Alma 28

Chapter Overview

What happens in Alma 28

A tremendous battle between the Nephites and the Lamanites brings devastating losses on both sides, filling the land with mourning. Mormon pauses to reflect on the inequality caused by sin, the grief of those who mourn, and the great reason people have for rejoicing or sorrowing based on their relationship to God.

Scripture

The Great Battle and Its Sorrows

Study note

With the people of Ammon settled in Jershon, the Nephites confront a massive Lamanite army. The battle is so devastating that the dead cannot be numbered. Mormon paints a visceral picture of grief: widows mourning husbands, fathers mourning sons, daughters mourning brothers. The land is filled with lamentation, fasting, and prayer. This is not sanitized warfare -- it is the real, agonizing cost of conflict, and Mormon wants his readers to feel it.

1 And now it came to pass that after the people of Ammon were established in the land of Jershon, and a church also established in the land of Jershon, and the armies of the Nephites were set round about the land of Jershon, yea, in all the borders round about the land of Zarahemla; behold the armies of the Lamanites had followed their brethren into the wilderness.

2 And thus there was a tremendous battle; yea, even such an one as never had been known among all the people in the land from the time Lehi left Jerusalem; yea, and tens of thousands of the Lamanites were slain and scattered abroad.

3 Yea, and also there was a tremendous slaughter among the people of Nephi; nevertheless, the Lamanites were driven and scattered, and the people of Nephi returned again to their land.

4 And now this was a time that there was a great mourning and lamentation heard throughout all the land, among all the people of Nephi—

5 Yea, the cry of widows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and the daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard among all of them, mourning for their kindred who had been slain.

6 And now surely this was a sorrowful day; yea, a time of solemnity, and a time of much fasting and prayer.

Mormon's Reflection on Inequality and Eternity

Study note

Mormon steps back to offer editorial reflection on the contrasting eternal destinies of those who die. While many thousands mourn, some rejoice and exult in the hope of a glorious resurrection. Others face fearful misery because they have sown wickedness. Mormon draws two lessons: the 'great inequality of man' caused by sin and the devil's cunning plans, and 'the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord.' This somber passage connects earthly grief to eternal realities and the urgency of sharing the gospel.

7 And thus endeth the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi;

8 And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy, and the reception and safety of the brethren in the land of Jershon. And now may the Lord, the Redeemer of all men, bless their souls forever.

9 And this is the account of the wars and contentions among the Nephites, and also the wars between the Nephites and the Lamanites; and the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges is ended.

10 And from the first year to the fifteenth has brought to pass the destruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has brought to pass an awful scene of bloodshed.

11 And the bodies of many thousands are laid low in the earth, while the bodies of many thousands are moldering in heaps upon the face of the earth; yea, and many thousands are mourning for the loss of their kindred, because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are consigned to a state of endless wo.

12 While many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness.

13 And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men.

14 And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life.

Key Themes

Themes in Alma 28

The devastating human cost of warContrasting eternal destinies of the righteous and wickedGrief tempered by hope in the ResurrectionSin creates inequality and sufferingUrgency of laboring in the Lord's vineyard

Prophetic Connections

How this chapter points to Christ

Alma 28:12 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

The description of righteous mourners who 'rejoice and exult in the hope and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God' parallels Paul's comfort that believers should not sorrow as those without hope, for Christ will bring the faithful with Him.

Alma 28:14 Matthew 9:37-38

Mormon's reflection on 'the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord' echoes Jesus' words that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.

Apply This Today

Living Alma 28

Mormon does not shy away from grief. He describes it plainly -- widows, orphans, broken families. But even in the darkest mourning, he points to the hope of resurrection and eternal reunion. If you are grieving today, know that grief is not the absence of faith. It is the natural response to love and loss. Hold your grief in one hand and your hope of reunion in the other -- both are real, and both can coexist.

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