23 And now behold I say unto you, that if this people, who have received so many blessings from the hand of the Lord, should transgress contrary to the light and knowledge which they do have, I say unto you that if this be the case, that if they should fall into transgression, it would be far more tolerable for the Lamanites than for them.
24 For behold, the promises of the Lord are extended to the Lamanites, but they are not unto you if ye transgress; for has not the Lord expressly promised and firmly decreed, that if ye will rebel against him that ye shall utterly be destroyed from off the face of the earth?
Alma 9:23 24 (Emphasis mine)
Alma(2) continues to lay things out clearly. They had received many blessings yet still transgressed the law; it would be more tolerable for the Lamanites then them. If they transgress, the Lord will utterly destroy them and wipe them from the face of the Earth. Hard words for a hard-hearted people.
25 And now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has sent his angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them that they must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;
26 And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.
27 And behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on his name.
28 Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand that all men shall reap a reward of their works, according to that which they have been—if they have been righteous they shall reap the salvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the damnation of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil.
29 Now behold, this is the voice of the angel, crying unto the people.
30 And now, my beloved brethren, for ye are my brethren, and ye ought to be beloved, and ye ought to bring forth works which are meet for repentance, seeing that your hearts have been grossly hardened against the word of God, and seeing that ye are a lost and a fallen people.
31 Now it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken these words, behold, the people were wroth with me because I said unto them that they were a hard–hearted and a stiffnecked people.
32 And also because I said unto them that they were a lost and a fallen people they were angry with me, and sought to lay their hands upon me, that they might cast me into prison.
33 But it came to pass that the Lord did not suffer them that they should take me at that time and cast me into prison.
34 And it came to pass that Amulek went and stood forth, and began to preach unto them also. And now the words of Amulek are not all written, nevertheless a part of his words are written in this book.
Alma 9:25-32 (Emphasis mine)
The Lord doesn’t want to destroy these people. He wants them to repent and return to the fold.
Alma(2) testifies of the coming of Christ. He shall be the Only Begotten of the Father. He will be quick to hear the cries of His people and to answer their prayers. He will redeem those who have been baptized through faith on His name.
The time is at hand that all shall reap their rewards; the righteous shall reap salvation. The evil shall reap the damnation of their souls and the captivity of the devil.
Alma(2) then testifies that his words are the voice of angel crying to this people.
Speaking of this set of scriptures, Hugh Nibley said, “Notice, there are just two conditions, and he told us what righteousness is. He just said, as the Lord: grace, equity, truth, patience, mercy, long-suffering. These are the characteristics the Lord has shown us, and if they're righteous, they'll reap salvation to their souls. But if they've been evil—no.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
Remember, Alma(2) returned because the angel that originally appeared to him returned and encouraged him, then commanded him to return. We now see him preaching that message to the people.
“Once when Alma was discouraged at his lack of success in preaching to the people of Ammonihah, the same angel visited him to send him back to tell the people that ‘except they repent the Lord God will destroy them’ (Alma 8:16; see Alma 8:14–18). When he delivered his message in Ammonihah, Alma declared, ‘And now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has sent his angel to visit many of his people’ (Alma 9:25). This was the reason the angel had originally been sent to Alma and his friends. Alma then spoke of Christ's coming in words that remind us of his earlier vision, and added, ‘Now behold, this is the voice of the angel, crying unto the people’ (Alma 9:29; see Alma 9:25–29).” [2] (Emphasis mine)
Hugh Nibley comments on the response of the people of Ammonihah.
“This is the last call, and we don't like it either. Were the people satisfied with this? This made them mad as hornets, as the next verse [31] tells us. When he tells them frankly, he ends up by saying, ‘ye are a lost and a fallen people. Now it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken these words, behold the people were wroth with me because I said unto them that they were a hard-hearted and a stiffnecked people.’ “ [3] (Emphasis mine)
I will conclude with the words of Richard Dilworth Rust.
“Alma's closing plea lapses into resignation as his words fail to move the people of Ammonihah away from their path of self-destruction: ‘And now, my beloved brethren, for ye are my brethren, and ye ought to be beloved, and ye ought to bring forth works which are meet for repentance, seeing that your hearts have been grossly hardened against the word of God, and seeing that ye are a lost and a fallen people’ (Alma 9:30).
Given the people's earlier reactions and Alma's resignation about their fate, it is no surprise that the people of Ammonihah become angry and attempt to cast Alma into prison. From the first, these people deny and mock Alma's claims to authority.” [4] (Emphasis mine)
[1] Lecture 47: Alma 5-10, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 17, 2011.
[2] The Voice of an Angel, John A. Tvedtnes, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 17, 2011.
[4] "Know the Covenants of the Lord" – Sermons, Richard Dilworth Rust, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 17, 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment