Date of Award
Spring 6-1-2026
Document Type
Honors Project
University Scholars Director
Dr. Joshua Tom
First Advisor/Committee Member
Dr. Traynor Hansen
Keywords
Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, theology, narrative, Mormonism, allegory, knowledge
Abstract
This paper examines D&C 76, an 1832 revelation penned by Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon that details Mormon theology in regards to eternity, salvation, and damnation, and Mosiah 27 and Alma 9–14 from the Book of Mormon to observe and analyze how the D&C 76’s specificity is mirrored and encased in two Book of Mormon stories: Alma the Younger and Ammonihah. The first section synthesizes D&C 76’s doctrinal claims and contextualizes Mormonism’s salvation and damnation as uniquely epistemic—or reliant on knowledge—and oriented around the internal processes of progression towards or away from God as necessary precedents to external and eternal states decreed after Judgment Day. The second section argues that Alma’s repentance in Mosiah 27 ought to be interpreted as a theological allegory that, through use of character, dialogue, and a parallel narrative structure to D&C 76’s “spirit prison” or temporary hell doctrine, reveals additional meaning behind the metaphor of hellfire or prison. The third section will argue that Ammonihah’s depravity functions as an additional theological allegory in a similar manner of parallel narrative structure and supplementation through dramatization of D&C 76’s “outer darkness” or eternal hell doctrine.
Recommended Citation
Sessions, Ella Bethany, "Ammonihah's Allegory of Damnation: "Fire and Brimstone" in the Book of Mormon and Doctrine & Covenants" (2026). Honors Projects. 262.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/262
Copyright Status
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Additional Rights Information
Copyright held by author.
