1 NOW it came to pass that after the end of Korihor, Alma having received tidings that the Zoramites [ It would appear at least some of the descendants of Zoram traced their genealogy separately from the Nephites as indicated by 54:23. Thus, we might assume from this that these people were called "Zoramites" not just because they were followers of the contemporary Zoram, but because they were descendants of the original Zoram. The potential problem here is that Amalikiah and Ammoron, the two we know are descendants of the ancient Zoram from 54:23, are among the Nephites prior to Amalikiah's revolt. These Zoramites cast the righteous out from among them and then join with the Lamanites against the Nephites in war in ch. 43. ] were perverting the ways of the Lord, and that Zoram, who was their leader, was leading the hearts of the people to bow down to dumb idols, [ Anything that is not the true gospel - dumb in that they cannot do anything for them - defined in verse 24 as gold, silver and fine goods ] his heart again began to sicken because of the iniquity of the people.

2 For it was the cause of great sorrow to Alma to know of iniquity among his people; therefore his heart was exceedingly sorrowful because of the separation of the Zoramites from the Nephites.

3 Now the Zoramites had gathered themselves together in a land which they called Antionum, which was east of the land of Zarahemla, which lay nearly bordering upon the seashore, which was south of the land of Jershon, which also bordered upon the wilderness south, which wilderness was full of the Lamanites.

4 Now the Nephites greatly feared that the Zoramites would enter into a correspondence with the Lamanites, and that it would be the means of great loss on the part of the Nephites.

5 And now, as the preaching of the word [ It was not so much the words but the power of the spirit from which the words were delivered, it was the testimony that they bore. ] had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, [ Spirit has more power than the sword. ] or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God. [ To try the virtue, in fact the word virtue in many contexts like Greek and Latin is often synonymous or similar to power. One example of the idea of virtue being power is when Jesus perceived that virtue had gone out of him when the woman touched the hem of his garment. Or it is the power; meaning to try the power of the word of God. It is through the study of the doctrines of christ that we change, it is Christ that changes men and their nature from the inside out. It is the spirit that provides the revelation to the spirit after they experiment upon the word. ]

6 Therefore he took Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner; and Himni he did leave in the church in Zarahemla; but the former three he took with him, and also Amulek and Zeezrom, who were at Melek; and he also took two of his sons.

7 Now the eldest of his sons he took not with him, and his name was Helaman; but the names of those whom he took with him were Shiblon and Corianton; and these are the names of those who went with him among the Zoramites, to preach unto them the word.

8 Now the Zoramites were dissenters from the Nephites; [ Showing that they deliberately rejected both the law of Moses (vs 9) and the law of the gospel (vs 10). ] therefore they had had the word of God preached unto them.

9 But they had fallen into great errors, for they would not observe to keep the commandments of God, and his statutes, according to the law of Moses.

10 Neither would they observe the performances of the church, [ They quit living the law of the gospel. ] to continue in prayer and supplication to God daily, [ They stopped praying daily. ] that they might not enter into temptation.

11 Yea, in fine, they did pervert the ways of the Lord [ Turned their heads away from that which was right, they took the opposites of everything that they knew. ] in very many instances; therefore, for this cause, Alma and his brethren went into the land to preach the word unto them.

12 Now, when they had come into the land, behold, to their astonishment they found that the Zoramites had built synagogues, and that they did gather themselves together on one day of the week, which day they did call the day of the Lord; and they did worship after a manner which Alma and his brethren had never beheld; [ In other words it was not in accordance with the Gospel that Alma and his brethern were used to teaching and participating in. ]

13 For they had a place built up in the center of their synagogue, a place for standing, which was high above the head; and the top thereof would only admit one person.

14 Therefore, whosoever desired to worship must go forth and stand upon the top thereof, and stretch forth his hands towards heaven, and cry with a loud voice, saying:

15 Holy, holy God; we believe that thou art God, and we believe that thou art holy, and that thou wast a spirit, and that thou art a spirit, and that thou wilt be a spirit forever. [ If you take this in conjunction with the last part of verse 15 that there shall be no condensentation of Christ, and is an acknowledgment on their part that they had no belief in the atonement, and no need for one because they were so good. How unhumble is that? ]

16 Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us [ vs 16-17 are boasting in nature. Or you have elected us. We're not left to be saved by an atonement. You just chose us arbitrarily, and you've made it known unto us there will be no Christ. We are special. Now what usually happens to a person when they think that they are special in some way? They are above others in that they become entitled to things that others are not. There is great danger in this. We are being taught her; warned to be very very careful if you think that you are in some way special, that you are made with divine DNA. Once you become that special you do not need the help of God for anything, as a matter of fact you may think that he(God) should consult with you from time to time. ] from our brethren; and we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren, which was handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers; but we believe that thou hast elected us to be thy holy children; and also thou hast made it known unto us that there shall be no Christ. [ Pretty good idea of the source since the teachings are false. ]

17 But thou art the same yesterday, today, and forever; and thou hast elected us [ A little condensending do you think? Does the tone of the message even feel right? Do we as Latterday Saints sometimes exemplifiy this attitude? Their believe is that God is an unchanging Spirit and individual Holiness or spirituality is achieved through an intellectual ascent. They further believe that their blessed condition has nothing to do with works or behavior, but rather God's election of them because of their knowledge of the truth. Religion to them is an intellectual pursuit and not a way to live your life, which explains their behavior in v. 23-24. Alma makes this reference to them in chapter 38:23-24 "they pray to be heard of men, and to be praised for their wisdom". ] that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are elected to be cast by thy wrath down to hell; for the which holiness, O God, we thank thee; and we also thank thee that thou hast elected us, that we may not be led away after the foolish traditions of our brethren, which doth bind them down to a belief of Christ, which doth lead their hearts to wander far from thee, our God.

18 And again we thank thee, O God, that we are a chosen and a holy people. Amen.

19 Now it came to pass that after Alma and his brethren and his sons had heard these prayers, they were astonished beyond all measure. [ They could not believe it. Have you ever noticed that in the Book of Mormon, nobody is ever just surprised, or mildly surprised. Nope they always at some level astonished. There's one case of being less astonished at a sign or wonder after Samuel the Lamanite. Nine cases of being astonished, one case of being more astonished, two cases of being greatly astonished, nine more cases of being exceedingly astonished, or astonished exceedingly, however; there is only one case of being astonished beyond all measure. ]

20 For behold, every man did go forth and offer up these same prayers.

21 Now the place was called by them Rameumptom, [ Ram in the hebrew language means high place. the _Commentary on the Book of Mormon_, vol. 3, 1958, by Reynolds and Sjodahl, states: Rameumptom was the name given by the Zoramites to the elevated place in their synagogues whence they offered up their vain-glorious and hypocritical prayers. Alma states that the word means a holy stand. It resembles, in its roots, Hebrew and also Egyptian in a remarkable manner. Ramoth, high (as Ramoth Gilead), elevated, a place where one can see and be seen; or, in a figurative sense, sublime or exalted. Mptom has probably its roots in the Hebrew word translated threshold, as we are told that the Philistines' god, Dagon, has a threshold in Ashdod (See I Samuel 5:4-5). Words with this root are quite common in the Bible. Thus we see how Rameumptom means a high place to stand upon, a holy stand.[p.81] The _Encyclopedia of Mormonism_ entry under the title "Book of Mormon Language" has: "Rameumptom" (Alma 31:21), meaning "holy stand," contains consonantal patterns suggesting the stems /rmm/ramah/, "to be high," and /tmm/tam/tom/, "to be complete, perfect, holy." The /p/ between the /m/ and /t/ is a linguistically natural outgrowth of a bilabial /m/ in coluster with a stop /t/, such as the /p/ in /assumption/ from /assume + tion/, and the /b/ in Spanish /hombre/ from Latin /homere/. ] which, being interpreted [ In the Hebrew tradition to interpret something means to make a connection with something in the Torah ( The first 5 Books of Moses in the Old Testament ). This is done to communicate greater teachings, and direct the reader to specific scriptures and teachings. When the word interpreted is used it is a key for us that there are hidden teachings for in the Torah relating to this topic, go look for it. So we need to find the phrase "holy stand" in the Torah. The center place or elevated platform in a synagogue is called bima. The word Bima is actually derived from the ancient Greek word Bema meaning platform or step. Among Mizrahi or Sephardi synagogues the center place is called the midgal-high place, tower, or pulpit. The platform on top of the center-place being referred to as a tebah or (vessel, container, ark, or barge). The first usage of the word Migdal leads us to the account of the Great Tower of Babel. So there is something in here that he is trying to get us to connect with the tower of babel. (Genesis 11:1-5). "One language and of one speech" everyone gets up on the tower and says the same thing? So we have here from the reference in the Torah that the people on the Rameumpton are doing the same things that the people were doing at the tower of Babel. By inserting this prophetic key word of Rameumpton being interpreted as Holy Stand the prophet writer is restoring an even greater account of what happened at the Tower of Babel by revealing a prophetic pattern (Compare Genesis 11 to Alma 31): Similarities between the two: Both doing idol worship, Both from the east, both build towers to make a name for themselves, one language - same prayer.The stories give reference to each other. The east means the ancient teachings. Babel means gateway to heaven. Tower can be either a civilazation or it can mean a persons heart. ], is the holy stand.

22 Now, from this stand they did offer up, every man, the selfsame prayer unto God, [ What does this teach us? In a way does this not reaffirm to them that God is not personal in nature. He is there as an object to pray to ask him to bless everyone the same, but he does not have time for our personal needs, he just does not have that capacity in a way. Think about how having a God that is not interested in us personally changes the nature of God as we know him. ] thanking their God that they were chosen of him, and that he did not lead them away after the tradition of their brethren, and that their hearts were not stolen away to believe in things to come, which they knew nothing about.

23 Now, after the people had all offered up thanks after this manner, they returned to their homes, never speaking of their God again until they had assembled themselves together again to the holy stand, [ While we might point a finger at them and say oh how bad is that, if we honestly ask ourselves what do we do this week in an effort to speak of God during the week? Are we really any better than they are? ] to offer up thanks after their manner.

24 Now when Alma saw this his heart was grieved; for he saw that they were a wicked and a perverse people; yea, he saw that their hearts [ The thing which they desired. ] were set upon gold, and upon silver, and upon all manner of fine goods.

25 Yea, and he also saw that their hearts were lifted up unto great boasting, in their pride.

[ Compare the prayers on the Rameumptom verse the prayers of Alma - his is an outward prayer for the comfort of others. ]

26 And he lifted up his voice to heaven, and cried, saying: O, how long, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that thy servants shall dwell here below in the flesh, to behold such gross wickedness among the children of men?

27 Behold, O God, they cry unto thee, and yet their hearts are swallowed up in their pride. Behold, O God, they cry unto thee with their mouths, while they are puffed up, even to greatness, with the vain things of the world.

28 Behold, O my God, their costly apparel, and their ringlets, and their bracelets, and their ornaments of gold, and all their precious things which they are ornamented with; and behold, their hearts are set upon them, and yet they cry unto thee and say—We thank thee, O God, for we are a chosen people unto thee, while others shall perish.

29 Yea, and they say that thou hast made it known unto them that there shall be no Christ.

30 O Lord God, [ Hebrew - Yahweh ( or Jehovah which means "to become" or "to exist") translated as Lord; Elohim translated as God ("the Gods") which together the words mean "He will cause Gods to be". ] , how long wilt thou suffer [verses 30 -32 are Almas prayer - it begins his prayer to the Lord with a question.] that such wickedness and infidelity shall be among this people? O Lord, wilt thou give me strength, that I may bear with For I am infirm, [ What does he mean, "infirm"? - I suppose this is in a spiritual context as he has not been wounded in war that we know of, he is not all that old, and he continues on for some time to perform his missionary labors without any more reference to this fact. So is he expressing that the situtation makes him sick so to speak? ] and such wickedness among this people doth pain my soul. [ I suppose like any good leader he is looking for answers in how he can effect change necessary in the lives of those whom he has been called to lead. ]

31 O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; [ Why is he sorrowful? He knows full well what will happen to those who will not make an effort to repent. Yet he knows that they each have their agency as well and he cannot violate that either. He is coming to understand the feelings of Heavenly Father. See Moses 7:29. ] wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.

32 O Lord, wilt thou comfort my soul, and give unto me success, and also my fellow laborers who are with me—yea, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and also Amulek and Zeezrom and also my two sons—yea, even all these wilt thou comfort, O Lord. Yea, wilt thou comfort their souls in Christ.

33 Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they may bear their afflictions which shall come upon them because of the iniquities of this people. [ How little did Alma know at the time when he was offering that prayer what was going to beset them; or did he know? ]

34 O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ. [ Alma knows that the Lord will not over ride the principle of agency; so the Lord will not force them to believe. What he can do is direct both the method that Alma uses to teach and the people that are placed in Almas path that he might teach. ]

35 Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, [ Alma views them in their real worth, as children of God; hence the reason for his missionary labors. Note the contrast between Almas prayer and the prayers offered by the Zoramites. Alma is praying, seeking for the Lord to intervene and help in a time of weakness, and help them repent; while the Zoramites take an opposite appraoch as they are perfect already (at least in their eyes). ] and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee. [ Almas prayer is answered in Alma 32:6. ]

36 Now it came to pass that when Alma had said these words, that he clapped his hands upon all them [ He set them apart - laying on of hands. definition = to applaud, a sudden stroke, blow, or act. to put or place quickly or forcefully: to clap a lid on a jar; She clapped her hand over his mouth. They clapped him in jail. see Mosiah 18:11. ] who were with him. And behold, as he clapped his hands upon them, [ As he laid his hands upon their heads with authority, and set them apart. ] they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

37 And after that they did separate themselves one from another, taking no thought for themselves what they should eat, or what they should drink, or what they should put on.

38 And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. [ Is this really not just the motto for rest in the Lord, confidence that what you are doing is what he wants you to do, and total and complete trust that God will oversee whatever happens to or with you. ] Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; [ Notice the contrast here. The scriptures are menat to provide contrast for us. First we were exposed to the vain repetitions offered on the Rameumptom, and now are give this heart felt prayer offered by Alma. ] and this because he prayed in faith.