Alma 13:1-3

Chapter 13

Men are called as high priests because of their exceeding faith and good works—They are to teach the commandments—Through righteousness they are sanctified and enter into the rest of the Lord—Melchizedek was one of these—Angels are declaring glad tidings throughout the land—They will reveal the actual coming of Christ. About 82 B.C.

1  AND again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.

2  And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.

3  And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

Alma 13:1-3 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) reminds the people that the Lord ordained priests, after his holy order, after the order of his Son.  This was done so the people would know what to look forward to in the plan of redemption.

He then raises an interesting issue.  He states that they were ordained having been “called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil;” (verse 3).  What is Alma(2) telling us? 

M. Catherine Thomas wrote:

“In Alma 13:3, Alma uses the phrases ‘from the foundation of the world’ and ‘in the first place’ to refer to premortal events. He speaks in particular of certain people receiving a calling into the holy order. To understand more about the holy order, we have to understand the house of Israel and its organization in the premortal world.

“Out of all of Heavenly Father's spirit children, a smaller group distinguished itself by its exceeding faith in the Lord Jesus Christ during the conflicts that occurred incident to the war in heaven. Those who were valiant in these conflicts, and in other ways also, demonstrated both their abilities and their desires to become actively involved in the cosmic work of redemption through the great atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ…” [1]       (Emphasis mine)

Alison V.P. Coutts adds:

“From this passage we learn that ordinations to the priesthood in mortality are a result of (1) preparation of the individual in premortality (given that the ‘world’ was ‘founded’ before it was physically created), (2) faith and good works, (3) choices of good over evil, (4) the opportunity to exercise faith, and (5) the provision of redemption. It follows that these stipulations are part of a plan that was conceived before the earth was created, even a plan to direct the creation of the earth and the course of its inhabitants. This gave me hope that I too was part of a plan; I mattered, and my being here on earth was not just a convergence of biological events.” [2] (Emphasis mine)

So we can understand that the callings and ordinations we experience in this life were based on our experiences, progress, and growth in the pre-existence.  We had the chance to choose between good and evil and chose good.  We were prepared for these callings.

Hugh Nibley observes:

“They had earned a place in the priesthood here because of something righteous they had done in the first place …  Notice ‘being left.’ [see verse 3] When God leaves you, then you can choose good or evil. Leave me alone if I'm going to choose [between] good and evil. These people way back there were left to choose good or evil, and they chose good. You are the one that makes the decision … You'll concentrate on the thing that you want to. That decides what you will do. Your mind flits around with tremendous speed, like your eyes, and decides what you like to look at and what you are going to do.  That's why anything like drugs [are so harmful]. That's why the Word of Wisdom is so important—that we be absolutely cold sober.” [3] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Alma the Younger, Part 1, M. Catherine Thomas, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 31, 2011.

[2] From a Convert's Viewpoint, Alison V.P. Coutts, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, , accessed October 31, 2011.

[3] Lecture 49: Alma 12-14, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 31, 2011.

Alma 12:31-37

Alma(2) continues teaching Zeezrom.

31  Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good—

32  Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God.

33  But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son;

Alma 12:31-33 (Emphasis mine)

When man transgressed, they became as the Gods, knowing good from evil.  We were in a position to do what we wanted.  We can choose evil or we can choose good.  The key to all this is that we now had our free agency.

To help us, God made known the plan of redemption.  We also received commandments.  The consequence of choosing evil would be a second death, a spiritual death.  We would be dead to all things righteous.  Justice would claim us; the plan of redemption would have no power.

God called on us, in the name of the Son, to repent and not harden our hearts against His word.  By doing this, we will have mercy. 

Richard Draper and Donald Parry further observe:

“Physical death results in the ‘body without the spirit’ (James 2:26). The ‘second death’ (Jacob 3:11)—called ‘spiritual death’ (Helaman 14:18) or ‘everlasting death’ (Alma 12:32)—pertains to those who die in sin (see Alma 12:16), who ‘die as to things . . . of righteousness’ (Alma 40:26), or who are ‘cut off from the presence of the Lord’ (Alma 42:9). This second death is the penalty for doing evil (see Alma 12:32).” [1]   (Emphasis mine)

Thomas Valetta wrote:

“Alma clarified that men, having chosen mortality, ‘plac[ed] themselves in a state to act’ (Alma 12:31). ‘Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil’ (Alma 12:32). Doing evil, contrary to the commandments, would bring the penalty of ‘a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God’ (Alma 12:32). The eternal plan of God provided opportunity to repent (see Alma 12:33), according to Alma…” [2] (Emphasis mine)

34  Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall 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.

36  And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first.

37  And now, my brethren, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and harden not our hearts, that we provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second commandments which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word.

Alma 12:34-37 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) makes things as clear as he can.  If you repent, you will be forgiven of your sins, obtain mercy, and enter into His rest.  If you don’t, you won’t enter into his rest.  He can’t be more clear than that.

If you don’t repent, you will be eternally cutoff from the Lord.  Your sins will lead to the destruction of your soul.  You will suffer the second death, the spiritual death. 

He ends his words by calling upon them to repent that they all may be enter into the rest of the Lord.

27  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Matthew 26:27-28 (Emphasis mine)

45  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

46  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

47  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48  And ye are witnesses of these things.

Luke 24:45-48 (Emphasis mine)

43  To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Acts 10:43 (Emphasis mine)

7  Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,

8  Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

Hebrews 3:7-8 (Emphasis mine)

15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Mark 16:15-16 (Emphasis mine)

28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

John 5:28-29 (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Seven Promises to Those Who Overcome: Aspects of Genesis 2—3 in the Seven Letters, Richard D. Draper, and Donald W. Parry, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 30, 2011.

[2] Conflicting Orders: Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah, Thomas R. Valletta, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 30, 2011.

Alma 12:25-30

25  Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the world, there could have been no resurrection of the dead; but there was a plan of redemption laid, which shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which has been spoken.

26  And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of life they would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the plan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word of God would have been void, taking none effect.

27  But behold, it was not so; but it was appointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they must come to judgment, even that same judgment of which we have spoken, which is the end.

Alma 12:25-27 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) sums up the plan of redemption:  no plan of redemption, no resurrection and the temporal death would be the end.

Had Adam and Eve eaten of the tree of life, they would have lived forever.  There would have been no probationary state to prepare to meet God.  The plan of redemption would not have come about, and the Word of God would have been invalid.

“It was not so.”  Alma(2) told them that after death would come the judgement, which is the end.

1  IS there not an appointed time to man upon earth?  are not his days also like the days of an hireling?

Job 7:1 (Emphasis mine)

27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Hebrews 9:27-28 (Emphasis mine)

Let’s turn again to Hugh Nibley. 

“[This verse] goes right back to the preexistence. The plan was set for redemption and for resurrection. It was already arranged before the foundation of the world that we should come back again, that we should be redeemed and raised up again. Resurrection means raised up again. ‘But there was a plan of redemption laid, which shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which has been spoken.’  See, that whole thing was planned ahead of time. This is the picture. He says this whole life is nothing but a preparation for the next stage—for the long haul ahead. “  [1] (Emphasis mine)

28  And after God had appointed that these things should come unto man, behold, then he saw that it was expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof he had appointed unto them;

29  Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory.

30  And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works.

Alma 12:28-30 (Emphasis mine)

Once there was a plan of redemption, it was necessary that man should know about it.  The Lord sent angels to converse and teach man the plan of redemption. 

Once the plan  was known, man began to call on God’s name.  What was made known to man was based on faith, repentance, and their holy works.

 John Welch made this observation explaining how we gain knowledge from God:

“Alma gives the most information of any text, including the JST, about how such knowledge is acquired from God (Alma 12:29): through the mysteries (Alma 12:9-10), calling upon God's name (Alma 12:30), obedience (Alma 12:32), and after exercising mighty faith, humility, charity, and repentance (Alma 13:14-15, 18).” [2] (Emphasis mine)   

Hugh Nibley adds:

“According to the Book of Mormon the knowledge possessed by the righteous prophets down through the ages has not been shared by the rest of the world. From time to time God has ‘sent angels, . . . conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan . . . prepared from the foundation of the world’ (Alma 12:29—30; Moroni 7:22). Those who have believed in the plan have been few, and God has always hidden them away from the wicked.” [3] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Lecture 48: Alma 10-12, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 29, 2011.

[2] The Melchizedek Material in Alma 13:13-19, John W. Welch, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 29, 2011.

[3] The Apocrypha and the Book of Mormon, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 29, 2011.

Alma 12:16-24

16  And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.

17  Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will.

18  Then, I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God's justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.

Alma 12:16-18 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) now tells them about a second death.  The first death is a physical death.  The second death is a spiritual death.  Those who die in their sins suffer this death.  They die to things pertaining to righteousness. 

They will suffer great torment and eternal destruction.  They will become captives of the devil.  For them, it will be as though there was no redemption.  They will be lost forever.

4  And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

5  But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Luke 12:4-5 (Emphasis mine)

51  Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

John 8:51 (Emphasis mine)

20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.  These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Revelation 19:20 (Emphasis mine)

19  Now it came to pass that when Alma had made an end of speaking these words, the people began to be more astonished;

20  But there was one Antionah, who was a chief ruler among them, came forth and said unto him: What is this that thou hast said, that man should rise from the dead and be changed from this mortal to an immortal state that the soul can never die?

21  What does the scripture mean, which saith that God placed cherubim and a flaming sword on the east of the garden of Eden, lest our first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever?  And thus we see that there was no possible chance that they should live forever.

Alma 12:19-21 (Emphasis mine)

The people were astonished by Alma(2)’s words; however, a chief ruler challenged Alma(2).  Adam and Eve were prevented from partaking of the tree life.  How can they live forever?  There is no way possible they could, and the same applies to us.

Hugh Nibley observes:

“[Antionah’s] indignant. He's had all he can take here, and he says, what is this stuff you are talking about here, ‘that the soul can never die?’ Then he tells [Alma] about the cherubim and the flaming sword that guarded the tree of life. Adam was not supposed to touch the tree of life, lest he partake of it and live forever in his sins. So, [Antionah] said we can die—we are not supposed to eat of the tree of life; we are forbidden to touch it at all, so that settles that. ". . . lest our first parents should enter and partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever? [no] And thus we see that there was no possible chance that we should live forever." The tree was set up there, but we couldn't eat from it. If we had eaten from it, then we would live forever. But he said, no, there's to be no tree. He thought that was a good argument. Alma said, ah, that's all right for now. ‘All mankind became a lost and fallen people. They did; that's true. They couldn't go on living that way; that's the whole point…” [1] (Emphasis mine)

22  Now Alma said unto him: This is the thing which I was about to explain.  Now we see that Adam did fall by the partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and fallen people.

23  And now behold, I say unto you that if it had been possible for Adam to have partaken of the fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: If thou eat thou shalt surely die.

24  And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.

Alma 12:22-24 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) responds.  If you wouldn’t have interrupted me, you would have answered the question.  Adam fell because he partook of the forbidden fruit, and we all became a fallen people.  If Adam would have been able to partake of the fruit of the tree  of life, he would have made God a liar.  Remember, God told Adam and Eve that in the day eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge, they would surely die. 

All men die; this is the temporal death of which Amulek spoke.  But, our lives became a probationary period, a time to prepare to meet God.  This would occur after the resurrection of the dead.

 Thomas Valletta further explains:

“Alma's inspired response implied that he recognized Antionah's mixed motives in posing his questions. Alma asserted that the real contradiction would have arisen if Adam and Eve had been able to partake of the fruit of the tree of life immediately after their fall. Then ‘there would have been no death, and the word would have been void, making God a liar, for he said: If thou eat thou shalt surely die’ (Alma 12:23). Alma then explained that temporal ‘death comes upon mankind,’ but that ‘a space [is] granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore,’ declared Alma,’this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead’ (Alma 12:24).” [2] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Lecture 48: Alma 10-12, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 28, 2011.

[2] Conflicting Orders: Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah, Thomas R. Valletta, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 28, 2011.