In Mosiah 26, as I’ve argued at length elsewhere, we see the rise of a church — in the sense of a volitional or intentional sub-community within the larger Nephite society — in the Book of Mormon. And it’s clear from Alma’s puzzlement, and the need for special revelation to get him out of his quandary, that this was unprecedented.
Again, I recommend my previously published discussion of this topic:
I still rather like it. Notwithstanding its vivid illustration of the nasty and mean-spirited tone for which all my writing at the old FARMS was notorious.
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