After escaping from the king’s servants, Alma repented of his sins and began to teach at a place called the waters of Mormon. He baptized his followers, organized them into a church, and ordained priests to teach them. When the king became aware of them, Alma and his people fled into the wilderness.
Chapter Outline
- Alma taught the words of Abinadi at the place of Mormon (v. 1-6)
- He taught the people about baptism and baptized them. They were called the church of Christ. (v. 7-17)
- Alma ordained priests and gave them instructions (v. 18-29)
- The king became aware of them; Alma and his people fled (v. 30-35)
My Takeaways
- When we are baptized we promise to lighten people’s burdens and to stand as witnesses of God.
- Building relationships with others is a critical part of our journey back to God.
- As you minister to others, keep it simple, cultivate unity, reach out frequently, be unselfish, and share what you uniquely have to offer.
- Places where we have spiritual experiences can become special to us.
Featured Blog Posts
❖ Alma baptizes (Mosiah 18:7-17)
If This Be the Desire of Your Hearts – Mosiah 18:8-10
8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;…
Bearing Burdens
Three lessons about carrying burdens from Alma’s people and Limhi’s people: 1. Burdens are lighter when we carry them together. 2. Sometimes, we need to accept our burdens gracefully. 3. A burden can be a blessing.
They Were Called the Church of God – Mosiah 18:16-17
16 And after this manner he did baptize every one that went forth to the place of Mormon; and they were in number about two hundred and four souls; yea, and they were baptized in the waters of Mormon, and were filled with the grace of God. 17 And they were called the church of…
What Does It Mean to Bear One Another’s Burdens?
After defending the words of Abinadi and being banished by King Noah, Alma preached to a growing group of followers in secret. One day, he challenged them to make their commitment to the gospel and to each other more formal: And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters…
Witnesses of God – Mosiah 18:9
8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;…
Did Alma Baptize Himself?
After the wicked king Noah sentenced the prophet Abinadi to death, one of Noah’s priests, Alma, pleaded with the king to spare Abinadi’s life. As a result, he was banished, and the king sent servants to kill him. Alma lived in hiding for a while and wrote the words which he had heard Abinadi preach…
❖ Alma ordains and instructs priests (Mosiah 18:18-29)
“As Often as It Was in Their Power” – Mosiah 18:25
After baptizing hundreds of people at the waters of Mormon, Alma gave them some instructions about how to fulfill the covenants they had made. He told the priests to teach the words of the prophets and to preach repentance. He told the people to avoid contention and to strive for unity. He told them to…
What Does It Mean to Serve Others “According to Their Wants?”
After King Benjamin’s people received a forgiveness of their sins, he taught them what they should do to retain that forgiveness: I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to…
What Can I Learn About Ministering from Alma?
After Alma baptized about 200 people at the waters of Mormon, he organized them into a church and gave them instructions about to serve one another. Here are some of the principles I’ve learned from Alma’s instructions: “Preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord, who had redeemed his people” (Mosiah 18:20).…
❖ Alma and his people flee (Mosiah 18:30-35)
The Waters of Mormon
The waters of Mormon were a beautiful place for those who “came to the knowledge of their Redeemer” there. We can all be grateful for sacred places, including our church buildings, where we have been able to grow closer to God.
Old Testament Foundations
Feeble Knees
The right message at the wrong time can be incredibly unhelpful. When Job’s friends learned about his tragic losses, they traveled to his home “to mourn with him and to comfort him” (Job 2:11). At first, they simply sat with him, without saying a word. (See Job 2:13.) When one of them finally spoke, he…
“The Lord Maketh Poor, and Maketh Rich”
After Hannah finally gave birth to Samuel and then “lent” him to the Lord forever (1 Samuel 1:28), she offered a prayer in the form of a psalm. One brief verse from that psalm caught my attention today: The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. 1 Samuel 2:7 This verse reminded me of…
Permanent Promises
How long can you sustain a commitment? This may be one of the great challenges of mortality. Do you promise to do something one day, but change your mind later when you feel differently? Obviously, if you only do what you feel like doing at any given moment, you’re unlikely to accomplish anything of any…
Your Past Does Not Define You
I was struck this morning by something Elder S. Gifford Nielsen observed about Joshua: He was raised as a slave in Egypt. How did he become the successor of Moses, leading the children of Israel into the promised land? Certainly not by dwelling on his own weaknesses or lack of qualifications. Here is Elder Nielsen’s…
New Testament Parallels
Knit Together
Paul wanted church members in Colossae to have interconnected lives, so that they could comfort one another and learn the gospel together. Alma wanted the same for his people. Both of them expressed this unity in the same way: “hearts knit together.”
“Is Your Eye Evil Because I Am Good?”
In the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, the people who had worked all day were angry because those who worked far less were paid the same. Their employer questioned their envy: Why should you feel bad when something good happens to someone else?
How Did Jesus Observe the Sabbath Day?
On six occasions, the Pharisees accused Jesus of sabbath-breaking. In response, He taught them what it really means to keep the Sabbath day holy: Be joyful, do God’s work, and serve others. We also benefit from gathering with other believers on that day.
Impart
The wealthy man passed the beggar every day, but he never felt sufficient compassion to share. In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus provided a name for the beggar but not for the wealthy man, indicating where His sympathies lay. The rich man lived comfortably, even extravagantly. He “was clothed in purple…
“See, Here Is Water”
The eunuch said to Peter, “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” Alma made a similar invitation to his people. We can emulate this action-orientation in our daily decisions by acknowledging what’s possible and identifying roadblocks.
Church History Connections
Needs and Wants
When Alma organized the church at the waters of Mormon, he instructed members to “impart of their substance, every one according to that which he had.” They were to give “both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants” (Mosiah 18:27-29). The word “want,” when used as a noun, usually refers to a…
Principles
Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord instructed members of His church to “teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon” (Doctrine and Covenants 42:12). This echoes the instruction given by Alma to the newly ordained priests when he organized the church at the waters of Mormon:…
What Can We Learn from the Words of the Baptismal Ordinance?
When the Savior visited the American continent following His death and resurrection, one of His first actions was to clarify how baptisms ought to be performed. He did this so that there would be no more disputations among the people about how baptisms should be performed. As part of that clarification, the Savior specified the…
Finding Opportunities to “Be One”
Unity is essential to discipleship. Alma taught that having “hearts knit together in unity and in love” made his people “the children of God.” The Savior said, “Be one; and if ye are not one, ye are not mine.” Elder Buckner urged us to look for opportunities to be one instead of reasons to divide.
All Posts Referencing Mosiah 18
- Holy Convocations (5/1/2026)
- Jethro and Mosiah on Collaborative Leadership (4/19/2026)
- One Heart and One Mind: Welcoming New Church Members (2/4/2026)
- “Let Your Hearts Rejoice” (11/7/2025)
- 4,000th Post (10/15/2025)
- The Poor (and the Rich) Shall Be Exalted (9/19/2025)
- Becoming and Remaining Pure in Heart (9/2/2025)
- Seeing the Face of God (8/27/2025)
- From Vision to Practice: The Relationship Between Doctrine and Covenants 76 and 78 (7/17/2025)
- More Abundantly (7/1/2025)
- Boundaries and Forgiveness (6/18/2025)
- Finding Opportunities to “Be One” (4/23/2025)
- Thy Daily Walk (3/9/2025)
- Mourning (10/1/2024)
- “I Am Mormon” (9/20/2024)
- Exquisite (8/2/2024)
- “See, Here Is Water” (5/23/2024)
- Bearing Burdens (5/22/2024)
- The Waters of Mormon (5/21/2024)
- Burdens (3/8/2024)
- Belonging (1/6/2024)
- Knit Together (10/15/2023)
- “Mark Them Which Cause Divisions” (8/20/2023)
- “Ye Visited Me” (5/27/2023)
- “Is Your Eye Evil Because I Am Good?” (5/11/2023)
- How Did Jesus Observe the Sabbath Day? (3/19/2023)
- Room in the Inn (1/10/2023)
- Rachel Weeping (10/19/2022)
- Letting Go of My Burdens (10/16/2022)
- Feeble Knees (8/5/2022)
- “The Lord Maketh Poor, and Maketh Rich” (6/11/2022)
- Permanent Promises (6/9/2022)
- Your Past Does Not Define You (5/24/2022)
- Acquainted with Grief (4/15/2022)
- Taskmasters (3/26/2022)
- My Brother’s Keeper (1/15/2022)
- Spirit (11/10/2021)
- “Build Up Cities” (11/3/2021)
- The High Council of the Church of Christ (9/16/2021)
- Impart (9/14/2021)
- How to Worship (8/29/2021)
- Needs and Wants (7/22/2021)
- “Feeble Knees” (7/20/2021)
- Willing (6/17/2021)
- Principles (4/22/2021)
- “With One Voice” (3/14/2021)
- “Temporal and Spiritual” – Mosiah 2:41 (2/20/2021)
- Immersion (2/14/2021)
- “Preach Nothing Save It Were Repentance” – Mosiah 18:20 (2/3/2021)
- “They Were Also Admonished” – Mosiah 26:39 (1/26/2021)
- “Cut Off from Among the People” (1/2/2021)
- “Meet Together Oft” – Moroni 6:5 (12/4/2020)
- “Save It Be for the Sins of the World” – 3 Nephi 28:9 (10/25/2020)
- Filled with Joy, Filled with Sorrow – Mosiah 25:8-11 (5/19/2020)
- “As Often as It Was in Their Power” – Mosiah 18:25 (5/13/2020)
- “The Fold of God” – Mosiah 18:8 (5/12/2020)
- “It Grieveth Me That I Should Lose This Tree” – Jacob 5:7 (3/17/2020)
- When Should I Express Gratitude? (11/29/2019)
- What Does It Mean to Be Ordained? (11/8/2019)
- What Is a Priest? (11/4/2019)
- How Can I Be a Both a Defender of Truth and a Peacemaker? (10/19/2019)
- What Is Authority? (10/15/2019)
- What Is the First Resurrection? (10/14/2019)
- What Does It Mean to Serve Others “According to Their Wants?” (10/2/2019)
- What Does It Mean to Bear One Another’s Burdens? (9/28/2019)
- What Is the Relationship Between the Family and the Church? (9/18/2019)
- How Can I Delegate More Effectively? (9/10/2019)
- Why Is It Important for Us to Gather with Other Believers? (8/10/2019)
- What Can I Learn About Ministering from Alma? (8/6/2019)
- How Do Our Covenants with God Affect Our Relationships with Each Other? (6/21/2019)
- Why Do We “Bear” Witness? (5/23/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Sadness? (5/7/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About the Resurrection? (4/21/2019)
- What Can We Learn from the Prayers Recorded in the Book of Mormon? (3/28/2019)
- What Can We Learn from the Words of the Baptismal Ordinance? (2/24/2019)
- What Is the Relationship Between Baptism and Membership in the Church? (2/21/2019)
- Did Alma Baptize Himself? (2/19/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Grace? (1/28/2019)
- They Were Called the Church of God – Mosiah 18:16-17 (11/12/2018)
- If This Be the Desire of Your Hearts – Mosiah 18:8-10 (1/16/2018)
- All This Was Done in Mormon – Mosiah 18:30 (1/13/2017)
- They Should Observe the Sabbath Day – Mosiah 18:23, 25 (12/18/2016)
- Knit Together in Unity and in Love – Mosiah 18:21 (11/17/2016)
- Witnesses of God – Mosiah 18:9 (11/6/2016)
- And Also Every Day – Mosiah 18:23 (10/7/2016)
- According to Their Needs and Their Wants – Mosiah 18:29 (8/17/2016)
- They Were Called the Church of God – Mosiah 18:16-18 (7/7/2016)
- Witnesses of God – Mosiah 18:8-10 (6/18/2016)
- Mourn with Those That Mourn – Mosiah 18:8-10 (6/16/2016)
- Every Day They Should Give Thanks – Mosiah 18:23 (5/7/2016)
- Hearts Knit Together in Unity and in Love – Mosiah 18:21 (3/31/2016)
- Having Their Hearts Knit Together – Mosiah 18:21 (5/11/2015)