“Good Homely Cloth”

Alan C. Miner

In Alma 1:29 it mentions "good homely cloth." According to Webster's New World Dictionary, the term "homely" means of the home, domestic. It refers to characteristics suitable for home life or everday living. Thus, "good homely cloth" was apparently very nice, practical cloth suitable for everyday living. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]

Alma 1:29 All manner of good homely cloth ([Illustration]): Only rarely do we get glimpses of actual cloth preserved from the past, like this undated fragment now in the regional museum in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas. [John L. Sorenson, Images of Ancient America, p. 92]

Alma 1:29 All manner of good homely cloth ([Illustration]): (a) A weaver from thirteen hundred years ago, shown in a Jaina clay sculpture, uses a type of freestanding loom that was no longer used by the time of the Spanish Conquest. (There may well have been other cultural losses too.) (b) A woman weaves on a typical pre-Columbian-style back-strap loom, with Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, in the background. [John L. Sorenson, Images of Ancient America, pp. 92, 93]

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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