pgs. 230 and 231...at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word.

16 For there are many promises which are ^aextended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the ^btraditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ^cignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and ^dprolong their existence in the land.

17 And at some period of time they will be ^abrought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who ^bcall on his name.

18 But behold, I say unto you that if ye persist in your wickedness that your days shall not be ^aprolonged in the land, for the ^bLamanites shall be sent upon you; and if ye repent not they shall come in a time when you know not, and ye shall be visited with ^cutter destruction; and it shall be according to the fierce ^danger of the Lord.

19 For he will not suffer you that ye shall live in your iniquities, to ^adestroy his people. I say unto you, Nay; he would rather suffer that the Lamanites might destroy all his people who are called the people of Nephi, if it were possible that they could ^bfall into sins and transgressions, after having had so much light and so much knowledge given unto them of the Lord their God;

20 Yea, after having been such a highly favored people of the Lord; yea, after having been favored above every other ^anation, kindred, tongue, or people; after having had all things ^bmade known unto them, according to their desires, and their faith, and prayers, of that which has been, and which is, and which is to come;

21 Having been ^avisited by the Spirit of God; having conversed with angels, and having been spoken unto by the voice of the Lord; and having the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and also many gifts, the gift of speaking with tongues, and the gift of preaching, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the gift of ^btranslation;

22 Yea, and after having been ^adelivered of God out of the land of Jerusalem, by the hand of the Lord; having been ^bsaved from famine, and from sickness, and all manner of diseases of every kind; and they having waxed strong in battle, that they might not be destroyed; having been brought out of ^cbondage time after time, and having been kept and preserved until now; and they have been prospered until they are rich in all manner of things—

23 And now behold I say unto you, that if this people, who have received so many blessings from the hand of the Lord, should transgress ^acontrary to the light and knowledge which they do have, I say unto you that if this be the case, that if they should fall into transgression, it would be far more ^btolerable for the Lamanites than for them.

24 For behold, the ^apromises of the Lord are extended to the Lamanites, but they are not unto you if ye transgress; for has not the Lord expressly promised and firmly decreed, that if ye will rebel against him that ye shall ^butterly be destroyed from off the face of the earth?

25 And now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has sent his angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them that they must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: ^aRepent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;

26 And ^anot many days hence the Son of God shall come in his ^bglory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of ^cgrace, equity, and truth, full of patience, ^dmercy, and long-suffering, quick to ^ehear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.

27 And behold, he cometh to ^aredeem those who will be ^bbaptized unto repentance, through faith on his name.

28 Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand that all men shall reap a ^areward of their ^bworks, according to that which they have been—if they have been righteous they shall ^creap the salvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the ^ddamnation of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil.

29 Now behold, this is the voice of the angel, crying unto the people.

30 And now, my ^abeloved brethren, for ye are my brethren, and ye ought to be beloved, and ye ought to bring forth works which are meet for repentance, seeing that your hearts have been grossly hardened against the word of God, and seeing that ye are a ^blost and a fallen people.

31 Now it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken these words, behold, the people were wroth with me because I said unto them that they were a hard-hearted and a ^astiffnecked people.

32 And also because I said unto them that they were a lost and a fallen people they were angry with me, and sought to lay their hands upon me, that they might cast me into prison.

33 But it came to pass that the Lord did not suffer them that they should take me ^aat that time and cast me into prison.

34 And it came to pass that Amulek went and stood forth, and began to preach unto them also. And now the ^awords of Amulek are not all written, nevertheless a part of his words are written in this book.

This section discusses the difference between having gospel knowledge in this life and sinning against it versus never having it so not being capable of sin against it. I remember having long conversations with one of my missionary companions about this over several weeks time. We both wondered if it was more of a burden to know and be responsible for the knowledge now. After a while we realized that living according to gospel truths is a blessing, not a burden, and every gospel law you are aware of and obey will protect you from the negative consequences of disobeying that law. I hope we can all realize that while is is a great responsibility to live the gospel it is also an amazing blessing.


p.s. I am going out of town for a few days and I don't think I will be able to post for Thursday and maybe not on Friday. I am going to try to but I really don't know what kind of computer access I will find. I will catch up on all the posts when I get back so we don't fall behind schedule!

pgs. 228 and 229...Alma went forth, and also Amulek...to declare the words of God unto them; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost.

20 And the man said unto him: I am a Nephite, and I know that thou art a holy prophet of God, for thou art the man whom an ^aangel said in a vision: Thou shalt receive. Therefore, go with me into my house and I will impart unto thee of my ^bfood; and I know that thou wilt be a blessing unto me and my house.

21 And it came to pass that the man received him into his house; and the man was called Amulek; and he brought forth bread and meat and set before Alma.

22 And it came to pass that Alma ate bread and was filled; and he ^ablessed Amulek and his house, and he gave thanks unto God.

23 And after he had eaten and was filled he said unto Amulek: I am Alma, and am the ^ahigh priest over the church of God throughout the land.

24 And behold, I have been called to preach the word of God among all this people, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy; and I was in this land and they would not receive me, but they ^acast me out and I was about to set my back towards this land forever.

25 But behold, I have been commanded that I should turn again and prophesy unto this people, yea, and to testify against them concerning their iniquities.

26 And now, Amulek, because thou hast fed me and taken me in, thou art blessed; for I was an hungered, for I had fasted many days.

27 And Alma ^atarried many days with Amulek before he began to preach unto the people.

28 And it came to pass that the people did wax more gross in their iniquities.

29 And the word came to Alma, saying: Go; and also say unto my servant ^aAmulek, go forth and prophesy unto this people, saying—Repent ye, for thus saith the Lord, except ye repent I will visit this people in mine anger; yea, and I will not turn my ^bfierce anger away.

30 And Alma went forth, and also Amulek, among the people, to declare the words of God unto them; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost.

31 And they had ^apower given unto them, insomuch that they could not be confined in dungeons; neither was it possible that any man could slay them; nevertheless they did not exercise their ^bpower until they were bound in bands and cast into prison. Now, this was done that the Lord might show forth his power in them.

32 And it came to pass that they went forth and began to preach and to prophesy unto the people, according to the spirit and power which the Lord had given them.

THE BOOK OF ALMA

THE SON OF ALMA

The words of Alma, and also the words of Amulek, which were declared unto the people who were in the land of Ammonihah. And also they are cast into prison, and delivered by the miraculous power of God which was in them, according to the record of Alma. Comprising chapters 9 to 14 inclusive.

CHAPTER 9

Alma commands the people of Ammonihah to repent—The Lord will be merciful to the Lamanites in the last days—If the Nephites forsake the light, they shall be destroyed by the Lamanites—The Son of God soon cometh—He shall redeem those who repent and are baptized and have faith in his name. About 82 B.C.

1 And again, I, Alma, having been commanded of God that I should take Amulek and go forth and preach again unto this people, or the people who were in the city of ^aAmmonihah, it came to pass as I began to preach unto them, they began to contend with me, saying:

2 Who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony of ^aone man, although he should preach unto us that the earth should pass away?

3 Now they understood not the words which they spake; for they knew not that the earth should pass away.

4 And they said also: We will not believe thy words if thou shouldst prophesy that this great city should be destroyed in ^aone day.

5 Now they knew not that God could do such marvelous ^aworks, for they were a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people.

6 And they said: ^aWho is God, that sendeth ^bno more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things?

7 And they stood forth to lay their hands on me; but behold, they did not. And I stood with boldness to declare unto them, yea, I did boldly testify unto them, saying:

8 Behold, O ye wicked and perverse ^ageneration, how have ye forgotten the ^btradition of your fathers; yea, how soon ye have forgotten the commandments of God.

9 Do ye not remember that our father, Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the ^ahand of God? Do ye not remember that they were all led by him through the wilderness?

10 And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he ^adelivered our fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from being destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren?

11 Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his ^along-suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of ^bendless misery and woe.

12 Behold, now I say unto you that he commandeth you to repent; and except ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. But behold, this is not all—he has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly ^adestroy you from off the face of the earth; yea, he will visit you in his ^banger, and in his ^cfierce anger he will not turn away.

13 Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: ^aInasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

14 Now I would that ye should remember, that inasmuch as the Lamanites have not kept the commandments of God, they have been ^acut off from the presence of the Lord. Now we see that the word of the Lord has been verified in this thing, and the Lamanites have been cut off from his presence, from the beginning of their transgressions in the land.

15 Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more ^atolerable for them in the day of judgment than for you, if ye remain in your sins, yea, and even more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except ye repent.

Can you imagine what it might have been like to be Amulek? He was not at all living according to his testimony and then one day the prophet comes to him and says, "I'm hungry and I need food. I am supposed to be preaching to your city even though I want to turn my back on it and go home." Would you take Alma in? Amulek's pure heart is evident as he stays with Alma and becomes his "missionary companion." I am fascinated by the special power that was given to them for protection in verse 31. I'm equally intrigued by the fact that they didn't use it until they absolutely had to. They used the power the Lord blessed them with cautiously and with great care. And they sacrificed so much of their time, energy and talents to serve the Lord. That is a valuable lesson for all of us.

pgs. 226 and 227...see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

21 And he doth not dwell in ^aunholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at the last day, that he who is ^bfilthy shall remain in his filthiness.

22 And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received.

23 And now I would that ye should be ^ahumble, and be ^bsubmissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

24 And see that ye have ^afaith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

25 And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that ye may at last be brought to sit down with ^aAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began, having your garments ^bspotless even as their garments are spotless, in the kingdom of heaven to go no more out.

26 And now my beloved brethren, I have spoken these words unto you according to the Spirit which testifieth in me; and my soul doth exceedingly rejoice, because of the exceeding diligence and heed which ye have given unto my word.

27 And now, may the ^apeace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever. And thus I have spoken. Amen.

THE BOOK OF ALMA

THE SON OF ALMA

CHAPTER 8

Alma preaches and baptizes in Melek—He is rejected in Ammonihah and leaves—An angel commands him to return and cry repentance unto the people—He is received by Amulek, and the two of them preach in Ammonihah. About 82 B.C.

1 And now it came to pass that Alma returned from the ^aland of Gideon, after having taught the people of Gideon many things which cannot be written, having established the ^border of the church, according as he had before done in the land of Zarahemla, yea, he returned to his own house at Zarahemla to rest himself from the labors which he had performed.

2 And thus ended the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

3 And it came to pass in the commencement of the *tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Alma departed from thence and took his journey over into the land of ^aMelek, on the west of the ^briver Sidon, on the west by the borders of the wilderness.

4 And he began to teach the people in the land of Melek according to the ^aholy order of God, by which he had been called; and he began to teach the people throughout all the land of Melek.

5 And it came to pass that the people came to him throughout all the borders of the land which was by the wilderness side. And they were baptized throughout all the land;

6 So that when he had finished his work at Melek he departed thence, and traveled three days’ journey on the north of the land of Melek; and he came to a city which was called ^aAmmonihah.

7 Now it was the custom of the people of Nephi to call their lands, and their cities, and their villages, yea, even all their small villages, after the ^aname of him who first possessed them; and thus it was with the land of Ammonihah.

8 And it came to pass that when Alma had come to the city of Ammonihah he began to preach the word of God unto them.

9 Now Satan had gotten great ^ahold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma.

10 Nevertheless Alma ^alabored much in the spirit, ^bwrestling with God in ^cmighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance.

11 Nevertheless, they hardened their hearts, saying unto him: Behold, we know that thou art Alma; and we know that thou art high priest over the church which thou hast established in many parts of the land, according to your tradition; and we are not of thy church, and we do not believe in such foolish traditions.

12 And now we know that because we are not of thy church we know that thou hast no power over us; and thou hast delivered up the judgment-seat unto ^aNephihah; therefore thou art not the chief judge over us.

13 Now when the people had said this, and withstood all his words, and ^areviled him, and spit upon him, and caused that he should be ^bcast out of their city, he departed thence and took his journey towards the city which was called Aaron.

14 And it came to pass that while he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much ^atribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow, behold an ^bangel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying:

15 Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy first message from him. Behold, I am he that ^adelivered it unto you.

16 And behold, I am sent to ^acommand thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah, and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the Lord God will ^bdestroy them.

17 For behold, they do study at this time that they may destroy the liberty of thy people, (for thus saith the Lord) which is contrary to the ^astatutes, and judgments, and commandments which he has given unto his people.

18 Now it came to pass that after Alma had received his message from the angel of the Lord he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah. And he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the south of the city of Ammonihah.

19 And as ^ahe entered the city he was an hungered, and he said to a man: Will ye give to an humble servant of God something to eat?

In this section of the Book of Mormon Alma has wonderful success preaching in Gideon (ch. 7) and Zarahemla (ch. 5) and then returns home to rest. Next he goes to preach to Melek and is successful there too. In chapter 8 verse 6 he leaves Melek and goes to Ammonihah. His visit to the city of Ammonihah will continue through chapter 14 and will be full of a lot of challenging events and doctrinal teachings. These chapters describing Alma's missionary experiences are well loved by missionaries the world over. I have heard Chapter 8 verse 10 referred to as "a missionary's prayer" but I'm sure there are many verses in these chapters that could be described that way.

pgs. 224 and 225...His course is one eternal round.

THE BOOK OF ALMA

THE SON OF ALMA

The words of Alma which he delivered to the people in Gideon, according to his own record. Comprising chapter 7.

CHAPTER 7

Christ shall be born of Mary—He shall loose the bands of death and bear the sins of his people—Those who repent, are baptized, and keep the commandments shall have eternal life—Filthiness cannot inherit the kingdom of God—Humility, faith, hope, and charity are required. About 83 B.C.

1 Behold my beloved brethren, seeing that I have been permitted to come unto you, therefore I attempt to address you in my language; yea, by my ^aown mouth, seeing that it is the first time that I have spoken unto you by the words of my mouth, I having been wholly confined to the ^bjudgment-seat, having had much business that I could not come unto you.

2 And even I could not have come now at this time were it not that the judgment-seat hath been ^agiven to another, to reign in my stead; and the Lord in much mercy hath granted that I should come unto you.

3 And behold, I have come having great hopes and much desire that I should find that ye had humbled yourselves before God, and that ye had continued in the supplicating of his grace, that I should find that ye were blameless before him, that I should find that ye were not in the awful ^adilemma that our brethren were in at Zarahemla.

4 But blessed be the name of God, that he hath given me to know, yea, hath given unto me the exceedingly great joy of knowing that they are established again in the way of his righteousness.

5 And I trust, according to the Spirit of God which is in me, that I shall also have joy over you; nevertheless I do not desire that my joy over you should come by the cause of so much afflictions and sorrow which I have had for the brethren at Zarahemla, for behold, my joy cometh over them after wading through much affliction and sorrow.

6 But behold, I trust that ye are not in a state of so much unbelief as were your brethren; I trust that ye are not lifted up in the pride of your hearts; yea, I trust that ye have not set your hearts upon riches and the vain things of the world; yea, I trust that you do not worship ^aidols, but that ye do worship the true and the ^bliving God, and that ye look forward for the remission of your sins, with an everlasting faith, which is to come.

7 For behold, I say unto you there be many things to come; and behold, there is one thing which is of more importance than they all—for behold, the ^atime is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people.

8 Behold, I do not say that he will come among us at the ^atime of his dwelling in his mortal tabernacle; for behold, the Spirit hath not said unto me that this should be the case. Now as to this thing I do not know; but this much I do know, that the Lord God hath power to do all things which are according to his word.

9 But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying: Cry unto this people, saying—^aRepent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God ^bcometh upon the face of the earth.

10 And behold, he shall be ^aborn of Mary, at ^bJerusalem which is the ^cland of our forefathers, she being a ^dvirgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and ^econceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and ^aafflictions and ^btemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ^ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him ^adeath, that he may ^bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit ^aknoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the ^bflesh that he might ^ctake upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

14 Now I say unto you that ye must ^arepent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.

15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth ^abeset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.

16 And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will ^aremember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me.

17 And now my beloved brethren, do you believe these things? Behold, I say unto you, yea, I know that ye believe them; and the way that I know that ye believe them is by the manifestation of the Spirit which is in me. And now because your faith is strong concerning that, yea, concerning the things which I have spoken, great is my joy.

18 For as I said unto you from the beginning, that I had much desire that ye were not in the state of ^adilemma like your brethren, even so I have found that my desires have been gratified.

19 For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his ^apaths straight.

20 I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot ^awalk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round.

I like this little summary from the Institute Manual about this reading. It says exactly what I wanted to write except I'm sure the grammar and sentence structures are much more accurate!

Note the contrast between Alma’s discourse to the people of Zarahemla (see Alma 5) and his discourse to the people of Gideon (see Alma 7). Alma gave a powerful message of warning and repentance to the people of Zarahemla because of their sins. On the other hand, he commended the people of Gideon for their righteousness and spoke of the glorious coming of Christ.

God’s prophets love to speak of the glories and joys of the gospel; however, they love people too much not to raise a warning voice against sin. Even though Alma’s message to the people of Gideon was more positive in tone than that to the people of Zarahemla, he still taught them the importance of being spiritually reborn (see vv. 14–16).

pgs. 222 and 223...Come, and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be patakers of the fruit of the tree of life.

51 And also the Spirit saith unto me, yea, crieth unto me with a mighty voice, saying: Go forth and say unto this people—Repent, for except ye repent ye can in nowise inherit the ^akingdom of ^bheaven.

52 And again I say unto you, the Spirit saith: Behold, the ^aax is laid at the root of the tree; therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be ^bhewn down and cast into the fire, yea, a fire which cannot be consumed, even an unquenchable fire. Behold, and remember, the Holy One hath spoken it.

53 And now my beloved brethren, I say unto you, can ye withstand these sayings; yea, can ye lay aside these things, and ^atrample the Holy One under your feet; yea, can ye be ^bpuffed up in the pride of your hearts; yea, will ye still persist in the wearing of ^ccostly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your ^driches?

54 Yea, will ye persist in supposing that ye are better one than another; yea, will ye persist in the persecution of your brethren, who humble themselves and do walk after the holy order of God, wherewith they have been brought into this church, having been ^asanctified by the Holy Spirit, and they do bring forth works which are meet for repentance—

55 Yea, and will you persist in turning your backs upon the ^apoor, and the needy, and in withholding your substance from them?

56 And finally, all ye that will persist in your wickedness, I say unto you that these are they who shall be hewn down and cast into the fire except they speedily repent.

57 And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous to follow the voice of the ^agood shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye ^bseparate, and touch not their unclean things; and behold, their names shall be ^cblotted out, that the names of the wicked shall not be numbered among the names of the righteous, that the word of God may be fulfilled, which saith: The names of the wicked shall not be mingled with the names of my people;

58 For the names of the righteous shall be written in the ^abook of life, and unto them will I grant an inheritance at my right hand. And now, my brethren, what have ye to say against this? I say unto you, if ye speak against it, it matters not, for the word of God must be fulfilled.

59 For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not watch over them, that the wolves enter not and devour his flock? And behold, if a wolf enter his ^aflock doth he not drive him out? Yea, and at the last, if he can, he will destroy him.

60 And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you; and if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed.

61 And now I, Alma, do command you in the language of ^ahim who hath commanded me, that ye observe to do the words which I have spoken unto you.

62 I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the ^atree of life.

THE BOOK OF ALMA

THE SON OF ALMA

CHAPTER 6

The Church in Zarahemla is cleansed and set in order—Alma goes to Gideon to preach. About 83 B.C.

1 And now it came to pass that after Alma had made an end of speaking unto the people of the church, which was established in the city of Zarahemla, he ^aordained priests and ^belders, by laying on his ^chands according to the order of God, to preside and ^dwatch over the church.

2 And it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to the church who ^arepented of their sins were baptized unto repentance, and were received into the church.

3 And it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to the church that did not ^arepent of their wickedness and humble themselves before God—I mean those who were lifted up in the ^bpride of their hearts—the same were rejected, and their names were ^cblotted out, that their names were not numbered among those of the righteous.

4 And thus they began to establish the order of the church in the ^acity of Zarahemla.

5 Now I would that ye should understand that the word of God was liberal unto all, that none were deprived of the privilege of assembling themselves together to hear the word of God.

6 Nevertheless the children of God were commanded that they should gather themselves together oft, and join in ^afasting and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God.

7 And now it came to pass that when Alma had made these regulations he departed from them, yea, from the church which was in the city of Zarahemla, and went over upon the east of the ^ariver Sidon, into the ^bvalley of Gideon, there having been a city built, which was called the city of Gideon, which was in the valley that was called Gideon, being called after the man who was ^cslain by the hand of Nehor with the sword.

8 And Alma went and began to declare the word of God unto the church which was established in the valley of Gideon, according to the revelation of the truth of the word which had been spoken by his fathers, and according to the spirit of prophecy which was in him, according to the ^atestimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who should come to redeem his people from their sins, and the holy order by which he was called. And thus it is written. Amen.


The famous "self-evaluation" chapter of Alma 5 ends with Alma asking his audience to "come and be baptized unto repentance." This really emphasizes the importance of baptism. Baptism has been on my mind a lot as we have recently been blessed to see many baptisms in our ward. A couple of weeks ago one of my daughters friends from school was baptized with her mom and dad and sister. Then last week two of another daughter's eight year old friends were baptized. I have know these two little girls and their families since they were born. It is hard to believe they have grown up to the age of accountability right before our eyes. This summer my own daughter will be baptized and so I have really been pondering the subject.


I know many in the world today don't understand why we would need baptism to get into the kingdom of heaven. They say that what is in our hearts is all that matters. I have thought about this and realized that wishes can not make something happen. Works make things happen. For example, if you want to go to a concert you can't just wish that you had a ticket and expect them to let you in. You have to work hard enough to earn the money to buy the ticket. Then you have to protect the ticket and have it with you when you arrive at the venue. And you have to be at the right venue at the right time. And this is all just to see a concert. Doesn't it make sense that you would need to do at least that much to enter the presence of the Lord?

pgs. 220 and 221...I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and mercy, and truth.

27 Have ye walked, keeping yourselves ^ablameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently ^bhumble? That your garments have been ^ccleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to ^dredeem his people from their sins?

28 Behold, are ye stripped of ^apride? I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life.

29 Behold, I say, is there one among you who is not stripped of ^aenvy? I say unto you that such an one is not prepared; and I would that he should prepare ^bquickly, for the hour is close at hand, and he knoweth not when the time shall come; for such an one is not found guiltless.

30 And again I say unto you, is there one among you that doth make a ^amock of his brother, or that heapeth upon him persecutions?

31 Wo unto such an one, for he is not prepared, and the ^atime is at hand that he must repent or he cannot be saved!

32 Yea, even wo unto all ye ^aworkers of iniquity; repent, repent, for the Lord God hath spoken it!

33 Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto ^aall men, for the ^barms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.

34 Yea, he saith: ^aCome unto me and ye shall partake of the ^bfruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the ^cbread and the waters of life ^dfreely;

35 Yea, come unto me and bring forth works of righteousness, and ye shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire—

36 For behold, the time is at hand that whosoever ^abringeth forth not good fruit, or whosoever doeth not the works of righteousness, the same have cause to wail and mourn.

37 O ye workers of iniquity; ye that are ^apuffed up in the vain things of the world, ye that have professed to have known the ways of righteousness nevertheless have gone ^bastray, as ^csheep having no ^dshepherd, notwithstanding a shepherd hath ^ecalled after you and is still calling after you, but ye will not ^fhearken unto his voice!

38 Behold, I say unto you, that the good ^ashepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not ^bhearken unto the voice of the ^cgood shepherd, to the ^dname by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.

39 And now if ye are not the ^asheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you, that the ^bdevil is your shepherd, and ye are of his fold; and now, who can deny this? Behold, I say unto you, whosoever denieth this is a ^cliar and a ^dchild of the devil.

40 For I say unto you that whatsoever is ^agood cometh from God, and whatsoever is ^bevil cometh from the devil.

41 Therefore, if a man bringeth forth ^agood works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepherd, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, the same becometh a ^bchild of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his voice, and doth follow him.

42 And whosoever doeth this must receive his ^awages of him; therefore, for his ^bwages he receiveth ^cdeath, as to things pertaining unto righteousness, being dead unto all good works.

43 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should hear me, for I speak in the ^aenergy of my soul; for behold, I have spoken unto you plainly that ye cannot err, or have spoken according to the commandments of God.

44 For I am called to speak after this manner, according to the ^aholy order of God, which is in Christ Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this people the things which have been spoken by our fathers concerning the things which are to come.

45 And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I ^aknow of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?

46 Behold, I say unto you they are made ^aknown unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have ^bfasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of ^crevelation which is in me.

47 And moreover, I say unto you that it has thus been revealed unto me, that the words which have been spoken by our fathers are true, even so according to the spirit of prophecy which is in me, which is also by the manifestation of the Spirit of God.

48 I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name.

49 And now I say unto you that this is the ^aorder after which I am called, yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto them that they must repent and be ^bborn again.

50 Yea, thus saith the Spirit: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand; yea, the Son of God cometh in his ^aglory, in his might, majesty, power, and dominion. Yea, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, that the Spirit saith: Behold the glory of the ^bKing of all the earth; and also the King of heaven shall very soon shine forth among all the children of men.



Alma gave this sermon about 83 years before the Savior came. His prophecy in verse 50 that the King of heaven shall very soon shine forth was fulfilled 83 years later. To some 83 years might seem like a long time but in the eternal scheme of things it is really a short moment. We have been given this chapter of the Book of Mormon in our time for a reason. None of us knows when the Savior is coming again but we do know that He will in fact come and for that reason we should read this chapter as though Alma is speaking directly to us.

pgs. 218 and 219...have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

4 And behold, I say unto you, they were ^adelivered out of the hands of the people of king Noah, by the mercy and power of God.

5 And behold, after that, they were brought into ^abondage by the hands of the Lamanites in the wilderness; yea, I say unto you, they were in captivity, and again the Lord did deliver them out of ^bbondage by the power of his word; and we were brought into this land, and here we began to establish the church of God throughout this land also.

6 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in ^aremembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has ^bdelivered their souls from hell?

7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the ^abands of death, and the ^bchains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.

8 And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not.

9 And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the ^achains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did ^bsing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved.

10 And now I ask of you on what conditions are they ^asaved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?

11 Behold, I can tell you—did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the ^amouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe them?

12 And according to his faith there was a mighty ^achange wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.

13 And behold, he ^apreached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their ^btrust in the true and ^cliving God. And behold, they were faithful until the ^dend; therefore they were saved.

14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye ^aspiritually been ^bborn of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty ^cchange in your hearts?

15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who ^acreated you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption ^braised in incorruption, to stand before God to be ^cjudged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?

16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye ^ablessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?

17 Or do ye ^aimagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and ^bsay—Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth—and that he will save you?

18 Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect ^aremembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God?

19 I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the ^aimage of God engraven upon your countenances?

20 I say unto you, can ye think of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become ^asubjects to the devil?

21 I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be ^asaved; for there can no man be saved except his ^bgarments are washed white; yea, his garments must be ^cpurified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.

22 And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with ^ablood and all manner of ^bfilthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against you?

23 Behold will they not ^atestify that ye are murderers, yea, and also that ye are ^bguilty of all manner of wickedness?

24 Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the kingdom of God, with ^aAbraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white?

25 I say unto you, Nay; except ye make our Creator a liar from the beginning, or suppose that he is a liar from the beginning, ye cannot suppose that such can have place in the kingdom of heaven; but they shall be cast out for they are the ^achildren of the kingdom of the devil.

26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a ^achange of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the ^bsong of redeeming love, I would ask, ^ccan ye feel so now?


Alma chapter 5 is known as the "self-evaluation interview" chapter. One of my religion teachers taught that in this chapter Alma asks 42 questions (I didn't actually count but I believe him!) It is a really good one to read during the passing of the sacrament or if you have a few minutes while you are waiting to start a temple session. There is so much to aim for in this chapter!