Click to Listen: Episode 36: Alma 13-14
This one starts out a little slow with Alma talking about what it takes to become a priest, but hang in there because after that it goes absolutely off the rails! No spoilers, but the craziness in this episode reaches new heights! Just insane! Enjoy.
“Drink” Count – 25
4 Beers and a sip
![1f37b[1]](https://mybookofmormonpodcast.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/1f37b1-e1405272752631.png)
Prophet Jaaromy’s recommendation of the week: Thank God I’m Atheist Podcast
Real Mymo Chris Watson’s Blog: Unbuckling the Bible Belt
My Book of Mormon 
September 8, 2014 at 7:04 am
David, it might get you more calls if you put the number for the voicemail line on the contacts page. It’s kind of a pain to jot it down while listening to the show.
September 8, 2014 at 2:15 pm
Done, thanks for the tip. And thanks for the voicemail! You were officially the first one, so you’ve got the title of “First Voicemail”, and no one can ever take that away!
September 8, 2014 at 3:56 pm
Woohoo! Yay me!
September 8, 2014 at 4:25 pm
Melchizedek is a tough one to say. You were close. The “ch” makes a “k” sound, so it’s more like “mel-KIZ-e-dek”. Melchizedek does show up in Genesis 14, which mentions tithes were given, but apparently the pronouns in the text are ambiguous, because (according to the all-knowing Wikipedia) there’s some controversy as to whether Abraham was the giver or recipient of the tithes. All the stuff about Melchizedek’s people being wicked and then repenting is only found in Mormon sources. Some Mormons believe Melchizedek is the same person as Shem, the son of Noah, but there’s no authoritative statement to that effect. There is a verse in Psalm 110 saying, “Thou art a priest for ever after the manner of Melchizedek.” Joseph Smith took this verse and ran with it, because every “worthy” adult male in the LDS church has the “Melchizedek Priesthood.” So we all know how to say it, but most of us don’t know how to spell it! You probably won’t have to worry about pronouncing this name again, unless you later read the Doctrine and Covenants, in which case, be prepared…
I’ll leave it to others to talk about Alma 14, and how messed up it is. There are some more crazy stories on the way, and pretty soon!
May 5, 2015 at 7:17 pm
I think the reason these pronunciations are so tricky is that they are informed by the accents of 19th century yokels.
September 11, 2014 at 9:27 am
While many of the nutty stuff in the Book of Mormon is ignored, this one is frequently used to try to comfort people when shit happens. I have been told that Alma 14 is why God allows child abuse. If you ask most Mormons, Alma 14 is why God didn’t stop 9/11 or the holocaust.
People act as if the fact that God would rather punish the wicked than save the righteous is a reasonable explanation.
September 12, 2014 at 2:52 am
It’s really petty when you think about it. Can you imagine a parent saying “Yeah, I knew my child was going to get molested by the neighbor but I didn’t do anything because I really wanted to beat the shit out of them.”.
February 6, 2015 at 1:47 pm
Great point Fel. God is a pretty shitty parent. If I treated my kids the same way he treats his kids I’d be in jail.
December 20, 2014 at 6:25 pm
Bishop Lucy nailed it. Mormonism’s doctrine is that life is a test to see if we will be good or evil. People are judged for their works, including whether they follow/accept Christ (which should be crystal clear from the Book thus far). When the faithful people are burned, it is the result of God granting their tormentors “agency” to act for themselves. If God didn’t allow people to act for themselves, this life wouldn’t be a test. This story is powerful to believes because, if it can convince the readers that God respects the agency of man so much to allow women and children to be burned, God’s inaction to prevent any other wrong isn’t harmful to one’s faith. It’s all part of the plan to let all people, including evil people, exercise their right to choose.
The problem is that, if the Book is to be believed, God meddles all the time. So why doesn’t he let the Lamanites kill the Nephites so his judgements will be just be God does let the Ammoniahites burn the women and kids?
May 29, 2015 at 2:10 pm
Long suffering just means patient and even-tempered