Alma 5:1-13

The words which Alma, the High Priest according to the holy order of God, delivered to the people in their cities and villages throughout the land.

Beginning with chapter 5.

Chapter 5

To gain salvation, men must repent and keep the commandments, be born again, cleanse their garments through the blood of Christ, be humble and strip themselves of pride and envy, and do the works of righteousness—The Good Shepherd calls His people—Those who do evil works are children of the devil—Alma testifies of the truth of his doctrine and commands men to repent—The names of the righteous will be written in the book of life. About 83 B.C.

1 Now it came to pass that Alma began to deliver the word of God unto the people, first in the land of Zarahemla, and from thence throughout all the land.

2 And these are the words which he spake to the people in the church which was established in the city of Zarahemla, according to his own record, saying:

3 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.

4 And behold, I say unto you, they were delivered out of the hands of the people of king Noah, by the mercy and power of God.

5 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.

6 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?

7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.

8 And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not.

9 And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved.

10 And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?

11 Behold, I can tell you—did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the mouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe them?

12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.

13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved. (Alma 5:1-13)

Alma’s mission to his people began in the land of Zarahemla. Chapter 5 is a transcript of his sermon to his people, delivering the word of God. Mormon tells us he took these words “according to his own record” (Alma 5:2).

“Supplementary documents were used at certain points in creating Mormon’s narrative … [A]ccounts prepared by earlier writers existed in the Nephite library under their own names, either as ‘books’ that were part of the comprehensive larger plates of Nephi’s record or as stand-alone documents. Mormon sometimes referred to these sources. He noted at one point his dependence upon ‘[Alma₂’s] own record’ (Alma 5:2; chapter 7, heading; 35:16).”[1]

Alma states his authority, by reminding the people had had “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” (Alma 5:4).

His father established a church in the land of Mormon and baptized his people in the waters of Mormon. They were delivered by the power of God from the people of king Noah.

“Now Alma, having been warned of the Lord that the armies of king Noah would come upon them, and having made it known to his people, therefore they gathered together their flocks, and took of their grain, and departed into the wilderness before the armies of king Noah.

“And the Lord did strengthen them, that the people of king Noah could not overtake them to destroy them.

“And they fled eight days’ journey into the wilderness” (Mosiah 23:1-3).

They were brought into bondage by the Lamanites.

“And it came to pass that the Lamanites promised unto Alma and his brethren, that if they would show them the way which led to the land of Nephi that they would grant unto them their lives and their liberty.

“But after Alma had shown them the way that led to the land of Nephi the Lamanites would not keep their promise; but they set guards round about the land of Helam, over Alma and his brethren” (Mosiah 23:36-37).

Alma asked if they retain the memory of this captivity? Did they remember the Lord’s mercy and long-suffering towards them? Did they remember he delivered their souls from hell?

Their hearts were changed when the Lord awakened them from a deep sleep. Even though they were surrounded by darkness, their souls were illuminated by the words of God. They were surrounded “by the bands of death, and the chains of hell” (Alma 5:7).

When confronting Zeezrom, Alma explained the chains of hell.

“Now Zeezrom, seeing that thou hast been taken in thy lying and craftiness, for thou hast not lied unto men only but thou hast lied unto God; for behold, he knows all thy thoughts, and thou seest that thy thoughts are made known unto us by his Spirit;

“And thou seest that we know that thy plan was a very subtle plan, as to the subtlety of the devil, for to lie and to deceive this people that thou mightest set them against us, to revile us and to cast us out—

“Now this was a plan of thine adversary, and he hath exercised his power in thee. Now I would that ye should remember that what I say unto thee I say unto all.

“And behold I say unto you all that this was a snare of the adversary, which he has laid to catch this people, that he might bring you into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you about with his chains, that he might chain you down to everlasting destruction, according to the power of his captivity” (Alma 12:3-6).

When Alma1’s group was held captive by the Lamanites, the bands of death and chains of hell were loosed. “[T]heir souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved” (Alma 5:9).

David would “sing” of God’s love.

“Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

“The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.

“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

“He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.

“Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

“The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

“Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God” (Psalm 147:1-7).

Under what conditions were they saved? Why did they hope for salvation? What caused them being loosed from the bands of and chains of hell?

His father, Alma₁, believed Abinadi was a prophet who spoke the word of God.

“But there was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the words which Abinadi had spoken, for he knew concerning the iniquity which Abinadi had testified against them; therefore he began to plead with the king that he would not be angry with Abinadi, but suffer that he might depart in peace.

“But the king was more wroth, and caused that Alma should be cast out from among them, and sent his servants after him that they might slay him.

“But he fled from before them and hid himself that they found him not. And he being concealed for many days did write all the words which Abinadi had spoken” (Mosiah 17:2-4).

“What a powerful testifier the first Alma was! We have many more of his son’s words, but that son’s ability to reach hearts with the inspired spoken word could not have been any greater than his father’s.”[2]

“And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true” (Alma 5:12).

His father taught their fathers the word of God. “And it came to pass after many days there were a goodly number gathered together at the place of Mormon, to hear the words of Alma. Yea, all were gathered together that believed on his word, to hear him. And he did teach them, and did preach unto them repentance, and redemption, and faith on the Lord” (Mosiah 18:7).

The experience a mighty change in their hearts. “[T]hey humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God” (Alma 5:13).

“My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God” (Psalm 42:2).

“Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God” (Mormon 9:28).

“[T]hey were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved” (Alma 5:13).

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[1] Mormon’s Sources, Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture, Volume 20 Number 2, 2011: pg. 9.

[2] The Book of Mormon: Passport to Discipleship, Marilyn Arnold, Mormon Studies Review 23/1 (2011): 10.