Mosiah 25:1 king Mosiah caused that all the people should be gathered together

So far in the Book of Mormon, the non-Lamanite peoples have never been together in one group. At first, the Nephites and the Mulekites were separate, and just as the Nephites joined up with the people of Zarehemla in the days of Mosiah’s grandfather, Zeniff took his band to the land of Lehi-Nephi. The history of the last two generations has had Nephites living in at least two if not three different communities. Now, the people finally are gathered together. This begins the era when Zarahemla becomes the capital for all the Nephites and the Mulekites, when they were all one people.

Mosiah 25:3 they were not half so numerous

The Nephites and the Mulekites combined did not amount to one half of the number of Lamanites in the land. This is significant because one generation later, a great era of violence and conflict ensues. In these great battles, the Nephites are vastly outnumbered. The Lord and the great general Moroni will be their only salvation, because by numbers alone they are doomed to defeat.

Mosiah 25:4 the people of Nephi…and…the people of Zarahemla

It is common practice to use the term “Mulekites” to describe the people of Zarahemla. However, the term, “Mulekites” is not found in the Book of Mormon and is used for convenience. These people rather referred to themselves as the people of Zarahemla, who was the king at the time that they first joined with the Nephites. It was common practice that the people were called after the name of a righteous king, and so it was with the Nephites, those who were with me did take upon them to call themselves the people of Nephi (2 Ne 5:9). Yet, there was no reason for the people of Zarahemla to give their group a name before the Nephites appeared because there was no other people from which they needed to distinguish themselves.

Mosiah 25:12 the children of Amulon and his brethren…would no longer be called by the names of their fathers

Clearly Amulon and the other priests of Noah had families before they took the daughters of the Lamanites to wife, and these are the children spoken of in this verse. During the battle against the Nephites, their fathers had taken the advice of Noah and abandoned their wives and children in a selfish attempt at self-preservation (Mosiah 19:11-21). Later, they kidnapped and married the Lamanite women, plundered the Nephites for food, and joined with the Lamanites (Mosiah 20:5, 21:21, 23:35). Certainly, their behavior was an embarrassment to their once abandoned children. They preferred to be called by a name of righteousness, therefore they took upon themselves the name of Nephi.

One of the most damning legacies is left by the father who exercises unrighteous dominion, or, worse yet, exercises no dominion at all because he has abandoned his family altogether.

James E. Faust

“In the past twenty years, as homes and families have struggled to stay intact, sociological studies reveal this alarming fact: much of the crime and many of the behavioral disorders in the United States come from homes where the father has abandoned the children. In many societies the world over, child poverty, crime, drug abuse, and family decay can be traced to conditions where the father gives no male nurturing….We need to honor the position of the father as the primary provider for physical and spiritual support. I state this with no reluctance because the Lord has revealed that this obligation is placed upon husbands….(DC 83:2,4; 84:99; 29:48).” (Ensign, May 1993, pp. 35-36 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 234)

Ezra Taft Benson

“One of the greatest things a man can do for his children is to love his wife and let them know he loves her. A father has the responsibility to lead his family by desiring to have children, loving them, and by letting virtue garnish his thoughts unceasingly (see DC 121:45). This is one of the great needs today.” (God, Family, Country, p. 185 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 234)

Mosiah 25:17 king Limhi…and all his people were desirous that they might be baptized

Remember that Limhi’s people had made covenants to serve the Lord but were unable to be baptized because there was no one with authority and Ammon considered himself an unworthy servant (Mosiah 21:33). Now, they are all finally baptized by the one who had that authority, Alma. The authority and the manner of baptism were the same as that described earlier, see commentary for Mosiah 17:8-17.

Mosiah 25:19 gave him power to ordain priests and teachers over every church

Alma already had the power to ordain priests and teachers for he had already done that among his own people (Mosiah 18:18). But if a bishop can’t make changes in another’s ward, then Alma did not have the stewardship to ordain priests and teachers in Zarahemla until his stewardship was expanded by Mosiah. Here we see the pattern of order and wisdom in the administration of the Lord’s kingdom. The Lord spoke to Oliver Cowdery about the words of the Book of Mormon which he had been writing and explained that in them are all things written concerning the foundation of my church, my gospel, and my rock (DC 18:4). Alma’s ministry is a good example of the importance of stewardship in church administration and the importance of receiving one’s ordination under the hands of the Lord’s authorized servants. These truths are pillars of strength in the foundation of the Lord’s church.

Mosiah 25:22 notwithstanding there being many churches they were all one church

One of the most remarkable characteristics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is its worldwide uniformity. If you go to McDonalds in a third world country, the Big Mac doesn’t always taste the same. But if you go to a Sacrament meeting in a third world country, though you sit on a dirt floor, in a room with no more than a handful of members, and no one is speaking English—still, the taste of the spirit is just as sweet. So it was in the days of Alma, for the priests were careful not to teach something that wasn’t in the program. It was forbidden to do so. The result was that the Lord did pour out his Spirit upon them, and they were blessed, and prospered in the land (v. 24).

An Armenian convert who was baptized while in Austria wrote, “In the International Branch in Vienna, I felt the real Spirit of the Church because they had so many members. When I moved to the Armenian Branch, there were very few members, 10 or 15, attending every Sunday. So it was a little bit odd for me, but now I understand that it is not the quantity of the people necessary to feel the Spirit. The Spirit is the same, No matter where you go, the Church doesn’t change.” (Church News, Feb 14, 1998)

“’The Church is the same wherever you go!’ I grew up hearing this from returning vacationers and from missionaries reporting their missions. And I understood what they meant. They didn't mean that the same hymns were sung elsewhere- though they were- or that everyone used the same lesson manuals, or that everyone thought the same. They meant the gospel felt the same wherever they went. This resulted from the presence of the Holy Spirit, which is the universal way we recognize the things of God. It's the same when you learn something new or see something from a new slant, and suddenly it all makes sense. You know it's right, because it feels right and is consistent with other glimpses of truth that you've had.” (Book of Mormon Symposium Series, edited by PR Cheesman, MS Nyman, and CD Tate, Jr., 1988, p. 105)