larger group of Nephites that all had the priesthood. This does somewhat make sense and follows a chain of authority like the LDS church teaches. However, it has several assumptions that are completely unsupported.
The first is that, according to Mosiah 11:5, we are told that Noah himself removed all the priests his father consecrated and instead chose wicked ones to replace them. According to the Book of Mormon, these priests were prideful, lazy, idolators, and engaged in whoredoms. We are to believe though, that Noah laid his hands on these wicked priests and then validly gave them the priesthood so they could continue in their wicked ways? This doesn’t really make any sense at all in the slightest.
For this to work, then of course Zeniff would also had to have given Noah the priesthood, which is plausible. However, where did Zeniff get it from? There is a general assumption that the Nephites had the priesthood, since they were seen as the “good guys”. However, this is unsupported from the Book of Mormon text itself. It also is quite interesting that there is not a single mention of priesthood in the Book of Mormon before Alma.
However, if Zeniff had the priesthood, by virtue of being part of the Nephite group, then it would make sense that there was a functioning priesthood group among the Nephites themselves. However, this is not what we see at all. There is no mention of anything remotely like this at all actually. In fact, in Mosiah 25, when Alma and his group eventually rejoin the Nephites, we see that Alma who was the High Priest of his group, becomes the High Priest of the entire Nephite society. How would that even make sense if there was a functioning religious hierarchy already present?
In that same chapter, it also mentions that Alma started baptizing people in the same way he did in the waters of Mormon, because they believed in his words. This would be a very strange way to explain things if there was any kind of functioning church at the time prior to Alma. That chapter also mentions that Alma was given authority, by king Mosiah, to establish churches in the land. Were there no churches already present?
A last point on this concept, is that in Mosiah 26, Alma was praying to know what to do about some members and was commended by God for “establish[ing] a church among this people”. It doesn’t really make sense at all that God would say that if there was a church already there. According to God, that church would become his people, which again implies that outside of the church, which the larger Nephites were, were not God’s people automatically.
Again, why would Alma be starting churches unless there were no functioning churches present? If there were no churches, then what about an organized priesthood structure? Alma baptizes people, for believing in his words, and establishes churches, yet there is supposedly an active functioning religious hierarchy independent of Alma himself? This doesn’t seem likely at all according to the text.
It seems though, that whatever authority Alma had among his group, was completely missing from the Nephites as it fundamentally changed their religious structure when Alma joined the larger Nephite group. I don’t see how we can claim that Alma received his authority from the Nephites, when he is the one to seemly instill this authority among them. If he didn’t receive it from the Nephites, then Zeniff and Noah couldn’t have had it.
Angels
Another compelling, and popular theory, is that Alma received his priesthood from an angelic encounter. This is compelling because it hearkens back to Joseph’s First Vision and other angelic encounters he reportedly had, while allowing Alma to function as the religious leader of his group with valid authority. According to Mosiah 18, Alma fled from king Noah’s guards, and then almost immediately started teaching the people and baptizing them. This means he either had the priesthood previously or was given it shortly after he fled king Noah’s court.
During the interval between Abinadi’s teaching and Alma’s ministry, Alma of course could have been visited by an angel. However, this seems to be quite unlikely according to Mosiah 26. In that chapter, God responded to one of Alma’s prayers and mentioned that Alma was blessed for believing “in the words alone of my servant Abinadi”. Of course, if Alma was visited by an angel and given divine authority, then Alma would have far more to believe in than just the words of Abinadi. Therefore, it seems Alma didn’t receive any kind of special authority from angels or any kind of divine encounter. There are also no mentions of this or appeals to angels for authority, thus making it further unlikely.
Abinadi
A last theory that some had advocated for is that Alma received his priesthood from Abinadi himself. Of course, this could be possible. However, the text doesn’t mention anything remotely like this. Certainly, the record we have is an abridgement and real life is far more nuanced than anything a written text will allow for. However, it is doubtful that Alma was having clandestine meetings with Abinadi in which Abinadi was teaching Alma the gospel.
The only interactions we know of between Alma and Abinadi are when Abinadi was brought before the court of Noah and questioned. Anything else is beyond the text and up for speculation. If there were any interactions between the two, outside of Noah’s court, then they had to have been fleeting and secret. According to Mosiah 17, once king Noah found out that Alma supported Abinadi, then Noah was incredibly upset and wanted Alma dead. It is quite doubtful that king Noah would tolerate any kind of subversive behavior between his priests and his political prisoners. Therefore, either Alma was incredibly secretive about this whole thing, among a tyrannical leader, or it never happened. The latter is far more likely.
Conclusion
The question of how Alma received his priesthood authority is something that we can’t conclusively determine since the Book of Mormon doesn’t feel necessary to clarify this. This alone should inform us about the incorrectness of the strict need for a chain of authority in the LDS church. However, there is a lot that we can determine from the information that is provided. According to the Book of Mormon it seems:
- The Nephites had no structured or established churches prior to Alma
- Alma instituted the practice of baptism among the Nephites
- The people of king Noah had no kind of religious system like Alma taught
- Alma was the first High Priest, with priesthood authority, among the Nephites
- Alma didn’t receive special authority from divine encounters
- Alma didn’t receive special authority from Abinadi
Based on the above points, then it certainly is quite confusing considering a typical LDS understanding of priesthood authority. It seems as if Alma was simply an enterprising individual, who felt called by God, to stand for what he considered to be truth. According to the Book of Mormon, after this point then Alma organized churches, and a religious hierarchy, according to either his own understanding or the limited teachings of Abinadi.
This is completely contrary to the entire LDS teachings about priesthood structure. According to the LDS church, priesthood has to be passed from person to person. Yet, Alma’s story seems to completely contradict this point. In addition, priesthood seems to be a fundamental aspect of a religious hierarchy, yet again Alma’s story contradicts this point.
According to Alma’s story, it seems that in some cases, God honors our sincere desires to organize ourselves according to our own understanding. The specifics of the organization are likely not important and just serve as a way of distilling religious truths. Interestingly, according to the LDS church, the organization is the only thing that is important. However, it seems the story of Alma teaches that this is simply not the case. The truths taught, and the inward change manifested in the people, seem to be the only important aspect of any kind of religious society.
To be clear, we do have passages like 3 Nephi 11, and 3 Nephi 19, which describe Jesus personally teaching the people his gospel and administering ordinances, with authority, directly among the people. This, however, seems to be a completely different level from what Alma was doing or even what Nephi, who was the religious leader at time was doing. 3 Nephi 7, which was before the appearance of Christ, describe Nephi as baptizing the people for repentance. However, after the appearance of Christ, Nephi was given the authority to baptize. This means either Nephi was baptizing people invalidly or Jesus was describing a different level of baptism which is far more likely.
Based on this concept, then it seems people like Alma, are free to organize themselves as they see fit according to religious principles, which God generally accepts. However, there is a point where God accepts these people and they become his people, as God described to Alma in Mosiah 26. At that point, then instead of being organized according to the well-intentioned ideas of men, the people are organized according to the workings of heaven.
Many view these two systems as the same, yet they are completely different. They may mirror each other at times, yet they still have completely different purposes. The problem is when organizations, like the LDS church, claim they are the same and it is only through them that we can access God. This is completely contrary to the story of Alma.
