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The Book of Mormon for the Least of These, Volume 2: Mosiah-Alma
Volume 2 of this social justice commentary of the Book of Mormon empowers readers to understand the text as a book that speaks to issues of racism, sexism, immigration, violence, inequality, and community. The Book of Mormon For the Least of These Vol. 2 offers an unflinching examination of some of the difficult and troubling sections in Mosiah and Alma, while also advocating for a compassionate reading of holy text. As a verse-by-verse close reading, this book examines new layers of interpretation and meaning, giving even those deeply familiar with scripture innovative tools for engaging powerfully with the Book of Mormon.
413 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 10, 2022
26 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 24, 2024
Lots of good food for thought. This volume seemed more refined than the first one.
August 26, 2024
Again, I’m always happy for additional study material and this continues to greatly enhance my reading of the Book of Mormon.
August 28, 2024
This commentary is a beautiful enhancement to my reading of the Book of Mormon this year. I loved this volume and highly recommend it. Salleh and Hemming are here for the journeys with God of the different people of the scriptures as well as their and my own journeys as we take these scriptures into our hearts and minds. In this volume in particular I’ve found myself continually pondering community and have a new love for the people in the land of Jershon. I like their continual look at prospering and remembering. The authors also do not shy away from how violence and trauma can and do shape the lives and history of individuals and a people. They encourage readers to sit with the hard questions.
May 30, 2022
Another lovely volume of The Book of Mormon for the Least of These. I absolutely loved the first volume and was so excited for this next one, and it certainly did not disappoint. The whole thing felt so thought provoking and made me rethink a lot of my previous perspectives on these chapters. I also loved the focus on community and the narratives we spin about each other. I can't wait for volume three!
August 18, 2024
“One of the gifts of the Book of Mormon is its description of the diversity of experiences and responses. We will not and do not need to all react the same way to the wrongs of the world. Through this group of people, readers can witness a diversity of faithful responses. They are all ways in which individuals and communities have journeyed with God in the midst of death and violence. While they each look a little different, each are absolutely worthy of our careful attention.”
Thank you so much for these volumes.
Thank you so much for these volumes.
July 24, 2025
BOOK REVIEW - The Book of Mormon for the Least of These, Volume 2, Mosiah–Alma by Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming (06.09.24)
In the goodreads scale the highest rating is 5 stars, that is not enough for this contribution to Mormon Studies and scriptural analysis and commentary. I’ve read many scriptural commentaries; most are ok but not inspiring like this book. I do not exaggerate when I say this book is a revelatory and deeply compassionate work. We had the exceptional opportunity to listen to Margret in a small group setting as she described that she and Fatimah followed as the read and analyzed the Book of Mormon through a lens of justice, humility, and radical love. This is a book that reorients the heart and mind toward those on the margins—exactly where Jesus called his disciples to stand.
What makes this volume extraordinary is its insistence that theology must be lived. Salleh and Hemming dive into some of the most complex and spiritually rich chapters of the Book of Mormon—King Benjamin’s sermon, the rise of Alma the Elder, the oppression of the people of Limhi, and the missionary journeys of Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah—and draw from them profound truths about liberation, faith, and repentance. But they do so not in abstraction. Each commentary, each reflection is rooted in the lives of the poor, the outcast, the criminalized, the refugee, the forgotten.
Take, for example, their treatment of King Benjamin’s address. Where many see it as simply a discourse on service or humility, Salleh and Hemming illuminate it as a radical political sermon. They show Benjamin as a king who steps down from privilege, who refuses wealth and status, and who calls his people to care for one another as fellow beggars. Their commentary reveals this as a revolutionary moment—a call for equity, repentance, and economic justice that echoes modern voices like Martin Luther King Jr. and Dorothy Day.
In their reading of Alma’s ministry, the authors uplift themes of community-building and personal transformation, especially among the most unlikely people—prisoners, former oppressors, and wandering preachers. They humanize the struggle to believe, to change, and to repair harm. Their interpretation of the prison scenes with Alma and Amulek, for instance, becomes a meditation on how the Spirit moves even in the most brutal systems—and how God always chooses to be with the imprisoned.
What is most striking is how consistently the authors return to the question: Where is God in suffering? Their answer is clear and scripturally grounded—God is with the least of these. Not in the palaces or among the privileged, but in the wilderness, in the jail cell, in the fields of the laborer. Their application of liberation theology to Latter-day Saint scripture is not just refreshing—it is deeply needed.
This volume also continues to be accessible and beautifully written. Each chapter includes scripture, commentary, reflection questions, and often a prayer or meditative insight. It is ideal for individual study, group discussions, or as a companion to reading the Book of Mormon with a more justice-centered lens. The authors’ scholarly insight is matched by pastoral care; they do not condescend or preach but invite. The book challenges comfortable faith and calls readers into deeper discipleship. It reminds us that scripture is not static—but alive, always pointing us toward justice and mercy. For Latter-day Saints seeking a more inclusive, Christ-centered, and justice-driven reading of our sacred text, this book is indispensable.
Quotes:
“King Benjamin’s vision of society is one in which no person is above another, and all recognize their mutual dependency on God and one another. This is not a call to charity. It is a call to dismantle systems of inequality.” (We could do better.)
“The story of Alma’s conversion isn’t about a perfect man. It’s about a man whose life is interrupted by grace, whose repentance is public and costly, and whose love leads him to serve those he once ignored.” (In 2024 the CJCLDS provided $1.45B in humanitarian aid. That is impressive and among the top private organizations.)
“If God is with the imprisoned, then our faith must take us to the prisons. If God is with the poor, then our theology must feed and house and heal.” (The Church has an active and robust prison ministry in locations where there are LDS inmates, and their prison services like all others are open to all denominations.)
In the goodreads scale the highest rating is 5 stars, that is not enough for this contribution to Mormon Studies and scriptural analysis and commentary. I’ve read many scriptural commentaries; most are ok but not inspiring like this book. I do not exaggerate when I say this book is a revelatory and deeply compassionate work. We had the exceptional opportunity to listen to Margret in a small group setting as she described that she and Fatimah followed as the read and analyzed the Book of Mormon through a lens of justice, humility, and radical love. This is a book that reorients the heart and mind toward those on the margins—exactly where Jesus called his disciples to stand.
What makes this volume extraordinary is its insistence that theology must be lived. Salleh and Hemming dive into some of the most complex and spiritually rich chapters of the Book of Mormon—King Benjamin’s sermon, the rise of Alma the Elder, the oppression of the people of Limhi, and the missionary journeys of Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah—and draw from them profound truths about liberation, faith, and repentance. But they do so not in abstraction. Each commentary, each reflection is rooted in the lives of the poor, the outcast, the criminalized, the refugee, the forgotten.
Take, for example, their treatment of King Benjamin’s address. Where many see it as simply a discourse on service or humility, Salleh and Hemming illuminate it as a radical political sermon. They show Benjamin as a king who steps down from privilege, who refuses wealth and status, and who calls his people to care for one another as fellow beggars. Their commentary reveals this as a revolutionary moment—a call for equity, repentance, and economic justice that echoes modern voices like Martin Luther King Jr. and Dorothy Day.
In their reading of Alma’s ministry, the authors uplift themes of community-building and personal transformation, especially among the most unlikely people—prisoners, former oppressors, and wandering preachers. They humanize the struggle to believe, to change, and to repair harm. Their interpretation of the prison scenes with Alma and Amulek, for instance, becomes a meditation on how the Spirit moves even in the most brutal systems—and how God always chooses to be with the imprisoned.
What is most striking is how consistently the authors return to the question: Where is God in suffering? Their answer is clear and scripturally grounded—God is with the least of these. Not in the palaces or among the privileged, but in the wilderness, in the jail cell, in the fields of the laborer. Their application of liberation theology to Latter-day Saint scripture is not just refreshing—it is deeply needed.
This volume also continues to be accessible and beautifully written. Each chapter includes scripture, commentary, reflection questions, and often a prayer or meditative insight. It is ideal for individual study, group discussions, or as a companion to reading the Book of Mormon with a more justice-centered lens. The authors’ scholarly insight is matched by pastoral care; they do not condescend or preach but invite. The book challenges comfortable faith and calls readers into deeper discipleship. It reminds us that scripture is not static—but alive, always pointing us toward justice and mercy. For Latter-day Saints seeking a more inclusive, Christ-centered, and justice-driven reading of our sacred text, this book is indispensable.
Quotes:
“King Benjamin’s vision of society is one in which no person is above another, and all recognize their mutual dependency on God and one another. This is not a call to charity. It is a call to dismantle systems of inequality.” (We could do better.)
“The story of Alma’s conversion isn’t about a perfect man. It’s about a man whose life is interrupted by grace, whose repentance is public and costly, and whose love leads him to serve those he once ignored.” (In 2024 the CJCLDS provided $1.45B in humanitarian aid. That is impressive and among the top private organizations.)
“If God is with the imprisoned, then our faith must take us to the prisons. If God is with the poor, then our theology must feed and house and heal.” (The Church has an active and robust prison ministry in locations where there are LDS inmates, and their prison services like all others are open to all denominations.)
December 1, 2023
An incite full reading of the Book of Mormon
This book was written while the US was struggling with racism after the death of George Floyd. It looks at how different characters in the the books of Mosiah and Alma in the Book of Mormon respond to injustice and war during their lifetimes and concludes that there are a variety of ways to work towards a just and free society. The battle may be long. We may not see the end but it is still worth our best effort.
This book was written while the US was struggling with racism after the death of George Floyd. It looks at how different characters in the the books of Mosiah and Alma in the Book of Mormon respond to injustice and war during their lifetimes and concludes that there are a variety of ways to work towards a just and free society. The battle may be long. We may not see the end but it is still worth our best effort.
February 9, 2024
Have high expectations after reading the incredible first volume? Well, you're in luck. Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming's second volume exceeds all expectations and offers the BEST interpretation of the war chapters I have ever heard. This book buzzes with power. I'm left floored and inspired.
November 28, 2022
Masterful!
August 25, 2024
will never view the book of mormon the same ❤️
September 15, 2024
I love how this commentary helps me think about the broader patterns and overall ideas related to justice and ministry. It helps me uncover new truths.
October 24, 2024
This book changed me. Love the perspective of Fatimah and Margaret in seeing the scriptures with a new perspective!
January 2, 2025
I confess I haven't read every word, but read enough I am going to keep this as a commentary to include in my study library.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews