Alma Commands Son Corianton

Event 102

Reference: Alma 39:1-19; 40:1-26; 41:1-15; 42:1-31

The commandments of Alma to his son Corianton.AND now, my son, I have somewhat more to say unto thee thanwhat I said unto thy brother; for behold, have ye not observed thesteadiness of thy brother, his faithfulness, and his diligence inkeeping the commandments of God? Behold, has he not set a goodexample for thee? 2 For thou didst not give so much heed unto mywords as did thy brother, among the people of the Zoramites. Nowthis is what I have against thee; thou didst go on unto boasting inthy strength and thy wisdom. 3 And this is not all, my son. Thoudidst do that which was grievous unto me; for thou didst forsakethe ministry, and did go over into the land of Siron among theborders of the Lamanites, after the harlot Isabel. 4 Yea, she didsteal away the hearts of many; but this was no excuse for thee, myson. Thou shouldst have tended to the ministry wherewith thouwast entrusted. 5 Know ye not, my son, that these things are anabomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable aboveall sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying theHoly Ghost?AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.6 For behold, if ye deny the Holy Ghost when it once has hadplace in you, and ye know that ye deny it, behold, this is a sinwhich is unpardonable; yea, and whosoever murdereth against thelight and knowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtainforgiveness; yea, I say unto you, my son, that it is not easy for himto obtain a forgiveness. 7 And now, my son, I would to God that yehad not been guilty of so great a crime. I would not dwell uponyour crimes, to harrow up your soul, if it were not for your good. 8But behold, ye cannot hide your crimes from God; and except yerepent they will stand as a testimony against you at the last day.9 Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake yoursins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes, but cross yourselfin all these things; for except ye do this ye can in nowise inheritthe kingdom of God. Oh, remember, and take it upon you, andcross yourself in these things. 10 And I command you to take itupon you to counsel with your elder brothers in your undertakings;for behold, thou art in thy youth, and ye stand in need to benourished by your brothers. And give heed to their counsel. 11Suffer not yourself to be led away by any vain or foolish thing;suffer not the devil to lead away your heart again after thosewicked harlots. Behold, O my son, how great iniquity ye broughtupon the Zoramites; for when they saw your conduct they wouldnot believe in my words. 12 And now the Spirit of the Lord dothsay unto me:Command thy children to do good, lest they lead away thehearts of many people to destruction;Spirit of Lord therefore I command you, my son, in the fear of God, that yerefrain from your iniquities; 13 That ye turn to the Lord with allyour mind, might, and strength; that ye lead away the hearts of nomore to do wickedly; but rather return unto them, andacknowledge your faults and that wrong which ye have done. 14Seek 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 saysomewhat unto you concerning the coming of Christ. Behold, I sayunto you, that it is he that surely shall come to take away the sinsof the world; yea, he cometh to declare glad tidings of salvationunto his people.AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.16 And now, my son, this was the ministry unto which ye werecalled, to declare these glad tidings unto this people, to preparetheir minds; or rather that salvation might come unto them, thatthey may prepare the minds of their children to hear the word atthe time of his coming. 17 And now I will ease your mindsomewhat on this subject. Behold, you marvel why these thingsshould be known so long beforehand. Behold, I say unto you, isnot a soul at this time as precious unto God as a soul will be at thetime of his coming? 18 Is it not as necessary that the plan ofredemption should be made known unto this people as well as untotheir children? 19 Is it not as easy at this time for the Lord to sendhis angel to declare these glad tidings unto us as unto our children,or as after the time of his coming?1 NOW my son, here is somewhat more I would say unto thee; for Iperceive that thy mind is worried concerning the resurrection ofthe 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 onimmortality, this corruption does not put on incorruption—untilafter the coming of Christ. 3 Behold, he bringeth to pass theresurrection of the dead. But behold, my son, the resurrection isnot yet. Now, I unfold unto you a mystery; nevertheless, there aremany mysteries which are kept, that no one knoweth them saveGod himself. But I show unto you one thing which I have inquireddiligently of God that I might know—that is concerning theresurrection.4 Behold, there is a time appointed that all shall come forth fromthe dead. Now when this time cometh no one knows; but Godknoweth the time which is appointed. 5 Now, whether there shallbe one time, or a second time, or a third time, that men shall comeforth from the dead, it mattereth not; for God knoweth all thesethings; and it sufficeth me to know that this is the case—that thereis a time appointed that all shall rise from the dead. 6 Now theremust needs be a space betwixt the time of death and the time of theresurrection. 7 And now I would inquire what becometh of thesouls of men from this time of death to the time appointed for theresurrection? 8 Now whether there is more than one timeappointed for men to rise it mattereth not; for all do not die atonce, and this mattereth not; all is as one day with God, and timeonly is measured unto men. 9 Therefore, there is a time appointed unto men that they shall rise from the dead; and there is a spacebetween the time of death and the resurrection. And now,concerning this space of time, what becometh of the souls of menis 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 timecometh when all shall rise, then shall they know that God knowethall the times which are appointed unto man.AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and theresurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by anangel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed fromthis mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be goodor evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. 12 Andthen shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who arerighteous are received into a state of happiness, which is calledparadise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest fromall their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.13 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked,yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of theSpirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather thangood; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and takepossession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outerdarkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing ofteeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive bythe will of the devil. 14 Now this is the state of the souls of thewicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking forthe fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus theyremain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until thetime of their resurrection.15 Now, there are some that have understood that this state ofhappiness and this state of misery of the soul, before theresurrection, was a first resurrection. Yea, I admit it may be termeda resurrection, the raising of the spirit or the soul and theirconsignation to happiness or misery, according to the words whichhave been spoken. 16 And behold, again it hath been spoken, thatthere is a first resurrection, a resurrection of all those who havebeen, or who are, or who shall be, down to the resurrection ofChrist from the dead. 17 Now, we do not suppose that this firstresurrection, which is spoken of in this manner, can be theresurrection of the souls and their consignation to happiness ormisery. Ye cannot suppose that this is what it meaneth. 18 Behold,I say unto you, Nay; but it meaneth the reuniting of the soul withthe body, of those from the days of Adam down to the resurrectionof Christ.19 Now, whether the souls and the bodies of those of whom hasbeen spoken shall all be reunited at once, the wicked as well as therighteous, I do not say; let it suffice, that I say that they all comeforth; or in other words, their resurrection cometh to pass beforethe 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 thesouls and the bodies are reunited, of the righteous, at theresurrection of Christ, and his ascension into heaven. 21 Butwhether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but thismuch I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrectionof the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery untilthe time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth,and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to standbefore God, and be judged according to their works. 22 Yea, thisbringeth about the restoration of those things of which has beenspoken by the mouths of the prophets. 23 The soul shall berestored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limband joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the headshall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper andperfect frame.AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.24 And now, my son, this is the restoration of which has beenspoken by the mouths of the prophets— 25 And then shall therighteous shine forth in the kingdom of God. 26 But behold, anawful death cometh upon the wicked; for they die as to thingspertaining to things of righteousness; for they are unclean, and nounclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God; but they are castout, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors or theirworks, which have been evil; and they drink the dregs of a bittercup.1 AND now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning therestoration of which has been spoken; for behold, some havewrested the scriptures, and have gone far astray because of thisthing. And I perceive that thy mind has been worried alsoconcerning this thing. But behold, I will explain it unto thee. 2 Isay unto thee, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite withthe justice of God; for it is requisite that all things should berestored to their proper order. Behold, it is requisite and just,according to the power and resurrection of Christ, that the soul ofman should be restored to its body, and that every part of the bodyshould be restored to itself.3 And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should bejudged according to their works; and if their works were good inthis life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they shouldalso, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good. 4 And iftheir works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil.Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, everything to its natural frame—mortality raised to immortality,corruption to incorruption—raised to endless happiness to inheritthe kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom ofthe devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other— 5 The oneraised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or goodaccording to his desires of good; and the other to evil according tohis desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day longeven so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh. 6 And so it is on the other hand. If he hath repented of his sins, anddesired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall berewarded unto righteousness. 7 These are they that are redeemedof the Lord; yea, these are they that are taken out, that aredelivered from that endless night of darkness; and thus they standor fall; for behold, they are their own judges, whether to do goodor do evil. 8 Now, the decrees of God are unalterable; therefore,the way is prepared that whosoever will may walk therein and besaved. 9 And now behold, my son, do not risk one more offenseagainst your God upon those points of doctrine, which ye havehitherto risked to commit sin. 10 Do not suppose, because it hasbeen spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored fromsin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never washappiness.AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.11 And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or Iwould say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in thebonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and theyhave gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in astate contrary to the nature of happiness. 12 And now behold, isthe meaning of the word restoration to take a thing of a naturalstate and place it in an unnatural state, or to place it in a stateopposite to its nature? 13 O, my son, this is not the case; but themeaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil,or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish—good for that whichis good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which isjust; merciful for that which is merciful.14 Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren;deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if yedo all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shallhave mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restoredunto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored untoyou again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again. 15 Forthat which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and berestored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneththe sinner, and justifieth him not at all.1 AND now, my son, I perceive there is somewhat more which dothworry your mind, which ye cannot understand—which isconcerning the justice of God in the punishment of the sinner; forye do try to suppose that it is injustice that the sinner should beconsigned to a state of misery. 2 Now behold, my son, I willexplain this thing unto thee. For behold, after the Lord God sentour first parents forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground,from whence they were taken—yea, he drew out the man, and heplaced at the east end of the garden of Eden, cherubim, and aflaming sword which turned every way, to keep the tree of life— 3Now, we see that the man had become as God, knowing good andevil; and lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the treeof life, and eat and live forever, the Lord God placed cherubim andthe flaming sword, that he should not partake of the fruit— 4 And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man torepent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God. 5For behold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately, andpartaken of the tree of life, he would have lived forever, accordingto the word of God, having no space for repentance; yea, and alsothe word of God would have been void, and the great plan ofsalvation would have been frustrated. 6 But behold, it wasappointed unto man to die—therefore, as they were cut off fromthe tree of life they should be cut off from the face of the earth—and man became lost forever, yea, they became fallen man. 7 Andnow, ye see by this that our first parents were cut off bothtemporally and spiritually from the presence of the Lord; and thuswe see they became subjects to follow after their own will.AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.8 Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimedfrom this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan ofhappiness. 9 Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fallhad brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as atemporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord,it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from thisspiritual death. 10 Therefore, as they had become carnal, sensual,and devilish, by nature, this probationary state became a state forthem to prepare; it became a preparatory state. 11 And nowremember, my son, if it were not for the plan of redemption,(laying it aside) as soon as they were dead their souls weremiserable, being cut off from the presence of the Lord. 12 Andnow, there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state,which man had brought upon himself because of his owndisobedience;13 Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption couldnot be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men inthis probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except itwere for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except itshould destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice couldnot be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God. 14 And thuswe see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp ofjustice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever tobe cut off from his presence. 15 And now, the plan of mercy couldnot be brought about except an atonement should be made;therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bringabout the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, thatGod might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.16 Now, repentance could not come unto men except there were apunishment, which also was eternal as the life of the soul shouldbe, affixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which was as eternalalso as the life of the soul. 17 Now, how could a man repent excepthe should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How couldthere be a law save there was a punishment? 18 Now, there was apunishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorseof conscience unto man. 19 Now, if there was no law given—if aman murdered he should die—would he be afraid he would die if he should murder? 20 And also, if there was no law given againstsin men would not be afraid to sin. 21 And if there was no lawgiven, if men sinned what could justice do, or mercy either, forthey would have no claim upon the creature? 22 But there is a lawgiven, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; whichrepentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth thecreature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth thepunishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, andGod would cease to be God.AlmaLand ofZarahemla74 B.C.23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth thepenitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and theatonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and theresurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence ofGod; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judgedaccording to their works, according to the law and justice. 24 Forbehold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimethall which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent aresaved. 25 What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I sayunto you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God. 26And thus God bringeth about his great and eternal purposes, whichwere prepared from the foundation of the world. And thus comethabout the salvation and the redemption of men, and also theirdestruction and misery.27 Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come andpartake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not comethe same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall berestored unto him according to his deeds. 28 If he has desired to doevil, and has not repented in his days, behold, evil shall be doneunto him, according to the restoration of God. 29 And now, myson, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more,and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shallbring you down unto repentance. 30 O my son, I desire that yeshould deny the justice of God no more. Do not endeavor toexcuse yourself in the least point because of your sins, by denyingthe justice of God; but do you let the justice of God, and hismercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in your heart; and letit bring you down to the dust in humility.31 And now, O my son, ye are called of God to preach the wordunto this people. And now, my son, go thy way, declare the wordwith truth and soberness, that thou mayest bring souls untorepentance, that the great plan of mercy may have claim uponthem. And may God grant unto you even according to my words.Amen.