There is a verse in the Book of Mormon that is horrifically proof-texted, and strained to such an interpretation as to defy reason. That verse is Alma 39:5:

Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost?

This verse is used to prove that sexual sin is “second only to murder” in the eyes of God and that it is one of the most heinous and despicable sins.

The scriptures, as is so often the case, say absolutely nothing like that.

The Context

It’s important to remember who is speaking here. This is Alma the Younger (although at this point he’s definitely getting on in years). He’s the one who “sought to destroy the Church of God” (Mosiah 27:10, Alma 36:6). He did this by being “a man of many words, and did speak much flattery to the people; therefore he led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities.” (Mosiah 27:8) He declared that he had “murdered many of his children”. But had he? He clarifies that he didn’t actually kill anyone, but had “led them away unto destruction.” (Alma 36:14)

Alma was clearly distressed by what he had done, despite having received forgiveness for having done it. So you can imagine his parental panic at the sight of his son doing almost identical things as to what he had done. He would have likely come down very hard on Corianton, in order to spare Corianton the mental anguish of going through what Alma had endured.

Any parent can relate to this. Sometimes when taking a cookie sheet out of the oven, we get burned. From that point on, we are hyper-sensitive and proclaim that Henceforth and Forevermore No Child Shall Ever Approach The Stove. We overreact with the hyperbolic intent to impress upon our targets the (perceived) severity of what consequences could occur.

The Conversation

But there’s more to this than supposition about Alma being an overreacting parent. Let’s take a look at what Alma actually says in verse 5, the one that’s so often pulled out-of-context:

> Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord;

Hold up! He says these things! I thought we were only talking about the one thing of Corianton’s purported promiscuity! What are these other things? There must be others, or else he would not have used the plural form.

So what does he say are “these things” which Corianton did?

  • Corianton did not observe the steadiness, faithfulness, and diligence of his brother (v1)
  • He did not pay as much heed to Alma’s words (v2)
  • He boasted of his own strength and wisdom (v2)
  • He forsook his ministry (v3)
  • He went in to the land of Siron (v3)
  • He “went after” Isabel (v3)

With this list, it’s much clearer that Alma was viewing Corianton’s actions in the same light as the ones from his misguided youth. He uses the same language (“murder”, “harrow up”) to describe Corianton’s path as he used to describe his own. It’s clear then that Alma is not talking about sexual sin (which isn’t even mentioned!), but that the combination of Corianton’s actions caused “the Zoramites… [to] not believe in my [Alma’s] words” and are thus “most abominable”

In other words, Corianton was accomplishing the exact same thing his father accomplished. But in accomplishing it, Alma experienced the harrowing. He experienced the guilt and pains and torments of a damned soul. And of course he wouldn’t want Corianton to experience that.

There is no basis in these scriptures that sexual sin is “second only to murder” in severity. There’s not even any evidence of sexual sin; just some phrase that Corianton “went after” Isabel. We assume it’s a euphemism for sexual promiscuity, but in reality there is no contextual evidence for that either.

So the next time someone says that adultery/fornication/sexual sin is “second only to murder”, crack open the scriptures and teach them. It’s all there, right before your eyes, if you will open them to see.