Mosiah 26
I believe it is as true today as it was in the days of Alma and Mosiah that those who do not believe in the coming of Christ (as the Savior and not just a historical figure) cannot understand the word of God—it fails to paint a comprehensive picture without that piece of the puzzle.
I think this example of dual citizenship, where church members answered to their ecclesiastical leaders first and their political leaders after that, provides an interesting lesson. The first lesson is a reminder that not all sin should be codified into political law. The second lesson is that those who are members of the kingdom of God only answer to the political authorities once they will not or cannot deal with their sins by working with their ecclesiastical authorities.
How would it be in our society if the mortal institutions of justice chose to take a fallback position in deference to religious institutions helping sinners to repent. What I mean is that those criminals who were not threats to society might, if they desired and had a willing partner in an established religion, have the opportunity to “go and sin no more” instead of being incarcerated at public expense where they receive little support to actually change and much added exposure and pressure to make criminality their lifestyle and identity.
On a personal level, Alma did not want to be in the position to judge people because he remembered his propensity for iniquity from the days when he had previously been in a position to do so under the reign of Noah.
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