In a page entitled, "Book of Mormon
Questions," Al Case, a former member of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, under the section, "Book of Mormon Style and
Inconsistencies," posed the following criticism:
Why did Alma not know
when Christ was coming (Alma 13:21-26) even though he possessed plates and Lehi
and Nephi had written precisely when he would arrive?
The pericope reads as follows (emphasis added):
And now it came to pass
that when Alma had said these words unto them, he stretched forth his hand unto
them and cried with a mighty voice saying, Now is the time to repent for the
day of salvation draweth nigh; yea, and the voice of the Lord, by the mouth of
angels, doth declare it unto all nations; yea, doth declare it, that they may
have glad tidings of great joy; yea, and he doth sound these glad tidings among
all his people, yea, even to them that are scattered abroad upon the face of
the earth; wherefore they have come unto us. And they are made known unto us in
plain terms, that we may understand, that we cannot err; and this because of our being wanderers in a
strange land; therefore we are thus highly favoured, for we have these glad
tidings declared unto us in all parts of our vineyard. For behold, angels are
declaring it unto many at this time in our land, and this is for the purpose of
preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time
of his coming in his glory. And now we only want to hear the joyful news
declared unto us by the mouth of angels of his coming for the time cometh, we
know not how soon. Would to God that it might be in my days; but let it be
sooner or later, in it I will rejoice.
Alma is speaking of Jesus’ “coming in glory,” that is,
the “Second Coming” or parousia; not his birth. The Book of Mormon, when
referencing the Second Advent of Christ speaks of it, not his birth, as His
coming in glory:
And behold, according
to the words of the prophets , the Messiah will set himself again the second
time to recover them; wherefore, he will manifest himself unto them in power
and great glory unto the destruction of their enemies , when that day cometh
when they shall believe in him, and none will he destroy that believe in him.
(2 Nephi 6:14)
And now many days hence
the Son of God will come in his glory, and his glory shall be the glory of the
Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, all of patience,
mercy, and long suffering full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience,
mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer
their prayers. (Alma 9:26)
And many of the people
did inquire concerning the place where the son of God should come, and they were
taught that he would appear unto them after his resurrection; and this the
people did hear with great joy and gladness. (Alma 16:20)
And he did expound all
things even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory—yea,
even all things which should come upon the face of the earth, even until the
elements should melt with fervent heat, and the earth should be wept together
as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass away. (3 Nephi 26:3)
Therefore, more blessed
are ye, for ye shall never taste of death; but ye shall live to behold all the
doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be
fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory
with the powers of heaven. (3 Nephi 28:7)
Would may object that Alma’s use of the phrase, “would
to God that it might be in my days” as evidence Alma expected the event to
happen in his lifetime. However, as John Tvedtnes has noted:
[T]he opposite is true.
There are two Hebrew expressions that the King James translators rendered
"would [to] God that" or "would that."[24] In all but one
case that I found in the Bible (Genesis 30:34),[25] the situation being
described is clearly one that is impossible of fulfillment. Note the following:
"Would to God we
had died" (Exodus 16:3); "would God that we had died" (Numbers
14:2 [twice]; 20:3); "would God I had died for thee" (2 Samuel
18:33); the speakers obviously hadn't died.
"Would to God that
all the Lord's people were prophets" (Numbers 11:29); unfortunately, they
were not.
"Would to God we
had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan" (Joshua 7:7); they
had, however, crossed the river.
"Would to God this
people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech" (Judges 9:29);
the speaker did not govern the people.
"I would there
were a sword in mine hand" (Numbers 22:29); there wasn't.
In addition to Alma
13:25, the Book of Mormon uses the expression "would to God" in two
other passages, both of which reflect an impossibility of fulfillment:
"Would to God that
we could persuade all men not to rebel against God" (Jacob 1:8); they
couldn't.
"I would to God
that ye had not been guilty of so great a crime" (Alma 39:7); the crime
had already been committed.
Notes for the Above:
24. Neither Hebrew
idiom mentions God. The King James translators similarly added the divine title
in another Hebrew expression, changing "may the king live" to
"God save the king," to correspond to the formula used in the British
coronation ceremony (1 Samuel 10:24; 2 Samuel 16:16; 2 Kings 11:12; 2 Chronicles
23:11).
25. Even this may have
been intended by Laban as an expression of impossibility.