Alma Commands Son Helaman

Event 100

Reference: Alma 36:1-30; 37:1-47

The commandments of Alma to his son Helaman.MY son, give ear to my words; for I swear unto you, that inasmuchas ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in theland. 2 I would that ye should do as I have done, in rememberingthe captivity of our fathers; for they were in bondage, and nonecould deliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the Godof Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them intheir afflictions. 3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou artin thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hearmy words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall puttheir trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and theirtroubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.4 And I would not that ye think that I know of myself—not of thetemporal but of the spiritual, not of the carnal mind but of God.AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.5 Now, behold, I say unto you, if I had not been born of God Ishould not have known these things; but God has, by the mouth ofhis holy angel, made these things known unto me, not of anyworthiness of myself; 6 For I went about with the sons of Mosiah,seeking to destroy the church of God; but behold, God sent hisholy 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 tremblebeneath our feet; and we all fell to the earth, for the fear of theLord came upon us. 8 But behold, the voice said unto me:Arise.Angel of LordAnd I arose and stood up, and beheld the angel. 9 And he said untome:AlmaIf thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy thechurch of God.Angel of Lord10 And it came to pass that I fell to the earth; and it was for thespace of three days and three nights that I could not open mymouth, neither had I the use of my limbs. 11 And the angel spakemore things unto me, which were heard by my brethren, but I didnot hear them; for when I heard the words—AlmaIf thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy thechurch of God—Angel of LordI was struck with such great fear and amazement lest perhaps Ishould be destroyed, that I fell to the earth and I did hear no more.12 But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul washarrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins. 13Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I wastormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelledagainst my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.Alma 14 Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather ledthem away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been myiniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of myGod did rack my soul with inexpressible horror. 15 Oh, thought I,that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body,that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, tobe judged of my deeds.AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.16 And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, evenwith the pains of a damned soul. 17 And it came to pass that as Iwas thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by thememory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to haveheard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the comingof one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of theworld. 18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I criedwithin my heart:O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in thegall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlastingchains of death.19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember mypains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sinsno more. 20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I didbehold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was mypain! 21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothingso exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I sayunto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing soexquisite and sweet as was my joy. 22 Yea, methought I saw, evenas our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surroundedwith numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singingand praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there. 23But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stoodupon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had beenborn of God.24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored withoutceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I mightbring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; thatthey might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.25 Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give meexceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors; 26 For because ofthe word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have beenborn of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye toeye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things ofwhich I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which Ihave is of God.27 And I have been supported under trials and troubles of everykind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has deliveredme from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do putmy trust in him, and he will still deliver me. 28 And I know that hewill raise me up at the last day, to dwell with him in glory; yea,and I will praise him forever, for he has brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has swallowed up the Egyptians in the Red Sea; andhe led them by his power into the promised land; yea, and he hasdelivered them out of bondage and captivity from time to time. 29Yea, and he has also brought our fathers out of the land ofJerusalem; and he has also, by his everlasting power, deliveredthem out of bondage and captivity, from time to time even down tothe present day; and I have always retained in remembrance theircaptivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as Ihave done, their captivity.AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.30 But behold, my son, this is not all; for ye ought to know as I doknow, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of Godye shall prosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, thatinasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shallbe cut off from his presence. Now this is according to his word.1 AND now, my son Helaman, I command you that ye take therecords which have been entrusted with me; 2 And I alsocommand you that ye keep a record of this people, according as Ihave done, upon the plates of Nephi, and keep all these thingssacred which I have kept, even as I have kept them; for it is for awise purpose that they are kept. 3 And these plates of brass, whichcontain these engravings, which have the records of the holyscriptures upon them, which have the genealogy of our forefathers,even from the beginning— 4 Behold, it has been prophesied byour fathers, that they should be kept and handed down from onegeneration to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand ofthe Lord until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred,tongue, and people, that they shall know of the mysteriescontained thereon. 5 And now behold, if they are kept they mustretain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness;yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which isholy writ.6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold Isay unto you, that by small and simple things are great thingsbrought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confoundthe wise. 7 And the Lord God doth work by means to bring abouthis great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lorddoth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of manysouls. 8 And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that thesethings should be preserved; for behold, they have enlarged thememory of this people, yea, and convinced many of the error oftheir ways, and brought them to the knowledge of their God untothe salvation of their souls. 9 Yea, I say unto you, were it not forthese things that these records do contain, which are on theseplates, Ammon and his brethren could not have convinced so manythousands of the Lamanites of the incorrect tradition of theirfathers; yea, these records and their words brought them untorepentance; that is, they brought them to the knowledge of theLord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer. 10 And who knoweth but what they will be the means of bringingmany thousands of them, yea, and also many thousands of ourstiffnecked brethren, the Nephites, who are now hardening theirhearts 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 theyare preserved for a wise purpose, which purpose is known untoGod; for he doth counsel in wisdom over all his works, and hispaths are straight, and his course is one eternal round. 13 Oremember, remember, my son Helaman, how strict are thecommandments of God. And he said:AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.If ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land—Godbut if ye keep not his commandments ye shall be cut off from hispresence. 14 And now remember, my son, that God has entrustedyou with these things, which are sacred, which he has kept sacred,and also which he will keep and preserve for a wise purpose inhim, that he may show forth his power unto future generations.Alma15 And now behold, I tell you by the spirit of prophecy, that if yetransgress the commandments of God, behold, these things whichare sacred shall be taken away from you by the power of God, andye shall be delivered up unto Satan, that he may sift you as chaffbefore the wind. 16 But if ye keep the commandments of God, anddo with these things which are sacred according to that which theLord doth command you, (for you must appeal unto the Lord forall things whatsoever ye must do with them) behold, no power ofearth or hell can take them from you, for God is powerful to thefulfilling of all his words. 17 For he will fulfil all his promiseswhich he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promiseswhich he has made unto our fathers. 18 For he promised unto themthat he would preserve these things for a wise purpose in him, thathe might show forth his power unto future generations.19 And now behold, one purpose hath he fulfilled, even to therestoration of many thousands of the Lamanites to the knowledgeof the truth; and he hath shown forth his power in them, and hewill also still show forth his power in them unto futuregenerations; therefore they shall be preserved. 20 Therefore Icommand you, my son Helaman, that ye be diligent in fulfilling allmy words, and that ye be diligent in keeping the commandmentsof God as they are written.21 And now, I will speak unto you concerning those twenty-fourplates, that ye keep them, that the mysteries and the works ofdarkness, and their secret works, or the secret works of thosepeople who have been destroyed, may be made manifest unto thispeople; yea, all their murders, and robbings, and their plunderings,and all their wickedness and abominations, may be made manifestunto this people; yea, and that ye preserve these interpreters. 22For behold, the Lord saw that his people began to work in darkness, yea, work secret murders and abominations; thereforethe Lord said, if they did not repent they should be destroyed fromoff the face of the earth. 23 And the Lord said:AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shallshine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto mypeople who serve me, that I may discover unto them the worksof their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works ofdarkness, and their wickedness and abominations.The Lord24 And now, my son, these interpreters were prepared that theword of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying:Alma25 I will bring forth out of darkness unto light all their secretworks and their abominations; and except they repent I willdestroy them from off the face of the earth; and I will bring tolight all their secrets and abominations, unto every nation thatshall hereafter possess the land.The Lord26 And now, my son, we see that they did not repent; thereforethey have been destroyed, and thus far the word of God has beenfulfilled; yea, their secret abominations have been brought out ofdarkness and made known unto us. 27 And now, my son, Icommand you that ye retain all their oaths, and their covenants,and their agreements in their secret abominations; yea, and all theirsigns and their wonders ye shall keep from this people, that theyknow them not, lest peradventure they should fall into darknessalso and be destroyed.Alma28 For behold, there is a curse upon all this land, that destructionshall come upon all those workers of darkness, according to thepower of God, when they are fully ripe; therefore I desire that thispeople might not be destroyed. 29 Therefore ye shall keep thesesecret plans of their oaths and their covenants from this people,and only their wickedness and their murders and theirabominations shall ye make known unto them; and ye shall teachthem to abhor such wickedness and abominations and murders;and ye shall also teach them that these people were destroyed onaccount of their wickedness and abominations and their murders.30 For behold, they murdered all the prophets of the Lord whocame among them to declare unto them concerning their iniquities;and the blood of those whom they murdered did cry unto the Lordtheir God for vengeance upon those who were their murderers; andthus the judgments of God did come upon these workers ofdarkness and secret combinations. 31 Yea, and cursed be the landforever and ever unto those workers of darkness and secretcombinations, even unto destruction, except they repent beforethey are fully ripe.32 And now, my son, remember the words which I have spokenunto you; trust not those secret plans unto this people, but teachthem an everlasting hatred against sin and iniquity. 33 Preach untothem repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them tohumble themselves and to be meek and lowly in heart; teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on theLord Jesus Christ. 34 Teach them to never be weary of goodworks, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest totheir souls. 35 O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thyyouth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doingsbe unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in theLord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, letthe affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. 37Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee forgood; 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 inthe morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye dothese things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.38 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thingwhich our fathers call a ball, or director—or our fathers called itLiahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lordprepared it. 39 And behold, there cannot any man work after themanner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was preparedto show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in thewilderness. 40 And it did work for them according to their faith inGod; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could causethat those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, itwas done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many othermiracles wrought by the power of God, day by day. 41Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small meansit did show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful, andforgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then thosemarvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in theirjourney; 42 Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did nottravel 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 thesethings are not without a shadow; for as our fathers were slothful togive heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) theydid not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual. 44 Forbehold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which willpoint to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for ourfathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto thema straight course to the promised land. 45 And now I say, is therenot a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bringour fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall thewords of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond thisvale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.46 O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness ofthe way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared forthem, that if they would look they might live; 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 care of these sacred things, yea,see that ye look to God and live. Go unto this people and declarethe word, and be sober. My son, farewell.AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.