Mormon believes that these words are too important to be abridged. He wanted to ensure that we get the actual intent and meaning of the speaker or person who wrote the words.
I want to look at Alma 5. This is a sermon Alma(2) gave to the church.
Why did Alma(2) deliver this sermon? Hugh Nibley wrote:
"Now here's the situation we have in Alma 5. Both Alma and his father had been having a constant struggle, as you know, to keep the Nephites in the path of duty. They were always drifting away, as Israel does. Could they [the two Almas] be to blame? Were they too severe? You notice both of them are overstrict. In the first place, Alma Senior [may have] made his own son rebellious, and the same thing with Mosiah. Perhaps they were being too strict because the kids went off and went overboard.
"Remember when he ran away from King Noah and went out and founded the church ... [I]t was very strict ... He always insisted that that's the way the church would be. And he no sooner got the church started in cooperation with Mosiah than what happened? People started drifting away in large numbers ... They started walking out in droves ...
"... In this chapter he decides on a general reformation; this is a long chapter ... He is refounding the order of things to establish it exactly in the pattern as was done in the first. It's the law of Moses he's following very strictly, as we read later on. It was strictly the law of Moses." (Emphasis mine)
Lecture 46: Alma 5,
The words which Alma, the High Priest according to the holy order of God, delivered to the people in their cities and villages throughout the land.Comprising chapter 5.
Chapter 5
To gain salvation, men must repent and keep the commandments, be born again, cleanse their garments through the blood of Christ, be humble and strip themselves from pride and envy, and do the works of righteousness—The Good Shepherd calleth his people—Those who do evil works are children of the devil—Alma testifies of the truth of his doctrine and commands men to repent—Names of the righteous shall be written in the book of life. About 83 B.C.
1 NOW it came to pass that *Alma began to deliver the word of God unto the people, first in the land of Zarahemla, and from thence throughout all the land.
2 And these are the words which he spake to the people in the church which was established in the city of Zarahemla, according to his own record, saying:
3 I, Alma, having been consecrated by my father, Alma, to be a high priest over the church of God, he having power and authority from God to do these things, behold, I say unto you that he began to establish a church in the land which was in the borders of Nephi; yea, the land which was called the land of Mormon; yea, and he did baptize his brethren in the waters of Mormon.
4 And behold, I say unto you, they were delivered out of the hands of the people of king Noah, by the mercy and power of God.
5 And behold, after that, they were brought into bondage by the hands of the Lamanites in the wilderness; yea, I say unto you, they were in captivity, and again the Lord did deliver them out of bondage by the power of his word; and we were brought into this land, and here we began to establish the church of God throughout this land also.
Alma 5:1-5 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(2) begins by outlining his authority. With the problems in the church, he wanted to make sure the people understood that he obtained his position and authority in the proper manner. He was ordained by his father, who had the authority to do these things.
Authority is very important.
19 ¶ And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.
20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.
1 Samuel 3:19-20 (Emphasis mine)
12 ¶ Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD.
Haggai 1:12 (Emphasis mine)
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 16:18-19 (Emphasis mine)
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 15:16 (Emphasis mine)
Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
Acts 6:5-6 (Emphasis mine)
1 PAUL, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
Galatians 1:1 (Emphasis mine)
5 For this cause left I thee [Titus] in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
Titus 1:5 (Emphasis mine)
4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
Hebrews 5:4 (Emphasis mine)
He reminds them his father established the church. (This church appears to be the first formal church established in the New World. At least we have no account of one being established before this. If there was, either Mormon didn't think it important or it was a part of the 116 lost pages.)
The people had spent time in bondage but were freed through the Lord. Once in Zarahmela, the church was established throughout the land.
Having given the people the basics, he continues.
6 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?
7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. 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 the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.
8 And 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 the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved.
7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. 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 the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.
8 And 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 the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved.
Alma 5:6-9 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(2) reminds them that even though they were in a bad situation, the Lord was with them. Even though death seemed to be their ultimate fate, the Lord led them to their freedom.
He asks, do you remember this? Is it still in your minds?
Elder Richard G. Scott reminds us that the Lord "... will give relief with divine power when you seek deliverance in humility and faith in Jesus Christ." (Emphasis in original) Faith and humility are essential in receiving deliverance from the Lord.
10 And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?
11 Behold, I can tell you—did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the mouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe them?
12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.
13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.
11 Behold, I can tell you—did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the mouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe them?
12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.
13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.
Alma 5:10-13 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(2) now starts letting the people know what truly matters. How are they saved? Why do they have hope for salvation? It is through faith and acceptance of the words of the prophet. This commitment will be so strong that there would me a "mighty change" (verse 12) in each persons heart. This mighty change would be apparent in their lives. This mighty change was an essential part of the conversion.
Writing about this mighty change, Ed Pinegar wrote:
"Persons who have experienced this mighty change manifest attitudinal and behavioral changes. Feeling their hearts riveted to the Lord, their obedience extends beyond performance of duty ... Latter-day Saints believe that individuals who are truly born of God gladly give a life of service to their fellow beings—they share the gospel message, sacrifice their own time, energy, and resources for the benefit of others, and in general hold high the light of Christ, being faithful to all the commandments." (Emphasis mine)
In the October 2009 General Conference, Elder Dale G. Renlund said this about the mighty change of heart.
"... this mighty change of our spiritual hearts is just the beginning. Repentance, baptism, and confirmation are necessary but not sufficient. Indeed, equal, if not greater, care must be taken with a spiritually changed heart than with a physically transplanted heart if we are to endure to the end. Only by doing so can we be held guiltless at the time of judgment.
"Enduring to the end can be challenging because the tendency of the natural man is to reject the spiritually changed heart and allow it to harden. No wonder the Lord cautioned to 'even let those who are sanctified take heed.'
"We all know of individuals who had this mighty change of heart but subsequently yielded to the natural man. They became casual in their worship and devotion to God, their hearts became hardened, and they thereby jeopardized their eternal salvation.
"The lives of the people who were converted by the preaching of the sons of Mosiah offer some insights as to how one avoids rejecting the mightily changed spiritual heart. Of them, we read that 'as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, … and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.'
"How did they successfully endure to the end? We know that they were 'distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end.' " (Emphasis mine)
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