Mosiah

[Guest]

I have been reading in Mosiah and I'm at the part now where Alma is teaching and baptizing people. The only thing is that it doesn't mention when Alma himself was baptized and received the authority to baptize others. Did I miss something or do we just assume that he was baptized and received the priesthood?

[Guest Starsky]

Wasn't he a priest under Noah? Wouldn't that constitute receiving the authority and priesthood?

Mosiah 11:

1 AND now it came to pass that Zeniff conferred the kingdom upon Noah, one of his sons; therefore Noah began to reign in his stead; and he did not walk in the ways of his father....

5 For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their stead, such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts.

[AFDaw]

Noah consecrated self-serving arrogant priests in place of the ones his father consecrated. It doesn't mention their ordination, so they were probably already ordained priests, but because they were lazy and idolatrous, Noah's father had no use for them. This would explain where Alma gets his authority from. He was already an ordained priest under Zeniff, but did not rise to a position of authority under Zeniff because of his vanity.

[Guest]

OK, that makes sense now. I guess I missed it because Noah was not a righteous king and neither were his priests. But I guess that doesn't mean they weren't given the priesthood. Thanks for clearing that up for me. :)