7 And now, my son, I
would to God that ye had not been guilty of so great a crime. I would not dwell
upon your crimes, to harrow up your soul, if it were not for your good.
8 But behold, ye
cannot hide your crimes from God; and except ye repent they will stand as a
testimony against you at the last day.
9 Now my son, I would
that ye should repent and forsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of
your eyes, but cross yourself in all these things; for except ye do this ye can
in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Oh, remember, and take it upon you, and
cross yourself in these things.
10 And I command you
to take it upon you to counsel with your elder brothers in your undertakings;
for behold, thou art in thy youth, and ye stand in need to be nourished by your
brothers. And give heed to their counsel.
11 Suffer not yourself
to be led away by any vain or foolish thing; suffer not the devil to lead away
your heart again after those wicked harlots. Behold, O my son, how great
iniquity ye brought upon the Zoramites; for when they saw your conduct they
would not believe in my words.
12 And now the Spirit
of the Lord doth say unto me: Command thy children to do good, lest they lead
away the hearts of many people to destruction; therefore I command you, my son,
in the fear of God, that ye refrain from your iniquities;
13 That ye turn to the
Lord with all your mind, might, and strength; that ye lead away the hearts of
no more to do wickedly; but rather return unto them, and acknowledge your
faults and that wrong which ye have done.
14 Seek not after
riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them
with you.
15 And now, my son, I
would say somewhat unto you concerning the coming of Christ. Behold, I say unto
you, that it is he that surely shall come to take away the sins of the world;
yea, he cometh to declare glad tidings of salvation unto his people.
16 And now, my son,
this was the ministry unto which ye were called, to declare these glad tidings
unto this people, to prepare their minds; or rather that salvation might come
unto them, that they may prepare the minds of their children to hear the word
at the time of his coming.
17 And now I will ease
your mind somewhat on this subject. Behold, you marvel why these things should
be known so long beforehand. Behold, I say unto you, is not a soul at this time
as precious unto God as a soul will be at the time of his coming?
18 Is it not as
necessary that the plan of redemption should be made known unto this people as
well as unto their children?
19 Is it not as easy
at this time for the Lord to send his angel to declare these glad tidings unto
us as unto our children, or as after the time of his coming? (Alma 39:7-19)
Alma begins to talk to Corianton about his sexual sin with
the harlot Isabel.
He wishes he had not committed “so great a crime.” He is
dwelling on this for his own good.
He can’t hide his “crimes” from God. “The Lord knoweth the
thoughts of man, that they are vanity” (Psalm 94:11).
“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil
and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).
“Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and
he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they
all created from the beginning” (Alma 18:32).
Unless he repents, his sins will be a testimony against him
at the last day.
He told him he must repent and forsake his sins. Avoid going
after his lusts. “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust
after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew
5:28).
“And now I, Jacob, spake many more things unto the people of
Nephi, warning them against fornication and lasciviousness, and every kind of
sin, telling them the awful consequences of them” (Jacob 3:12).
If he doesn’t, he will not inherit the kingdom of God. Take
it upon him “and cross yourself in these things” (Alma 39:9). “For it is better
that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your
cross, than that ye should be cast into hell” (3 Nephi 12:30).
“The disciples of Christ receive a call to not only forsake
the pursuit of worldly things but to carry the cross daily. To carry the cross
means to follow His commandments and to build up His Church on the earth. It
also means self-mastery. As Jesus of Nazareth instructed us, ‘If any man will
come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow
me.’ ‘And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my
disciple.’”[1]
He is to counsel with his brothers about his
responsibilities. He is young and needs support from his brothers. Pay
attention to their counsel.
Alma told him not to allow himself to be led away by vain
and foolish things. His conduct caused the Zoramites to reject his message.
“Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not
thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
“Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost
thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege [GR rob
shrines, temples]?
“Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the
law dishonourest thou God” (Romans 2:21-23).
“And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year,
Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the example of the
church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity
to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people” (Alma 4:11).
“But inasmuch as they keep not my commandments, and hearken
not to observe all my words, the kingdoms of the world shall prevail against
them” (D&C 103:8).
“[W]hat we now are as a people is clearly not enough, for ‘Zion
must increase in beauty, and in holiness’
(D&C 82:14). As in the time of Alma, the bad conduct of a few
members slows the work. Indeed, Zion will not be fully redeemed until after we
have been first chastened. Let us, therefore, not be too long-suffering with
our own shortcomings. And when we are given thorns in the flesh, let us not
demand to see the rose garden.”[2]
The Lord’s Spirit told Alma to command his children do good.
If they don’t, they could lead many people to destructions.
So, Alma told Corianton, “refrain from your iniquities.”
“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that
ye should abstain from fornication [GR immorality]” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
“Abstain from all appearance [GR kinds] of evil” (1 Thessalonians
5:22).
“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims [GR resident
aliens, sojourners], abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Peter
2:11).
“Do you remember that many of the most powerful teachings in
the Book of Mormon are from fathers directly to their beloved sons? Lehi,
Jacob, Benjamin, Alma, Helaman, Mormon, and others all taught wonderful lessons
to their own sons.
“Do you recall Alma’s son Corianton and the sad mistake he
made? He was proud, stubborn, willing to excuse himself because many others had
also sinned. Alma plainly identified the seriousness of his son’s actions,
called him to repentance, taught him the meaning of Christ’s atonement, gave
him a path to follow, and spoke the message of his heart.”[3]
Corianton was told to turn “the Lord with all your mind,
might, and strength” (Alma 39:13). Acknowledge his faults and the wrongs he
did. Alma could well have been referring to himself and the sons of Mosiah. “And
they traveled throughout all the land of Zarahemla, and among all the people
who were under the reign of king Mosiah, zealously striving to repair all the
injuries which they had done to the church, confessing all their sins, and
publishing all the things which they had seen, and explaining the prophecies
and the scriptures to all who desired to hear them” (Mosiah 27:35).
Don’t seek after riches and the vain things of the world. “But
seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).[4]
“Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries
of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he
that hath eternal life is rich” (D&C 6:7).
He can’t take them with him.
Alma now talks to Corianton about the coming of Christ. He
will come and take away the sins of the world. He will declare salvation to His
people.
He was called to declare the coming of Christ and His
atonement. He was to prepare them for salvation. He wanted them to teach their
children to hear the word.
We learn Corianton is amazed that these things would be
known. Alma asks, “is not a soul at this time as precious unto God as a soul
will be at the time of his coming” (Alma 39:17).
“The cynical attitude of Korihor and of Nehor’s followers
concerning prophecy may have influenced Alma’s son Corianton. In one of a
series of questions that Corianton discussed with his father, he asked why the
coming of Christ should be known so long beforehand (see Alma 39:15–17). A
careful reading of Alma 39:12–15 suggests that Corianton was not fully
committed to the idea of Christ’s coming and the redemptive doctrines
associated with it. More to the point, he questioned the relevance of an event
that would occur so far in the future. Alma subtly shifted the focus from the
coming of Christ, as important as it is, to the plan of redemption, which would
have been just as relevant to Corianton’s contemporaries as it would be to the
souls of those living at the time of Christ’s coming (see Alma 39:17–18).”[5]
“For, for this intent have we written these things, that
they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many
hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his
glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us.
“Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in
his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent we
keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is
sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in
the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son
Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son.
“Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations
and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope,
and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name
of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea”
(Jacob 4:4-6).
It is necessary this people, and their children, learn about
the plan of salvation. “Is it not as easy at this time for the Lord to send his
angel to declare these glad tidings unto us as unto our children, or as after
the time of his coming” (Alma 39:19).
“And the things which I shall tell you are made known unto
me by an angel from God. And he said unto me: Awake; and I awoke, and behold he
stood before me.
“And he said unto me: Awake, and hear the words which I
shall tell thee; for behold, I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of
great joy” (Mosiah 3:2-3).
[1] Discipleship,
President James E. Faust, October 2006 General Conference.
[4] “Wherefore, seek not the things of this world
but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (JST Matthew 6:33).
[5] Painting
Out the Messiah: The Theologies of Dissidents, John L. Clark, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 11/1
(2002): 24.
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