12 Behold, now I say unto you that he commandeth you to repent; and except ye repent, ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. But behold, this is not all—he has commanded you to repent, or he will utterly destroy you from off the face of the earth; yea, he will visit you in his anger, and in his fierce anger he will not turn away.
13 Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.
Alma 9:12-13 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(2) continued, reminding them of the Lord’s words to Lehi – if you righteous, you will prosper; if you are wicked, you will be cut off from the presence of the Lord.
The Lord spoke similar words to Jeremiah.
6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent [relent regarding the punishment] of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
Jeremiah 18:6-10 (Emphasis mine)
The message of prospering if they are righteous and negative consequences if they are wicked is found throughout the Book of Mormon. Terrence Szink writes:
“… one of the central themes of the Book of Mormon is this idea of alternate blessings or curses, depending on the righteousness of the people. Nephi reports that the Lord told him:
“And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands. And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. (1 Nephi 2:20—21)
“Forms of this passage appear no less than fifteen times in the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi 4:14; 17:13; 2 Nephi 1:9, 20; 4:4; Jarom 1:9; Omni 1:6; Alma 9:13—14; 36:1, 30; 37:13; 38:1; 48:15, 25; 50:20). Certainly this Deuteronomistic idea was prominent in the Book of Mormon.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
14 Now I would that ye should remember, that inasmuch as the Lamanites have not kept the commandments of God, they have been cut off from the presence of the Lord. Now we see that the word of the Lord has been verified in this thing, and the Lamanites have been cut off from his presence, from the beginning of their transgressions in the land.
15 Nevertheless I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for them in the day of judgment than for you, if ye remain in your sins, yea, and even more tolerable for them in this life than for you, except ye repent.
16 For there are many promises which are extended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existence in the land.
17 And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name.
Alma 9:14-17 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(2) then tells the people that the Lamanites were cut off from the presence of the Lord because of their wickedness. But, he tells them, it will be better for the Lamanites because their wickedness is based on the traditions of their fathers. This is why they are in ignorance as to the word of the Lord. They day will come they will believe His word and be saved.
The same can’t be said for them.
Hugh Nibley said that “… [Alma(2)] talks about the Lamanites here. He says, there's still a chance for you. If there's a chance for the Lamanites, there'll be one for you, too ,,, This is the prophecy for the Lamanites, because their fathers are to blame more than anything.” [2] (Emphasis mine)
Daniel C. Peterson wrote about the negative effect some traditions can have.
“Typically, when the scriptures allude to ‘the traditions of men’ or ‘the traditions of the fathers,’ they are speaking negatively about the false notions that hinder people from recognizing and accepting the truth (e.g., at 1 Peter 1:18; D&C 74:4; 93:39). ‘Why do ye . . . transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?’ the Savior asked his audience (Matthew 15:3). ‘For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men’ (Mark 7:8). The Lamanites, too, were misled by the false traditions of their fathers (Mosiah 1:5; 10:12-3; Alma 9:16; 60:32; Helaman 15:4).
“Salvation therefore consists, at least partially, in overcoming false traditions (Alma 9:17; Helaman 5:51; 15:7-8; D&C 74:6-7), and, accordingly, it is part of the goal of those who preach the true gospel to lead people to see the incorrectness of the traditions they have previously been taught (Alma 17:9; 24:7).” [3] (Emphasis mine)
[1] Jerusalem in Lehi's Day, Terrence L. Szink. Maxwell Institute, accessed October 15, 2011.
[2] Lecture 47: Alma 5-10, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 15, 2011.
[3] Traditions of the Fathers, Daniel C. Peterson, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 15, 2011.”
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