Alma 7:22-27

22 And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received.

23 And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

24 And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

25 And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that ye may at last be brought to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began, having your garments spotless even as their garments are spotless, in the kingdom of heaven to go no more out.

26 And now my beloved brethren, I have spoken these words unto you according to the Spirit which testifieth in me; and my soul doth exceedingly rejoice, because of the exceeding diligence and heed which ye have given unto my word.

27 And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever. And thus I have spoken. Amen. (Alma 7:22-27)

Alma’s reason for preaching these principles was to “awaken you to a sense of your duty to God” (Alma 7:22). He wants them to walk blameless before God.

Alma tells us to be humble. “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers” (D&C 112:10).

“Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility” (Proverbs 18:12).

We are to be submissive and gentle. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

“For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19).

He continues. We are to be “full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive” (Alma 7:23).

“As men and women and boys and girls do their duty to God, they feel impelled to do their duty to one another, to their family, to their church and nation, to all things entrusted to their care. They are duty bound to magnify their talents and to be a law-abiding, good people. They become humble, submissive, and easily entreated. Temperance conquers indulgence; obedience guides their diligence. Peace distills upon them. Citizens become loyal, communities become benevolent, and neighbors become friends. The God of heaven is pleased, the earth is pacified, and this world becomes a better place.”[1]

We are to have faith, hope, and charity. If we do this, we “will always abound in good works” (Alma 7:24).

He asks the Lord to bless us and keep our garments spotless. If we do this, we will sit with all the prophets who had been called since the beginning of the world. Our garments will be as spotless as their garments in the kingdom of heaven.

“The spiritually submissive will make it through. The word of God will lead the man and the woman of Christ “in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery” (Hel. 3:29) and land their souls at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, “to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began” (Alma 7:25; see also Ether 12:4).”[2]

The Spirit guided Alma as he prepared his sermon. The Spirit testified to him as to the truthfulness of his words. He soul rejoices “because of the exceeding diligence and heed which [they] have given to my word” (Alma 7:26).

In closing, Alma tells them, “may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever” (Alma 7:27).

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[1] Our Path of Duty, Bishop Keith B. McMullin, April 2010 General Conference.

[2] “For I Will Lead You Along,” Elder Neal A. Maxwell, April 1988 General Conference