Chapter 29
Alma desires to cry repentance with angelic zeal—The
Lord grants teachers for all nations—Alma glories in the Lord's work and in the
success of Ammon and his brethren. About 76 B.C.
1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of
mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice
to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the
voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should
repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the
face of the earth.
3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I
ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.
4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires, the firm
decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their
desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth
unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to
their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.
5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before
all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth
good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth
good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience.
6 Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I
desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?
7 Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I
could speak unto all the ends of the earth?
8 For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of
their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he
seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in
wisdom, according to that which is just and true.
9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I
glory in it. I do not glory of myself,
but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my
glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some
soul to repentance; and this is my joy.
10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly
penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy;
then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard
my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards
me.
11 Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my
fathers; for I surely do know that the Lord did deliver them out of bondage,
and by this did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of
bondage.
12 Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my
fathers; and that same God who delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians
did deliver them out of bondage.
13 Yea, and that same God did establish his church
among them; yea, and that same God hath called me by a holy calling, to preach
the word unto this people, and hath given me much success, in the which my joy
is full.
14 But I do not joy in my own success alone, but my
joy is more full because of the success of my brethren, who have been up to the
land of Nephi.
15 Behold, they have labored exceedingly, and have
brought forth much fruit; and how great shall be their reward!
16 Now, when I think of the success of these my
brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body,
as it were, so great is my joy.
17 And now may God grant unto these, my brethren, that
they may sit down in the kingdom of God; yea, and also all those who are the
fruit of their labors that they may go no more out, but that they may praise
him forever. And may God grant that it
may be done according to my words, even as I have spoken. Amen.
Alma 29:1-17
Chapter 29 could be called
the psalm of Alma. He express the
deepest desire of his heart.
He begins by proclaiming, “O
that I were an angel” (Alma 29:1). Were
he an angel, he could go forth and “speak with the trump of God” (Alma 29:1).[1] He would call all people to repentance. He would declare with a voice of thunder the
plan of redemption. He would call on
them to come unto God.[2] But,
he acknowledges, he is a man and he should be content with what the Lord had
given him.
A just God grants unto men
their desires, be it “unto death or unto life” (Alma 29:4). “The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD;
and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! Thou hast given him his
heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips” (Psalms
21:1-2). “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so
shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself
also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalms
37:3-4).
Alma reminds us good and evil
come before us all. But, what about the
person who never hears the word of Christ?
That person “is blameless” (Alma 29:5). “The Book of Mormon indicates
that not all have a capacity of knowing right and wrong.”[3]
The person who knows good from evil will have be given based on whether “he
desireth good or evil, life of death, joy or remorse of conscience” (Alma
29:5).
We
know from countless personal testimonies that in His own way and His own time
the Lord is preparing persons to accept His gospel. Such persons are searching,
and when we are seeking to identify them the Lord will answer their prayers
through answering ours. He will prompt and guide those who desire and who
sincerely seek guidance in how, where, when, and with whom to share His gospel.[4]
Lehi warned his family about
the devil and his fall.
“And
because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought
also the misery of all mankind.
Wherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil,
who is the father of all lies, wherefore he said: Partake of the forbidden
fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil …
And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children
of men from the fall. And because that
they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good
from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the
punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments
which God hath given” (2 Nephi 2:18, 26).
Mormon wrote Moroni, telling
him, “For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know
good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing
which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth
by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge
it is of God” (Moroni 7:16).
Alma questions himself,
asking why he should desire to do more than the work for which he had been called? His work was demanding. Few in the Book of Mormon did more for the
building of the church among the Nephites than did Alma. Yet, he still desired to do more. Why should he desire to be an angel, speaking
to all on the earth?
Alma tells us the Lord deals
with all nations in their own tongue to teach His word.
Lehi told his family, “Wherefore,
men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are
expedient unto man. And they are free to
choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to
choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil;
for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself: (2 Nephi
2:27).
Towards the end of his life,
Nephi wrote, “For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it;
and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall
also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away,
and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth
and they shall write it” (2 Nephi 29:12).
In his dispensation, the Lord
revealed His word will go to all people in their own language. “For it shall come to pass in that day, that
every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his
own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the
administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of
Jesus Christ” (D&C 90:11).
“[W]e see the Lord doth
counsel is wisdom according to that which is just and true” (Alma 29:8).
And
now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many
to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command
that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he
doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which
they give unto him. And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same
receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his
heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto
him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full. And they that will
harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they
know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the
devil, and led by his will down to destruction.
Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell” (Alma 12:9-11).
The Lord commanded Alma and
he glories in his call. “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock
of my strength, and my refuge, is in God” (Psalms 62:7). It is not a personal glory, but a glory that
he is an instrument in the hands of the Lord to bring people to
repentance.
His soul is filled with joy
when he sees his brethren truly repent and come to the Lord. His conversion experience still guides his
life.[5] “I remember [the Lord’s] merciful arm which
he extended towards me” (Alma 29:10).
An important part of Alma’s
teachings deals with the captivity of his fathers.[6] He frequently refers to this topic. Speaking to his son, Helaman1, he said,
“I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our
fathers; for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it was
the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely
did deliver them in their afflictions” (Alma 36:2).
He likens the release from
captivity in Egypt[7] to
the delivering of Nephites out of bondage.
“And
behold, after that, they were brought into bondage by the hands of the
Lamanites in the wilderness; yea, I say unto you, they were in captivity, and
again the Lord did deliver them out of bondage by the power of his word; and we
were brought into this land, and here we began to establish the church of God
throughout this land also. And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you
that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the
captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have
you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards
them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently
retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell? (Alma 5:5-6).
The church was established
among the people after their release from bondage.[8]
That same God has called him to preach among the people[9]
and has given him much success. His joy
is full in this accomplishment. But, his joy is increased at the success of the
sons of Mosiah and their brethren.[10] They labored for years and were successful
beyond their greatest hopes.
He prays God will grant them
a seat in the kingdom of heaven along with those they taught and accepted the
gospel. “And may God grant that it may be
done according to my words, even as I have spoken. Amen” (Alma 29:17).
[1] “Verily,
I say unto you that ye are chosen out of the world to declare my gospel with
the sound of rejoicing, as with the voice of a trump” (D&C 29:4).
[2] “And
it came to pass that [I, Amaleki], began to be old; and, having no seed, and
knowing king Benjamin to be a just man before the Lord, wherefore, I shall
deliver up these plates unto him, exhorting all men to come unto God, the Holy
One of Israel, and believe in prophesying, and in revelations, and in the
ministering of angels, and in the gift of speaking with tongues, and in the
gift of interpreting languages, and in all things which are good; for there is
nothing which is good save it comes from the Lord; and that which is evil
cometh from the devil. And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should
come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation,
and the power of his redemption. Yea,
come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue
in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will
be saved” (Omni 1:25-26).
[3] Redeeming
the Dead: Tender Mercies, Turning of Hearts, and Restoration of Authority,
David L. Paulsen, Kendel J. Christensen, and Martin Pulido, Journal of the Book
of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture, 20/1 (2011): 49.
[4] Sharing
the Gospel, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, October 2001 General Conference, accessed
June 29, 2015.
[5] “And
again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people,
and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed
with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge
of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the
power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered
according to their faith” (Mosiah 27:14).
[6]
Alma refers to the children of Israel being freed from Egypt.
[7] “For
I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house
of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam” (Micah 6:4).
[8] “Yea,
and he has also brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem; and he has
also, by his everlasting power, delivered them out of bondage and captivity,
from time to time even down to the present day; and I have always retained in
remembrance their captivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance,
as I have done, their captivity” (Alma 36:29).
[9] “I,
Alma, having been consecrated by my father, Alma, to be a high priest over the
church of God, he having power and authority from God to do these things,
behold, I say unto you that he began to establish a church in the land which
was in the borders of Nephi; yea, the land which was called the land of Mormon;
yea, and he did baptize his brethren in the waters of Mormon” (Alma 5:3).
[10] “And
they had been teaching the word of God for the space of fourteen years among
the Lamanites, having had much success in bringing many to the knowledge of the
truth; yea, by the power of their words many were brought before the altar of
God, to call on his name and confess their sins before him” (Alma 17:4).
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