13 Now the Spirit
knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the
flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot
out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now
behold, this is the testimony which is in me.
14 Now I say unto you
that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born
again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized
unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith
on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to
save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.
15 Yea, I say unto you
come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which
doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your
God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with
him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into
the waters of baptism.
16 And whosoever doeth
this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will
remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him,
he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit,
which testifieth in me.
17 And now my beloved
brethren, do you believe these things? Behold, I say unto you, yea, I know that
ye believe them; and the way that I know that ye believe them is by the
manifestation of the Spirit which is in me. And now because your faith is
strong concerning that, yea, concerning the things which I have spoken, great
is my joy.
18 For as I said unto
you from the beginning, that I had much desire that ye were not in the state of
dilemma like your brethren, even so I have found that my desires have been
gratified.
19 For I perceive that
ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which
leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his paths
straight.
20 I perceive that it
has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot walk
in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither
hath he a shadow of turning from the right to the left, or from that which is
right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round.
21 And he doth not
dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be
received into the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come,
yea, and it shall be at the last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his
filthiness. (Alma 7:13-27)
Alma reminds us the Spirit knows all things. Scriptures have
made this clear. “Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of
the heart” (Psalm 44:21).
“The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man” (Psalm 94:11).
“Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is
infinite” (Psalm 147:5).
“But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him
who knoweth all things” (2 Nephi 2:24).
“For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting
to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to
make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come
every good thing” (Moroni 7:22).
“Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great
I Am, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon
the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven, before the
world was made;
“The same which knoweth all things, for all things are
present before mine eyes” (D&C 38:1-2).
Christ will come to Earth and suffer “according to the
flesh.” “He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in
that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all
things, the light of truth” (D&C 88:6).
He will take, upon Himself, our sins. “For these are they
whose sins he has borne; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them
from their transgressions” (Mosiah 15:12). This He does to allow us to be
forgiven and delivered from our sins through His powers.
“Mercifully, the Son of God offers us deliverance from the
bondage of our sins, which are among the heaviest of all the burdens we bear.
During His Atonement He suffered ‘according to the flesh that he might take
upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions
according to the power of his deliverance.’ Christ ‘suffered these things for
all, that they might not suffer if they would repent.’ When we repent and keep
the commandments, forgiveness and relief from our burdened conscience come with
the help that only the Savior offers, for ‘surely, whosoever repenteth shall
find mercy.’”[1]
We must repent and be born again. Alma tells us the Spirt
has said if we are not, we cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven. We must be
“baptized unto repentance” so our sins can be washed away. We must have faith
in Christ who takes away or sins. He is the only one who can save us and
cleanse away our sins.
Alma tells us we don’t have to fear. We must lay aside all
sins. Our sins will lead us to destructions. We are told to repent of our sins
and “enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments” (Alma 7:15).
Whomever repents and keeps God’s commandments will be
remembered by Him. “Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the church,
that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient
hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth
until ye shall rest with him in heaven” (Moroni 7:3). The Spirit told Alma,
those who repent will have eternal life.
Alma tells them he knows they believe these things. He knows
this through the Spirit. Their faith is strong, and great is his joy. They are
walking the paths of righteousness, which leads to the kingdom of God.
We cannot walk crocked paths. “For he that diligently
seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by
the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as
well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is
one eternal round” (1 Nephi 10:19).
The Lord doesn’t alter his words. He does not turn to the
left or right.
“And it may suffice if I only say they are preserved for a
wise purpose, which purpose is known unto God; for he doth counsel in wisdom
over all his works, and his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal
round” (Alma 37:12).
“For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he
turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he
hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal
round” (D&C 3:2).
God does not dwell in unholy temples.
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in [GR in, within, among] you?
“If any man defile [GR spoil, corrupt, deprave] the temple
of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye
are” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy
Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own” (1 Corinthians
6:19).
“And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth not
in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell; yea, and
he has also said that the righteous shall sit down in his kingdom, to go no
more out; but their garments should be made white through the blood of the Lamb”
(Alma 34:36).
“To have the continuous companionship of the Holy Ghost is
the most precious possession we can have in mortality. The gift of the Holy
Ghost was conferred upon us by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood
after our baptism. But to realize the blessings of that gift, we must keep
ourselves free from sin. When we commit sin, we become unclean and the Spirit
of the Lord withdraws from us. The Spirit of the Lord does not dwell in ‘unholy
temples’ (see Mosiah 2:36–37; Alma 34:35–36; Hel. 4:24), and no unclean thing
can dwell in His presence.”[2]
No filthy or unclean can enter into the kingdom of God.
“Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must
be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to
righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be
judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs
be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the
kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.
“But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not
filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God;
wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is
filthy.
“And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of
which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final
state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out
because of that justice of which I have spoken” (1 Nephi 15:33-35).
“And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath
spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot pass away, that they who
are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy
still; wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and his angels; and they
shall go away into everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as
a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has
no end” (2 Nephi 9:16).
At the last day, the unclean and filthy will remain unclean
and filthy.
[1] That
Your Burdens May Be Light, Elder L. Whitney Clayton, October 2009 General
Conference.
[2] The
Aaronic Priesthood and the Sacrament, President Dallin H. Oaks, October
1998 General Conference.
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