15 And now behold, I
tell you by the spirit of prophecy, that if ye transgress the commandments of
God, behold, these things which are sacred shall be taken away from you by the
power of God, and ye shall be delivered up unto Satan, that he may sift you as
chaff before the wind.
16 But if ye keep the
commandments of God, and do with these things which are sacred according to
that which the Lord doth command you, (for you must appeal unto the Lord for
all things whatsoever ye must do with them) behold, no power of earth or hell
can take them from you, for God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words.
17 For he will fulfil
all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his
promises which he has made unto our fathers.
18 For he promised
unto them that he would preserve these things for a wise purpose in him, that
he might show forth his power unto future generations.
19 And now behold, one
purpose hath he fulfilled, even to the restoration of many thousands of the
Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth; and he hath shown forth his power in
them, and he will also still show forth his power in them unto future
generations; therefore they shall be preserved.
20 Therefore I command
you, my son Helaman, that ye be diligent in fulfilling all my words, and that
ye be diligent in keeping the commandments of God as they are written. (Alma
37:15-33)
Alma continues to discuss the records he is giving Helaman.
He tells him, “by the spirit of prophecy,” should he sin and
violate the commandments he will lose the records. He will be delivered to Satan,
“that he may sift you as chaff before the wind.”
If he keeps the commandments, and handles the records as the
Lord command’s him, no power can take them from him. Joseph Smith received this
same charge. “On the twenty-second day of September, one thousand eight hundred
and twenty-seven … the same heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with
this charge: that I should be responsible for them; that if I should let them
go carelessly, or through any neglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if
I would use all my endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger, should
call for them, they should be protected” (Joseph Smith—History 1:59).
He also told him he “must appeal unto the Lord for all
things whatsoever ye must do with them” (Alma 37:16).
The Lord will fulfill all the promises He will make to him.
He has fulfilled the promises He made to those who held the plates in the past.
His promise was the records will be preserved, “for a wise purpose,” to show
His power to future generations.
The record has led to Lamanites being restored to the
knowledge of truth. “And thousands [of Lamanites] were brought to the knowledge
of the Lord, yea, thousands were brought to believe in the traditions of the
Nephites; and they were taught the records and prophecies which were handed
down even to the present time” (Alma 23:5).
They have seen His power. He will also show this power to
future generations. so the records must be preserved.
“And now behold, this was the desire which I desired of
him—that if it should so be, that my people, the Nephites, should fall into
transgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the Lamanites should not be
destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of my people, the
Nephites; even if it so be by the power of his holy arm, that it might be
brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps, they might
be brought unto salvation” (Enos 1:13).
“Therefore repent,
and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ,
which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record
which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from
the Gentiles unto you.
“For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may
believe that; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye
believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works
which were wrought by the power of God among them.
“And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of
Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if
it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then
with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior,
according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the
day of judgment” (Mormon 7:8-10).
“[W]hen Oliver Cowdery and the others prepared to leave New
York to share the Book of Mormon with Native Americans in the Fall of 1830,
they saw the Book of Mormon narrative as inspiration. The great Lamanite
mission of Ammon and the other sons of King Mosiah in the Book of Alma provided
a pattern for their plan. The ancient missionaries were “taken and bound with
strong cords, and cast into prison,” but through the “power and wisdom of God,”
they were ‘delivered’ (Alma 26:29). The modern missionaries documented their
covenant that they would support Cowdery and ever pray for ‘deliverance from
bonds, and imprisonments, and whatsoever may come upon us, with all patience
and faith’ (Alma 37:19)—hoping to live out the experience of those ancient
missionaries.”[1]
Alma commands Helaman to listen to his words and be diligent
in keeping God’s commandments.
[1] Becoming
a People of the Books: Toward an Understanding of Early Mormon Converts and the
New Word of the Lord, Janiece Johnson, Journal
of Book of Mormon Studies, vol. 27, 2018, pg. 38.
No comments:
Post a Comment