Notes on The Book of Mormon from a Nineteenth Century Perspective: Prayer, Part II

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Prayer in Alma

 

In The Book of Mormon, Alma takes a stance against the Zoramites praying in public about how great they are and awful everyone else in (hello, social media). In terms of tensions, the Zoramites' prayer is a mix of election and set prayers: Calvinism gone the legalistic route. 

 

Alma praises private prayers that occur any time and any place. He is preaching, moreover, to the poor, who fear for their souls because their (literally) poor credentials keep them from the places where they would deliver set prayers. During his discourse, Alma argues against a tit-for-tat relationship with God and produces a fantastic defense of faith: "If a man knoweth a thing, then he has no cause to believe" (32:18, my emphasis).

 

Alma goes on to connect faith to mercy and humility--"Ye cannot know of [the] surety [of my words] at first"--which leads to one of the most remarkable passages in The Book of Mormon about experimenting upon what one is taught rather than taking it as a given. Agency is paired with personal advancement and faith since the experiment--planting a seed--will produce fruit but the nourishment of the tree that produces that fruit can never end.

 

The link back to prayer occurs in the next chapter. In quite beautiful passages that Alma attributes to Zenos, prayer is presented as communication, a conversation, even experiment, between the praying individual and God: "thou didst hear me." 

 

In many ways, Alma's position here resembles that of Job, who demands a hearing with God. What God delivers is not necessarily what Job expected. Job's reaction is not to pronounce, "Okay, thanks. I've check off the appropriate boxes on my path to salvation. I now have an exact comprehension of my election." 

 

Rather, he reacts by going, "Uh, wow. Wow. Okay. Wow."

 

In 3rd Nephi, set prayers are definitively rejected by Jesus Christ (see the Sermon on the Mount). The Lord's Prayer--over which theologians have often argued--is presented as containing the necessary elements of prayer rather than being a set prayer. An example rather than a ritual. Using the KJV, 3 Nephi 13 introduces the Lord's Prayer with the phrase "after this manner therefore pray ye." It is a reminder that the KJV, like many English-produced religious documents, has a wonderful tendency to hedge its bets.

 

Prayer, concludes The Book of Mormon, is never going to be what you think it is. Not tit-for-tat. Not automatic/instant regeneration and knowledge. Not salvation according to a list. It's communication, folks. God can take anything you dish out. Be prepared for anything in return.  

 

From Alma 33:

 

5 Yea, O God, and thou wast merciful unto me when I did cry unto thee in my field; when I did cry unto thee in my prayer, and thou didst hear me.

6 And again, O God, when I did turn to my house thou didst hear me in my prayer.

7 And when I did turn unto my closet, O Lord, and prayed unto thee, thou didst hear me.

8 Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou wilt hear them.

9 Yea, O God, thou hast been merciful unto me, and heard my cries in the midst of thy congregations.

10 Yea, and thou hast also heard me when I have been cast out and have been despised by mine enemies; yea, thou didst hear my cries, and wast angry with mine enemies, and thou didst visit them in thine anger with speedy destruction.

11 And thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my sincerity; and it is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus merciful unto me, therefore I will cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in thee is my joy; for thou hast turned thy judgments away from me, because of thy Son.