Alma Teaches Plan of Redemption

Event 81

Reference: Alma 12:1-37; 13:1-31

NOW Alma, seeing that the words of Amulek had silencedZeezrom, for he beheld that Amulek had caught him in hislying and deceiving to destroy him, and seeing that hebegan to tremble under a consciousness of his guilt, heopened his mouth and began to speak unto him, and toestablish the words of Amulek, and to explain thingsbeyond, or to unfold the scriptures beyond that whichAmulek had done. 2 Now the words that Alma spake untoZeezrom were heard by the people round about; for themultitude was great, and he spake on this wise:MormonLand ofAmmonihah82 B.C.3 Now Zeezrom, seeing that thou hast been taken in thy lying andcraftiness, for thou hast not lied unto men only but thou hast liedunto God; for behold, he knows all thy thoughts, and thou seestthat thy thoughts are made known unto us by his Spirit; 4 And thouseest that we know that thy plan was a very subtle plan, as to thesubtlety of the devil, for to lie and to deceive this people that thoumightest set them against us, to revile us and to cast us out— 5Now this was a plan of thine adversary, and he hath exercised hispower in thee. Now I would that ye should remember that what Isay unto thee I say unto all. 6 And behold I say unto you all thatthis was a snare of the adversary, which he has laid to catch thispeople, that he might bring you into subjection unto him, that hemight encircle you about with his chains, that he might chain youdown to everlasting destruction, according to the power of hiscaptivity.Alma7 Now when Alma had spoken these words, Zeezrom beganto tremble more exceedingly, for he was convinced moreand more of the power of God; and he was also convincedthat Alma and Amulek had a knowledge of him, for he wasconvinced that they knew the thoughts and intents of hisheart; for power was given unto them that they might knowof these things according to the spirit of prophecy. 8 AndZeezrom began to inquire of them diligently, that he mightknow more concerning the kingdom of God. And he saidunto Alma:MormonWhat does this mean which Amulek hath spoken concerning theresurrection of the dead, that all shall rise from the dead, both thejust and the unjust, and are brought to stand before God to bejudged according to their works?Zeezrom9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him,saying:Mormon It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; neverthelessthey are laid under a strict command that they shall not impartonly according to the portion of his word which he doth grant untothe children of men, according to the heed and diligence whichthey give unto him. 10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart,the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that willnot harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of theword, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God untilhe know them in full.AlmaLand ofAmmonihah82 B.C.11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given thelesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning hismysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led byhis will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by thechains of hell. 12 And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerningdeath, and being raised from this mortality to a state ofimmortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judgedaccording to our works. 13 Then if our hearts have been hardened,yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuchthat it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, forthen we shall be condemned.14 For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works willcondemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts willalso condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to lookup to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could commandthe rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from hispresence. 15 But this cannot be; we must come forth and standbefore him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might,majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shamethat all his judgments are just; that he is just in all his works, andthat he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has allpower to save every man that believeth on his name and bringethforth fruit meet for repentance.16 And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even asecond death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time thatwhosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die aspiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining untorighteousness. 17 Then is the time when their torments shall be asa lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever andever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to aneverlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity ofSatan, he having subjected them according to his will. 18 Then, Isay unto you, they shall be as though there had been noredemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God’sjustice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.19 Now it came to pass that when Alma had made an end ofspeaking these words, the people began to be moreastonished; 20 But there was one Antionah, who was a chiefruler among them, came forth and said unto him:Mormon What is this that thou hast said, that man should rise from the deadand be changed from this mortal to an immortal state, that the soulcan never die? 21 What does the scripture mean, which saith thatGod placed cherubim and a flaming sword on the east of thegarden of Eden, lest our first parents should enter and partake ofthe fruit of the tree of life, and live forever? And thus we see thatthere was no possible chance that they should live forever.AntionahLand ofAmmonihah82 B.C.22 Now Alma said unto him:MormonThis is the thing which I was about to explain. Now we see thatAdam did fall by the partaking of the forbidden fruit, according tothe word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all mankindbecame a lost and fallen people. 23 And now behold, I say untoyou that if it had been possible for Adam to have partaken of thefruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been nodeath, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, forhe said: If thou eat thou shalt surely die. 24 And we see that deathcomes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of byAmulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was aspace granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore thislife became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; atime to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of byus, which is after the resurrection of the dead.Alma25 Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which waslaid from the foundation of the world, there could have been noresurrection of the dead; but there was a plan of redemption laid,which shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which hasbeen spoken. 26 And now behold, if it were possible that our firstparents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of life theywould have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state;and thus the plan of redemption would have been frustrated, andthe word of God would have been void, taking none effect. 27 Butbehold, it was not so; but it was appointed unto men that they mustdie; and after death, they must come to judgment, even that samejudgment of which we have spoken, which is the end.28 And after God had appointed that these things should comeunto man, behold, then he saw that it was expedient that manshould know concerning the things whereof he had appointed untothem; 29 Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, whocaused men to behold of his glory. 30 And they began from thattime forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men,and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which hadbeen prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he madeknown unto them according to their faith and repentance and theirholy works. 31 Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, theyhaving first transgressed the first commandments as to thingswhich were temporal, and becoming as gods, knowing good fromevil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a stateto act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil orto do good— 32 Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after havingmade known unto them the plan of redemption, that they shouldnot do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was aneverlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for onsuch the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works ofjustice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodnessof God. 33 But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (thisbeing the plan of redemption which was laid) saying:AlmaLand ofAmmonihah82 B.C.If ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I havemercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son; 34Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, heshall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son,unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest.35 And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity,behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.God the Father36 And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye willharden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord;therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down hiswrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to hisword in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlastingdestruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, untothe last death, as well as the first. 37 And now, my brethren, seeingwe know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and hardennot our hearts, that we provoke not the Lord our God to pull downhis wrath upon us in these his second commandments which hehas given unto us; but let us enter into the rest of God, which isprepared according to his word.Alma1 AND again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to thetime when the Lord God gave these commandments unto hischildren; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord Godordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order ofhis Son, to teach these things unto the people. 2 And those priestswere ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that therebythe people might know in what manner to look forward to his Sonfor redemption. 3 And this is the manner after which they wereordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of theworld according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of theirexceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left tochoose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, andexercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling,yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and accordingto, a preparatory redemption for such.4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account oftheir faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on accountof the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while,if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege astheir brethren. 5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the samestanding with their brethren; thus this holy calling being preparedfrom the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the OnlyBegotten Son, who was prepared— 6 And thus being called by thisholy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holyorder of God, to teach his commandments unto the children ofmen, that they also might enter into his rest— 7 This highpriesthood being after the order of his Son, which order was fromthe foundation of the world; or in other words, being withoutbeginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity toall eternity, according to his foreknowledge of all things—AlmaLand ofAmmonihah82 B.C.8 Now they were ordained after this manner—being called with aholy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking uponthem the high priesthood of the holy order, which calling, andordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end— 9Thus they become high priests forever, after the order of the Son,the Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of daysor end of years, who is full of grace, equity, and truth. And thus itis. Amen.10 Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this highpriesthood, there were many who were ordained and became highpriests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith andrepentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing torepent and work righteousness rather than to perish; 11 Thereforethey were called after this holy order, and were sanctified, andtheir garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb.12 Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having theirgarments made white, being pure and spotless before God, couldnot look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there weremany, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and enteredinto the rest of the Lord their God.13 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humbleyourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance,that ye may also enter into that rest. 14 Yea, humble yourselveseven as the people in the days of Melchizedek, who was also ahigh priest after this same order which I have spoken, who alsotook upon him the high priesthood forever. 15 And it was this sameMelchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our fatherAbraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he possessed. 16 Nowthese ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby thepeople might look forward on the Son of God, it being a type ofhis order, or it being his order, and this that they might lookforward to him for a remission of their sins, that they might enterinto the rest of the Lord.17 Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem; andhis people had waxed strong in iniquity and abomination; yea, theyhad all gone astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness; 18But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received theoffice of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God,did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they didrepent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was theking of Salem; and he did reign under his father. 19 Now, therewere many before him, and also there were many afterwards, butnone were greater; therefore, of him they have more particularlymade mention. 20 Now I need not rehearse the matter; what I havesaid may suffice. Behold, the scriptures are before you; if ye willwrest them it shall be to your own destruction.AlmaLand ofAmmonihah82 B.C.21 And now it came to pass that when Alma had said thesewords unto them, he stretched forth his hand unto them andcried with a mighty voice, saying:MormonNow is the time to repent, for the day of salvation draweth nigh; 22Yea, and the voice of the Lord, by the mouth of angels, dothdeclare it unto all nations; yea, doth declare it, that they may haveglad tidings of great joy; yea, and he doth sound these glad tidingsamong all his people, yea, even to them that are scattered abroadupon the face of the earth; wherefore they have come unto us. 23And they are made known unto us in plain terms, that we mayunderstand, that we cannot err; and this because of our beingwanderers in a strange land; therefore, we are thus highly favored,for we have these glad tidings declared unto us in all parts of ourvineyard.Alma24 For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in ourland; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of thechildren of men to receive his word at the time of his coming inhis glory.25 And now we only wait to hear the joyful news declared unto usby the mouth of angels, of his coming; for the time cometh, weknow not how soon. Would to God that it might be in my day; butlet it be sooner or later, in it I will rejoice. 26 And it shall be madeknown unto just and holy men, by the mouth of angels, at the timeof his coming, that the words of our fathers may be fulfilled,according to that which they have spoken concerning him, whichwas according to the spirit of prophecy which was in them.27 And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart,yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken untomy words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day ofyour repentance; 28 But that ye would humble yourselves beforethe Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and praycontinually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye canbear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek,submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering; 29 Havingfaith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life;having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be liftedup at the last day and enter into his rest.30 And may the Lord grant unto you repentance, that ye may notbring down his wrath upon you, that ye may not be bound downby the chains of hell, that ye may not suffer the second death. 31 And Alma spake many more words unto the people,which are not written in this book.MormonLand ofAmmonihah82 B.C.