Read Scriptures

Gospel Study

Projects

The Book of Mormon Central Archive is a digital library of thousands of free textual and media resources for the study of the Book of Mormon.

Periodicals

small_PeriodicalLarge.png

thumbnail_PeriodicalLarge.png

PeriodicalLarge.png

Journal Collection | Archive

<p style="text-align: justify;">Alma 32 is a learned text on the topic of faith. The account incorporates creation imagery from the opening chapters of Genesis. Alma&rsquo;s sermon follows a theological pattern in the Hebrew Bible where creation is used to encourage audiences to exercise faith in the present by considering the primordial past.Alma compares the &ldquo;word of God&rdquo; unto a seed, telling his audience that they are to be involved with &ldquo;planting.&rdquo; Thus, Alma&rsquo;s sermon combines the two distinct creation views in the Genesis narratives, for God speaks the divine word in order to create in Genesis 1, and he plants seeds and trees to create his garden paradise in Genesis 2&ndash;3. By invoking the miracle of creation in the past into a present context of seed growth and recreation, Alma encourages his readers to fulfill the measure of their own creation by experimenting upon the divine word. Obtaining the type of faith Alma describes is therefore the very purpose of human existence, and it has been from the beginning.</p>


The Word and the Seed: The Theological Use of Biblical Creation in Alma 32

Title

The Word and the Seed: The Theological Use of Biblical Creation in Alma 32

Publication Type

Journal Collection

Year of Publication

2014

Authors

David E. Bokovoy (Primary)

Pagination

1-21

Volume

23

URL

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol23/iss1/3

Keywords

Terms of use

Bibliographic Citation

Abstract

Table of Contents