6 And thus being
called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy
order of God, to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they
also might enter into his rest—
7 This high priesthood
being after the order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the
world; or in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years,
being prepared from eternity to all eternity, according to his foreknowledge of
all things—
8 Now they were ordained
after this manner—being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy
ordinance, and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, which
calling, and ordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end—
9 Thus they become high
priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father,
who is without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of grace, equity,
and truth. And thus it is. Amen.
10 Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or
this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests
of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and
their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness
rather than to perish;
11 Therefore they were
called after this holy order, and were sanctified, and their garments were
washed white through the blood of the Lamb.
12 Now they, after
being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure
and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence;
and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered
into the rest of the Lord their God.
13 And now, my
brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit
meet for repentance, that ye may also enter into that rest.
Alma 13:6-13
Alma continues to teach about the
priesthood.
All who were called were ordained
to the high priesthood after the holy order of God. This priesthood is the Melchizedek
Priesthood. Little is known about
Melchizedek.[1]
Paul wrote, “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who
met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom
also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness,
and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father,
without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of
life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually” (Hebrews
7:1-3).[2]
Alma explains the priesthood is
without beginning nor end.
Here we are left
with the impression that there was a man, a king, with no father, mother,
genealogy, beginning, or end. In Alma 13, we have an expanded discourse on
Melchizedek and the clarification that Paul was not referring to a man but to
the high priesthood: "This high priesthood being after the order of his
Son, which order was from the foundation of the world; or in other words, being
without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from
eternity to all eternity, according to his foreknowledge of all things" (Alma
13:7; italics added).[3]
Those who were called to the
priesthood received a holy calling and a holy ordinance in receiving the priesthood. Those receiving the priesthood hold it
forever. The author of Hebrews wrote, “For every high priest taken from among men
is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts
and sacrifices for sins” (Hebrews 5:1) and “For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices:
wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer” (Hebrews
8:3).
John writes, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth … For
the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John
1:14, 17). Lehi told his family, “Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through
the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth” (2 Nephi 2:6). “ It
seems clear, at any rate, that Alma intended to connect God’s foreknowledge not
with individual priests but with the “order of the Son” (Alma 13:9), painting a
picture in which God prepared the priesthood in conjunction with the plan of
redemption as one of the plan’s key mechanisms for salvation.”[4]
Many who were ordained to the high
priesthood were ordained because of their “exceeding” faith and righteousness
before God. They chose repentance and
righteousness.
… Alma the Younger
could teach in the next generation that “many” men (and perhaps any man)
could be ordained to the high priesthood so long as they were exceedingly
faithful, repentant, and righteous before God (see Alma 13:10). These
factors indicate movement in Nephite society toward a less centrally structured
and more individualistic polity. The initial decision in this direction made by
King Benjamin was a strong step taken by a strong leader: only an effective and
powerful leader could have made such a change that would have favored the
populist poor and would have probably unsettled members of the upper class.[5]
Those where were called were
sanctified by the Lord. “And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of
the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his
garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and sanctified
Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him” (Leviticus
8:30) and “That by reason of
transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye
were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have
made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into
the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood,
even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin,
and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the
world to come, even immortal glory; For by the water ye keep the commandment;
by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified” (Moses 6:59-60).
Here again we see the emphasis on
our garments being washed with the blood of Christ. Nephi saw the original twelve. “And
these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for
because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his
blood” (1 Nephi 12:10).
Alma had emphasize this principle
to the church in Zarahemla.
“I say unto you, ye will know at that day
that ye cannot be saved; for there can no man be saved except his garments are
washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from
all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers,
who should come to redeem his people from their sins. And now I ask of you, my
brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God,
having your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness? Behold,
what will these things testify against you? Behold will they not testify that
ye are murderers, yea, and also that ye are guilty of all manner of wickedness?
Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit
down in the kingdom of God, with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also
all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and
white? I say unto you, Nay; except ye
make our Creator a liar from the beginning, or suppose that he is a liar from
the beginning, ye cannot suppose that such can have place in the kingdom of
heaven; but they shall be cast out for they are the children of the kingdom of
the devil. And now behold, I say unto
you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt
to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now? Have ye
walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at
this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and
made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from
their sins?” (Alma 5:21-27).
The Savior taught the Nephites the
same principle. “And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing
entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my
blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their
faithfulness unto the end. Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of
the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified
by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the
last day” (3 Nephi 27:19-20).
After having their garments made
white, they abhorred sin. “Mormon
explains that rest in the kingdom of God is given to those who perform the
labor of mortality, that of conquering the enemy of all righteousness (see
Moroni 9:6). Those who complete this great labor2 of
the probationary period, repentance, become pure and rest from their labors
with God (see Alma 13:10–12). Thus the idea of the rest of God summarizes
all the blessings of choosing righteousness.”[6]
Alma called upon the Ammonihahites
to humble themselves before God. Repent
of their sins so they may enter into the rest of God.
[1] Melchizedek. King of Righteousness. A
notable prophet and leader who lived about 2000 B.C. He is called the king of Salem (Jerusalem),
king of peace, and "priest of the most High God." Unfortunately, information concerning him in
the Bible is relatively scarce, being limited to Gen. 14:18–20; Heb. 5:6;
7:1–3. Mention of the priesthood of
Melchizedek is given in several other instances, primarily in Psalms and in
Hebrews. However, latter-day revelation
gives us much more about him and his priesthood (see JST Gen. 14:17–40; JST
Heb. 7:1–3; Alma 13:14–19; D&C 84:14; 107:1–4). From these sources we realize something of
the greatness of this prophet and the grandeur of his ministry. See
also Jebus; Jerusalem; Melchizedek
Priesthood. (Bible Dictionary | M Melchizedek:Entry).
[2] JST,
Hebrews 7:3 (compare Hebrews 7:3)
(The holy priesthood after the order of the Son of God
is without father or mother and has neither a beginning nor an end of days.)
3. For this Melchizedek was ordained a priest
after the order of the Son of God, which order was without father, without
mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life. And all those who are ordained unto this
priesthood are made like unto the Son of God, abiding a priest continually.
[3] The
Book of Mormon, an Interpretive Guide to the New Testament, Dennis Largey,
Maxwell Institute, accessed April 23, 2015.
[4] Untangling
Alma 13:3, Kimberly M. Berkey, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 23, 2015.
[5] Pressing
Forward with the Book of Mormon – Democratizing Forces in King Benjamin's
Speech, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 23, 2015.
[6] The
Way of Life and the Way of Death in the Book of Mormon, Mack C. Stirling,
Maxwell Institute, accessed April 23, 2015.
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