Pentecost and Mosiah 18

Today is Pentecost. Some Christians describe this as the "birthday" of the church, meaning that they see Pentecost as the beginning of the community of Spirit-filled disciples. So it seems an especially appropriate day for me to reflect on the formation of a Christian community as described in Mosiah 18.

The "church of God," or the "church of Christ," are the assembly of the baptized (v. 17). They are also called the "fold of God" or "[God's] people" (v. 8). I will therefore be talking throughout this post as if the word "church" were plural—"the church do such-and-such," rather than "the church does such-and-such" (just as if I were saying "the baptized do such-and-such," or "God's people do such-and-such"). I think that's important as a way to underscore that the church are first and foremost an assembly, a community, not an institution.

The church are united by their baptism: what makes them one body is that they all share that rite. Baptism is a witness that we are willing to bear one another's burdens, to mourn with those who mourn, to comfort those who stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God in all things throughout our lives. Baptism betokens that we have entered into a covenant with God, to serve him and keep his commandments (which Jesus tells us, in the Gospels, are first and foremost to love God and to love our neighbor). By entering this covenant, we make it possible for God to pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon us (vv. 8-10). One of the purposes of having the Spirit poured out upon us, we learn in v. 12, is so that we can do God's work with holiness of heart—that is, the Spirit equips us for service, to do the things we have covenanted to do.

Later in the chapter, we are told how this community, at least, organized their common life. They are divided into groups of fifty (v. 18)—small compared to the size that LDS wards are allowed to reach today, but larger than, say, the college courses I've taught. I'm trying to think if I've ever belonged to a group of fifty: I'm trying to imagine what that would feel like in terms of bonding as a small group versus being able to maintain a measure of anonymity. Each group of fifty is assigned a priest, who is charged to preach nothing but repentance and faith in the Redeemer (vv. 18-20). The idea, I suppose, is that the priests are to confine themselves to basic Christian doctrines and practical life application rather than sophisticated theology or exegesis.

Because they have been joined into one shared faith and one baptism, the church are instructed not to contend with another, but to have their hearts knit together in unity and love for one another. This, they are told, is what will make them truly "the children of God" (vv. 21-22). Their worship consists of daily thanksgiving, a weekly Sabbath observance, and other assemblies as occasion permits (vv. 23, 25). The point is that they're encouraged to engage often in the practice of community, in the practice of being together.

About their finances: The priests are not full-time religious specialists: they work for their support like everybody else (v. 24). However, as need requires, they may be supported by the community just like other needy individuals (v. 28). The community described here doesn't seem to be organized like the Christian communities described in Acts or 4 Nephi, who held all things in common. But there is an expectation that people should impart to one another according to their means and their needs (v. 27-29).

Oh, one more thing: Authority in the community is centralized. Alma is at the center—or, to use a different model, at the top of a hierarchy. He is apparently the only one with authority to baptize and to ordain priests; certainly, at least, he is the source of that authority, even if it ends up being delegated (vv. 16-18). He is also, apparently, the only living, or at least present, source of authorized teaching, i.e., the priests repeat his teachings, which are supposed to be the teachings of Abinadi (v. 1; cf. 16:4). The priests can also teach what has been "spoken by the mouth of the holy prophets" (v. 19), which I presume refers to older written scriptures.

Note, then, that though this community's history begins with a charismatic prophet who comes out of nowhere and speaks a message given to him directly by God (Abinadi), things quickly get routinized, as the sociologists say: prophetic utterance in the present gives way to a written record of teachings past, and charismatic authority gives way to hierarchical authority. It's not clear what the basis of Alma's exclusive claim to supreme authority is. Because the community recognizes his ordination as a priest of Noah's regime? Because the community believes he has received authority by an outpouring of the Spirit (vv. 12-13)? There's no clear indication, in this chapter, that Alma is receiving his own revelations, though that will happen later (24:17). I'm seeing a rough parallel here to how authority will get worked out in the fledgling LDS community, where Joseph's charisma as seer and prophet quickly becomes routinized into an exclusive claim to supreme hierarchical authority to fend off competing charismas (like Hiram Page's seerstone).

What does all this say to me? The baptized life is a life in community—I've commented before on the problem that poses to me now that I don't have formal membership in a religious community. The baptismal covenant is centrally about mutual support: about sharing others' burdens and griefs, being there for them when they need comfort, and, in a perfectly tangible way, sharing our substance with people in need. A central challenge of the church is knitting our hearts together in love—a vivid metaphor. Teaching among the church should be simple, focused on real-life application of gospel principles.

The fact that teaching in the "Waters of Mormon" community is so hierarchical—the impression, at least, is that of a priest sermonizing to a passive audience—feels wrong to me. Passages in the D&C about teaching one another ring more true. The ideal of the community's religious leaders working for their own support rings true; but as many a religious group has discovered, the ideal quickly runs up against practical difficulties, and sooner or later the leadership at certain levels end up being compensated for full-time religious work (as happens in the LDS Church today). I do believe, though, that it's important to carefully cultivate the spirit of volunteerism as much as possible, and the LDS Church does a remarkably good job at that. (Though there is a down side to that as well, i.e., people's energies get pulled so much into keeping the Church running that it becomes harder to engage with the larger community. LDS volunteerism thus facilitates parochialism. It's a thorny catch-22.)

I feel like there's something more I ought to say here . . . something more that the Spirit is nudging me to articulate. But it's not coming now. Perhaps later as I continue to meditate on this passage.

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Holy Spirit—

On this day of Pentecost, I remember the spiritual outpouring that fell on Jesus's disciples after he had ascended into heaven.
I remember the "Pentecost" of the Kirtland Temple dedication, when new visions confirmed to the Latter-day Saints that they had been called to the work of preparing Christ's millennial reign.
I remember the "Pentecost" that moved the hearts of LDS leaders in 1978 and finally brought an end to the black priesthood ban.

I give thanks for the many ways the Spirit has been poured out upon me in the course of my life.
I give thanks for the occasions when I have felt inspired in what to say or write.
I give thanks for moments of epiphany.
I give thanks for moments of comfort.
I give thanks for being gradually guided in ways I only recognized after the fact.
I give thanks for being touched through scripture, music, literature, and film.
I give thanks for feelings of having my understanding enlightened and my soul enlarged.

Help me know how to more fully participate in a baptized community.
Help me be more loving, more open, more tightly knit to others; more willing to share my substance, my time, my energies, my empathy, my support.
Help me be a better, more consistent, more conscientious, more completely consecrated witness of God's truth and love.

In Christ's name, amen.