21 And he caused that
a multitude should be gathered together that they might witness what the Lord
had done for his son, and also for those that were with him.
22 And he caused that
the priests should assemble themselves together; and they began to fast, and to
pray to the Lord their God that he would open the mouth of Alma, that he might
speak, and also that his limbs might receive their strength—that the eyes of
the people might be opened to see and know of the goodness and glory of God.
23 And it came to pass
after they had fasted and prayed for the space of two days and two nights, the
limbs of Alma received their strength, and he stood up and began to speak unto
them, bidding them to be of good comfort:
24 For, said he, I
have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born
of the Spirit.
25 And the Lord said
unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations,
kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed
from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed
of God, becoming his sons and daughters;
26 And thus they
become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the
kingdom of God.
27 I say unto you,
unless this be the case, they must be cast off; and this I know, because I was
like to be cast off.
28 Nevertheless, after
wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy
hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God.
29 My soul hath been redeemed
from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold
the marvelous light of God. My soul was cracked
with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more.
30 I rejected my
Redeemer, and denied that which had been spoken of by our fathers; but now that
they may foresee that he will come, and that he remembereth every creature of
his creating, he will make himself manifest unto all.
31 Yea, every knee
shall bow, and every tongue confess before him.
Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him,
then shall they confess that he is God; then shall they confess, who live without
God in the world, that the judgment of an everlasting punishment is just upon
them; and they shall quake, and tremble, and shrink beneath the glance of his all–searching
eye.
Mosiah 27:21-31
Alma2 is unconscious after the angel’s
visit. The sons of Mosiah, having
quickly recovered from the experience, carried his body to his home. You would think Alma1 would be
concerned with Alma2’s state, but he rejoiced. He had a multitude assemble to “witness what the Lord had done for his son.”
Alma would tell Helaman, “…
it was for the space of three days and three nights that I could not open my
mouth, neither had I the use of my limbs” (Alma 36:10). After showing the multitude, Alma1
called the priests together and had them fast and pray that “God … would open the mouth of Alma[2].”
After Alma's helpless body was
carried back to his home by his friends … Alma's father rejoiced, acknowledging
the Lord's hand in what had transpired. What his father did next is
significant: "He caused that the priests should assemble themselves
together; and they began to fast, and to pray to the Lord their God that he
would open the mouth of Alma, that he might speak, and also that his limbs
might receive their strength" (Mosiah 27:22).[1]
At the end of the two day fast, Alma2 is restored
to full health.
Latter-day Saints believe that
through the power of the Holy Spirit an individual who has accepted Christ
through faith and obedience is "born again" and becomes a "new
creature" in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24—32; Mosiah
27:23—26). This spiritual transformation brings with it charity—the "pure
love of Christ" (Moroni 7:47)—a love for Christ and also a love for others
as Christ loves. The fruit of this spiritual rebirth includes goodness and
righteousness, love, joy, peace, gentleness, and meekness (see Ephesians 5:9;
Galatians 5:22—26). The newness of life that comes to one through the grace and
mercy of Jesus Christ affects not only what one does outwardly but also what
one is inwardly.[2]
He began speaking to the multitude. He announced he had repented of his “sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord;
behold I am born of the Spirit.” He
experience the joy that David experienced when he wrote, “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive
me” (Psalms 49:15).
The Lord told Alma2 not to be surprised we all
must be born again. We must be born of
God. King Benjamin taught this to his
people. “And now, because of the covenant
which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his
daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say
that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born
of him and have become his sons and his daughters” (Mosiah 5:7).
We are currently in a fallen, carnal state. We must be change from our fallen, carnal
state to being redeemed and becoming the sons of daughters of God. Alma2 would teach the people of
Zarahemla, “And now behold, I ask of you,
my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your
countenances? Have ye experienced this
mighty change in your hearts” (Alma 5:14).
Moroni would quote from an epistle his father wrote. “Wherefore,
I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of
Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good
thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ” (Moroni 7:19).
When we a born of God, we become new creatures. This is the only way we can inherit the
kingdom of God. During his mortal
ministry, Christ would teach, “Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
Corbin Volluz explains what we learn from these scriptures.
From this key passage, we learn a
number of things relevant to our discussion of the plan of redemption:
·
"All mankind" must be
"changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of
righteousness" in order to "inherit the kingdom of God."
·
Several synonyms for this change from the carnal
and fallen state to a state of righteousness are introduced:
1. "Redeemed
of God";
2. "Born
of the Spirit";
3. "Born
of God";
4. "Born
again";
5. "Becoming
[God's] sons and daughters"; and,
6. "Becom(ing)
new creatures."[3]
If we are not born of God, we will be castoff. How does Alma2 know this? He was about to be cast off! “[A]fter
wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord … hath
seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning.” This burning was referred to by
Jacob. “And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it,
and it is his eternal word, which cannot pass away, that they who are righteous
shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still;
wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and his angels; and they shall go
away into everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as a lake
of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end”
(2 Nephi 9:16).
Of course, Alma's hearers would
know the spiritual trajectory of his life. As the notorious son of a famous
father, his story would be familiar to everyone in the culture. His life is a
dramatic example of someone who sank to the lowest depths and rose through the
mercy of Christ to the preeminent position in his society. They likely would
have heard him testify on previous occasions that "after wading through
much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy saw fit to
snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God. . . .
I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God" (Mosiah
27:28–29).[4]
He had rejected his Redeemer; he had denied the words spoken
about Him. He knows they did forsee He
will come. He remembers every creature
and “will make himself manifest unto all.”
45
For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and
whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
46
And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the
Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice
of the Spirit.
D&C 84:45-46
The day will come that every knee shall bow and tongue
confess that Jesus is the Christ. Paul
told the Philippians,
9
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name:
10
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things
in earth, and things under the earth;
11
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
Abinadi taught,
1
AND now, it came to pass that after Abinadi had spoken these words he stretched
forth his hand and said: The time shall come when all shall see the salvation
of the Lord; when every nation, kindred, tongue, and people shall see eye to
eye and shall confess before God that his judgments are just.
2
And then shall the wicked be cast out, and they shall have cause to howl, and weep,
and wail, and gnash their teeth; and this because they would not hearken unto
the voice of the Lord; therefore the Lord redeemeth them not.
Mosiah 16:1-2
The Lord revealed, “And
this shall be the sound of his trump, saying to all people, both in heaven and
in earth, and that are under the earth—for every ear shall hear it, and every
knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess, while they hear the sound of
the trump, saying: Fear God, and give glory to him who sitteth upon the throne,
forever and ever; for the hour of his judgment is come” (D&C 88:104).
At the last day, all will be judged by Him and will confess
He is God. Even those who lived without God will make the confession. Zeezrom asked Amulek,
38
Now Zeezrom saith again unto him: Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father?
39
And Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of
earth, and all things which in them are; he is the beginning and the end, the
first and the last;
Alma 11:38-39
Their judgment will be everlasting punishment.
[1] "According
to Their Language, unto Their Understanding": The Cultural Context of
Hierophanies and Theophanies in Latter-day Saint Canon, Mark Alan Wright,
Maxwell Institute, accessed December 21, 2014.
[2] How
do Latter-day Saints believe they should live their lives? Robert L. Millet
& Noel B. Reynolds, Maxwell Institute, accessed December 21, 2014.
[3] Cry
Redemption: The Plan of Redemption as Taught in the Book of Mormon, Corbin
T. Volluz, Maxwell Institute, accessed December 21, 2014.
[4] Alma
the Younger's Seminal Sermon at Zarahemla, Robert A. Rees, Maxwell Institute,
accessed December 21, 2014.
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