12 And it came to pass
that when Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he began from the
creation of Adam, reading the scriptures unto the king—how God created man
after his own image, and that God gave him commandments, and that because of transgression,
man had fallen.
13 And Aaron did
expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of
man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which
was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all
whosoever would believe on his name.
14 And since man had
fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of
Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and
that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and
that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron
did expound all these things unto the king.
15 And it came to pass
that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall
I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of
God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit,
that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I
possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
Alma 22:12-27
Seeing the king would accept his words, he began to read
from scriptures from the creation and to the fall. After the fall, we were in a
carnal state. He further taught the plan
of salvation which was prepared from the foundation of the world. Salvation come only through Christ to those
who accept Him and His sacrifice.[1]
“And this is the manner after which
they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world
according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and
good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they
having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a
holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and
according to, a preparatory redemption for such … Or in fine, in the first
place they were on the same standing with their brethren; thus this holy
calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not
harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son,
who was prepared … 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—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—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” (Alma 13:3, 5, 7-9).
In verse 14, Aaron gives us a very clear statement of why
the plan of salvation is necessary and the role the atonement plays.
- We are fallen.
- We cannot merit anything of ourselves.[2]
- The sufferings and death of Christ atone for our sins.[3]
- Christ atoned for our sins through our faith and repentance.
- Christ broke the bands of death.
- The grave will have no victory.[4]
- The sting of death will swallowed up in the hopes of glory.
This short explanation give to the king by Aaron gives us
one of the best explanations of Christ’s atonement and salvation. It guides us to know how we can gain
forgiveness of our sins, salvation, and return to the presence of God through
Christ. “And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God;
wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to
the truth and holiness which is in him.
Wherefore, the ends of the law which the Holy One hath given, unto the
inflicting of the punishment which is affixed, which punishment that is affixed
is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the ends
of the atonement—” (2 Nephi 2:10).
However, to pass successfully
through the trials we encounter, we must keep our eyes and our hearts centered
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Because “since man had fallen he could not merit
anything of himself” (Alma 22:14);
therefore, we needed an advocate, an intercessor, a mediator to assist us. “And
it is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus merciful
unto [us].” (Alma 33:11;
emphasis added.) We should have great hope in knowing, however unworthy we may
feel or weak we may be, that if we will do all we can, He will
come to our aid and provide for us whatever we may lack. (See 2 Cor. 12:9.)
That statement, to some degree, defines grace.[5]
After Aaron finished teaching these principles, the king
asked what he must do to have eternal life.[6] He realized a “wicked spirit [is] rooted [in
his] breast” (Alma 22:15).[7] He wants to replace it with the Spirit of
God. He desired to be filled with joy
and not cast off at the last day. He was
willing to forsake all his possessions as well as his kingdom for this joy.[8]
[1] “But,
behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have
believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the
world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God,
which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy
shall be full forever” (2 Nephi 9:18).
[2] “For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works,
lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
[3] “For
it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great
plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind
must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are
lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient
should be made” (Alma 34:9).
[4] “If
so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin
to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that
he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again
from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall
stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their
works” (Alma 33:22).
[5] Receiving
Divine Assistance through the Grace of the Lord, Elder Gene R. Cook, April
1993 General Conference, accessed June 10, 2015.
[6] “Now
when they heard this, they were
pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men
and brethren, what shall we do? Then
Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:37-38).
[7] “For
I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will
is present with me; but how to
perform that which is good I find not” (Romans 7:18).
[8] “Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who,
when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold ball that he had, and bought it” (Matthew 13:45-46).
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