13 And now the spirit
of Alma was again troubled; and he went and inquired of the Lord what he should
do concerning this matter, for he feared that he should do wrong in the sight
of God.
14 And it came to pass
that after he had poured out his whole soul to God, the voice of the Lord came
to him, saying:
15 Blessed art thou,
Alma, and blessed are they who were baptized in the waters of Mormon. Thou art blessed because of thy exceeding faith
in the words alone of my servant Abinadi.
16 And blessed are
they because of their exceeding faith in the words alone which thou hast spoken
unto them.
17 And blessed art
thou because thou hast established a church among this people; and they shall
be established, and they shall be my people.
18 Yea, blessed is
this people who are willing to bear my name; for in my name shall they be
called; and they are mine.
19 And because thou
hast inquired of me concerning the transgressor, thou art blessed.
20 Thou art my
servant; and I covenant with thee that thou shalt have eternal life; and thou
shalt serve me and go forth in my name, and shalt gather together my sheep.
21 And he that will
hear my voice shall be my sheep; and him shall ye receive into the church, and
him will I also receive.
22 For behold, this is
my church; whosoever is baptized shall be baptized unto repentance. And whomsoever ye receive shall believe in my
name; and him will I freely forgive.
23 For it is I that
taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is I that hath created them; and
it is I that granteth unto him that believeth unto the end a place at my right
hand.
24 For behold, in my
name are they called; and if they know me they shall come forth, and shall have
a place eternally at my right hand.
25 And it shall come
to pass that when the second trump shall sound then shall they that never knew
me come forth and shall stand before me.
26 And then shall they
know that I am the Lord their God, that I am their Redeemer; but they would not
be redeemed.
27 And then I will
confess unto them that I never knew them; and they shall depart into everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
28 Therefore I say
unto you, that he that will not hear my voice, the same shall ye not receive
into my church, for him I will not receive at the last day.
29 Therefore I say
unto you, Go; and whosoever transgresseth against me, him shall ye judge according
to the sins which he has committed; and if he confess his sins before thee and
me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I
will forgive him also.
30 Yea, and as often
as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.
Alma has been given the authority to deal with those who refuse
to follow God’s commandments. The
problem he faces is how does he deal with them?
Alma did what any other prophet would have done. “[H]e …
poured out hi whole soul to God.”
In at least one instance, prayer about a difficult political
problem elicits an answer. Unsuccessful in his effort to transfer jurisdiction
over zealous apostates to the king, Alma takes his dilemma to the Lord in
prayer. "And it came to pass that after he had poured out his whole soul
to God, the voice of the Lord came to him," saying essentially that
ecclesiastical dilemmas require ecclesiastical solutions (Mosiah 26:14).[1]
The voice of the Lord came to Alma.
He was commended for his faith in the words of Abinadi. Those who were baptized by him at the waters
of Mormon were also blessed. This is
because of their faith in the words of Alma.
For establishing His church among the Nephites, he was
blessed and they will be His people.
Those that bear His name will also be blessed. “There
is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye
should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the
covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives” (Mosiah
5:8). They will also be called by His
name and they are His. “And all people of the earth shall see that
thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee” (Deuteronomy
28:10).
The Lord covenants with Alma as long as he remains His
servant. He was to go forth and gather
Christ’s sheep. They will hear His
voice and shall be received into the church.
Anyone who becomes a part of the church shall be baptized unto
repentance. He will freely forgive the
believer’s sins. Jacob taught, “And he commandeth all men that they must repent,
and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or
they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 9:23).
Usually we see repentance as occurring before baptism and a
public proclamation of one’s belief in Christ.
Here, however, we see the Lord requiring baptism “unto repentance.” What does
this mean? Noel Reynolds explains,
This phrasing can be confusing when
we expect repentance to precede baptism, and the preposition unto seems
to indicate that baptism precedes repentance. But the Oxford English
Dictionary, which gives the most complete historical analysis of the varieties
of English usage, lists 29 distinguishable uses for this preposition. The one
which corresponds with the Lord's usage here would indicate that baptisms into
the church should only occur in accordance, agreement, or correspondence with
the prior repentance of the new member. Because the covenant witnessed in
baptism is part of repentance, this relationship is signaled exactly by the
phrase baptized unto repentance.[2]
The Lord will take the sins of the world upon Himself. Those that know Him will find their place at
His right-hand. They will know Him. “And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). “[T]he wicked, who by choice
never enjoyed an intimate and covenantal relationship with the Savior, will
eventually acknowledge who he is; nevertheless, without his redeeming power to
save them, they must attempt the impossible—to save themselves.”[3]
When the second trump sounds, those that never knew Him will
come forth. Joseph and Sidney Rigdon saw
these people in vision.
81
And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the
lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the
moon in the firmament.
82
These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of
Jesus.
83
These are they who deny not the Holy Spirit.
84
These are they who are thrust down to hell.
85
These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last
resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his
work.
D&C 76:81-85
Then will they know their Redeemer, that he offered them
salvation, but they refused to be redeemed.
The prophets of the Book of Mormon
teach that redemption is offered to all; however, only those who enter into
covenants and are adopted by the Lord, receiving his name, create a family
relationship with the Lord where he is able to act as their gō'ēl [4] and
deliver them from the bondage of sin.[5]
He will make it clear He never knew those who refused
redemption. They will depart and become
subject to the devil and his torments. “But he shall say, I tell you, I know
you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity” (Luke
13:27).
21 Not every one that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the
will of my Father which is in heaven [JST Matt. 7:31 For the day soon cometh,
that men shall come before me to judgment, to be judged according to their
works].
22 Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name have cast out devils?
and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity [GR lawlessness].
Matthew 7:21-23
Those that refuse to hear His voice and accept His church
will not be received at the last days.
He will tell them, “Go.” They
will be judged according to their sins.
If they sincerely repent, He will forgive them.
[1] The
Book of Mormon and Dialogic Revelation, Terryl L. Givens, Maxwell
Institute, accessed December 13, 2014.
[2] The
True Points of My Doctrine, Noel B. Reynolds, Maxwell Institute, accessed December
13, 2014.
[3] Treaties
and Covenants: Ancient Near Eastern Legal Terminology in the Book of Mormon,
RoseAnn Benson and Stephen D. Ricks, Maxwell Institute, accessed December 13,
2014.
[4] Ga'al
refers to redemption made out of family obligation or responsibility. The
person who carries this responsibility is known as the gō'ēl, the present
participle of gā'al. The gō'ēl was a person's closest relative who was
"responsible for standing up for him and maintaining his rights,"4 a
responsibility based on feelings of tribal unity. Basic duties of the gō'ēl
were: (1) to buy back sold property; (2) to buy back a man who had sold himself
to a foreigner as a slave; (3) to avenge blood and kill a relative's murderer;
(4) to receive atonement money; and, figuratively, (5) to be a helper in a
lawsuit.5
[5] The
Lord Will Redeem His People: Adoptive Covenant and Redemption in the Old Testament
and Book of Mormon, Jennifer Clark Lane, Maxwell Institute, accessed
December 13, 2014.
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