Alma 5:5-9

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. 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.

Alma 5:5-7 (Emphasis mine)

After being delivered from King Noah’s armies, Alma(1) and his followers settled in the land of Helam.  Once again, they were brought into captivity by the Lamanites. 

After searching for the people of Limhi, Finding Alma(1)’s group, the Lamanite armies were “lost in the wilderness for many days” (Mosiah 23:30).  “[T]hey discovered the land of Helam, which was possessed by Alma and his brethren.  And it came to pass that the Lamanites promised unto Alma and his brethren, that if they would show them the ^away which led to the land of Nephi that they would grant unto them their lives and their liberty.  But after Alma had shown them the way that led to the land of Nephi the Lamanites would not keep their promise; but they set guards round about the land of Helam, over Alma and his brethren” (Mosiah 23:35-36). 

Alma(2) reminds them that the “Lord did deliver them out of bondage by the power of his word.”  (Because of their faith, “the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.  And he said unto Alma: Thou shalt go before this people, and I will go with thee and deliver this people out of bondage … And in the morning the Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon the Lamanites, yea, and all their task–masters were in a profound sleep” (Mosiah 24:16-17, 19). 

Alma(2) asks them if they remember this captivity of their fathers.  This is not an idle question.  As the angel was finishing his message to him, he was told to “[g]o and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam, and in the land of Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in bondage, and he has delivered them” (Mosiah 27:16).

As he began his second epistle, he said the he “now write[s] unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour” (2 Peter 3:1-2). 

Then he changes his example somewhat.  He asks them if the remembered that the Lord “has delivered their souls from hell.”  The form of captivity has changed.  First, they were freed from physical captivity; then they were freed from spiritual captivity.  They were delivered from hell.  The Lord “changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God.” 

They were in a bad spiritual position.  “[T]hey 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” (verse 7).

Alma(2) describes what is meant by the “chains of hell.”  He explains that those who “ill 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 12:11). 

The Lord revealed to President Joseph F. Smith that those who died without hearing the gospel would have it preached to them.  “While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful; And there he preached to them the everlasting gospel … And the saints rejoiced in their redemption, and bowed the knee and acknowledged the Son of God as their Redeemer and Deliverer from death and the chains of hell” (D&C 138:18-19, 23).

Mack Sterling writes:

“In this discourse, Alma contrasts the redeemed state of those converted by his father with their condition before their conversion to Christ, when they were in a deep sleep, in darkness, encircled by the chains of hell, and awaiting an everlasting destruction. This, of course, is a powerful description of the spiritual alienation of the first spiritual death, which all accountable souls experience to a greater or lesser degree. The reversibility of this first spiritual death during probation by being born of God is confirmed by Alma's description of the mighty change of heart his father's converts experienced. By being born of God they were brought into the light, having awakened to God. Thus the chains of hell binding them were loosed and they were delivered from the hell or everlasting destruction that had formerly awaited them (see Alma 5:6–9).” [1] (Emphasis mine)

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 5:8-9 (Emphasis mine)

Even though “an everlasting destruction did await them,” (verse 7), they were not destroyed.  The bands of death and the chains of hell were loosed.  They were released from their spiritual captivity.  Then “they did sing redeeming love.”  Hugh Nibley explains “they went back to the law of Moses, and the song of redeeming love was a very important part in the cult of Moses. When the people all came together, they would sing the song of redeeming love. It was part of their ritual…” [2]     

Cynthia Hallen writes:

“Like the tree of life and the waters of life in Nephi's vision, our arts and letters can be representations of the ‘love of God’ (1 Nephi 11:21—25). If we remember with Johann Wondra that ‘art is therefore a possibility for love,’ our words can be clothed with charity regardless of topic, genre, or audience (see Moroni 7:47) … As authors, our works can be as beautiful as ‘the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon’ to readers who are refugees from the wilderness of wickedness (Mosiah 18:30). The power of divinely inspired words can liberate people from the pains of hell, enabling them to ‘sing redeeming love’ (Alma 5:9; 26:13).” [3] (Emphasis mine)

David wrote:

¹ PRAISE ye the LORD:

   for it is good

      to sing praises unto our God;

   for it is pleasant;

   and praise is comely.

² The LORD doth build up Jerusalem:

      he gathereth together

         the outcasts of Israel.

³ He healeth

      the broken in heart,

   and bindeth

      up their wounds.

⁴ He telleth

      the number of the stars;

   he calleth them

      all by their names.

⁵ Great is our Lord,

   and of great power:

   his understanding

     is infinite.

⁶ The LORD lifteth up

      the meek:

   he casteth

      the wicked

         down to the ground.

⁷ Sing unto the LORD

   with thanksgiving;

   sing praise upon the harp

      unto our God:

Psalms 147:1-7 (Emphasis mine)

When they were loosed, “their souls did expand.”  Kevin Barney looks at this phrase.  “[Paul] Hoskisson notes that in Alma 5:9 we read ‘their souls did expand,’ where the context suggests a meaning such as ‘they became happy.’ He further notes that soul is used with the verb enlarge in Alma 32:28 and later in that chapter with the verb swell (Alma 32:34). This is odd usage, since normally in English a soul does not ‘expand.’ If, however, ‘soul’ here renders kabed ‘liver,’ then this usage is right at home in the ancient Near East,” [4] (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) tells them that by being released from spiritual captivity, they were saved.

Mack Sterling clarifies the importance of the term “remission of sins” in the Book of Mormon.

“Virtually every time remission of sins is described as having occurred in the Book of Mormon, it refers to a relatively well focused event (Enos 1:2, Mosiah 4:2-3, Alma 5:6-13, Alma 38:8, 3 Nephi 1:23, 3 Nephi 7:25). Rather than being portrayed as a lifelong process completed only when one is perfect, remission of sins is almost always described as something which occurs at the outset of an individual's acceptance of Christ/the Gospel (2 Nephi 31:17-20) and which must be retained (Mosiah 4:11-12, 26; Alma 4:14) during the long and gradual process of sanctification (Helaman 3:35, Alma 13:10-12).” [5] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] The Way of Life and the Way of Death in the Book of Mormon, Mack C. Sterling, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 3, 2012.

[2] Lecture 53: Alma 23-27, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, March 3, 2012.

[3] Beauty on the Mountains: Inspiration from the Book of Mormon for LDS Writers, Cynthia L. Hallen, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 3, 2012.

[4] A More Responsible Critique, Kevin L. Barney, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 3, 2012

[5] Doctrines of the Book of Mormon: The 1991 Sperry Symposium, Mack C. Sterling, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed March 3, 2012.