Alma Desires to Preach Repentance

Event 95

Reference: Alma 28:8-14; 29:1-17; 30:1-5

And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, theirjourneyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in theland, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and theirincomprehensible joy, and the reception and safety of thebrethren in the land of Jershon. And now may the Lord, theRedeemer of all men, bless their souls forever.MormonLand ofZarahemla77 B.C.9 And this is the account of the wars and contentions among theNephites, and also the wars between the Nephites and theLamanites; and the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges isended. 10 And from the first year to the fifteenth has brought topass the destruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has brought topass an awful scene of bloodshed. 11 And the bodies of manythousands are laid low in the earth, while the bodies of manythousands are moldering in heaps upon the face of the earth; yea,and many thousands are mourning for the loss of their kindred,because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of theLord, that they are consigned to a state of endless wo. 12 Whilemany thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred,yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according tothe promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the righthand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness.Alma13 And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because ofsin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes bythe cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts ofmen. 14 And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to laborin the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason ofsorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death anddestruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ untolife.1 O THAT I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart,that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with avoice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! 2Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder,repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent andcome unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon allthe face of the earth. 3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in mywish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hathallotted unto me. 4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firmdecree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto menaccording to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea,I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decreeswhich are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they beunto salvation or unto destruction. 5 Yea, and I know that good andevil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is givenaccording to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life ordeath, joy or remorse of conscience.AlmaLand ofZarahemla77 B.C.6 Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire morethan to perform the work to which I have been called? 7 Whyshould I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all theends of the earth? 8 For behold, the Lord doth grant unto allnations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, inwisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we seethat the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which isjust and true. 9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me,and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that whichthe Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, thatperhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring somesoul to repentance; and this is my joy.10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, andcoming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; thendo I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that hehath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful armwhich he extended towards me. 11 Yea, and I also remember thecaptivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the Lord diddeliver them out of bondage, and by this did establish his church;yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and theGod of Jacob, did deliver them out of bondage. 12 Yea, I havealways remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same Godwho delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians did deliverthem out of bondage. 13 Yea, and that same God did establish hischurch among them; yea, and that same God hath called me by aholy calling, to preach the word unto this people, and hath givenme much success, in the which my joy is full.14 But I do not joy in my own success alone, but my joy is morefull because of the success of my brethren, who have been up tothe land of Nephi. 15 Behold, they have labored exceedingly, andhave brought forth much fruit; and how great shall be their reward!16 Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soulis carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as itwere, so great is my joy. 17 And now may God grant unto these,my brethren, that they may sit down in the kingdom of God; yea,and also all those who are the fruit of their labors that they may gono more out, but that they may praise him forever. And may Godgrant that it may be done according to my words, even as I havespoken. Amen.1 BEHOLD, now it came to pass that after the people ofAmmon were established in the land of Jershon, yea, andalso after the Lamanites were driven out of the land, andtheir dead were buried by the people of the land— 2 Nowtheir dead were not numbered because of the greatness oftheir numbers; neither were the dead of the NephitesMormon76 B.C. numbered—but it came to pass after they had buried theirdead, and also after the days of fasting, and mourning, andprayer, (and it was in the sixteenth year of the reign of thejudges over the people of Nephi) there began to becontinual peace throughout all the land. 3 Yea, and thepeople did observe to keep the commandments of the Lord;and they were strict in observing the ordinances of God,according to the law of Moses; for they were taught to keepthe law of Moses until it should be fulfilled. 4 And thus thepeople did have no disturbance in all the sixteenth year ofthe reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.MormonLand ofZarahemla76 B.C.5 And it came to pass that in the commencement of theseventeenth year of the reign of the judges, there wascontinual peace.75 B.C.