Alma 9:28-34

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 9:28-34

Alma is wrapping up his sermon.  He tells them to prepare the way of the Lord.  We will reap a reward based on our works.  The Lord revealed, “Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man” (D&C 1:10).  The Lord said, Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward” (D&C 6:33).

David wrote:

“O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer” (Psalms 31:23),

“So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth” (Psalms 58:11).

Solomon said, “The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward” (Proverbs 11:18). The Savior taught, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:12).

The wicked, on the other hand will reap damnation and become captives of the devil.  “His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate” (Psalms 7:16).

Alma's very presence in Ammonihah attests to his desire to help those who once were enlightened to return to the path of eternal life. He taught that the way of salvation is only "according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ" (Alma 9:28) … An undeviating call for men to "repent, and harden not [their] hearts" against the true mysteries of God and to rely upon the mercy "through mine Only Begotten Son" (Alma 12:33) fills these chapters.^[1]

Alma pronounces the words he speaks are the words of an angel.

Alma refers to them as “my beloved brethren, for ye are my brethren.” 

Alma's attitude toward his hearers is seen in his frequent reference to them as "my brethren," an appellation which occurs seven times in the beginning and middle of the sermon. At the end of the sermon when the logic of his argument reaches its climax—that is, when he hopes that the accumulated pleas and threats will bring his hearers to true repentance, Alma shifts to the more endearing "My beloved brethren," which he repeats three times. This is similar to the way Alma ends his second sermon, delivered not long after this one: "And now, my beloved brethren, for ye are my brethren, and ye ought to be beloved" (Alma 9:30). Thus, not only does Alma remind his hearers of their kinship and spiritual relationship, he reveals the charity he feels toward them in spite of his strong language condemning their recalcitrant wickedness.[2]

He told them they should bring forth works that are worthy of repentance.  This is because they have harden their hearts and become a lost and fallen people.[3]

Alma’s word were similar to Nephi’s. “And now behold, my people, ye are a stiffnecked people; wherefore, I have spoken plainly unto you, that ye cannot misunderstand.  And the words which I have spoken shall stand as a testimony against you; for they are sufficient to teach any man the right way; for the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law” (2 Nephi 25:28).

Needless to say, the Ammonihahites were not pleased with Alma’s words.  They decided to throw both Alma and Amulek into jail. 

In response, the people immediately sought to imprison Alma (Alma 9:31–32). Even though their Nehorite doctrine, in theory, avowed belief in a God who would redeem all people, Alma's words in Alma 9 were extreme and could not be ignored. The people of Ammonihah lost their composure and became "angry" with Alma, specifically when he accused them of being "a lost and a fallen people" (vv. 30, 32). To these legally minded people, the offensive connotations of being consigned to "utter destruction" escalated to a nearly criminal accusation in the threatening implications of Alma's words when he called them "a lost and a fallen people." Alma thereby effectively identified them as an apostate people under Deuteronomy 13, making them subject to the mandate of annihilation.^[4]

As they attempted to take hold of Alma and Amulek, Amulek stepped forward and began to preach.

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[1] The Temple in Time and Eternity – Conflicting Orders: Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah, Thomas R. Valletta, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 23, 2015.

[2] Bountiful Harvest – Alma the Younger's Seminal Sermon at Zarahemla, Robert A. Rees, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 23, 2015.

[3] Alma would later use the phrase, “a lost and fallen people.”  “Now Alma said unto him: This is the thing which I was about to explain.  Now we see that Adam did fall by the partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and fallen people” (Alma 12:22)

[4] The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon – The Trial of Alma and Amulek, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 23, 2015.