9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.
Alma 12:9-11 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(2) responded to Zeezrom’s request and began to expound on the things he had been teaching. We can know the mysteries of God, but it is up to the listener. Those that accept the word of God, they will know about many of the mysteries. Those who are wicked will not only have little given them, they will receive so little eventually he will know nothing about the mysteries. Then, they will be taken captive by the devil and led to their destructions. This is what is meant by the chains of hell.
22 ¶ His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
Proverbs 5:22 (Emphasis mine)
30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 ¶ They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
John 8:30-36 (Emphasis mine)
Clifford Jones wrote this about Alma(2)’s words:
“Revelation from God is normally preceded by a diligent effort to obtain greater light and knowledge. Alma described this principle to Zeezrom, explaining that the Lord gives us more of his word ‘according to the heed and diligence’ (Alma 12:9) that we give to the words we have already received. A gathering convened to gain a better understanding of the Atonement evidences the heed and diligence that must have been present among the multitude prior to Christ's appearance, perhaps the greatest revelation in the entire Book of Mormon. Such heed and diligence are not readily apparent in a gathering where people are discussing changes to the land.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
Hugh Nibley adds:
“That's true of all learning. You learn your math, or whatever it is, only according to the heed and diligence you give to it. The Lord is not going to give you something that you haven't paid attention to with heed and diligence…” [2] (Emphasis mine)
12 And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.
13 Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.
14 For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.
15 But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just; that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.
Alma 12:12-15 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(2) explains the consequences of hardening one’s heart. If we do, the word will not be found in us. Our words, our works, and our thoughts shall condemn us. We will not be able to stand spotless before God. We will not dare to face God. We would wish a mountain to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.
But, we must stand before him and be judged. We will acknowledge the justice of his judgments. We will acknowledge he has power to save everyone who repents.
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Matthew 12:36 (Emphasis mine)
Nibley comments:
“These are the three things we can produce: words, works, and thoughts. The others go back to thoughts. They are the three things that motivate us, and they can all become hardened and conventionalized and in a groove. In that case ‘we shall not dare to look up to our God.’ You can see why. If you get in your cozy shell, anything outside will terrify you. It's like being in your foxhole. You don't want to get out, and yet you know it's dangerous to stay in … We don't want to face up to it. We don't want to get out and get mobile again…
“[The Lord] wants to save us, and if we don't take advantage of it we are going to be very much ashamed of ourselves. So therefore the subject is repentance; we preach nothing but repentance.” [3] (Emphasis mine)
[1] The Great and Marvelous Change: An Alternate Interpretation, Clifford P. Jones, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 27, 2011.
[2] Lecture 48: Alma 10-12, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 27, 2011.
[3] Ibid.
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