9 Therefore, there is a time appointed unto men that they shall rise from the dead; and there is a space between the time of death and the resurrection. And now, concerning this space of time, what becometh of the souls of men is the thing which I have inquired diligently of the Lord to know; and this is the thing of which I do know.
10 And when the time cometh when all shall rise, then shall they know that God aknoweth all the btimes which are appointed unto man.
11 Now, concerning the astate of the soul between bdeath and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are ctakendhome to that God who gave them life.
12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of ahappiness, which is called bparadise, a state of rest, a state of cpeace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.
13 And then shall it come to pass, that the aspirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the bdevil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer cdarkness; there shall be dweeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil.
14 Now this is the state of the asouls of the bwicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, cfearful looking for the fiery dindignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this estate, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection.
15 Now, there are some that have understood that this state of happiness and this state of misery of the soul, before the resurrection, was a first resurrection. Yea, I admit it may be termed a resurrection, the araising of the spirit or the soul and their consignation to happiness or misery, according to the words which have been spoken.
16 And behold, again it hath been spoken, that there is a afirstbresurrection, a resurrection of all those who have been, or who are, or who shall be, down to the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
17 Now, we do not suppose that this first resurrection, which is spoken of in this manner, can be the resurrection of the souls and their aconsignation to happiness or misery. Ye cannot suppose that this is what it meaneth.
18 Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but it meaneth the areuniting of the soul with the body, of those from the days of Adam down to the resurrection of Christ.
19 Now, whether the souls and the bodies of those of whom has been spoken shall all be reunited at once, the wicked as well as the righteous, I do not say; let it suffice, that I say that they all come forth; or in other words, their resurrection cometh to pass abefore the resurrection of those who die after the resurrection of Christ.
20 Now, my son, I do not say that their resurrection cometh at the resurrection of Christ; but behold, I give it as my opinion, that the souls and the bodies are reunited, of the righteous, at the resurrection of Christ, and his aascension into heaven.
21 But whether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but this much I say, that there is a aspace between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in bhappiness or in cmisery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be dbrought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works.
22 Yea, this bringeth about the restoration of those things of which has been spoken by the mouths of the prophets.
23 The asoul shall be brestored to the cbody, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a dhair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and eperfect frame.
24 And now, my son, this is the restoration of which has been aspoken by the mouths of the prophets—
25 And then shall the arighteous shine forth in the kingdom of God.
26 But behold, an awful adeath cometh upon the wicked; for they die as to things pertaining to things of righteousness; for they are unclean, and bno unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God; but they are cast out, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors or their works, which have been evil; and they drink the dregs of a bitter ccup.
THE BOOK OF ALMA THE SON OF ALMA
CHAPTER 41
In the resurrection men come forth to a state of endless happiness or endless misery—Wickedness never was happiness—Carnal men are without God in the world—Every person receives again in the restoration the characteristics and attributes acquired in mortality. About 73 B.C.
1 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the restoration of which has been spoken; for behold, some have awrested the scriptures, and have gone far bastray because of this thing. And I perceive that thy mind has been cworried also concerning this thing. But behold, I will explain it unto thee.
2 I say unto thee, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite with the justice of God; for it is requisite that all things should be restored to their proper order. Behold, it is requisite and just, according to the power and resurrection of Christ, that the soul of man should be restored to its body, and that every apart of the body should be restored to itself.
I am in awe of the immortal nature and perfection of our bodies which will be fulfilled at the time of the resurrection. It is an amazing gift from our Savior Jesus Christ. It brings me so much joy to know that I will be able to live with those I love in a life after death. Joseph F. Smith summed it up so beautifully when he said:
“What a glorious thought it is . . . that those from whom we have to part here, we will meet again and see as they are. We will meet the same identical being that we associated with here in the flesh—not some other soul, some other being, or the same being in some other form, but the same identity and the same form and likeness, the same person we knew and were associated with in our mortal existence, even to the wounds in the flesh. Not that a person will always be marred by scars, wounds, deformities, defects or infirmities, for these will be removed in their course, in their proper time, according to the merciful providence of God. Deformity will be removed; defects will be eliminated, and men and women shall attain to the perfection of their spirits, to the perfection that God designed in the beginning. It is his purpose that men and women, his children, born to become heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, shall be made perfect, physically as well as spiritually, through obedience to the law by which he has provided the means that perfection shall come to all his children. . . .
“. . . What else would satisfy us? What else would satisfy the desire of the immortal soul? Would we be satisfied to be imperfect? Would we be satisfied to be decrepit? Would we be satisfied to remain forever and ever in the form of infirmity incident to age? No! . . . From the day of the resurrection, the body will develop until it reaches the full measure of the stature of its spirit, whether it be male or female” (Gospel Doctrine, pp. 23–24).
The commandments of Alma to his son Corianton. Comprising chapters 39 to 42 inclusive.
CHAPTER 39
Sexual sin is an abomination—Corianton’s sins kept the Zoramites from receiving the word—Christ’s redemption is retroactive in saving the faithful who preceded it. About 73 B.C.
1 And now, my ason, I have somewhat more to say unto thee than what I said unto thy brother; for behold, have ye not observed the steadiness of thy brother, his faithfulness, and his diligence in keeping the commandments of God? Behold, has he not set a good bexample for thee?
2 For thou didst not give so much heed unto my words as did thy brother, among the people of the aZoramites. Now this is what I have against thee; thou didst go on unto boasting in thy strength and thy wisdom.
3 And this is not all, my son. Thou didst do that which was grievous unto me; for thou didst forsake the ministry, and did go over into the land of Siron among the borders of the Lamanites, after the aharlot Isabel.
4 Yea, she did asteal away the hearts of many; but this was no excuse for thee, my son. Thou shouldst have tended to the ministry wherewith thou wast entrusted.
5 Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most aabominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent bblood or denying the Holy Ghost?
6 For behold, if ye adeny the Holy Ghost when it once has had place in you, and ye know that ye deny it, behold, this is a sin which is bunpardonable; yea, and whosoever murdereth against the light and knowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtain cforgiveness; yea, I say unto you, my son, that it is not easy for him to obtain a forgiveness.
7 And now, my son, I would to God that ye had not been aguilty of so great a crime. I would not dwell upon your crimes, to harrow up your soul, if it were not for your good.
8 But behold, ye cannot ahide your crimes from God; and except ye repent they will stand as a testimony against you at the last day.
9 Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins, and go no more after the alusts of your eyes, but bcross yourself in all these things; for except ye do this ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Oh, remember, and take it upon you, and ccross yourself in these things.
10 And I command you to take it upon you to counsel with your elder brothers in your undertakings; for behold, thou art in thy youth, and ye stand in need to be nourished by your brothers. And give heed to their counsel.
11 Suffer not yourself to be led away by any vain or foolish thing; suffer not the devil to lead away your heart again after those wicked harlots. Behold, O my son, how great ainiquity ye brought upon the bZoramites; for when they saw your cconduct they would not believe in my words.
12 And now the Spirit of the Lord doth say unto me: aCommand thy children to do good, lest they blead away the hearts of many people to destruction; therefore I command you, my son, in the fear of God, that ye crefrain from your iniquities;
13 That ye turn to the Lord with all your mind, might, and strength; that ye lead away the hearts of no more to do wickedly; but rather return unto them, and aacknowledge your faults and that wrong which ye have done.
14 aSeek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them with you.
15 And now, my son, I would say somewhat unto you concerning the acoming of Christ. Behold, I say unto you, that it is he that surely shall come to take away the sins of the world; yea, he cometh to declare glad tidings of salvation unto his people.
16 And now, my son, this was the ministry unto which ye were called, to declare these glad tidings unto this people, to prepare their minds; or rather that salvation might come unto them, that they may prepare the minds of their achildren to hear the word at the time of his coming.
17 And now I will ease your mind somewhat on this subject. Behold, you marvel why these things should be known so long beforehand. Behold, I say unto you, is not a soul at this time as precious unto God as a soul will be at the time of his coming?
18 Is it not as necessary that the plan of redemption should be amade known unto this people as well as unto their children?
19 Is it not as easy at this time for the Lord to asend his angel to declare these glad tidings unto us as unto our children, or as after the time of his coming?
THE BOOK OF ALMA THE SON OF ALMA
CHAPTER 40
Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection of all men—The righteous dead go to paradise and the wicked to outer darkness to await the day of their resurrection—All things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame in the resurrection. About 73 B.C.
1 Now my son, here is somewhat more I would say unto thee; for I perceive that thy mind is worried concerning the resurrection of the dead.
2 Behold, I say unto you, that there is no resurrection—or, I would say, in other words, that this mortal does not put on aimmortality, this corruption does not bput on incorruption—cuntil after the coming of Christ.
3 Behold, he bringeth to pass the aresurrection of the dead. But behold, my son, the resurrection is not yet. Now, I unfold unto you a mystery; nevertheless, there are many bmysteries which are ckept, that no one knoweth them save God himself. But I show unto you one thing which I have inquired diligently of God that I might know—that is concerning the resurrection.
4 Behold, there is a time appointed that all shall acome forth from the dead. Now when this time cometh no one knows; but God knoweth the time which is appointed.
5 Now, whether there shall be one time, or a asecond time, or a third time, that men shall come forth from the dead, it mattereth not; for God bknoweth all these things; and it sufficeth me to know that this is the case—that there is a time appointed that all shall rise from the dead.
6 Now there must needs be a space betwixt the time of death and the time of the resurrection.
7 And now I would inquire what becometh of the asouls of men bfrom this time of death to the time appointed for the resurrection?
8 Now whether there is more than one atime appointed for men to rise it mattereth not; for all do not die at once, and this mattereth not; all is as one day with God, and time only is measured unto men.
It was especially hard to pick the title for today's post. There are so many verses that would have been perfect. Here are the runner-ups:
"She did steal away the hearts of many; but this was no excuse for thee, my son. Thou shouldst have tended to the ministry wherewith thou wast entrusted."
"Ye cannot hide your crimes from God; and except ye repent they will stand as a testimony against you at the last day."
"Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold you cannot carry them with you."
"Is not a soul at this time as precious unto God as a soul will be at the time of his coming?"
"There is a time appointed that all shall rise from the dead."
Alma shared so much wisdom and council with Corianton. We are all the blessed recipients of his fatherly love. In the end I picked the title I did because the words elevate our Heavenly Father and teach us how all-knowing He is and how amazed we should be by Him.
Shiblon was persecuted for righteousness’ sake—Salvation is in Christ, who is the life and the light of the world—Bridle all your passions. About 73 B.C.
1 Myason, give ear to my words, for I say unto you, even as I said unto Helaman, that binasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and cinasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be dcut off from his epresence.
2 And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your asteadiness and your faithfulness unto God; for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that bendureth to the end.
3 I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the aZoramites.
4 For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; and thou didst bear all these things with apatience because the Lord was bwith thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.
5 And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your atrust in God even so much ye shall be bdelivered out of your trials, and your ctroubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
6 Now, my son, I would not that ye should think that I know these things of myself, but it is the Spirit of God which is in me which maketh these things known unto me; for if I had not been aborn of God I should not have known these things.
7 But behold, the Lord in his great mercy sent his aangel to declare unto me that I must stop the work of bdestruction among his people; yea, and I have seen an angel face to face, and he spake with me, and his voice was as thunder, and it shook the whole earth.
8 And it came to pass that I was athree days and three nights in the most bitter bpain and canguish of soul; and never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a dremission of my sins. But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.
9 And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is ano other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the blight of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and crighteousness.
10 And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and atemperate in all things.
11 See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not aboast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength.
12 Use aboldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bbridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness.
13 Do not apray as the Zoramites do, for ye have seen that they pray to be heard of men, and to be praised for their wisdom.
14 Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are abetter than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my bunworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy—yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times.
15 And may the Lord bless your soul, and receive you at the last day into his kingdom, to sit down in peace. Now go, my son, and teach the word unto this people. Be asober. My son, farewell.
The counsel from Alma to his son Shiblon to "bridle all your passions" is quoted often in lessons and talks. The thing that I really appreciate about the counsel is the second half that tells us that when we bridle all of our passions we will be filled with love. I know the common belief among our society today is that passion = love. Many would argue that acting with passion is no different than acting with love. It is important to recognize that there is a difference. If we really want to experience true love it can not be accompanied by unbridled passion. This doesn't only apply to physical attraction but to a love of anything...work, play, food, exercise, medication...in essence Alma is telling Shiblon if he can learn self-mastery he will increase his capacity to love.
22 For behold, the Lord saw that his people began to work in darkness, yea, work secret murders and abominations; therefore the Lord said, if they did not repent they should be destroyed from off the face of the earth.
23 And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a astone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may bdiscover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations.
24 And now, my son, these ainterpreters were prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying:
25 I will abring forth out of darkness unto light all their secret works and their abominations; and except they repent I will bdestroy them from off the face of the earth; and I will bring to light all their secrets and abominations, unto every nation that shall hereafter possess the land.
26 And now, my son, we see that they did not repent; therefore they have been destroyed, and thus far the word of God has been fulfilled; yea, their asecret abominations have been brought out of darkness and made known unto us.
27 And now, my son, I command you that ye retain all their oaths, and their covenants, and their agreements in their secret abominations; yea, and all their asigns and their wonders ye shall bkeep from this people, that they know them not, lest peradventure they should fall into darkness also and be destroyed.
28 For behold, there is a acurse upon all this land, that destruction shall come upon all those workers of darkness, according to the power of God, when they are fully ripe; therefore I desire that this people might not be destroyed.
29 Therefore ye shall keep these secret plans of their aoaths and their covenants from this people, and only their wickedness and their murders and their abominations shall ye make known unto them; and ye shall teach them to babhor such wickedness and abominations and murders; and ye shall also teach them that these people were destroyed on account of their wickedness and abominations and their murders.
30 For behold, they amurdered all the prophets of the Lord who came among them to declare unto them concerning their iniquities; and the blood of those whom they murdered did cry unto the Lord their God for vengeance upon those who were their murderers; and thus the judgments of God did come upon these workers of darkness and secret bcombinations.
31 Yea, and acursed be the land forever and ever unto those workers of darkness and secret combinations, even unto destruction, except they repent before they are fully bripe.
32 And now, my son, remember the words which I have spoken unto you; trust not those secret plans unto this people, but teach them an everlasting ahatred against sin and iniquity.
33 aPreach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be bmeek and lowly in heart; teach them to cwithstand every dtemptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
34 Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find arest to their souls.
35 O, remember, my son, and alearnbwisdom in thy cyouth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.
36 Yea, and acry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy bdoings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy cthoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
37 aCounsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for bgood; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the cmorning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
38 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball, or director—or our fathers called it aLiahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.
39 And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.
40 And it did work for them according to their afaith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.
41 Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by asmall means it did show unto them marvelous works. They were bslothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;
42 Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did anot travel a direct course, and were afflicted with hunger and thirst, because of their transgressions.
43 And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these things are not without a ashadow; for as our fathers were slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.
44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the aword of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.
45 And now I say, is there not a atype in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.
46 O my son, do not let us be aslothful because of the beasiness of the cway; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would dlook they might elive; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.
47 And now, my son, see that ye take acare of these sacred things, yea, see that ye blook to God and live. Go unto this people and declare the word, and be sober. My son, farewell.
First, a little trivia from verse 23...we do not know what the name "Gazelem" means or who the servant Gazelem was but many have wondered if it has any tie to the fact that Joseph Smith was referred to as "Gazelam" (a little different spelling) in earlier editions of the Doctrine and Convenants 82:11. We do know through Bruce R. McConkie in Mormon Doctrine (pgs. 307-308) that the stone mentioned refers to the Urim and Thummim.
Next, I was surprised that I have not taken more notice in past readings to verses 25 - 31. It is very strong language and repeatedly states that there is "curse upon all this land, that destruction shall come upon all those workers of darkness, according to the power of God." That seems like more of a blessing than a curse, right? I guess it depends on whose side you are on. It brings me a sense of security that I didn't ever appreciate or realize before.
Lastly, I can't pass over these verses without commenting on verse 33-37 but especially 37. It is an all-time favorite and such good fatherly advice from Alma to Helaman! I know that if we "counsel with the Lord in all our doings" He WILL direct us to amazing paths.
The plates of brass and other scriptures are preserved to bring souls to salvation—The Jaredites were destroyed because of their wickedness—Their secret oaths and covenants must be kept from the people—Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings—As the Liahona guided the Nephites, so the word of Christ leads men to eternal life. About 73 B.C.
1 And now, my son Helaman, I command you that ye take the arecords which have been bentrusted with me;
2 And I also command you that ye keep a arecord of this people, according as I have done, upon the plates of Nephi, and keep all these things sacred which I have kept, even as I have kept them; for it is for a bwise purpose that they are kept.
3 And these aplates of brass, which contain these engravings, which have the records of the holy scriptures upon them, which have the bgenealogy of our forefathers, even from the beginning—
4 Behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be kept and ahanded down from one generation to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the bmysteries contained thereon.
5 And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ.
6 Now ye may suppose that this is afoolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by bsmall and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
7 And the Lord God doth work by ameans to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very bsmall means the Lord doth cconfound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.
8 And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things should be preserved; for behold, athey have benlarged the memory of this people, yea, and convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them to the cknowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls.
9 Yea, I say unto you, awere it not for these things that these records do contain, which are on these plates, Ammon and his brethren could not have bconvinced so many thousands of the Lamanites of the incorrect tradition of their fathers; yea, these records and their cwords brought them unto repentance; that is, they brought them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer.
10 And who knoweth but what they will be the ameans of bringing many thousands of them, yea, and also many thousands of our bstiffnecked brethren, the Nephites, who are now hardening their hearts in sin and iniquities, to the knowledge of their Redeemer?
11 Now these mysteries are not yet fully made known unto me; therefore I shall forbear.
12 And it may suffice if I only say they are preserved for a awise purpose, which purpose is known unto God; for he doth bcounsel in wisdom over all his works, and his paths are straight, and his course is cone eternal round.
13 O remember, remember, my son Helaman, how astrict are the commandments of God. And he said: bIf ye will keep my commandments ye shall cprosper in the land—but if ye keep not his commandments ye shall be cut off from his presence.
14 And now remember, my son, that God has aentrusted you with these things, which are bsacred, which he has kept sacred, and also which he will keep and cpreserve for a dwise purpose in him, that he may show forth his power unto future generations.
15 And now behold, I tell you by the spirit of prophecy, that if ye transgress the commandments of God, behold, these things which are sacred shall be taken away from you by the power of God, and ye shall be delivered up unto Satan, that he may sift you as chaff before the wind.
16 But if ye keep the commandments of God, and do with these things which are sacred according to that which the Lord doth command you, (for you must appeal unto the Lord for all things whatsoever ye must do with them) behold, no power of earth or hell can atake them from you, for God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words.
17 For he will fulfil all his apromises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers.
18 For he promised unto them that he would apreserve these things for a wise purpose in him, that he might show forth his power unto future generations.
19 And now behold, one purpose hath he fulfilled, even to the restoration of amany thousands of the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth; and he hath shown forth his power in them, and he will also still show forth his power in them unto bfuture generations; therefore they shall be preserved.
20 Therefore I command you, my son Helaman, that ye be diligent in fulfilling all my words, and that ye be diligent in keeping the commandments of God as they are written.
21 And now, I will speak unto you concerning those atwenty-four plates, that ye keep them, that the bmysteries and the works of darkness, and their secret works, or the secret works of those people who have been destroyed, may be made cmanifest unto this people; yea, all their murders, and robbings, and their plunderings, and all their wickedness and abominations, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, and that ye preserve these dinterpreters.
First of all, I have to say, if you are still with me after 5 months and 300 pages worth of reading you should PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK!!!!! We only have 231 pages more of our journey to go! We are well over half way...let's keep the momentum going! : )
This chapter records Alma's words to his son Helaman as he gives him the large plates of brass of Nephi, the brass plates of Laban, the 24 gold plates containing the record of the Jaredites, and the Urim and Thummim. As he gives them to him he also commands Helaman to continue keeping the record "for a wise purpose." This is such a huge responsibilty for Helaman but he also must have felt honored.
We have all been counseled to keep our own records and here is a great clip from lds.org that gives us some wonderful advice on how we can best do that:
The commandments of Alma to his son Helaman. Comprising chapters 36 and 37.
CHAPTER 36
Alma testifies to Helaman of his conversion by an angel—He suffered the pains of a damned soul; he called upon the name of Jesus, and was then born of God—Sweet joy filled his soul—He saw concourses of angels praising God—His converts have tasted and seen as he did. About 73 B.C.
1 Myason, give ear to my words; for I swear unto you, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land.
2 I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our fathers; for they were in abondage, and none could bdeliver them except it was the cGod of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in their afflictions.
3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their atrust in God shall be supported in their btrials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be clifted up at the last day.
4 And I would not that ye think that I aknow of myself—not of the temporal but of the spiritual, not of the bcarnal mind but of God.
5 Now, behold, I say unto you, if I had not been aborn of God I should bnot have known these things; but God has, by the mouth of his holy cangel, made these things known unto me, not of any dworthiness of myself;
6 For I went about with the sons of Mosiah, seeking to adestroy the church of God; but behold, God sent his holy angel to stop us by the way.
7 And behold, he spake unto us, as it were the voice of thunder, and the whole earth did atremble beneath our feet; and we all fell to the earth, for the bfear of the Lord came upon us.
8 But behold, the voice said unto me: Arise. And I arose and stood up, and beheld the angel.
9 And he said unto me: If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy the church of God.
10 And it came to pass that I fell to the earth; and it was for the space of athree days and three nights that I could not open my mouth, neither had I the use of my limbs.
11 And the angel spake more things unto me, which were heard by my brethren, but I did anot hear them; for when I heard the words—If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God—I was struck with such great fear and amazement lest perhaps I should be destroyed, that I fell to the earth and I did hear no more.
12 But I was racked with aeternalbtorment, for my soul was charrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.
13 Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was atormented with the bpains of hell; yea, I saw that I had crebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.
14 Yea, and I had amurdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.
15 Oh, thought I, that I acould be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my bdeeds.
16 And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the apains of a bdamned soul.
17 And it came to pass that as I was thus aracked with torment, while I was bharrowed up by the cmemory of my many sins, behold, I dremembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, ahave mercy on me, who am bin the cgall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting dchains of edeath.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my apainsbno more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what ajoy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.
22 Yea, methought I saw, even as our father aLehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and bpraising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.
23 But behold, my limbs did receive their astrength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been bborn of God.
24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto arepentance; that I might bring them to btaste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be cborn of God, and be dfilled with the Holy Ghost.
25 Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth agive me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my blabors;
26 For because of the aword which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have btasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God.
27 And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has adelivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still bdeliver me.
28 And I know that he will araise me up at the last day, to dwell with him in bglory; yea, and I will cpraise him forever, for he has dbrought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has swallowed up the eEgyptians in the Red Sea; and he led them by his power into the promised land; yea, and he has delivered them out of bondage and captivity from time to time.
29 Yea, and he has also brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem; and he has also, by his everlasting power, delivered them out of abondage and captivity, from time to time even down to the present day; and I have always retained in remembrance their captivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I have done, their captivity.
30 But behold, my son, this is not all; for ye ought to know as I do know, that ainasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall bprosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, that inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence. Now this is according to his word.
This chapter gives us so much insight into how much Alma loves his son Helaman and also how much impact his original conversion experience had on him and has stayed with him. Many truths jumped out at me but the one that I would like to focus on is in the first verse where Alma promises that if we keep the commandments we will prosper in the land. Seems pretty simple, right? Well, it is simple but it doesn't mean life will be easy because 2 verses later in verse 3 he writes, "whosover shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions..." This is a good reminder to all of us that even those who are keeping the commandments can expect to go through trials, troubles, and afflictions. The difference is that the Lord will support the righteous in their trials and the wicked will have to handle them on their own.
Every New Year I make a resolution to read The Book of Mormon every day. In 2009 I'm doing it again and this time I'm blogging as I go. I'm counting on my mom to help me out. She and my dad were just released after 17+ years of full time LDS church service. She has read the Book of Mormon lots of times....so many that she won't even tell me (I know it's in the 100's at least.) I want to record what we learn and share it with anyone who might like a spot on the internet to do some Book of Mormon study. Let me know what you think!
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