Alma 13:25-31

25 And now we only wait to hear the joyful news declared unto us by the mouth of angels, of his coming; for the time cometh, we know not how soon. Would to God that it might be in my day; but let it be sooner or later, in it I will rejoice.

26 And it shall be made known unto just and holy men, by the mouth of angels, at the time of his coming, that the words of our fathers may be fulfilled, according to that which they have spoken concerning him, which was according to the spirit of prophecy which was in them.

27 And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance;

28 But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering;

29 Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest.

30 And may the Lord grant unto you repentance, that ye may not bring down his wrath upon you, that ye may not be bound down by the chains of hell, that ye may not suffer the second death.

31 And Alma spake many more words unto the people, which are not written in this book. (Alma 13:25-31)

Alma continues.

He has been teaching about Christ. He was waiting to hear the new proclaimed by angels. But, he does not know exactly when and how soon. “Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews—even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world” (1 Nephi 10:4).

What does Alma meant when he says, “we know not how soon” (Alma 13:25). He don’t know if he was aware of Nephi’s prophecy. “Alma is not speaking of Jesus' birth-of which he already knows-but of Jesus' coming among the Nephites in their own land. In fact, Alma says nothing about Christ's birth in this passage. but speaks of the Lord's ‘coming in his glory [see verse 24[1]].’”[2]

He wishes it would happen in his day, but his words imply he knew it would not happen (“Would to God that it might be in my day, but let it be sooner or later”).

When the time comes, it will “made known unto just and holy men” (Alma 13:26) by angel. This will fulfil prophesies made in the past. “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but [JST “until”] he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

He wishes, with great anxiety, they would listen to his words, repent of their sins, and not procrastinate the day of their repentance.

Samuel the Lamanite also warned the Nephites not to procrastinate they day of their repentance.

“O ye wicked and ye perverse generation; ye hardened and ye stiffnecked people, how long will ye suppose that the Lord will suffer you? Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides? Yea, how long will ye choose darkness rather than light” (Helaman 13:29).

“But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head” (Helaman 13:38).

He called on them to humble themselves before the Lord. Pray in His name and watch and pray they will not be tempted beyond their power to resist. “There hath no temptation taken [GR seized upon] you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Being led by the Holy Spirit, they will become humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love, and long-suffering.

“I realize, brothers and sisters, that other suggestions could be added to these. However, I believe that when we focus on a few basic objectives, we are more likely to be able to manage the many demands that life makes on us. Remember, too much of anything in life can throw us off-balance. At the same time, too little of the important things can do the same thing. King Benjamin counseled ‘that all these things are done in wisdom and order’ (Mosiah 4:27).”[3]

They must have faith in the Lord and have a hope they will obtain eternal life. And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works” (Alma 7:24).

Doing this, they will have the love of God int their hearts. “I will love thee, O Lord, my strength” (Psalm 18:1).

“And we know also, that sanctification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true, to all those who love and serve God with all their mights, minds, and strength” (D&C 20:31).

“Neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him” (D&C 76:116).

Doing this, they will be “be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest” (Alma 13:29).

Doing this, the Lord will grant their repentance. They will not surface his wrath and be bound by the chains of hell. “O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe” (2 Nephi 1:13).

“And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance” (2 Nephi 28:22).

“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 12:11).

They will not suffer the second death. “And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness” (Alma 12:16).

“Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could” (Alma 12:32).

“Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance, that whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire; but whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh upon them again a spiritual death, yea, a second death, for they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness” (Helaman 14:18).

“You can’t be static. You can’t just stay between them; you must make your choice. As Heraclitus says, the road upward and the road downward are the same. It depends entirely on the way you are facing. You can’t compromise between them; you take the up road or the down road. You can’t go off at an angle, or anything like that. It’s the same thing here. You harden or you keep open. ‘Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.’ He has been using ‘chains of hell’ just as an image here. They aren’t real chains, but this is what is meant by the ‘chains of hell.’”[4]

Mormon closes, telling us “Alma spake many more words unto the people, which are not written in this book” (Alma 13:31).

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[1] “For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory.” (emphasis mine)

[2] A More Perfect Priority?, Matthew Roper, Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 6/1 (1994): 364.

[3] Keeping Life’s Demands in Balance, President M. Russell Ballard, April 1987 General Conference.

[4] Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 2, Lecture 48.