Use Boldness but Not Overbearance

As Alma mentored his sons in teaching the gospel, he counseled them not only to cultivate qualities such as diligence, temperance, humility, and self-reflection, but to also use “boldness, but not overbearance” (Alma 38:12) as part of their approach. The words boldness, bold, and boldly are used twenty-seven times throughout the Book Mormon, primarily to indicate that a person, or a group of people, have spoken or acted with “courage, daring, fearlessness; confidence, assurance, [and] security” (Oxford English Dictionary Online, OED). On the other hand, overbearance is used only once and seems to mean “to overcome, put down, or repress, as by power, authority, influence, or emotional pressure” (OED). In this episode, Dr. Jan J. Martin, associate professor of ancient scripture, discusses Alma’s stylistic teaching advice given to his son Shiblon. She highlights two critical areas of Alma’s methodology: the origin of his prophetic and fatherly counsel for teaching the gospel and his practice of leaning into the Holy Ghost for inspiration on what and how to teach. Alma’s experiences in Ammonihah provide important instruction for anyone with leadership or teaching responsibilities who desire to be bold but not overbearing. 

Publications:

• “Use Boldness but Not Overbearance” (Book of Mormon Insights: Letting God Prevail in Your Life, Religious Studies Center, 2024)
• “‘Filthy This Day before God’: Jacob’s Use of Filthy and Filthiness in His Nephite Sermons” (Jacob: Faith and Great Anxiety, Religious Studies Center, 2024)
• “The Prophet Nephi and the Covenantal Nature of ‘Cut Off,’ ‘Cursed,’ ‘Skin of Blackness,’ and ‘Loathsome’” (They Shall Grow Together: The Bible in the Book of Mormon, Religious Studies Center, 2022)
• The Power of Christ’s Deliverance (Religious Studies Center, 2021)
• “Samuel the Lamanite: Confronting the Wall of Nephite Prejudice” (Samuel the Lamanite: That Ye Might Believe, Religious Studies Center, 2021)
• “The Theological Value of the King Hames Language in the Book of Mormon” (Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 27, 2018)

Click here to learn more about Jan J. Martin