24 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?
25 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.
26 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?
27 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?
After asking the people if they felt they could lie to God
in an attempt to hide their sins, they were making a foolish decision. There is
no way they can hide their sins from Him.
·
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?
Jesus made it clear we cannot.
“But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are;
depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
“There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall
see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God,
and you yourselves thrust out” (Luke 13:27-28).
In verse 24, Alma refers to all the holy prophets as having
“garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white.” In the Book of
Mormon, the use of “pure and white” do not refer to a physical characteristic.
It refers to those who have repented of their sins, and been forgiven. This is
used to refer to a righteous person or people.
We cannot expect to have a place in the kingdom of heaven if
we do not follow the teachings of the gospel. To believe we will be able to
hide our sins and find a place in the kingdom of heaven is to men we believe
“that he is a liar from the beginning, ye cannot suppose that such can have
place in the kingdom of heaven” (Alma 5:25).
“They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot
of his children [HEB they are no longer His children because of their blemish]:
they are a perverse and crooked generation” (Deuteronomy 32:5).
“And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we
become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God,
and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to
that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto
an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations
of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness” (2 Nephi 9:9).
The wicked are the children of the devil. If they do not
repent, they will be “children of the kingdom of the devil” (Alma 5:25).
·
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?
“Alma taught us about finding a mighty change in our hearts.
Alma taught the members of the Church in Zarahemla that they needed to lift
their hearts to a higher spiritual plane. He spoke of the need to trust God,
and he told them how important it was to exercise faith.”[1]
If they had experienced a change of heart, can they still
feel this change? “Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed
from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this
because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great
reason to rejoice” (Alma 26:13).
“And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall
always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a
remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him
that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true” (Mosiah
4:12).
“When we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost after baptism,
we are filled with the heavenly music that accompanies conversion. Our hearts
are changed, and we “have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good
continually” (Mosiah 5:2). But the Spirit will not endure unkindness or pride
or envy. If we lose that delicate influence in our lives, the rich harmonies of
the gospel can quickly become dissonant and can ultimately be silenced. Alma
asked the poignant question: “If ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming
love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:26).”[2]
·
Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless
before God?
“And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall
assure our hearts before him.
“For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart,
and knoweth all things.
“Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence
toward God.
“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep
his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
“And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the
name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
“And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and
he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he
hath given us” (1 John 3:19-24).
·
Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this
time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble?
“The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and
before honour is humility” (Proverbs 15:33).
“Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before
honour is humility” (Proverbs 18:12).
“A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold
the humble in spirit” (Proverbs 29:23).
“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.
Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for
God resisteth [GR opposed, is adverse to] the proud, and giveth grace to the
humble” (1 Peter 5:5).
“Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without
being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that
believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart,
yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before
they will believe.” (Alma 32:16).
·
That your garments have been cleansed and made
white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from
their sins?
“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” (3 Nephi 27:19).
“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),
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us
from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are
these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
“And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me,
These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:13-14).
“Washing/cleansing of garments. The image is that ‘garments
are washed white’ or ‘garments
must be purified until they are cleansed’ (Alma 5:21). In
slightly different language we read that ‘garments are made white’ (1 Nephi
12:10–11) or ‘garments have been cleansed and made white’ (Alma 5:27; see
similarly Alma 13:11; 34:36; 3 Nephi 27:19; Ether 13:10).
“Importantly, in these passages the person’s garments symbolize
the person himself or herself, and the Lamb’s blood refers directly to Jesus
Christ’s atonement and his power to cleanse those who demonstrate faith in
Jesus, repent, and remain faithful (see 1 Nephi 12:11; 3 Nephi 27:19).”[3]
“I wonder, however, if we are paying sufficient attention to
the spiritual aspects of our lives. Are we conducting frequent “spiritual
checkups” to assess our standing before God and to determine whether we are on
the path leading to eternal life? Alma asked: “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?” (Alma 5:27).
These and other questions might be used to obtain readings of our spiritual
temperature and pulse rate.”[4]
[1] Spiritual
Mountaintops, Elder Jack H Goaslind, October 1995 General Conference.
[2] The
Music of the Gospel, Elder Wilford W. Andersen, April 2015 General
Conference.
[3] Service
and Temple in King Benjamin’s Speech, Donald W. Parry, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 16/2 (2007): 47.
[4] Stay
on the True Course, Elder Carlos E. Asay, April 1996 General Conference.
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