Alma 12:31-37

Alma(2) continues teaching Zeezrom.

31  Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good—

32  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 have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God.

33  But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son;

Alma 12:31-33 (Emphasis mine)

When man transgressed, they became as the Gods, knowing good from evil.  We were in a position to do what we wanted.  We can choose evil or we can choose good.  The key to all this is that we now had our free agency.

To help us, God made known the plan of redemption.  We also received commandments.  The consequence of choosing evil would be a second death, a spiritual death.  We would be dead to all things righteous.  Justice would claim us; the plan of redemption would have no power.

God called on us, in the name of the Son, to repent and not harden our hearts against His word.  By doing this, we will have mercy. 

Richard Draper and Donald Parry further observe:

“Physical death results in the ‘body without the spirit’ (James 2:26). The ‘second death’ (Jacob 3:11)—called ‘spiritual death’ (Helaman 14:18) or ‘everlasting death’ (Alma 12:32)—pertains to those who die in sin (see Alma 12:16), who ‘die as to things . . . of righteousness’ (Alma 40:26), or who are ‘cut off from the presence of the Lord’ (Alma 42:9). This second death is the penalty for doing evil (see Alma 12:32).” [1]   (Emphasis mine)

Thomas Valetta wrote:

“Alma clarified that men, having chosen mortality, ‘plac[ed] themselves in a state to act’ (Alma 12:31). ‘Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil’ (Alma 12:32). Doing evil, contrary to the commandments, would bring the penalty of ‘a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God’ (Alma 12:32). The eternal plan of God provided opportunity to repent (see Alma 12:33), according to Alma…” [2] (Emphasis mine)

34  Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest.

35  And whosoever will harden his heart and will do iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.

36  And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first.

37  And now, my brethren, seeing we know these things, and they are true, let us repent, and harden not our hearts, that we provoke not the Lord our God to pull down his wrath upon us in these his second commandments which he has given unto us; but let us enter into the rest of God, which is prepared according to his word.

Alma 12:34-37 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) makes things as clear as he can.  If you repent, you will be forgiven of your sins, obtain mercy, and enter into His rest.  If you don’t, you won’t enter into his rest.  He can’t be more clear than that.

If you don’t repent, you will be eternally cutoff from the Lord.  Your sins will lead to the destruction of your soul.  You will suffer the second death, the spiritual death. 

He ends his words by calling upon them to repent that they all may be enter into the rest of the Lord.

27  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Matthew 26:27-28 (Emphasis mine)

45  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

46  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

47  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48  And ye are witnesses of these things.

Luke 24:45-48 (Emphasis mine)

43  To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Acts 10:43 (Emphasis mine)

7  Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,

8  Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

Hebrews 3:7-8 (Emphasis mine)

15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Mark 16:15-16 (Emphasis mine)

28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

John 5:28-29 (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Seven Promises to Those Who Overcome: Aspects of Genesis 2—3 in the Seven Letters, Richard D. Draper, and Donald W. Parry, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 30, 2011.

[2] Conflicting Orders: Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah, Thomas R. Valletta, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 30, 2011.

Alma 12:9-15

9  And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.

10  And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.

11  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 12:9-11 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) responded to Zeezrom’s request and began to expound on the things he had been teaching.  We can know the mysteries of God, but it is up to the listener.  Those that accept the word of God, they will know about many of the mysteries.  Those who are wicked will not only have little given them, they will receive so little eventually he will know nothing about the mysteries.  Then, they will be taken captive by the devil and led to their destructions.  This is what is meant by the chains of hell.

22  ¶ His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

Proverbs 5:22 (Emphasis mine)

30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.

31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

33  ¶ They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

John 8:30-36 (Emphasis mine)

Clifford Jones wrote this about Alma(2)’s words:

“Revelation from God is normally preceded by a diligent effort to obtain greater light and knowledge. Alma described this principle to Zeezrom, explaining that the Lord gives us more of his word ‘according to the heed and diligence’ (Alma 12:9) that we give to the words we have already received. A gathering convened to gain a better understanding of the Atonement evidences the heed and diligence that must have been present among the multitude prior to Christ's appearance, perhaps the greatest revelation in the entire Book of Mormon. Such heed and diligence are not readily apparent in a gathering where people are discussing changes to the land.” [1] (Emphasis mine)

Hugh Nibley adds:

“That's true of all learning. You learn your math, or whatever it is, only according to the heed and diligence you give to it. The Lord is not going to give you something that you haven't paid attention to with heed and diligence…” [2]  (Emphasis mine)

12  And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.

13  Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.

14  For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.

15  But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just; that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.

Alma 12:12-15 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) explains the consequences of hardening one’s heart.  If we do, the word will not be found in us.  Our words, our works, and our thoughts shall condemn us.  We will not be able to stand spotless before God.  We will not dare to face God.  We would wish a mountain to fall upon us to hide us from his presence. 

But, we must stand before him and be judged.  We will acknowledge the justice of his judgments.  We will acknowledge he has power to save everyone who repents.

36  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Matthew 12:36 (Emphasis mine)

Nibley comments:

“These are the three things we can produce: words, works, and thoughts. The others go back to thoughts. They are the three things that motivate us, and they can all become hardened and conventionalized and in a groove. In that case ‘we shall not dare to look up to our God.’ You can see why. If you get in your cozy shell, anything outside will terrify you. It's like being in your foxhole. You don't want to get out, and yet you know it's dangerous to stay in … We don't want to face up to it. We don't want to get out and get mobile again…

“[The Lord] wants to save us, and if we don't take advantage of it we are going to be very much ashamed of ourselves. So therefore the subject is repentance; we preach nothing but repentance.” [3]   (Emphasis mine)

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[1] The Great and Marvelous Change: An Alternate Interpretation, Clifford P. Jones, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 27, 2011.

[2] Lecture 48: Alma 10-12, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed October 27, 2011.

[3] Ibid.

Alma 10:1-11

Chapter 10

Lehi descended from Manasseh—Amulek recounts the angelic command that he care for Alma—The prayers of the righteous cause the people to be spared—Unrighteous lawyers and judges lay the foundation of the destruction of the people. About 82 B.C.

1  NOW these are the words which Amulek preached unto the people who were in the land of Ammonihah, saying:

2  I am Amulek; I am the son of Giddonah, who was the son of Ishmael, who was a descendant of Aminadi; and it was the same Aminadi who interpreted the writing which was upon the wall of the temple, which was written by the finger of God.

3  And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the land of Jerusalem, who was a descendant of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren.

4  And behold, I am also a man of no small reputation among all those who know me; yea, and behold, I have many kindreds and friends, and I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry.

Alma 10:1-4 (Emphasis mine)

Amulek next began speaking to the people.

He begins by identifying himself and his descent.  He is a descendent of Lehi and of Manasseh, don of Joseph.

He is a well-known man.  He is relying on his reputation and success in life in Ammonihah as making his words more credible.

We are introduced, briefly, to a Book of Mormon prophet, Aminadi.  The finger of God wrote a message on the wall of a temple.  Aminadi interpreted the writing.  Was this a part of the lost 116 pages?  I tend to think it was.  My thinking is that if Mormon included a reference to Aminadi, he did so because he was a part of the abridgement.

Hugh Nibley made some observations about Amulek.

“So then Amulek stood forth and began to preach to them. Amulek introduced himself, and he is a very striking character. These vignettes, these character sketches in the Book of Mormon, are very clearly marked. He was the most respected citizen you could possibly imagine. He was a blueblood. Alma 10:2: ‘I am Amulek …  a descendant of Aminadi, . . . and Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi.’  He was proud of his genealogy. And here we have an extremely important genealogical note. Lehi was a descendant of Manasseh, who was half Egyptian … He had been a successful businessman, and made himself very rich. He had been very successful and very respected. He was la creme de la creme.” [1] (Emphasis mine)

5  Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his mysteries and marvelous power.  I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation of the lives of this people.

6  Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges.

7  As I was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a chosen man of God; for he has fasted many days because of the sins of this people, and he is an hungered, and thou shalt receive him into thy house and feed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the blessing of the Lord shall rest upon thee and thy house.

8  And it came to pass that I obeyed the voice of the angel, and returned towards my house.  And as I was going thither I found the man whom the angel said unto me: Thou shalt receive into thy house—and behold it was this same man who has been speaking unto you concerning the things of God.

9  And the angel said unto me he is a holy man; wherefore I know he is a holy man because it was said by an angel of God.

10  And again, I know that the things whereof he hath testified are true; for behold I say unto you, that as the Lord liveth, even so has he sent his angel to make these things manifest unto me; and this he has done while this Alma hath dwelt at my house.

11  For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake.

Alma 10:5-11 (Emphasis mine)

Amulek confesses to the people that he had been called many times by the Lord, but he had hardened his heart and did not hear the calling.  It was only when an angel of the Lord came to him, and told him about Alma(2), that he began to understand his calling. 

He then testifies both of Alma(2)’s calling as a holy man and his words.  Now the people no longer have the word of only one person.  They have the testimony of two; one of the two was known by the people.

In verse 11, we have a reference to how the people lived.  We see an entire family unit together in one home.  Brant Gardner explains that there is archeological evidence to show that this type of a dwelling was not unusual in Mesoamerica.

“Mesoamerican dwellings were basically compounds for multiple family units. How well does this archaeological feature fit with the rare Book of Mormon descriptions of dwelling units? We find the following in Alma: ‘For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake’ (Alma 10:11). When Amulek describes Alma's blessing, he paints a picture of how Amulek perceives his kin connections. These descriptions fit the general picture of Mesoamerican households…

“The first term Amulek uses is ‘my house.’ For kin-based societies, this typically is as real as it is symbolic of the family. Kin-based societies frequently live in compounds. Excellent documents allow anthropologists to visualize some Aztec households close to the time of the Conquest. … One account from 1580 indicates that houses typically contained six or seven married couples besides unmarried youth.

“The archaeological discovery of living areas that clearly contain multiple buildings led archaeologists to the conclusion that such an area was a family compound, which is a very common feature of the archaeological sites of the Maya area dating to the Book of Mormon time period … Amulek may plausibly have lived in a typical Mesoamerican household compound … When Amulek speaks first of Alma blessing his ‘house’ and then lists specific groups, we are justified in assuming that these are people who are living in the same ‘house,’ which would mean the entire dwelling area, not a single structure.” [2]      (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Lecture 47: Alma 5-10. Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 18, 2011.

[2] Behind the Mask, Behind the Curtain: Uncovering the Illusion, Brant Gardner, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 18, 2011.

Alma 9:5-11

5  Now they knew not that God could do such marvelous works, for they were a hard–hearted and a stiffnecked people.

6  And they said: Who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things?

Alma 9:5-6 (Emphasis mine)

The people continued to challenge Alma(2) and Amulek.  They went so far as to question God (Who is God) and how he did things.  They appeared to be almost offended by the fact that only one man had been sent. 

Hugh Nibley comments:

“For them, things just happened. If marvels do happen, are they without cause? When something remarkable happens, and everything is remarkable that happens, we should consult the causes and what is behind it. It does help us. Shouldn't we ask questions? Shouldn't we be curious about things? People aren't today…

“Verse 6: ‘And they said: Who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things?’ The lone dissenter is the main theme in the Book of Mormon, whether it's Lehi, Nephi, Alma, Ammon, or Enos or whoever it is. What they want is big authority, as if truth couldn't stand alone.” [1](Emphasis mine)

7  And they stood forth to lay their hands on me; but behold, they did not.  And I stood with boldness to declare unto them, yea, I did boldly testify unto them, saying:

8  Behold, O ye wicked and perverse generation, how have ye forgotten the tradition of your fathers; yea, how soon ye have forgotten the commandments of God.

9  Do ye not remember that our father, Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the hand of God?  Do ye not remember that they were all led by him through the wilderness?

10  And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he delivered our fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from being destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren?

11  Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his long-suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of endless misery and woe.

Alma 9-11 (Emphasis mine)

Alma(2) stood before them and testified to them.  Have you forgotten the tradition of your fathers?  Have you forgotten the commandments of God?  Have you forgotten that Lehi was lead by the hand of God?  Have you forgotten how often they were delivered from enemies by the hand of God? 

He reminded them that without His power and mercy, they would have been cut off from the face of Earth and consigned to a state of endless misery and woe.

Verses 10-11, raise questions.  What were the events that required the Lord to deliver them from their enemies?  Who were these enemies?   Who were the brethren?  What were the events?  It also raises a possibility that we might have information that was in the lost 116 manuscript pages.

David LeFevre explains:

“Lehi's lost record surely had more to say about the hardships experienced during this part of the journey. We get that impression both from King Benjamin (Mosiah 1:17) and Alma (Alma 36:28—29). Additionally intriguing are Alma's words to the people of Ammonihah, which invite them to remember ‘the tradition of [their] fathers’ (Alma 9:8), meaning ‘our father, Lehi’ who was ‘brought out of Jerusalem by the hand of God’ (9:9). In the next breath, Alma reiterates how the Lord ‘delivered our fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them’ (9:10). That ‘our fathers’ refers to Lehi and his family seems apparent from verses 9 and 13.  From Brown's observations and these indications from the text, it appears that the family spent significant time (perhaps most or, in my reading of the text, even all of the eight years) and conceivably suffered bondage in the passage between the Nahom area and Bountiful.” [2] (Emphasis mine)

S. Kent Brown writes:

“In an earlier address to people in Ammonihah, Alma recounted that ‘our father, Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the hand of God . . . through the wilderness. Immediately thereafter Alma asked the question: ‘have ye forgotten . . . how many times he delivered our fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from being destroyed?’ (Alma 9:9–10). Enemies? Destroyed? Do these expressions fit into a picture of Lehi in the desert? To be sure, the phrase ‘our fathers’ may point to an intermediate generation, nearer Alma's time, who had suffered difficulties with ‘their enemies’ But the context also allows the possibility that Lehi, too, had experienced troubles with ‘enemies...' [14]

“14. The notation that immediately follows—‘even by the hands of their own brethren’ (Alma 9:10)—opens further the possibility that the reference is to Lehi and his children since the older sons sought at least once to kill Lehi (1 Nephi 16:37; 17:44) and three times to kill the younger son Nephi (1 Nephi 7:16; 16:37; 2 Nephi 5:3–4; cf. 2 Nephi 1:24), even though the word brethren’ can refer to unfriendly Lamanites (e.g., Mosiah 28:1; Alma 17:9; 48:21).” [3]    (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Lecture 47: Alma 5-10, Hugh W. Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 14, 2011.

[2] "We Did Again Take Our Journey", David A. LeFevre, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 14, 2011.

[3] A Case for Lehi's Bondage in Arabia. S. Kent Brown, Maxwell Institute, accessed October 14, 2011.