Alma 7:22-27

22 And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received.

23 And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

24 And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

25  And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that ye may at last be brought to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began, having your garments spotless even as their garments are spotless, in the kingdom of heaven to go no more out.

26 And now my beloved brethren, I have spoken these words unto you according to the Spirit which testifieth in me; and my soul doth exceedingly rejoice, because of the exceeding diligence and heed which ye have given unto my word.

27 And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever.  And thus I have spoken.  Amen.

Alma 7:22-27

As Alma wraps up his sermon to the people of Gideon, he tells them he wants to awaken them to their duty, to be able to “walk after the holy order of God.”

The people of Gideon (as well as today’s readers of Alma’s words) are told to be humble and submissive.  Solomon warned, “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility” (Proverbs 18:12).

The importance of being a submissive servant cannot be overemphasized.  The epistle to the Hebrews tells us, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17).  James told the church, “Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Then we have King Benjamin’s emphasis on being submissive to the Lord and why it is essential.  “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19).

Click here for Elder Neal A. Maxwell's comments on the importance of being submissive.

We are also to be patient, long-suffering, temperate in all things, diligent in keeping the commandments (“at all times”), and always express our thanks and gratitude to God for all we receive from Him.

We also must have faith, hope, and charity in our lives.  Paul wrote, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

We also have Moroni’s observation about faith and charity.

“For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove—and it was removed.  And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith. For thus didst thou manifest thyself unto thy disciples; for after they had faith, and did speak in thy name, thou didst show thyself unto them in great power. And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the mansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent hope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared.  And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men. And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father.  Wherefore, I know by this thing which thou hast said, that if the Gentiles have not charity, because of our weakness, that thou wilt prove them, and take away their talent, yea, even that which they have received, and give unto them who shall have more abundantly”  (Ether 12:30-35).

Click here for Sister Silvia H. Allred's conference message, Charity Never Faileth.

President Uchtdorf tells us how to avoid the Nephite disease (pride).

Alma asked the Lord to bless them, that they keep their “garments spotless.”  “Such expressions forcibly call to mind the recent work of Professor Goodenough, in which he shows that the white garment had a special significance for the early Jews. God himself may be represented in the earliest Jewish art as one of three men clothed in white.”^[1] 

Peter emphasized the importance of spotless garments.  “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (2 Peter 3:13-14).

With spotless garments, they will return to the kingdom of heaven and sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Alma leaves them with the peace of God.  “I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly” (Psalms 85:8). “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep [GR guard] your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7)

“After further words of encouragement and counsel, Alma closes with a warm expression of his joy and a tender benediction … If Alma were counseling us today, he would undoubtedly urge us to give similar ‘diligence and heed’ to the words of the Book of Mormon.”^[2]

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[1] Temple and Cosmos – Rediscovery of the Apocrypha and the Book of Mormon, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 6, 2015.

[2] Feasting on the Word – “Know the Covenants of the Lord” – Sermons, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 6, 2015.