21 Yea, I say unto
you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my
pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can
be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.
22 Yea, methought I
saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with
numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their
God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.
23 But behold, my
limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did
manifest unto the people that I had been born of God.
24 Yea, and from that
time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls
unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which
I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy
Ghost.
25 Yea, and now
behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of
my labors;
26 For because of the
word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and
have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen;
therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know;
and the knowledge which I have is of God.
27 And I have been
supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of
afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from
death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.
28 And I know that he
will raise me up at the last day, to dwell with him in glory; yea, and I will
praise him forever, for he has brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has
swallowed up the Egyptians in the Red Sea; and he led them by his power into
the promised land; yea, and he has delivered them out of bondage and captivity
from time to time.
29 Yea, and he has
also brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem; and he has also, by his
everlasting power, delivered them out of bondage and captivity, from time to
time even down to the present day; and I have always retained in remembrance
their captivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I have
done, their captivity.
30 But behold, my son,
this is not all; for ye ought to know as I do know, that inasmuch as ye shall
keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and ye ought to know
also, that inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut
off from his presence. Now this is according to his word. (Alma 36:21-30)
Alma continues speaking to Helaman after he told him about
the pain he suffered for his sins.
Having been forgiven for his sins, he described his feelings
as nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy” (Alma 36:21).
Like Lehi, he saw God sitting on his throne. “And being thus
overcome with the Spirit, [Lehi] was carried away in a vision, even that he saw
the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded
with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising
their God” (1 Nephi 1:8).
He regained his strength, stood and testified he had been
born of God. “Now, my son, I would not that ye should think that I know these
things of myself, but it is the Spirit of God which is in me which maketh these
things known unto me; for if I had not been born of God I should not have known
these things” (Alma 38:6).
“Immersion in the scriptures is essential for spiritual
nourishment. The word of God inspires commitment and acts as a healing balm for
hurt feelings, anger, or disillusionment. When our commitment is diminished for
any reason, part of the solution is repentance. Commitment and repentance are
closely intertwined.”[1]
Since that time, Alma has labored to bring people to
repentance so they could taste of the joy which he tasted.
“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man
that trusteth in him” (Psalm 34:8).
“And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul
with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family
should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other
fruit” (1 Nephi 8:12).
“And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye
have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his
goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your
sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would
that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of
God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you,
unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility,
calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of
that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel” (Mosiah 4:11).
He did this so they could taste the joy of which he tasted
so they could be born of God and receive the Holy Ghost.
“For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in
by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what
ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:5).
“And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart
and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a
contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as
the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion,
were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost…” (3 Nephi 9:20).
The Lord gave him “great joy in the fruit of my labor” (Alma
36:25).“O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the
faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer” (Psalm 31:23).
“The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth
righteousness shall be a sure reward” (Proverbs 11:18).
“Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that
shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your
reward” (D&C 6:33).
“Thank the Lord for your testimony. Thank Him for being
alive now. When your challenges come, thank the Lord for your knowledge that He
lives, and feel peace knowing He loves you. As you work hard, say, ‘The Lord
doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors’ (Alma 36:25). When you struggle, say, ‘I can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians
4:13). With each new lesson learned and each answer to personal prayer, say, ‘I
rejoice exceedingly that [my] Lord Jesus Christ hath been mindful of [me]’ (Moro.
8:2).”[2]
Through His word, many have accepted gospel truth. “And now,
as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that
which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the
people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore
Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of
God” (Alma 31:5).
“Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your
conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your
doings” (D&C 108:7).
They have tasted as he has tasted.
“Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and
hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere [GR pure, genuine]
milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
“If so be ye have tasted [GR experienced] that the Lord is
gracious” (1 Peter 2:1-3).
They know the truth of the words he has spoken.
“The word of God can also be ‘tasted’ … This metaphor is
very similar to feasting upon the word of God, but it is found in the Bible as
well. It first appears in Psalms: ‘How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea,
sweeter than honey to my mouth’ (119:103). Alma, however, uses this image in
the more active sense of gaining understanding: because he has preached the
word of God, many people have come to understand the things of God as he
understands them.”[3]
He had been supported in all his trails and troubles He had
been released from prison, from bonds, and from death.
“And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these
great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith
which is in Christ, even unto deliverance. And they broke the cords with which
they were bound; and when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear
of destruction had come upon them.
“And it came to pass that so great was their fear that they
fell to the earth, and did not obtain the outer door of the prison; and the
earth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that
they fell to the earth; and the chief judge, and the lawyers, and priests, and
teachers, who smote upon Alma and Amulek, were slain by the fall thereof.
“And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they
were not hurt; for the Lord had granted unto them power, according to their
faith which was in Christ. And they straightway came forth out of the prison;
and they were loosed from their bands; and the prison had fallen to the earth,
and every soul within the walls thereof, save it were Alma and Amulek, was
slain; and they straightway came forth into the city” (Alma 14:26-28).
He trusts the Lord will continue to deliver him. “The
righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their
troubles” (Psalm 34:17).
He knows he will be raised up at the last day and live with
Him in glory. “And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings
he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and said unto them: Behold, ye
have heard the things which I taught before I ascended to my Father; therefore,
whoso remembereth these sayings of mine and doeth them, him will I raise up at
the last day” (3 Nephi 15:1).
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is
tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them
that love him” (James 1:12).[4]
He will praise Him forever. “Behold, my soul abhorreth sin,
and my heart delighteth in righteousness; and I will praise the holy name of my
God” (2 Nephi 9:49).
He tells Helaman he must remember to prosper in the land,
they must keep the commandments of God. “And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye
shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye
will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence” (2 Nephi
1:20).
“And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search
them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep
the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the
promises which the Lord made unto our fathers” (Mosiah 1:7).
“O remember, remember, my son Helaman, how strict are the
commandments of God. And he said: If ye will keep my commandments ye shall
prosper in the land—but if ye keep not his commandments ye shall be cut off
from his presence” (Alma 37:13).
“And thus we see how merciful and just are all the dealings
of the Lord, to the fulfilling of all his words unto the children of men; yea,
we can behold that his words are verified, even at this time, which he spake
unto Lehi, saying:
“Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be
blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the
land. But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall
be cut off from the presence of the Lord” (Alma 50:19-20).
[1] Can
Ye Feel So Now, Elder Quentin L. Cook, October 2012 General
Conference.
[2] Look
Up and Press On, Sister Elaine L. Jack, April 1992 General Conference.
[4] “Blessed is the man that resisteth temptation: for
when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him” (JST James 1:12).
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