Mosiah — Chapter 18
1 After Alma ran away from King Noah’s servants and repented of his sins and wickedness, he began to secretly teach the people what Abinadi had said.
2 He taught them about the things to come — about the resurrection of the dead, and people’s salvation which Christ’s power and pains and death would bring about. He also taught them about Christ’s resurrection and his going to heaven.
3 He taught as many as would listen to him. He taught them secretly, so the king would not know about it. Many people believed what he said.
4 Those who believed what he said went to a place called Mormon, near the borders of the land. The king named it that because of the many wild animals that would sometimes live there.
5 There was a stream of pure water in Mormon, and Alma hid among some small trees during the daytime when the king’s soldiers looked for him.
6 Those who believed him went there to hear his words.
7 After many days, many people gathered together in Mormon to listen to Alma. Yes, all who believed what he said were gathered there to listen to him. He taught them repentance, and salvation, and faith in the Lord.
8 Then he said to them: “Here are the Waters of Mormon.” (This is what they were called.) “Now, since you want to join God’s church, and be called his people, and since you are willing to help each person with their troubles and make their troubles easier,
9 “And since you are willing to be sad with those who are sad, and to comfort those who need to be comforted, and to be witnesses for God at all times and in all things, and in all the places where you might be, even to death, so that God will save you, and you will part of the first resurrection, and have eternal life —
10 “Now, if this is what your hearts want, why not be baptized in the Lord’s name, to show him you have promised to serve him and keep his commandments, so he can give even more of his Spirit to you?”
11 When the people heard this, they clapped their hands for joy and said: “This is the desire of our hearts.”
12 Then Alma took Helam, who was one of the first [to believe], into the water, and prayed: “O Lord, give your Spirit to your servant, so he may do this work with a holy heart.”
13 After he said this, the Spirit of the Lord was on him, and he said: “Helam, I baptize you, having power from Almighty God, to show that you have promised to serve him until your body is dead. May the Spirit of the Lord be given to you, and may he give you eternal life through Christ’s salvation, which was planned before the world was made.”
14 After Alma said this, he and Helam both went under the water. They came out of the water with joy, because they were filled with the Spirit.
15 Then Alma took another and went into the water a second time, and baptized that person just as he had done the first time, except that he himself did not go under the water again.
16 He baptized everyone in this way who had gone to Mormon.. There were about two hundred and four people who were baptized in the Waters of Mormon, and who were filled with God’s grace.
17 They were called the Church of God, or the Church of Christ, from that time on. Whoever was baptized by the power of God was added to his church.
18 Alma had power from God, so he called priests — one priest for every fifty people — to teach them about God’s kingdom.
19 He commanded them to teach only the things he taught, which were the things the prophets had said.
20 Yes, he commanded them to teach only repentance and faith in the Lord, who had saved his people.
21 He commanded them not to fight with each other, but to have faith together, believing the same things and having one baptism, and joining their hearts together in love for each other.
22 This is what he commanded them to teach, and this was how they became God’s children.
23 He commanded them to keep the Sabbath day holy, and to thank the Lord their God every day.
24 He also commanded the priests whom he had called to work for what they needed.
25 They chose one day of the week to come together, to teach the people and to worship the Lord their God. They tried to meet together as much as they could.
26 The people were not to pay the priests, but God would give them grace for the work they did, so that they would become strong in the Spirit, and know about God, so that they could teach with God’s power.
27 Alma commanded the people of the church to share what they had with each other. If they had a lot, they should share a lot. If they had just a little, they should share a little, and they gave to those who had nothing.
28 They should share with each other because they freely wanted to, and because they loved God, and loved their priests who needed help, and loved the poor who needed help.
29 Alma told them this because God commanded him to. They were righteous before God, sharing with each other their earthly things and spiritual things, as they needed and wanted.
30 This was all done in the forest by the Waters of Mormon — yes, Mormon, the Waters of Mormon, the Forest of Mormon — how beautiful they are to those who learned to know their Savior there. Yes, how blessed they are, and they will sing God’s praises forever.
31 These things were done near the borders of the land so the king would not know about them.
32 But the king learned that new things were being taught to the people, so he sent his servants to watch them. And on the day they came together to listen to the gospel, the king found out about them.
33 The king said Alma was trying to get the people to rebel against him, so he sent his army to destroy them.
34 But Alma and the Lord’s people learned that the king’s army was coming, so they took their tents and families and went into the wilderness.
35 There were about four hundred fifty of them.
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