Alma Preaches in City of Zarahemla

Event 74

Reference: Alma 5:1-62; 6:1-6

The words which Alma, the High Priest according to the holyorder of God, delivered to the people in their cities andvillages throughout the land. Beginning with chapter 5.NOW it came to pass that Alma began to deliver the word ofGod unto the people, first in the land of Zarahemla, andfrom thence throughout all the land. 2 And these are thewords which he spake to the people in the church whichwas established in the city of Zarahemla, according to hisown record, saying:MormonCity of Zarahemla83 B.C.3 I, Alma, having been consecrated by my father, Alma, to be ahigh priest over the church of God, he having power and authorityfrom God to do these things, behold, I say unto you that he beganto establish a church in the land which was in the borders ofNephi; yea, the land which was called the land of Mormon; yea,and he did baptize his brethren in the waters of Mormon. 4 Andbehold, I say unto you, they were delivered out of the hands of thepeople of king Noah, by the mercy and power of God. 5 Andbehold, after that, they were brought into bondage by the hands ofthe Lamanites in the wilderness; yea, I say unto you, they were incaptivity, and again the Lord did deliver them out of bondage bythe power of his word; and we were brought into this land, andhere we began to establish the church of God throughout this landalso.Alma6 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong tothis church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance thecaptivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retainedin remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? Andmoreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he hasdelivered their souls from hell? 7 Behold, he changed their hearts;yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke untoGod. 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 bands of death, and thechains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them. 8And 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 thebands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled themabout, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed,and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. AndI say unto you that they are saved. 10 And now I ask of you onwhat conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they tohope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed fromthe bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell? 11 Behold, I can tell you—did not my father Alma believe in thewords which were delivered by the mouth of Abinadi? And was henot a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and myfather Alma believe them? 12 And according to his faith there wasa mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you thatthis is all true. 13 And behold, he preached the word unto yourfathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, andthey humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and livingGod. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore theywere saved.AlmaCity of Zarahemla83 B.C.14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, haveye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image inyour countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change inyour hearts? 15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him whocreated you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and viewthis mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised inincorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to thedeeds 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 blessed, for behold,your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face ofthe earth? 17 Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie untothe Lord in that day, and say—Lord, our works have beenrighteous works upon the face of the earth—and that he will saveyou? 18 Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought beforethe tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse,having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfectremembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that yehave set at defiance the commandments of God?19 I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pureheart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having theimage of God engraven upon your countenances? 20 I say untoyou, can ye think of being saved when you have yieldedyourselves to become subjects to the devil? 21 I say unto you, yewill know at that day that ye cannot be saved; for there can no manbe saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garmentsmust be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through theblood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, whoshould come to redeem his people from their sins. 22 And now Iask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall standbefore the bar of God, having your garments stained with bloodand all manner of filthiness? Behold, what will these things testifyagainst you? 23 Behold will they not testify that ye are murderers,yea, and also that ye are guilty of all manner of wickedness?24 Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have aplace to sit down in the kingdom of God, with Abraham, withIsaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whosegarments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white? 25 I sayunto you, Nay; except ye make our Creator a liar from thebeginning, 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 children of the kingdomof the devil. 26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if yehave experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing thesong of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now? 27 Haveye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could yesay, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that yehave been sufficiently humble? That your garments have beencleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who willcome to redeem his people from their sins?AlmaCity of Zarahemla83 B.C.28 Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I say unto you, if ye are not yeare not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; forthe kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath noteternal life. 29 Behold, I say, is there one among you who is notstripped of envy? I say unto you that such an one is not prepared;and I would that he should prepare quickly, for the hour is close athand, and he knoweth not when the time shall come; for such anone is not found guiltless. 30 And again I say unto you, is thereone among you that doth make a mock of his brother, or thatheapeth upon him persecutions? 31 Wo unto such an one, for he isnot prepared, and the time is at hand that he must repent or hecannot be saved! 32 Yea, even wo unto all ye workers of iniquity;repent, repent, for the Lord God hath spoken it! 33 Behold, hesendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy areextended towards them, and he saith:Repent, and I will receive you.The Lord God34 Yea, he saith:AlmaCome unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree oflife; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters oflife freely; 35 Yea, come unto me and bring forth works ofrighteousness, and ye shall not be hewn down and cast into thefire— 36 For behold, the time is at hand that whosoeverbringeth forth not good fruit, or whosoever doeth not the worksof righteousness, the same have cause to wail and mourn.The Lord God37 O ye workers of iniquity; ye that are puffed up in the vainthings of the world, ye that have professed to have known theways of righteousness nevertheless have gone astray, as sheephaving no shepherd, notwithstanding a shepherd hath called afteryou and is still calling after you, but ye will not hearken unto hisvoice! 38 Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth callyou; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the nameof Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the goodshepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are notthe sheep of the good shepherd. 39 And now if ye are not the sheepof the good shepherd, of what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you,that the devil is your shepherd, and ye are of his fold; and now,who can deny this? Behold, I say unto you, whosoever denieth thisis a liar and a child of the devil. 40 For I say unto you thatwhatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evilAlma cometh from the devil. 41 Therefore, if a man bringeth forth goodworks he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepherd, and hedoth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, thesame becometh a child of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto hisvoice, and doth follow him. 42 And whosoever doeth this mustreceive his wages of him; therefore, for his wages he receivethdeath, as to things pertaining unto righteousness, being dead untoall good works.AlmaCity of Zarahemla83 B.C.43 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should hear me, for Ispeak in the energy of my soul; for behold, I have spoken unto youplainly that ye cannot err, or have spoken according to thecommandments of God. 44 For I am called to speak after thismanner, according to the holy order of God, which is in ChristJesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this peoplethe things which have been spoken by our fathers concerning thethings which are to come. 45 And this is not all. Do ye not supposethat I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you thatI do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. Andhow do ye suppose that I know of their surety? 46 Behold, I sayunto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God.Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might knowthese things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they aretrue; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by hisHoly Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me. 47And moreover, I say unto you that it has thus been revealed untome, that the words which have been spoken by our fathers are true,even so according to the spirit of prophecy which is in me, whichis also by the manifestation of the Spirit of God.48 I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall sayunto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say untoyou, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, theOnly 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 order after which I amcalled, yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea, and everyone that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old andyoung, both bond and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and alsothe middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto themthat they must repent and be born again. 50 Yea, thus saith theSpirit:Repent, all ye ends of the earth, for the kingdom of heaven issoon at hand;The Spirityea, the Son of God cometh in his glory, in his might, majesty,power, and dominion. Yea, my beloved brethren, I say unto you,that the Spirit saith:AlmaBehold the glory of the King of all the earth; and also the Kingof heaven shall very soon shine forth among all the children ofmen.The Spirit 51 And also the Spirit saith unto me, yea, crieth unto me with amighty voice, saying:AlmaCity of Zarahemla83 B.C.Go forth and say unto this people—Repent, for except ye repentye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of heaven.The Spirit52 And again I say unto you, the Spirit saith:AlmaBehold, the ax is laid at the root of the tree; therefore every treethat bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and castinto the fire, yea, a fire which cannot be consumed, even anunquenchable fire. Behold, and remember, the Holy One hathspoken it.The Spirit53 And now my beloved brethren, I say unto you, can ye withstandthese sayings; yea, can ye lay aside these things, and trample theHoly One under your feet; yea, can ye be puffed up in the pride ofyour hearts; yea, will ye still persist in the wearing of costlyapparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world,upon your riches? 54 Yea, will ye persist in supposing that ye arebetter one than another; yea, will ye persist in the persecution ofyour brethren, who humble themselves and do walk after the holyorder of God, wherewith they have been brought into this church,having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and they do bring forthworks which are meet for repentance— 55 Yea, and will youpersist in turning your backs upon the poor, and the needy, and inwithholding your substance from them? 56 And finally, all ye thatwill persist in your wickedness, I say unto you that these are theywho shall be hewn down and cast into the fire except they speedilyrepent. 57 And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous tofollow the voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from thewicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things; andbehold, their names shall be blotted out, that the names of thewicked shall not be numbered among the names of the righteous,that the word of God may be fulfilled, which saith:AlmaThe names of the wicked shall not be mingled with the namesof my people; 58 For the names of the righteous shall be writtenin the book of life, and unto them will I grant an inheritance atmy right hand.Word of GodAnd now, my brethren, what have ye to say against this? I say untoyou, if ye speak against it, it matters not, for the word of God mustbe fulfilled. 59 For what shepherd is there among you having manysheep doth not watch over them, that the wolves enter not anddevour his flock? And behold, if a wolf enter his flock doth he notdrive 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 afteryou; and if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you intohis fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that yesuffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not bedestroyed. 61 And now I, Alma, do command you in the languageof him who hath commanded me, that ye observe to do the wordsAlma which I have spoken unto you. 62 I speak by way of commandunto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do notbelong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying:AlmaCity of Zarahemla83 B.C.Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may bepartakers of the fruit of the tree of life.1 AND now it came to pass that after Alma had made an endof speaking unto the people of the church, which wasestablished in the city of Zarahemla, he ordained priests andelders, by laying on his hands according to the order ofGod, to preside and watch over the church.Mormon2 And it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to thechurch who repented of their sins were baptized untorepentance, and were received into the church.3 And it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to thechurch that did not repent of their wickedness and humblethemselves before God—I mean those who were lifted upin the pride of their hearts—the same were rejected, andtheir names were blotted out, that their names were notnumbered among those of the righteous. 4 And thus theybegan to establish the order of the church in the city ofZarahemla. 5 Now I would that ye should understand thatthe word of God was liberal unto all, that none weredeprived of the privilege of assembling themselves togetherto hear the word of God. 6 Nevertheless the children of Godwere commanded that they should gather themselvestogether oft, and join in fasting and mighty prayer in behalfof the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God.